Page 75 - The Truth of the Life of This World

ly based on unsound grounds in ignorant societies, namely societies in
which people do not accept the Qur'anic way of life: "friendships" are sole-
ly romantic relationships in which both sexes seek emotional satisfaction.
Yet, marriages are usually based on mutual material benefits. Many women
try to find a "prosperous man" in expectation of a high standard of living.
For such a purpose, a young girl may easily accept to be the life-long
spouse of someone for whom she has no affection. On the other hand,
what a man seeks in a woman is very often "good looks".
Yet the rationale behind the viewpoint of an ignorant society neglects a
crucial fact: all these materialistic values are eventually doomed to perish;
Allah can take back the fortune of a man in a moment. Similarly, it takes
but a few seconds to lose good looks; as city dwellers, for instance, our
daily commuting to and from work can at any time be thwarted by an acci-
dent that may leave hideous and permanent scars on the face. Time, mean-
while, deals irrecoverable damage to our health, strength and beauty.
Under such unpredictable conditions, what consequences are there in a
system based on purely materialistic values? For instance, think of a man
who only marries a woman because he is impressed by her good looks.
What would he think if her face is badly injured in an accident? Would he
leave her when wrinkles start to appear on her face? The answers no doubt
reveal the unreasonable basis of materialistic thinking.
A marriage becomes precious when it is intended purely to obtain the
good pleasure of Allah. Otherwise, it becomes a burden both in this world

and the next. If not in this world, man will ultimately understand in the
hereafter that this is an improper way for the human soul. Yet, this will be
too late; on the day of judgement, he would hold his wife, to whom he
felt so close in this world, a ransom for his own salvation. The terror of
that day will render all relations in this world meaningless. Allah gives a
detailed account of the relationships between immediate family members
on the day of judgement in the following verse:
Though they will be put in sight of each other, the wrongdoer's desire will
be: would that he could redeem himself from the penalty of that Day by (sac-
rificing) his children, wife and his brother, kindred who sheltered him...
(Surat al-Ma'arij: 11-13)

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