Page 21 - Faith: The Way to Happiness

The Unhappiness of the Society of the Ignorant

For example, a person with nothing to do looks out of his win-
dow all day and watches people passing by, thumbs through maga-
zines he has already read over and over again, gossips about the
neighbors, watches trivial television programs or wastes his time
with internet or computer games, or occupies his mind with his own
insignificant issues or those of other people. Instead of using his pre-
cious time to gain the approval of Allah, he wastes it on meaningless
things which are of no use to himself or those around him. When
asked, he may say that he has nothing to do and that he does these
things to pass the time or that he enjoys them but at bottom he
knows that his life has already become nothing more than an end-
less diversion.
What should not be forgotten is that all the pastimes of worldly
life are tests created for people by Allah. The situation of people who
cannot see things from this point of view is, however, quite different.
For such a person, the blessings of the world become preoccupations
which prevent him from the pursuit of Allah's pleasure, increase his
devotion to seeking earthly satisfactions, resulting in a waste of time
which jeopardizes his chances of success in the eternal Hereafter. For
this reason people should behave very carefully and moderately
with regard to these matters. We are told in the verses of the Qur'an
about the blessings which Allah created as tests for people in the life
of this world and that we should be wary of them:
Wealth and sons are the embellishment of the life of this
world. But, in your Lord's sight, right actions which are
lasting bring a better reward and are a better basis for hope.
(Surat al-Kahf: 46)
The metaphor of the life of this world is that of water
which We send down from the sky, and which then mingles
with the plants of the earth to provide food for both people

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