Ali 'Imran 3:183–200

Those who do not adopt the religion of sacrifice justify their stand in various ways. For instance, they say, ‘This wealth has been granted to us by God. Then why should we not spend it for our personal needs and worldly comforts?’ Sometimes their insensitivity leads them to such extremes that they attempt to discredit the preacher himself on one pretext or the other, or by trying to find loopholes in his message. The need for them to sacrifice their lives and wealth does not arise, if they can prove that the preacher is not a genuine one. These justifications appear to be in the form of valid arguments but, in fact, they are only excuses to avoid fulfilling the requirements of faith. Therefore, whatever truth is presented, they will always find words to counter the preacher’s arguments, and to justify their own actions. These people are oblivious of the fact that their final end is death. And death will completely overturn the whole state of affairs. It will nullify all the false props. Then man will find himself standing at exactly that point where he actually is and not where he has shown himself to be. In other words, he will be cut down to size. Success and failure in this world are one and the same thing in terms of reality. Neither are the blessings of this world a proof of one’s being in the right, nor are the difficulties, problems and setbacks of this world a proof of one’s being in the wrong. Both are forms of divine trial and not signs of one’s spiritual advancement or decline.

A man has to make the journey of faith in a world where he might be hurt in many ways, both by his own people as well as strangers. But under no circumstances should he fall prey to negative thoughts. He should rather confront every difficult situation as it comes and keep going on. He might be even provoked, but nonetheless he should restrain himself. He should bear every setback without resorting to vengeance. There might be many an occasion when his heart, unable to take any more suffering might tell him to break the bonds of God and act as his heart bids him. Still, the fear of God should stop him from taking such a step even then. The demands of religion inevitably require the ultimate sacrifice—which would mean sacrificing one’s life and wealth. In such a situation, one has to uphold religion by making sacrifices for its cause, though that might mean adopting the most difficult of the courses open to one. On the journey of faith, this is a tremendous test of courage and high-mindedness. Indeed, becoming a true believer is a trial which requires patience and piety. One who successfully qualifies in this test is the believer for whom the gates of Paradise will be thrown open in the Hereafter.

When a decline sets in in the bearers of a revealed Book, it in no way means that they have entirely severed their bond with God or His messenger. This is not possible, because religion becomes a part of the traditions of a community. It becomes a great national asset and a matter of tremendous pride. And once such a communal and national link is established with something, disassociation from it is just not possible for any group. However, this association with traditions in the name of religion is purely formal and lacks in genuine religiosity, for all worldly activities continue to be engaged in in the name of religion. Even when members of certain societies have nothing to do with religion, they want to be called religious. They want to take credit for things they have not done. Having no real concern for eternal salvation, they develop such concepts as appear to show that their salvation is certain. They follow a self-made religion, but call themselves upholders of divine religion. They are busy in activities serving worldly ends, but call these activities Hereafter-oriented. They call their self-styled politics divinely guided politics, declaring that they have been moved to action for the betterment of the ummah (community), whereas, in reality they do little more than serve their own national interests. One cannot save oneself from the chastisement of God by giving one’s irreligiousness the name of religion. When man remains engrossed in worldly pursuits, oblivious of matters which are important in view of the Hereafter, he is going astray, but when he engages himself in worldly pursuits in the name of God, or the Prophet, he is adding insult to injury, because he wants to be given credit for a faith which is hollow and actions which are false.

The universe with its whole existence is a silent declaration of God’s presence. When man removes the man-made veils from his eyes and unstops his ears, he starts seeing and hearing this silent announcement all around him. It then appears improbable to him that, in a universe where the stars and the planets have continued to exist for millions of years, man may cease to exist within fifty or a hundred years, taking with him to his grave all his desires and aspirations. In a world which abounds in the beauties of nature, with the fragrance of flowers, where countless meaningful blessings, like air, water and the sun have been provided, should man’s end be nothing but only sorrow and suffering? Then he also finds it unthinkable that, in a world of limitless possibilities where, just by sowing seeds in the ground, a whole forest of trees comes into existence, one should fail to receive the fruits of virtuous actions; that in a world where the sun shines daily after the dark night, centuries go by without being illuminated by the lustre of fairness and justice; that in a world where earthquakes and tempests lie dormant, man should continue to perpetrate tyranny and oppression without ever being checked.

Those who think deeply, seeking a more profound reality, find it unthinkable that a meaningful universe should have a meaningless end. They discover, that the message conveyed by the preacher is the announcement, in human language, of the same reality, which is being silently proclaimed by the whole universe. The greatest issue is that when the truth is unveiled, and the ‘sun’ of justice makes its appearance, they should not be left deprived and destitute. So when the truth appears, they rush towards it, remembering God. By breaking all personal bonds and ridding their thoughts of worldly considerations, they become one with the preacher of truth; so that in the next world, when the ‘darkness’ and the ‘light’ of the universe are separated, the Lord of the universe will make them inhabit the light, and will not abandon them to fumble eternally in the dark. The true measure of wisdom and unwisdom is wholly different from the one devised by human beings on their own. Here a wise man is one who lives in the remembrance of God, who can discover the divine meaningfulness at work in the creation plan of the universe. On the contrary, the unwise man is one who keeps his mind engaged in other more material things, who lives in this world as if he is totally unaware of the creation plan of the Lord of the Universe.

See note to 2:191.

The responsible life of the believers deprives them of any liberties that might be taken with the self. In their mission of communicating the Truth, many of their hearers turn hostile when they find that the success of such a mission entails a negation of their own existence. This state of affairs sometimes becomes so calamitous that believers are rendered homeless in their own homeland, having to suffer the oppression of their opponents. If they adopt the divine religion, it must be at the cost of their lives and property. In order to succeed in these tests, the believers should never place the considerations of this world above those of the Hereafter. Difficulties and unpleasantness should be suffered patiently. Negative feelings should be suppressed and any reaction should be refrained from. Believers must remain steadfast in their encounters with their opponents. It is this steadfastness, which draws God’s succour towards them. Besides this, it is necessary that all believers be united, joining together to face enemy onslaughts with all the strength of perfect union. Faith is in fact a test of patience, and only those who fear God can pass this test.

It often happens in this world that those who have no fear of God and have no concern for the Hereafter come into positions of dominance. All kinds of honour and glory surround them. On the other hand, the believers are often powerless. No share of worldly glory comes their way. But this state of affairs is temporary in nature. The situation will reverse itself with the advent of Doomsday. Those who lived in this world without any fear of God and gathered around them the honour and glory of the world will find themselves cast into the pit of humiliation. And those who had been denied worldly honour and successes, because of their attachment to God, will be the possessors of all kinds of eternal honour and success in the next world. They will be God’s guests and there is nothing greater on this earth and in the heavens than being God’s guests.