Allah Does Not Wrong Anyone.

Many continue suggesting doing “universal good” is UNIVERSAL and then continue to point out that the Christian, Buddhist, Hindoo, Atheist and almost everyone else does this – doing good. They point out that it’s perfectly possible to lead a “good life without Islam”; So why does one have to subject oneself to the DO’s and DO NOT’s of ISLAM? They claim that avoiding lies, helping the needy, feeding the poor, looking after one’s parents, loving the neighbor/enemy, caring for animals, visiting the sick, avoiding killing, treating women kindly are all within reach of human beings irrespective of their beliefs.

I think many have shared their views on this. Thakuru, Yusuf and I have all dealt with this in some depth in this blog. However this question keeps cropping up. Lets try to remind ourselves of the many facets of this question. Would I be wrong in saying that this so called “Universal Good” that some take pleasure in talking about; is not “NEW NEWS” to a Muslim. The Seal of Prophets – Mohammad, pboh said:

"Every human being is born in a state of pure nature; but through the influence of his parents, he may become non-Muslim."

From this Hadis it’s obvious that all human beings have that innate propensity to do as HIS CREATOR WANTS HIM/HER TO DO. A Muslim remembering his prophet’s words would no doubt recognise this as the concept of “FITRA”. Some people might call it a human’s ability to do “universal good”. What is more, we Muslims are also taught that human beings feel this great surge of well-being when he does certain actions. Similiarly human beings feel this instant need to hide from the view of others certain actions. We are told the former turns out to be good actions, and the latter bad actions.

What is more this innate programming if you will, so perfect at birth is prone to corruption as one grows - due to outside influences and in later life the strength of this primordial ability becomes a test of faith itself. This reality is so succinctly and forcefully taught to us by our beloved prophet –pboh, when he taught mankind that in the human being there is a part called the heart, which is at the onset wonderfully pure and clear. If this remains so it heralds endless bliss for that happy person.

Everytime a person commits an act that’s bad, an action that he would like to hide from others; there on this heart appears a tiny black spot. If he repeats this process another black spot appears and this goes on until death. So he taught us that if this part in us called the heart is good, then it leads the person towards endless bliss. Taking lessons from the prophet Muhammad –Pboh; Yusuf Estees reminds us the case study of a person taking drugs.

The first time - there is this great innate resistance to taking drugs. Its difficult, it needles people’s conscience. The second time its already easier & soon it becomes second nature and an addiction. Like the fall of dominos innate resistance drops until is born a drug addict. This is the same for telling lies, drinking alcohol, adultery, fornication, eating pork etc. each having a first time, and each of these having a cumulative effect, until people reach this unenviable state of affairs ………..

"If people had been forbidden to make porridge of camel dung, they would do it, saying that it wouldn't be forbidden unless there was some good in it."

Let’s remind ourselves that Allah is also called THE ALL MERCIFUL. Mercy is something we are told that Allah has taken on Himself for all his creation, from the very start. This also explains why human beings have this innate propensity to do WHAT ALLAH HAS ORDERED. This is in accordance with a ALL MERCIFUL CREATOR.

This is why the Christian belief of ORIGINAL SIN and the belief that babies are born full of sin & evil is so incompatible with a CREATOR WHO IS ALL MERCIFUL, AND WHO IS JUST.
The Koran teaches us the opposite that Each person would carry his own burden. No soul would carry the burden of another. A BABY IS NOT TAINTED BY HIS PARENTS DEEDS AT BIRTH. Lets read the following ayats ….
‘And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And if a heavily laden soul calls [another] to [carry some of] its load, nothing of it will be carried, even if he should be a close relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and have established prayer. And whoever purifies himself only purifies himself for [the benefit of] his soul. And to God is the [final] destination’ (Surah Fatir 35:18).
‘God does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned’ (Surah al-Baqarah 2:286)
We also learn that human beings have a body and soul. The soul predates the body and knows Allah and what is pleasing to Allah. This once again explains the innate goodness of human beings that are capable of doing what’s good – Universal good is no big deal for Muslims after all. We are taught all about it. However there is more than meets the eye. Consider……………… All actions are based on intentions, for we learn from our prophet – pboh…….

"Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
So the consequences of our actions obviously depends on what we intended. The good you do, would Insha Allah be rewarded according to what you intended. So if you feed your neighbour because you feel for his condition, then indeed you would gain reward for that. If you are moved by pity for him and you want to be seen as a good fellow by those around, your rewards are in keeping with that. If your intention is to help this neighbour because Allah has ordered you, and you do so in that intention your reward is according to this.
With these considerations in mind, when I read the following hadis, things become very clear to me, Praise Allah!. I hope Insha Allah it is the same for you ……
Allah does not wrong anyone. A believer is rewarded both here and in the hereafter. A disbeliever is rewarded in this world for all of his good deeds. Thus when he goes to the hereafter, he has no (more) deeds for which he can be rewarded there. – Muslim.

Then, when I read the following Hadis below…. I can see very clearly the choices Allah has given me. The choice of Obeying Allah, and the Choice of leading my life without thinking of Allah. The choice I make will have an impact in the hereafter. …..

