Page 34 - Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

these things whenever He wills and that, apart from Him, there is no
power that can help them.
Those believers who are aware of this understand that, apart from
Allah, they have no other friends, or helpers, and that only Allah pro-
tects and cares for them, gives them their blessings and daily bread,
makes their work easier, and bolsters their heart with a sense of con-
tentment and security. They are attached to Allah with such a deep
love and unshakable trust that their greatest fear is that of failing to
win His approval, pleasure, love, and friendship. Therefore, they avoid
any action that might cause this by doing their best to please Him and
conform to the Qur'an's moral teachings.
In accord with this sincerity, they use every blessing they have to
win Allah's favor, friendship, and infinite mercy. Of course, all of the
things listed above are blessings for believers; however, they are never
more important than winning His approval. Believers are never greedy
for such profits, for they would give up any one of them immediately
in order to win His approval.
Some people measure self-sacrifice in terms of looking after their
own needs, desires, and comfort before considering the well-being of
others. But this view has nothing to do with the moral understanding
of self-sacrifice described in the Qur'an. When these people say that
they have been self-sacrificial in some things, they mean only with re-
gard to things they do not need, things whose absence does not really
trouble them. They may think they are being self-sacrificial, but the
Qur'anic morality is being able to renounce all gain and give up with-
out a second thought that which he/she loves the most:
You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you
love. Whatever you give away, Allah knows it. (Surah Al
'Imran: 92)

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