Faith in Allah and the hereafter is the basis of Islam; not just because it serves as a foundation of religion but also because it gives us the motivation to become better people. Without this fear of accountability, there can be no real goodness. Even those who do not believe in Allah, do some acts of charity because they want to maintain a certain standard of “goodness”. But such good deeds are not acceptable to Allah which are not done for Him… Therefore disbelief is the greatest injustice that people inflict on themselves…
“Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgment?” (107:1)
The greatest disadvantage of disbelief is that by distancing oneself from Allah and not experiencing His love and fear, the heart becomes hardened… so that a person cannot feel any real mercy for anyone. He becomes self-centered and selfish; being good to people only when it suits him to do so… rejecting them at will… not caring for their feelings at all…
“For that is the one who drives away the orphan with harshness.” (107:2)
As more and more Muslims have become strangers to their religion, we see a rise in materialism and extravagance. It is because a lack of faith gives rise to selfishness and greed. So you see millions of people going without food for days… starving to death… while their brothers in Islam are enjoying lavish meals a day in and day out… but they will never stop to think whether their servants have had their meal or not? What to talk of the poor neighbors down the street…
“And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.” (107:3)
People often raise this question that so many Muslims pray salah, then why are they not good in their general conduct and behavior?
Ibadah or worship is not just going through a series of acts… rather it is the connection of our hearts with Allah, while our body is also bowed in front of Him with full humility and submission. But when the faith in Allah is weak and the Akhirah ( the Day of Judgment) seems to be a remote possibility, then the heart does not worship Allah and remains occupied in other things. Therefore such a person will pray with a non-serious attitude… doing the minimum effort and giving it up at the slightest inconvenience. Surely such a prayer cannot be expected to bring any positive change in a person…
“So woe to those who pray, the ones who are heedless of their prayer” (107:4, 5)
These are Muslims by chance who pray because they have to maintain an image of religiousness. But Allah has no reward for anything that is done to impress people…
“Those who make a show of piety.”(107:6)
The disease of showing off is not just in prayers but also in other acts where a person tries to look good in people’s eyes. So when he hopes to get huge publicity then he increases his charity to huge amounts and if no one is looking then becomes the true picture of stinginess…
“And refuse to share the simple necessities of life.” (107:7)
How true are the words of Allah… we have all seen countless examples like this where a so-called generous person is behaving like a miser… but the real issue for each one of us is how much sincerity of faith do I have in my worship of Allah and in my kindness to people? We are very fond of pointing faults in others but on the Day of Judgment, the only thing that will matter is our own account of deeds. So now while we have the time we should check ourselves. Just like we check the level of fuel and engine oil in our vehicles before embarking on a journey; we should check our hearts and actions before we move on further on our journey of life… do we have the required level of faith and sincerity that can take us to paradise?