The (example of the ) value of this world in comparison to (that of) the hereafter is as if you dip a finger in the ocean and then pull it out. So see how much water sticks to it. – Muslim.

With these considerations in mind, naturally, whatever I do I’m conscious of my intension, because I realize that the outcome of my actions depends on my intension. This matters to me very much BECAUSE THERE IS A HEREAFTER, which starts immediately after I die. That hereafter is endless in time, stretching on and on……….

I certainly don’t want to be rewarded for what I do ONLY IN THIS WORLD, because the hereafter is ENDLESS, and the only way I would be rewarded there IN THE HEREAFTER would be to base my actions ONLY ON ALLAH. In short To follow the Deen of Allah.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, can you understand me that I beg Allah to draw me close to Allah, and beg him to make me remember Allah always. I have even asked my friends and family to remind me of God, in case I forget. I ask you to do that for me too. Pascals wager would prompt any person to do likewise.

Further there are so many hadis that calls upon me to do good. So reading them, often, its becomes easier and easier to remember God whilst doing good that the hadis refer to. Observe how appeals are constantly made to the inherent innate propensity to do good.

Keeping the above discussion in mind, consider these beautiful Hadis……..

+ "Avoid anything that requires an excuse."
+ “Whoever guides someone towards good will receive the reward of the one who acts upon it.”
+ “The most perfect believer (in his faith) is he whose conduct is best, and the best among you is he who behaves best towards his wife”
+ “Allah, the Lord of Honour and Glory says, “ Whoever does one good deed will receive ten rewards, or even more; Whoever sins once will be punished in proportion to it, or I may pardon him……” – A Qudsi Hadis”.
+ “One who lacks kindness of heart lacks all good”.

Its evident from the above that HUMAN BEINGS irrespective of his beliefs can do good. What’s also evident is that everyone would be rewarded according to his intentions. Thus it’s those whose intention is to obey the commands of Allah so as to please Allah, that Allah accordingly rewards in the hereafter.

In this context its chilling to read the following verses from the Koran..
3:85 - He who seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.
5:3 This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion;

So with all that has gone above, I humbly say as in the following verse…..

‘I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is on a straight path’ (11:56).

Phenomenon Prophetic

It’s not my intention to give you a life story of the prophet - pboh. Excellent Traditional (ancient), recent and very recent works on the prophet are available, and all Maldivians aught to know it well. Suffice it to say, who amongst us haven’t felt a lump in our throats or tears pour down our cheeks at the recall of poignant incidents like the terrible children set to stone the prophet in Taif?

Below are the thoughts of just an ordinary Muslim, who tries hard to get close to Allah, loves Allah and His prophet. It’s my hope, that by my sharing my thoughts - you my readers would be moved to share your thoughts too and By Allah’s Grace, we might become better Muslims, learning and adjusting from each other’s experience. The threads of thought put together here are from collected from many Muslims who struck a chord deep within me.

Yes, in this age and time, the internet is a wonderful tool that could be harnessed for our benefit. It offers us anonymity that encourages us to exchange ideas freely, without fear of any consequences. My Blog would be Insha Allah free, uncensored, and here I encourage free exchange of ideas, without any attempt at knowing who you are, from where you are, and what you believe. In short that is a part of yourself, that’s inviolable just like your property. I believe this to be the ideal in Islam, and I strive to practice what I learn. Allah knows best!

"Prophets" have different meaning to different people in the world. From the point of view of Islam, a prophet is someone whose “ID” is progressively extinguished and reprogrammed to the dictates of the Creator. Needless to say as a consequence, his ego and superego are all re-modeled into its final mould in accordance with the Creator’s will and nothing else. Thus a prophet by Allah’s Grace attains the true potential of the human reality – the natural inborn potential of overtaking the lofty position of the angels.

This is an interesting moment. Does he cease to be a human being? NO.

I believe that in the person of "a prophet", we have a dazzling example of the demonstration of man, God and their inter-relationship. Here is a man, seemingly just another man; unremarkable even a deficient man by prevailing standards - with respect to his financial position, and social status which commands more social weight than a noble ancestry.

In society he is "a nobody" but God who created this man knows his true potential. He chooses him to be his prophet. The chosen man even tries his best to resist “being chosen”. With time his will is broken, he is overwhelmed, and is bent to the WILL OF GOD -100%. Gradually all his resistance is broken. His id, ego, superego is remodeled until he is crystallized to the purest human form until he is ready to carry the infinitely heavy burden of conveying Allah’s message to Allah’s slaves. *

What does all this mean to the man chosen as a prophet? ………

I have been repeatedly told that my posts are boringly long. I therefore end here this post. For those interested I would continue my line of thoughts below in "comments". Those who visit us, please do share with us your experiences. Also please share with us a Koranic verse that has inspired you or a prophetic Hadis that moved you. Anything that would help us come close to Allah is welcome. Those of you who criticize us; are indeed welcome to do so. We would appreciate however if they are considerate enough not to hurt anybody.