ALL PRAISE TO ALLAH (SUB)
MAY PEACE & BLESSINGS BE UPON THE HOLY PROPHET (PEACE BE UPON HIM)
ASSALAMU-ALAIKUM
Dear brothers & sisters in Islam
Many of us keep talking about making an effort for a worldly cause like earning money, position, fame, etc. or in the cause of the hereafter like praying fajr, giving money in charity (apart from the obligatory zakaah), reading Islamic literature, etc . In this post, I would like to cite two real-time examples from the Quran about what it means to 'make an effort'. The intention is to realize the difference between what we think effort is & what it actually means!
First, is an incident from the life of Prophet Moosa (Peace Be Upon Him). The history of Prophet Moosa (Peace Be Upon Him) has been described in several parts of the Quran and it is divided into two parts - the first part involves Firoun (Pharaoh) and the next his people, Bani Israel (the Children Of Israel). Anyways, the first real-time example occurs during the end of the first part. In spite of Firoun having seen the miracles of Moosa (PBUH)'s Lord (Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala)) several times, he didn't believe and finally Moosa (PBUH) was inspired to free Bani Israel out of Firoun's slavery. When Moosa (PBUH) reached the shores of the Red Sea along with Bani Israel, they started asking him, what's next? Because, in front of them was the Red sea and the army of Firoun were fast approaching them from behind. But still Moosa (PBUH) didn't loose hope and he was firm expecting help from Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). So at that moment, one of the impossible (for man) events in the history of mankind occured as has been described in the following verse.
26:63 Then We inspired Moosa (Moses) (saying): "Strike the sea with your stick." And it parted, and each separate part (of that sea water) became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain.
So, when Moosa (PBUH) and Bani Israel crossed the Red Sea, the mountains of water were still until Firoun and all of his army were inside the sea bed. And then Allah commanded the water to go back to its natural state and the rest is history. What effort did Moosa (PBUH) make here? We will come back to it later!
Second is an incident from the life of Maryam (mother of Isa/Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him)). When the angel (Gabriel) came to her to give her the good news of a righteous son, she became pregnant and she started living away from the people as she didn't have a husband and you know what would people say if a woman becomes pregnant without getting married. It becomes impossible to stop their tongues from spreading falsehood. The below verses refer to what she had to undergo probably a few weeks or days just before she gave birth to Prophet Isa (PBUH).
19:23 And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!"
19:24 Then (the babe Iesa (Jesus) or Jibrael (Gabriel)) cried unto her from below her, saying: "Grieve not! Your Lord has provided a water stream under you;
19:25 "And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you."
So, we see that she had to eat from the date-palm and drink from the stream flowing under her. What effort did Maryam (mother of Isa (PBUH)) make?
Well, in the first case we know that if we strike a sea, a river or a pond with a stick, hardly a mug of water would come out and the result would be a small portion of it would wet our clothes while the remaining would go back from where it came. Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) could have split the sea without any effort from Moosa (PBUH). But then, he wanted Moosa (PBUH) to 'make a little effort' so that HE can bless it. Its very obvious that the sea did not split by the striking of Moosa (PBUH) but it was Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) who split it!
Similarly, can you imagine a pregnant woman living all by herself in today's life. Its just next to impossible! Because she needs someone to take care of her needs and it becomes difficult for her even to move. This being the case, if you could read CH 19 V 25, she was asked to 'shake the trunk of the date-palm'. Leave alone a pregnant woman, even if five to ten well-built men try to shake a palm-tree, they can't do so even by a millimetre as we all know that it is very strong. This being the case, why was she asked to do so. Never mind whatever effort she puts in, the dates are going to fall. The reason is, here too Allah expected her to 'make a little effort'!
So, my dear brothers & sisters, I would like to request one & all to try your level best and be on the straight path. As we see from the above incidents, if only we make a little effort in learning how to perform salaah correctly in the Prophet's way, how to read the Quran in Arabic with the proper rules, etc. there's no doubt that Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) will definitely bless the effort. I would like to close with the following verse from the Holy Quran.
3:139 So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers.
Finally, I would like to thank Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) first and also the brother who inspired me to 'MAKE THIS EFFORT'. May Allah reward him abundantly in both worlds, Ameen.
If any of the above is correct, its from ALLAH.
If any of the above is wrong, its from me.
And ALLAH knows best!
May ALLAH guide all of us on the right path.
