To start with, Islam teaches us to fear Allah and none other than Him. This is one of the tenets of the faith of a Muslim. When we fear Allah, all else falls into place. Because, when we really fear Him, this healthy fear stops us from committing sin. Stops us from committing acts of inhuman violence. Stops us from claiming to be a god-on-earth. Stops us from misusing power. Stops us from feeling superior to another person or race. Stops us from feeling inferior to another person or race. Stops us from fearing fear itself.
That�s the beauty of fear when its coupled with faith in Allah - we end up viewing life differently. We can live in a tension-free atmosphere, when our entire faith is in Allah. That He will take care. All we need to do is rely on Him and follow His prescribed approach to life. There are many who would argue that we need to be worldly wise also to survive and come up in life. This approach is completely baseless. We cannot be true Muslims and say that we believe in Allah when we continue to fraudulently see our �worldly affairs� as being different from our religious pursuits.
Islam takes care of and shows us the right path to follow as we move through the ups and downs of life. Islam does not teach us to sit in one corner and pray our way to heaven. It teaches us through the holy Quran and through the life led by our beloved prophet (PBUH) to live our life and live it well and live it as per the guidelines of Allah. His guidelines do not in any way cut us off from seeking worldly wealth or from social climbing. They simply highlight the pitfalls and the traps that are invested in worldly matters and to avoid getting ensnared in the riches of this world which will take away our sensitivity and blind us to reality.
Let�s try to understand the truth behind two very important �worldly concerns�: RIZKH & RESPECT
RIZKH:
I checked out this term: � Rizkh� with Mr.Bilal Philips: he converted to Islam and is now a leading Islamic scholar in Dubai. He says that Rizkh comprises of all that we gain in our lifetimes in terms of the food that we eat; wealth that we earn; properties that we make, etc.
Now if we really believe in Islam and Allah, then we should also be believing in the words of Allah when He advises that �We have finalised each one of your RIZKHs at the time of your birth itself. No person would ever leave this world (die) before the RIZKH is completed for him/her�. In the light of this, does it not look funny to see ourselves running blindly after material gains and trying ceaselessly to achieve the same by hook or by crook and at any expense. When the same Rizkh could come to us by lawful means as promised by Allah. Let�s think about that.
RESPECT:
�YA IZZOMAN�YASHA � WA YUZILLO MAN�YASHA� = Allah reiterates that �He grants respect, superiority, position etc., to whomsoever He wants; and takes it away from whomsoever He wants.� In view of this, what do we expect each time we look up to �people� for providing us that respect and position. What do we expect each time when we try to play politics by making those in power happy. We know better. While just praying to Allah and seeking His goodwill will help gain the soothing shower of respect in this world and in the hereafter.
In conclusion:
Normally, we all lead fear-filled lives: We are afraid of losing our jobs. We are afraid of dying young and leaving no wealth or property for our wife and children. We are afraid of losing the love of a person. We are afraid of negative comments from those around us on: our house, our car, our clothes, our appearance, our kids, our language, etc. etc. I know the list is endless.
Most of the fears in our life will wash away, if we move away from our self-centered style of functioning which teaches us to �go-for-the-kill� whatever the expense. What matters to most �worldly� people is the �resultant achievement� and not the means applied to get there. This kind of approach leaves us feeling low and small in our own eyes, even if we succeed.
The same person reaching out for a goal with an eye on Allah will be very calm and more prepared mentally both for success and for defeat. He will leave the result to Allah and he will accept the verdict without feeling too exalted when he wins; and without feeling too depressed and degraded when he loses. For him, all that matters is making the effort in a way acceptable to Allah which alone is in our hands. The results and the rewards are all in Allah�s hands.
We shall continue to try to look further into fear and related issues in future write-ups. Please do revert with your comments. I wish to whole-heartedly thank all those who have shared their views with me on reading my articles � Jazakallah-khair.