Giving this world to everyone and giving the afterlife to believers | ISLAMHUDAA

Giving this world to everyone and giving the afterlife to believers

﴿We each support these and those from the gift of your Lord, and the gift of your Lord is not forbidden.﴾[Al-Isra: 20]

Introduction:

God Almighty commanded all people to worship Him. God Almighty said:﴿O people, worship your Lord who created you and those before you that you may become righteous.﴾[Al-Baqarah: 21].

Al-Qurtubi, may God have mercy on him, said:“It is general to all people, so His address is to the believers by continuing worship, and to the disbelievers by starting it, as God Almighty says:﴿Worship﴾He commanded us to worship Him, and worship here means uniting Him and adhering to the laws of His religion.”[1]Whoever neglects to achieve servitude to God Almighty will be deprived of the gift of divine blessings, and the Holy Qur’an came as a reminder of the greatest blessings that God has bestowed upon them of creation and provision. To alert their minds to the fact that He is unique in it and no one else, for He alone is worthy of worship, as in His Almighty saying:﴿O people, remember the blessings God has bestowed upon you. Is there any creator other than God who provides for you from the heavens and the earth? There is no god but Him. How can you be saved?﴾[Fatir: 3].

Ibn Kathir, may God have mercy on him, said:“The Almighty alerts His servants and guides them to infer His monotheism by singling out worship for Him, just as He is independent of creation and provision, so let Him be worshiped alone, and no other idols, equals, or fetishes should be associated with Him. That is why He said:﴿There is no god but Him, so how can you be misled?﴾; That is: How can you be misled after this statement and the clarity of this proof?[2].

The reference for guiding people is the rule and management of God Almighty in the affairs of His creation. He has the command before and after, and God Almighty has spoken the truth:﴿It is not your responsibility to guide them, but God guides whom He wills.﴾[Al-Baqarah: 272].

Ibn Baz, may God have mercy on him, said: “It means the guidance of success, the guidance of casting light into the heart, the guidance of contentment with the truth. This is in the hand of God and no one has possession of it. As for the guidance of conveyance and clarification, God has placed it in the hand of the messengers. He guides, and the messengers guide with conveyance and clarification.”[3].

Sayings of scholars regarding the interpretation of the verse in question:

Al-Baghawi, may God have mercy on him, said:“﴿We both support these and those﴾[Al-Isra: 20]; That is: We provide support to both groups, those who want this world and those who want the Hereafter. ﴿From the gift of your Lord﴾; That is: He provides for both of them, then their circumstances differ in fate.﴿And it was not the gift of your Lord﴾Your Lord’s provision,﴿Forbidden﴾: Forbidden from His servants, so what is meant by giving is giving in this world, otherwise the infidels have no share in the afterlife.”[4].

Ibn Kathir, may God have mercy on him, said:“The Almighty says:﴿No﴾;That is: each of the two groups who wanted this world and those who wanted the afterlife, We provide them with what they are in﴿From the gift of your Lord﴾;That is: He is the disposer of affairs, the ruler, who does not oppress, so He gives everyone what they deserve of misery and happiness, and there is no one who can oppose or prevent what He gives, nor change what He wants, and that is why He said:﴿And the gift of your Lord is not prohibited﴾; That is: prohibited; That is: no one will prevent it and no one will repel it.”[5].

The educational features deduced from the verse in question:

First: The greatness of God Almighty’s mercy toward His servants, believers and unbelievers, is evident in making available to them various apparent and hidden blessings in this world. God Almighty said:﴿Have you not seen that God has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth and bestowed upon you His blessings, apparent and hidden?﴾[Luqman: 20].

