Page 41 - Faith: The Way to Happiness

The Unhappiness of the Society of the Ignorant

power, beauty, ability or intelligence; it is Allah alone Who possesses
all these qualities. Because of this, when the person is in trouble and
when he wants help, Allah is the only One Who can help him. When
he says, "I am thinking," Allah is the One Who inspires his thoughts.
When he acts in any way, it is Allah Who really makes him perform
the action. When he eats a tasty meal, it is Allah Who creates the
food and the flavor. Again it is Allah Who ensures that the meal is
prepared for him. When he falls sick, it is not really the germ which
makes him ill but Allah. It is Allah, not the doctor, Who cures him
and makes him well. When he sets fire to a piece of paper with a
l i g h t e r, it is not the flame of the lighter which burns the paper but
Allah. When one wears beautiful clothing, it is Allah Who makes
one seem beautiful.
It is possible to multiply these examples a hundredfold. There is
a point here which must not be misunderstood. Of course, when a
person is ill he goes to the doctor, but he should understand very
clearly that it is not the doctor who makes him well. It may be a per-
son's mother who pre p a res a meal, but it is Allah Who causes the
meal to be cooked and prepares the reasons for the person to be fed.
T h e re is a cause and effect relationship between events. However,
Allah has created one by one the effects and the causes which give
rise to the effect. People need to ponder over this fact and grasp it.
Nobody has the power, ability or intelligence to do anything inde-
pendently of Allah. Since Allah is the owner of everything, He is also
the only One Who does everything and causes everything to be
done. In a large number of verses, Allah warns us that in reality crea-
tures set up as false gods have no power at all:
Do they make things into partner-gods which cannot create
anything and are themselves created, which are not capable

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