“And do not be like
those who forgot God, so
that He makes them
forget their own selves;
those – they are the
wicked people” (59:19).
Do I know my own self,
my own reality? How can I live quietly without knowing who am I? And why do I
exist? What purpose does my living have? All these questions can come to any
one of us. And without God’s guidance, any answer may be absurd. But when one’s
faith in God is strong enough, s/he should learn from God’s Guidance (the
Qur’an) and then certainly will get the perfect answer.
The Qur’an has
given us important information about human being. God has created Adam (the
first human) as a body, out of clay, but bestowed on him a special spirit that
enabled him to receive a little portion of knowledge
(which was expected to gradually evolve, as shown by his descendants,
generation after generation), as well as many faculties and capacities to
become vicegerent on earth.
The Qur’an also
explains how God created every descendant of Adam, and has given everyone a
special condition, with different skill and capacity. So we can understand that
everyone, however and whatever his intelligence and capability, is in need of
God’s help and permission. Meaning, that however high the capacity of a person might
be, he cannot reach his goal without the will of God. If God does not permit,
then this person shall find a hindrance, because that goal may not apply to
God’s plan. That is why we find in the Qur’an a declaration saying: “But
you cannot will (anything) unless God
wills (to show you that way): for, behold, God is indeed All-Knowing, Wise” (76:30).
Every living human
is under test: “And that naught shall accounted unto man but what he is striving for,
and that in time (the nature of) all his striving will be shown (to him in its
true light), whereupon he shall be requited for it with the fullest requital” (53:39-41).
We are invited by
God, the Almighty to call on Him in whatever condition we are: “Call
upon your Lord humbly and quietly..” (7:55). “And your Lord has said:
Call on Me and I will respond to you. Surely those who disdain to worship Me
shall enter Hell (utterly) humiliated” (40:60).
Every believer in
God and the Hereafter is anxious about his/her future, so s/he would like to be
in contact with the Lord, the Almighty, supplicate Him, ask for whatever s/he
wishes. Al-Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib, the
uncle of the Prophet narrated: I said to the Prophet: O Messenger of God, teach
me something that I may ask God for. He said: ” Ask God for safety”. Then
another day I went to him again saying: O Messenger of God, teach me something
that I may ask God for. He said to me: “O Abbas, O uncle of the Messenger of
God, ask God for Safety, in this world and in the Hereafter!” (Reported by
Tirmidhi).
A true believer is
aware of her/his duty to strive constantly to achieve the utmost of a fair
prosperity in this life, without transgressing any of God’s ordinances, but in
the same time s/he is not oblivious to her/his limitation of capability, thus
s/he knows that s/he needs help from the Lord. And although the endeavor to
achieve the prosperity is within God’s permission, so that s/he could get good
reward in the Hereafter, yet s/he is keen to get God’s mercy for not failing to
be rewarded in the Hereafter. For that there is a teaching in the Qur’an for a
true believer to say the following supplication: “O Our Lord!
Grant us good in this world and good in the life to come, and keep us safe from
suffering through fire” (2:201).
A true believer,
although s/he has tried her/his best to perform her/his duties with humility, yet
s/he should fear of any temptation swerving her/him away from the sincerity towards
God, therefore the Qur’an teaches Muslims to supplicate:
“O Our Lord! Let
not our hearts swerve from the truth after You have guided us; and bestow upon
us the gift of Your grace, verily, You are the (true) Giver of Gift” (3:8)
God’s
bounties, favours and blessings are flowing over all of us in exceeding
measure, both seen and unseen, outward and inward, yet sometimes we are not
thankful to Him. The Qur’an teaches us this supplication:
“My Lord,
inspire me to be thankful for Your grace with which You have favoured me and my
parents, and to do good that will please You, and include me, by Your mercy,
among Your righteous servants” (27:19).
In
case Muslims have to face aggressors and have to defend their own rights, they
have to be ready to fight bravely without forgetting the following
supplication:
“Our Lord,
shower us with patience in adversity, and make firm our steps, and succour us
against the people who deny the truth” (2:250).
A
true believer is expected to have an absolute virtue and excellent conduct,
always steadfast in justice. But in practice this absoluteness is impossible,
whatever high degree one might achieve. For that reason God declared in the
Qur’an:
“God does not
burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear: in his favour
shall be whatever good he does, and against him whatever evil he does ..” (2:286).
Around
the very beginning of the last Prophet’s call to his people was: “Ask
forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him, and He will give you fair
enjoyment until a time appointed, and He will give every person of merit, (the
due for) his merit. But if you turn away, I fear for you the chastisement of an
awful day” (11:3).
The
Qur’an even suggests a kind of supplication as follows: “Our Lord, take us not to task if
we forget or unwittingly do wrong! Our Lord, lay not upon us a burden such as
You did lay upon those who lived before us! Our Lord, make us not bear burdens,
which we have no strength to bear! And efface You our sins, and grant us
forgiveness, and bestow You mercy upon us! You are our Lord Supreme: succour
us, then, against people who deny the truth!” (2:286).
From
all that, we may well understand that Du’a (supplication) and Salaat (= determined
prayer), both are meant to make a person always remember God, thus not forget
his duty towards Him. When Moses got God’s revelation the first time (by
hearing His talk) the first order was to establish Prayer: “Verily, I am God – there is no
god except Me. So worship Me and establish Prayer for to make remembrance of Me
(20:14).
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