Page 50 - Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

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

dren, and grant you gardens and waterways. Why do you not
hope for honor from Allah, when He created you by successive
stages? Do you not see how He created seven heavens in layers,
placed the Moon as a light in them, and made the Sun a blazing
lamp? Allah caused you to grow from earth, and will return
you to it and bring you out of it again. Allah has spread out the

land as a carpet for you so that you can use its wide valleys as
roadways.'" Noah said: "My Lord, they have disobeyed me and
followed those whose wealth and children have only increased
them in loss. They have hatched a mighty plot." (Surah Nuh: 10-
22)
No one responded to Noah's (as) sincere appeal; rather, Allah re-
veals that they hatched a mighty plot.
Other prophets and sincere believers encountered similar opposi-
tion from their people. But instead of being intimidated, they persisted
in calling them to believe in Allah and live lives pleasing to Him. Allah
tells His servants who engage in self-sacrifice only to win His favor
that:

If anyone desires the reward of this world, We will give him
some of it. If anyone desires the reward of the Hereafter, We
will give him some of it. We will recompense the thankful.
(Surah Al 'Imran: 145)

Being Patient and Self-Sacrificial at All
Times

Prophets and believers have always encountered many hard-
ships, for their people seldom welcome them. Their attempts to spread
the Qur'an's high morality conflicted with the interests of those soci-

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