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this world is no more than an illusion.
[3:185] Every person tastes death, then you receive your recompense on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever misses Hell, barely, and makes it to Paradise, has attained a great triumph. The life of this world is no more than an illusion.
This verse says that if we barely miss hell and make it to heaven, we have attained a great triumph. It highlights and confirms the extent and density of illusion in this worldly life.
How many people are actually seeking the right path? We are blessed to be searching for God’s guidance, because somewhere in our heart we were on the lookout for the truth, the right path. We know, as per God’s system, we need to first decide to believe that God alone is sufficient for us and only then God will guide us.
[2:213] The people used to be one community when GOD sent the prophets as bearers of good news, as well as warners. He sent down with them the scripture, bearing the truth, to judge among the people in their disputes. Ironically, those who received the scripture were the ones who rejected any new scripture, despite clear proofs given to them. This is due to jealousy on their part. GOD guides those who believe to the truth that is disputed by all others, in accordance with His will. GOD guides whoever wills in a straight path.
Belief is not limited to belief in God. Many people believe in God, yet they are going to hell. Unfortunately, despite their belief in God, they still commit idol worship (12:106), and idol worship is unforgivable if maintained until death.
They Believe in God
Yet, They Are Going to Hell
[39:38] If you ask them, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they will say, “GOD.”
Say, “Why then do you set up idols beside GOD? If GOD willed any adversity for me, can they relieve such an adversity? And if He willed a blessing for me, can they prevent such a blessing?” Say, “GOD is sufficient for me.” In Him the trusters shall trust.
Further, we must totally submit to God. Emphasis on totally:
[39:17] As for those who discard the worship of all idols, and devote themselves totally to GOD alone, they have deserved happiness. Give good news to My servants.
[39:54] You shall obey your Lord, and submit to Him totally, before the retribution overtakes you, then you cannot be helped.
[4:64] We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed in accordance with GOD’s will. Had they, when they wronged their souls, come to you and prayed to GOD for forgiveness, and the messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would have found GOD Redeemer, Most Merciful. [4:65] Never indeed, by your Lord; they are not believers unless they come to you to judge in their disputes, then find no hesitation in their hearts whatsoever in accepting your judgment. They must submit a total submission.
I want to be successful in life. I want to be happy in life. Being successful means the achievement of desired/planned visions and goals.
One person defined success as follows: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” Success is an attitude. Success requires maximum effort.
Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. Different people feel happiness for different reasons.
For some, happiness is linked to success. But we see many people in the world after achieving what they desire are not happy and content.
The reason is simple, no matter what amount of material success one attains,
unless the soul is happy, the person cannot be happy.
[100:6-11] The human being is unappreciative of his Lord. He bears witness to this fact. He loves material things excessively. Does he not realize that the day will come when the graves are opened? And all secrets are brought out. They will find out, on that day, that their Lord has been fully Cognizant of them.
This worldly life is such an illusion, but despite knowing the facts we sometimes can’t hold ourselves back. We may feel we will be “left behind.” Also, this chase is endless as we are all chasing a moving number. The moment you achieve a number, you realize that this is not enough, and you want more.
[74:11-15] Let Me deal with one I created as an individual. I provided him with lots of money. And children to behold. I made everything easy for him. Yet, he is greedy for more.
We also see that we have been brought up to believe that without material success there is no life and no respect. We are taught that the most respectable person is the one whose net worth is highest. When you are doing a business deal and you are the bigger company of the two, you demand more respect and you dictate the terms. Hence, we demand respect and preference if we are more “successful” than others, not realizing that this material wealth is just a test.
There is no harm in seeking material success, but we need to ask ourselves what is the limit? Are we ready for what we are asking? What is the cost of it? We need to understand with every resource that we have comes responsibility and answerability to God. Are we ready for it? Are we ready to give up our horses forever if we missed one contact prayer, as Solomon did (38:34)?
We need to understand that God has defined a system for everything and predetermined everything even before our
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