Piety is Stronger

We’re all created different by Allah, all of us with our strengths and weakness. Infact, the heterogeneity of all of us makes this world an interesting place. Some people are athletic, some are creative, and some are very intelligent. An athletic guy can find it difficult to cook for himself, when a not so healthy guy can cook whatever he wants. We all have our weaknesses and strengths, and that’s how Allah created us.

And these strengths do bring us accomplishments in life. Maybe a qualification, a medal, and a lot of praise. And every time there is an achievement, there is so much praise surrounding the one who’ve achieved it, rather than the one who blessed the performance. And we eventually become deluded by such praises, and these praises somehow forces us to associate these strengths to ourselves. The accomplishments we’ve achieved, no longer seems to be a blessing of Allah, but a result of our perseverance.

There is something I'd like to share regarding associating any such Allah's grace to ourselves, rather than to Allah.

This verse in the Qur'an says:

الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ.....

“Allaziina izaa asaabathum museebatun…” (who, When a suffering visits him….)

The word museebat has a very interesting meaning:

“It comes from a Arabic verb اَصَا ب (Asaba) , which actually means ‘to hit a target’ or ‘to correctly hit a target’. And the Quran is very strategic in using this word……………to suggest that whatever thing has struck has struck right on target” – Nouman Ali Khan

Whenever whatever calamity strike us, was designed for us, and it struck us, right on time, and in no way there was a better way things could work out. Whatever should have happened, happened!

The specific designation of a calamity to an individual, forces me to relate it to specific designation of strengths to an individual. In fact, I feel that sometimes the calamity is designed to break the delusion that we’ve been building around our strength, forgetting how it was a blessing from Allah, and he can easily take away what he blessed us with.

A very intelligent student fails in an examination he expected, he would’ve aced; the athletic guy falls ill, and is no longer able to continue his scheduled training; a famous businessman, who is known for his ultra-rich lifestyle faces losses and is now bankrupt.

And the circumstances surrounding these calamities are often uncontrollable by us. The very control we thought we established because of our strengths, is taken away by Allah. It’s Allah’s way of showing us, "who’s in charge".

Dr. Mohammed Rateb Al-Nabulsi, a scholar from Syria, says somethings remarkable, in this regard:

“When you feel, that you have experience, that you have certain strengths, when you say اَنَا (I), when you refer Allah’s grace to yourself, not to Allah Almighty, this is the reason for your weakness, and when you refer Allah’s grace to Allah, and when you declare your lack to Allah, this is the secret of your strength………………..when you refer, Allah’s grace to Allah and you admit Allah’s grace, Allah will come to you, you become strong, you become superior. But if you refer Allah’s grace to your effort and your hard work and staying up and your intelligence and your long experience and you are son of someone and be proud of someone else, and not Allah, Allah will leave you”

And he further goes on to explain, how different consequences, the companion of Prophet Mohammed ﷺ faced in Battle of Badr, and Battle of Battle of Hunain, just because they had a difference in perception.

“Allah certainly supported you at Badr when you were weak. So, fear Allah that you may be grateful” (Quran 3:123)

"Allah has surely blessed you with His help on many battlefields, and on the day of Hunain, when you were proud of your great number, then it did not help you at all, and the earth was straitened for you despite all its vastness, then you turned back on your heels." (Quran 9:25)

Same people, rather in greater number at the time of Battle of Hunain, but with different perception, faced different consequence. A different consequence, just because they relied on their vast number, rather than relying on Allah.

(Companions of Messenger ﷺ are in the purest form of safety from Allah, and any action they took was nothing but a lesson for us to learn from. Any form of ill thinking towards them is not likeable.)

Acknowledging your weakness to Allah, that he alone is the owner of whatever he blessed us with, is in fact the ultimate secret of Success.

And interestingly, the ayah that we are discussing ends with such acknowledgement.

.....قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“.... Qaalu, inna lillahi, wa inna ilaihi rajioon”

say: “We certainly belong to Allah, and to Him we are bound to return.”

We, with all out strength and possessions, belong to Allah, and to him, we will return.

I would like to add a dua from Prophet Mohammed ﷺ, in which he declares his weakness to Allah:

اَللّٰھُمَّ إِلَیْکَ أَشْکُوْا ضَعْفَ قُوَّتِیْ، وَ قِلَّةَ حِیْلَتِیْ، وَھَوَانِیَ عَلیَ النَّاسِ، یَآ أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِیْنَ أَنْتَ رَبُّ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِیْنَ، وَأَنْتَ رَبِّیْ إِلَی مَنْ تَکِلُنِیْ؟ إِلی بَعِیْدٍ یَّتَجَھَّمُنِیْ، أَم إِلی عَدُوٍّ مَّلَّکْتَہُ أَمْرِیْ؟ إِن لَّمْ یَکُنْ بِکَ عَلَیَّ غَضَبٌ فَلا أُبَا لِیْ، وَلَکِنْ عَافِیَتُکَ ھِیَ أَوسَعُ لِیْ، أَعُوْذُ بِنُوْرِ وَجْھِکَ الَّذِیْ أَشْرَقَتْ لَهُ الظُّلُمَاتُ، وَصَلُحَ عَلَیْهِ أَمْرُالدُّنْیَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، مِنْ أَنْ یَنْزِلَ بِیْ غَضَبُکَ، أَوْ یَحِلَّ عَلَیَّ سَخَطُکَ، لَکَ الْعُتْبَی حَتّٰی تَرْضٰی وَ لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِکَ

O Allah! I complain to you of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and humiliation before the people. O Most Merciful! The Lord of the weak and my Lord too! To whom have You entrusted me? To one who does not care for me? Or have You appointed my enemy as master of my affairs? So as long as You are not angry with me, I care not. Your favor is abundant for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face, by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or your displeasure descend upon me. I desire your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power (to do good) and no might (to refrain from evil) except with You. (Ar-Raheeq-Al-Makhtum)