بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ
One of the blessings of praying to
the Merciful Lord to “guide us on the Straight Path” is that we should utilize
our material blessings and assets to be of benefit to us in this life as well
as in the next.
How many people waste their lives and
the precious material gifts that the Merciful Lord bestowed on them? Many of
them became pauper after having much, and they then realized that they wasted
their time and resources in things that did not stay with them forever. They
then had to continue the journey of life with very little, or in some case with
nothing.
Sometimes the thought may come to the
minds of the believers and that is, why
is it that Allah is bestowing so much of material things on the “rejecters of
His Oneness? Many of them do not only misuse their wealth, but they also cause
harm, hardship and suffering to believers who may not agree with what they are
doing.
Such a thought once crossed the mind
of Prophet Moses when he saw how Pharaoh was using his God-given gifts to
torture and torment the Children of Israel. When Moses saw what Pharaoh was
doing he prayed to Allah as follows:
Our Lord! You have indeed bestowed of
Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world; that they
may lead men astray from Your Path. Our Lord, destroy their wealth, and harden
their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful
doom……………Allah said: verily the invocation of you both is accepted. So you both
keep to the Straight Way, and do not follow the path of those who do not know.
(Qur’an:10:88-89)
Prophet Muhammad (pboh) used to feel sorry for those
who wasted their wealth, talent and life by staying busy with only the material
life, not realizing that one day they will have to die and leave all these
things behind them. So sad and depressed he used to be when he saw how these
people were wasting their lives that Allah had to console him. This is recorded
in the Holy Qur’an in the following verse:
Perhaps you will kill yourself (O
Muhammad) with grief, over their footsteps (because they do not accept the
message), as they do not believe in this narration, i.e. the Holy Qur’an. (18:6)
Prophet Muhammad (pboh) knew that,
out of ignorance, the non-believers are spending all their time trying to
acquire as much as they can the wealth of this world and then they will be
called back by the Lord and they will die and leave everything behind them. And
some of their inheritors may even abuse what they got.
Muslims are taught to manage their
precious time and resources properly, so that these things can benefit them
while they are alive in this world, and will also benefit on the onward journey
and in the next life.
Islam teaches us how to do so.
