Page 68 - Perfected Faith

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PERFECTED FAITH

value of a blessing much better and this makes him feel more grateful.
This is because, difficulty and pain matures the human spirit.
Difficulties in this world enable man to make the comparison be-
tween the good and bad, abundance and scarcity, comfort and incon-
venience. Only through these comparisons does a man appreciate the
worth of the material and spiritual blessings he enjoys. More impor-
tantly, these difficulties enable him to truly understand how much he
is in need of Allah and to comprehend his weakness before Him.
The kind of hardships through which a person can be put to the test
in this world are specified as follows:
We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger and
loss of wealth and life and crops. But give good news to the
steadfast. (Surat al-Baqara, 155)
Abeliever who bears this verse in mind prepares himself for diffi-
culties even before he encounters them and promises Allah that he
will show determination in patience and submission, and remain de-
voted, whatever the circumstances may be. His perfected faith ac-
counts for this noble attitude. In the face of fear, unbearable hunger,
poverty, an injury or loss of a loved one, he remains committed to
being contented with Allah and to assuming a grateful manner to-
wards Him. He sees all such circumstances as a means to draw nearer
to Allah and to attain paradise. One verse reads:
Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth
and in return has promised them the Garden. They will strive
for the cause of Allah, kill and be killed. It is a promise binding
on Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an and who is
truer to his pledge than Allah? Rejoice then in the bargain you
have made. That is the greatest victory. (Surat at-Tawba, 111)
A believer who has reached this maturity of faith is aware that one
cannot attain a great reward like paradise merely by only saying: "I
believe":