09-26-2004, 12:15 AM
Iman
Yousuf M Islam
Imagine that there is a large boat in the middle of the sea. On this boat
there are people of different beliefs and faiths: one person believes in the
Creator, and there is another person who says that he does not believe in
God. They are visited by a terrible storm, as if the boat is about to
capsize. Faced with this situation, what would each person on the boat do?
Significantly, what would the atheist do? Would not he at least say,
“Creator, if you exist, please save me”? The remaining people on the boat
would also realize that it is the Creator alone who can get them out of this
trouble and drive them to a safe ground. Regardless of religion, each person
would approach the Creator directly, without any intermediaries. This
implies that each person, regardless of their religious beliefs, inherently
acknowledges the Power of the Creator.
When the Creator puts the boat on the shore, it is what each person says
from their free-will that defines “Iman” or correct belief. Ironically
enough, some will say it was sheer luck that saved them; others will claim
that it was their lucky charm (stones, pendants, etc.); others will credit
their intellect; still others will give credits to intermediaries like
prophets, ancestors, religious leaders, “pirs”, idols, etc. The person who
thanks the Creator directly for bringing them to safety is the only true
believer! The storm was only a test given by the Creator to separate those
who have correct belief from those who do not.
Allah, our Creator, succinctly clarifies this in the Qur’an in the following
verse:
And when harm touches you upon the sea, those (others) that you call upon
vanish from you except Him (Allah alone). But when He brings you safely to
land, you turn away (from Him)…… (17: 67)
Allah (SWT) uses the sea as the location as at sea we clearly realize our
limitations and dependency on His mercy. Such dependency extends to the land
where we normally stay. The following hypothetical situations would
demonstrate how we normally respond to our Creator.
Before exams, students sincerely pray to Allah, begging for His help. They
believe that without His help, they would not be able to achieve desired
results – no matter how good their teachers are, or how perfect their
preparations are. Once the results are published, parents credit the
achievements to their children. Children, in turn, credit their teachers or
tutors. People forget to thank Allah, Whom they approached before exams.
Sometimes people begin their day by praying Fajr in the morning, or seek
Allah’s help by pronouncing bismillah at the beginning of work. But
pressures of work keep some people from praying other prayers like Zohr, Asr
and Magrib. Getting work done is deemed more important than remembering
Allah in prayers. People forget that they are meant to offer prayers to the
same Being Whom they approach for help. If forgetfulness about duties to
Allah is the fact, then the very claim of belief is questioned. Allah says:
Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a side of the land to swallow
you up or that He will not send against you a violent sandstorm? (In such a
case) you will find no wakil (helper) [except Allah]. Or do you feel secure
that He will not send you back a second time to the sea and send against you
a hurricane of wind and drown you because of your disbelief? Then you will
not find any avenger therein against Us. (17:69-69)
Allah reminds us of the honour He has given each of us. He has given us a
beautiful personality and made us unique – this means each of us is
important to Him. In the following verse, He reminds us of this particular
favour:
And indeed We have honoured the children of Adam, and We have carried them
on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Tayebat (good and lawful
things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created
with a marked preferment. (17:70)
Allah tells ss who He is:
Your Lord is He who drives the ship for you through the sea, in order that
you may seek of His Bounty. Truly, He is ever Most Merciful towards you.
(17: 66)
Forgiveness
It is only if we have correct belief, i.e. iman, that Allah will consider
the forgiveness of our sins. He will forgive our mountain of sins only if we
demonstrate belief in Him and Him ALONE. We sin against commandments given
by Allah. As such, it is only He that we need to approach. We therefore need
to ask forgiveness from Him directly. Consider the case where we ask
forgiveness from saints, ministers, religious leaders or pirs – on the Day
of Judgment, there is nothing to stop Allah from saying, Why come to Me; go
to your pir saheb, see if he can forgive you! These are the people whom we
ask forgiveness or give credit to for events in our lives, and whom Allah
calls His supposed partners in the Qur’an. It is to warn against these
partners that Allah has sent His prophets throughout the ages.
Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners with Him, but He
forgives whom He wills, sins other than that, and whosoever sets up partners
in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away. (4:116)
Partners
The first supposed partner of Allah is our ego. If we feel that there are
better ways to be grateful or worship than the ways Allah and His Prophet
have shown us, we worship our egos. If we feel our daily work is more
important, as it provides us with the livelihood, than our salat (prayers),
we put our material greed before Allah.
Knowledge
The inexcusable fact is that we have not bothered to find out what guidance
Allah has provided in the Qur’an. The Qur’an is Allah’s guidance to each of
us individually as well as collectively. If a friend wrote us a letter in a
language that we did not understand, would we put the letter on the top a
shelf or a cabinet and forget about it? Would we assume that we already know
the contents? It is very important that we find out what Allah has said in
the Qur’an regarding our lives in both the worlds. Allah has said that there
is nothing that He has left out of the Qur’an. It is the primary source of
all knowledge for us. It is only when we learn to apply this knowledge that
we can understand the meaning of our existence in this world.
Reading the Qur’an
Translations of the meaning of the Qur’an into the major languages of the
world are available. We have to get hold of a copy in our preferred language
and establish regular reading of the meaning of the Qur’an at least at two
levels:
ط We should read at home to all family members and
ط We should support and fund a program to learn the meaning of the
Qur’an at institutional level.
To find the meaning of the Qur’an, one needs to be armed with a sincerity to
find out what Allah has said in it. We have to seek Allah’s help and
guidance when reading the Qur’an. One good time to regularly read the Qur’an
is when the entire family members get together for the evening meal. The
head of the family should sequentially read a section (about two pages) of
the Qur’an each day with its meaning to the rest of the family. The head
should encourage questions and all should attempt to apply what has been
read to their day-to-day life.
At the same time, we should get in touch with local educational
institutions. We should ask authority to start a class on the meaning of the
Qur’an. We should fund, support and follow-up the implementation of this
class.
May Allah give us the motivation to find the meaning of the Qur’an, guide us
to implement what He has given by following the example of His Prophet
(SAWS)!
Source: Al-Baiyyinah
(The e-magazine of Witness-Pioneer)
Volume 4 Issue 1 June-July 2004
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/VMagazine