Page 64 - Islam: The Religion of Ease

ISLAM: THE RELIGION OF EASE

come completely rusty and he will become unable to differenti-
ate between right and wrong, good and bad, and beauty and ug-
liness.
Another difficulty likely to arise for one who tries to please
many people is the possibility of angering one person while
pleasing another. While a person is trying to please his friends
he can anger his family and lose them, and vice versa. Or, when
he is trying to make a good impression in his boss' eyes, he may
win the contempt of his co-workers. As a consequence to all
these, obviously it is predictable that there will be discomfort,
tension, and discontent in this person's life.
A sincere Muslim on the other hand seeks only Allah's ap-
proval. It is not what other people will say about him that is im-
portant, but rather what Allah commands. Seeking Allah's
consent and acting accordingly are always the most righteous
way. In one of His verses Allah tells us of the difference between
the situation of a person who seeks Allah's consent and the situ-
ation of a person who is "owned" by several disagreeing part-
ners:
Allah has made a metaphor for them of a man belonging
to several partners in dispute with one another and an-
other man belonging wholly to a single man. Are they the
same? Praise be to Allah! The fact is that most of them
have no knowledge. (Surat az-Zumar: 29)
As it is clarified in the verse, the only suitable course for a
person's life to take is along a path leading to Allah's approval.
Bediuzzaman also declares that striving to achieve Allah's ap-
proval will always bring a very easy life:
You should seek Divine pleasure in your actions. If Almighty
Allah is pleased, it is of no importance even should the whole

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