Al-Saadi, may God have mercy on him, said: “The Almighty bestows His blessings upon His servants, and calls them to be grateful for them, to see them, and not to be heedless of them, so He said:﴿Didn’t you see?﴾; That is: you watch and see with your eyes and hearts.﴿Indeed, God has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens﴾,Of the sun, moon, and stars, all of them are harnessed for the benefit of the people.﴿And whatever is on earth﴾Of animals, trees, plants, rivers, minerals, and the like; As God Almighty said:﴿It is He who created for you all that is on earth﴾[Al-Baqarah: 29],﴿And He bestowed blessings upon you�﴾;That is: He blinded you and overwhelmed you with His apparent and hidden blessings that we know about, and which are hidden from us, the blessings of the world, and the blessings of religion, obtaining benefits and warding off harm, so your job is to give thanks for these blessings; “By loving the One who bestows blessings and submitting to Him, and spending it on seeking help in obeying Him, and not using any of it to disobey Him.”[6].

Beautiful is what Ibn Ashour said, may God have mercy on him: “God Almighty did not abandon His creation from the traces of His mercy, even the unbelievers among them who do not believe in meeting Him. He gave them the blessings of this world according to what He had destined for them, and gave the believers the goodness of this world and the hereafter, and that is evidence of His saying:﴿And My mercy encompasses everything﴾[Al-A’raf: 156]And his saying, as his Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, narrated from him: “Indeed, my mercy precedes my wrath.”[7]“[8].

Second:One of the greatest blessings upon His servants is that God guided them to Islam, and commanded them to follow His Messengers, may blessings and peace be upon them. God Almighty said:﴿Today I have perfected for you your religion and completed My blessing upon you and approved for you Islam as your religion.﴾[Al-Maidah: 3],Ibn Kathir, may God have mercy on him, said: “This is the greatest blessing of God Almighty upon this nation; Since God Almighty has perfected their religion for them, they do not need another religion, nor a prophet other than their own, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.”[9].

Ibn Taymiyyah, may God have mercy on him, said:“One of the greatest blessings of God upon His servants and the most honorable of His blessings upon them is that He sent to them His Messengers, and sent down to them His Books, and made clear to them the straight path. Were it not for that, they would have been in the position of cattle and beasts, or even worse off than them.”[10].

Third: The purpose of man’s existence in this world is clear to those whose insight God has enlightened, and its summary is the Almighty’s saying:﴿I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship﴾[Al-Dhariyat: 56],Ibn Rajab, may God have mercy on him, said: “The messengers were sent, and the books were sent down for that purpose. Worship is God’s right upon His servants, and the servants have no ability to do it without God’s help to them.”[11].

Slavery is an honor and honor for people and an elevation for them. Ibn Taymiyyah, may God have mercy on him, said: “The perfection of a created being lies in achieving his servitude to God, and the more a servant achieves his servitude, the greater his perfection and the higher his rank. And whoever imagines that a created being emerges from slavery in some way, or that leaving it is more complete, is one of the most ignorant of creation, and indeed one of the most misguided of them.”[12].

Achieving servitude and gaining its benefits in this world and the hereafter is closely linked to following the approach of God Almighty.﴿Whoever follows my guidance will neither go astray nor suffer misery﴾[Taha: 123],Ibn Baz, may God have mercy on him, said: “Whoever follows the guidance and adheres to the truth with which God sent his Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, will not go astray in this world, but will be rightly guided, and will not be miserable in the Hereafter, but rather will have Paradise and dignity.”

Fourth: Some people think, due to lack of knowledge and weak perception of the truth of religion and its rulings, that the infidel lives in absolute happiness and enjoys all the pleasures of the world. This is a wrong belief and far from the justice of God Almighty, and the truth of God Almighty:﴿And those who disbelieve will enjoy themselves and eat as cattle eat, and fire is their abode.﴾[Muhammad: 12],Al-Baghawi, may God have mercy on him, said: “They have no concern except their stomachs and their private parts, and they are careless and careless about tomorrow. It is said: The believer in this world provides for himself, the hypocrite adorns himself, and the unbeliever enjoys himself.”﴿And hell is their abode﴾“[13].

