TRAITS OF THE BELIEVERS

The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently,
and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.
In the privacy of the night, they meditate on their Lord,
and fall prostrate. (25:63-64)

We are human beings; we accepted the responsibility when we came to this earth. That means that we have certain characteristics, certain attributes placed into human beings by God. When He created us, He created all of our human traits. We are by nature selfish, stingy, unappreciative, impatient, arrogant, egotistical and angry.

• The human being is created weak. (4:28)

• The human being is anxious. (70:19)

• Selfishness is a human trait. (4:128)

• The human being is unappreciative. (14:34, 43:15, 80:17)

• The human being is stingy. (17:100)

• The human being is impatient by nature. (17:11, 21:37)

• The human being is the most

• argumentative creature. (18:54)

Since God created us with these characteristics, is it then okay to display those traits? Can we just say that God meant for us to be this way? Certainly not. The idol worshipers say,

“Had God willed, we would not worship any idols besides Him, nor would our parents. Nor would we prohibit anything besides His prohibitions.” Those before them have done the same thing. (6:148, 16:35)

We know that if we commit idol worship we will have no excuse when we face God. Thus, we cannot blame God and fall back on the excuse that it’s God’s will that we are the way we are. We need to look in the Quran to find out what God considers acceptable behavior.

We are created weak and anxious. But God repeatedly says that believers have neither fear nor grief. We need to learn to trust God. As long as we strive to be submitters God will protect us,

both in this life and the hereafter. So when we feel afraid or anxious, whether over a test tomorrow or a life-threatening situation, we need to turn to God and implore Him for relief and know that He will respond.

We are selfish and stingy by nature. God places great importance on charity. He says that He specifies His mercy for those who give the obligatory charity. We have a natural tendency to want to hang onto what we have, but an important thing to remember is that everything we have is a gift from God. It’s not really ours to begin with. So we need to be generous and helpful and considerate of others. These are traits praised by God.

Those who overcome their natural stinginess are the successful ones. (59:9)

You cannot attain righteousness until you give to charity from the possessions you love. Whatever you give to charity, God is fully aware thereof. (3:92)

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