[Salma went to the kitchen and after a while brought tea and biscuits, which they all enjoyed. As they sipped tea Barbara resumed the discussion with Salma’s mother.]
BARBARA—Auntie, if God has created us, He must have created us for a purpose. So what is the purpose of man’s life?
BUSHRA—God tells us in the Holy Quran that the true purpose of man’s life is to worship Him alone.
It is obvious that man is not in a position to appoint the purpose of his own life, for he did not come into this world of his own accord, nor will he depart from here of his own will.
Man is a creature and the One who created him, and has bestowed upon him better and higher faculties than those of other animals, has also appointed a purpose for his life.
People generally do not understand the concept of worship; it is to visualise the attributes of God Almighty. The more you become familiar with them, the more lovable God appears to you.
A person acquires greater wisdom and evolves to a higher spiritual state through the worship of God Almighty. He becomes a better person and acquires a clear vision of life.
However, we should keep in mind that God is in no need of our worship or devotion. It is for our own good that we are required to worship Him.
The purpose of our creation is therefore, to do what He wants us to do. If we act upon His commandments, He rewards us abundantly, because to act upon good advice is only for the benefit of the one who accepts the advice. It has to be remembered also that God always directs us to perform those actions that are good and beneficial. Every good has some innate rewards and benefits.
Therefore those who obey God, do not obey to satisfy God’s ego, but they obey Him for their own ultimate good.
MARY—Does God punish us if we do not act upon His Commandments and commit a sin or a crime?
BUSHRA—God is very kind to His creation. He loves us and we should love Him too. The Holy Quran tells us that He is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful, but when people exceed the limits in mischief, wrongdoings, arrogance or persecution of the innocent people, then God’s wrath is roused against such people and they are sometimes punished in this world, in addition to their chastisement in the Hereafter.
MARY—If someone commits an offence against us, what should be our response? Should we punish that person or should we forgive him?
BUSHRA—The point to remember is that the ultimate purpose of punishment is reformation and not vengeance.
Salma, please bring the Holy Quran so that I can recite a verse of the Holy Quran which deals with the subject of revenge and punishment.
Salma went inside and brought a copy of the Holy Quran.
BUSHRA—This is the Holy Book, the actual word of God revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. In Chapter 42 Allah says:
وَجَزٰٓؤُا سَیِّئَۃٍ سَیِّئَۃٌ مِّثۡلُہَا ۚ فَمَنۡ عَفَا وَاَصۡلَحَ فَاَجۡرُہٗ عَلَی اللّٰہِ
And the recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof; but whoso forgives and his act brings about reformation, his reward is with Allah (42:41)
According to the teachings of the Holy Quran, therefore, if a person commits a crime against you, then you have every right to take revenge as long as you remain within the limits of justice and fair play and your revenge does not exceed, in severity, the wrong done to you.
Moreover, your actions should also correspond with the prescribed law. You are not allowed to take the law into your own hands.
Allah also states that there is a better course open for you. You have the choice to forgive the wrongdoer provided that your forgiveness results in reformation and does not encourage him to commit even greater crimes.
If you are kind to a thief, he will surely continue to steal from other people or may even kill for money. So by being kind to him, you in fact become unkind to society. You are also unkind to him by encouraging him to commit further crimes and making him a hardened criminal. It is evident, therefore, that the exercise of mercy and kindness requires prudence and wisdom.
Let me tell you a story, which my mother told me when I was a child.
Once a habitual thief, who had turned into a murderer, was brought to trial and condemned to death. As was the custom in those days, he was granted his last wish. He said that he wanted to have a word in his mother’s ear. So when his mother went near him, instead of saying something in her ear, he bit her ear very hard, almost severing her ear. People rebuked him for yet another heinous crime.
People asked him the reason for his action. He said that his mother was to blame for his bad actions as she never tried to correct his behaviour or punish him for his misconduct when he was a child. She shut her eyes to his earlier crimes and thus practically encouraged him to commit further crimes.
The people, who were present there, were amazed to hear his answer.
Had the mother of that boy acted wisely and not shown kindness and love to her child excessively, and had she chastised him on his earlier crimes, he might not have turned into a criminal.
Her action towards her son, therefore, cannot be called an act of kindness or love; rather it was an act of cruelty in disguise.
It becomes evident from this story that mothers, who show excessive kindness or love to their children while knowing that their children were involved in some anti-social behaviour, do more harm to their children than good.
MARY—I totally agree.
BUSHRA—Unfortunately some people have an erroneous notion of their religious teachings and they present God as One Who is Love and thus always treats sinners with forgiveness. As such, they think that they present a better and more attractive image of God. This is not true. God, Who exercises love without balance and discipline, would be more like a sentimental mother who inadvertently encourages her child to become corrupt and cruel by being excessively kind to the child. It is not just kindness; it is the wisdom of God which keeps His attributes in balance and creates a perfect image of beauty.
God always looks at our actions in a comprehensive way. We humans cannot comprehend the implications of our sins or crimes. Only God is in a right position to judge our actions and punish or forgive if He so desires, in the most equitable way, as He alone is aware of the intentions and circumstances which have led a person to commit a crime or sin.
We must never forget that God is All Powerful. He can forgive us if He so desires. Whenever it is wise to forgive, He forgives, but you cannot expect mercy from Allah if that mercy brings misery to others. He therefore forgives those who repent sincerely. We should therefore make it a habit to ask forgiveness from God.
SALMA—I always pray to God Almighty and ask for His mercy and forgiveness.
BUSHRA—We should all pray to Allah for forgiveness and ask His help in everything we do.
Remember when I say Allah I mean the same Creator, to whom you refer to as God in English. He is the only Lord, call Him Allah or by any other name. He listens to everyone who prays to Him.
MARY—How can we know what God wants us to do? How can we lead our lives to please Him?
BUSHRA—God wants us to lead our lives as He deems best for us. If we love God, we would like to follow His commandments willingly because therein lies our own good. We would be very careful not to do anything so as to risk losing His favour. We will always try to win His pleasure. He is so kind to us that He has sent Messengers to act as models for us.
Abraham, peace be upon him, was a model for us. Moses, peace be upon him, was a model for us. Jesus, peace be upon him, too, was a model for us and so were all Prophets of God, who came into this world from time to time. Unfortunately, the lifestyles of previous Prophets have not been fully preserved. Their teachings, too, have altered with the passage of time.
The good news is that the Holy Book of Islam, by design of Allah, escaped this fate. The Holy Quran is exactly the same as was presented to the world by the Holy Founder of Islam. The Muslims believe it to be the word of God. The non-Muslims believe it to be the word of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, yet there is no dispute that it is exactly the same as when it was revealed.
As such, all those who believe in this eternal Truth, can act upon its teachings with full confidence because it has not been altered or interpolated.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who is the last Law bearing Prophet, is therefore the most perfect model for us, for all times to come. His lifestyle is a guide for us because he acted upon whatever is contained in the Quran.
It can be concluded therefore that though we cannot see Almighty God with our physical eyes, we can lead our lives by following the Prophet’s example.