Muhammad Rashid Reda, may God have mercy on him, said: “But the infidel’s enjoyment is limited to this short lifespan, and his fate in the afterlife is an evil fate. This is God Almighty’s response to Abraham, peace be upon him:﴿He said: And whoever disbelieves, I will give him enjoyment for a little while, then I will force him to the torment of the Fire, and wretched is the destination.﴾[Al-Baqarah: 126],That is: I will also provide for him who disbelieves, and I will provide him with this provision for a little while, which is the duration of his existence in this world, and then I will drive him to the torment of the Fire in a forced manner, without intending it and not knowing that his disbelief will lead him to it.[14].

In general, true happiness is not measured by the fleeting enjoyments of this world, but rather by what God has prepared for His faithful servants of permanent bliss in the afterlife.

Fifth: The Holy Qur’an warns against admiring the people of disbelief, immorality, and misguidance, and the money and children he has given them, and the blessings that have been shown to them, and their thinking that it is God’s honor for them. ﴿Do they think that with it We provide them with wealth and children? We hasten to them in good deeds, but they do not realize it.﴾[Al-Mu’minun: 55, 56]Then the warning came from God Almighty not to admire them. God Almighty said:﴿So do not let their wealth or their children please you. God only desires to chastise them with it in the life of this world, and let their souls be lost while they are disbelievers.﴾[Al-Tawbah: 55],Al-Baghawi, may God have mercy on him, said: “Do not approve of the money and children we have bestowed upon them; Because if the servant is lured by God, God will increase his wealth and children. ﴿God only desires to punish them with it in the life of this world, and for their souls to be lost while they are disbelievers.﴾[Al-Tawbah: 55],If it is said: What torture is there in money and children while they enjoy them in this worldly life? It was said: He tortures them with effort in collecting it, fear in preserving it, hatred in spending it, and regret at leaving it behind with someone who does not praise him, then he approaches a king who does not excuse him.[15].

Sixth: God Almighty made human actions based on universal and social laws, so whoever knows them and acts upon them will receive the reward for his work, and whoever masters them and is familiar with them will attain their fruits, regardless of his religion or sect. Muhammad Rashid Reda, may God have mercy on him, said: “His giving is generous and extended to everyone, and there is no prohibition from God Almighty.[16].

People vary in this according to their knowledge, their determination, and the goals they seek. Ibn Katheer, may God Almighty have mercy on him, pointed out the importance of high determination in striving. He said: “The weak-minded person should not limit himself to striving for this world only, but rather let his determination be sublime in achieving high demands in this world and the hereafter.”[17].

Therefore, the believer must achieve a balance between striving in this world and striving for the afterlife, so that one side does not dominate the other, guided by the words of God Almighty:﴿And seek, through what God has given you, the home of the Hereafter, and do not forget your share of this world, and do good as God has done good to you.﴾[Al-Qasas: 77].

Seventh:Linguistic benefit: A questioner may ask about the difference between the Almighty’s saying:﴿And the gift of your Lord is not forbidden.﴾[Al-Isra: 20]And the Almighty said:﴿Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is forbidden﴾[Al-Isra: 57]; “Prohibited” is taken from: “prohibition”, which indicates prohibition and prohibition, and it is said: “Prohibition: prohibition, which is the opposite of permissibility, and prohibited: forbidden, prohibiting something prohibits it completely and forbidding it, and prohibiting it: prohibiting it.”[18]Ibn Kathir, may God have mercy on him, said:﴿Forbidden﴾; That is: “It is forbidden, that is: no one will prevent it, and no one will reject it.”[19]As for “cautious,” it is taken from (cautious), which indicates caution and vigilance, and it is said: “A cautious, alert man: extremely cautious and terrified, and cautious: alert and prepared, as if he is careful not to be surprised.”[20].

Al-Qurtubi, may God have mercy on him, said:﴿Forbidden﴾; “That is, it is frightening and no one is safe from it, so he should beware of it and be afraid.”[21]Accordingly, “prohibited” means the forbidden thing that no one can block, while “prohibited” means the fearful thing that one must beware of.