Page 40 - The Solution To Secret Sorrows

THE SOLUTION TO SECRET SORROWS

those who believe. Our Lord, You are All-Gentle, Most
Merciful." (Surat al-Hashr: 10)
For the faithful, feelings of hatred or rage against other believ-
ers should really be feared and avoided because in the Qur'an, Allah
tells us that the faithful are one another's guardians: "Your friend is
only Allah and His messenger and those who believe: those who
perform prayer and give alms, and bow" (Surat al-Ma'ida: 55).
Faced with people who love Allah, seek His approval, live out the
morality of the Qur'an and devote their lives to serving their reli-
gion, feeling such emotions as hatred or anger shows that faith has
not fully taken root in a person's heart. Such insincerity towards
Allah and His followers makes a person unable to live in the tran-
quility and happiness of faith as he should.
People like this cannot at all protect themselves against the ef-
fects of unexpected events, which, in fact, they could easily tolerate.
A simple incident or somebody else's innocent mistake is enough to
enrage them. Because sometimes they see only through the eyes of
anger, they may perceive even perfectly normal behavior as infuriat-
ing. Under anger's influence, they cannot think clearly or evaluate
events fairly and objectively. More important, their momentary de-
sire to satisfy their anger take precedence before a great many other
goals. Although they know that Allah wants for them to conquer
their anger and behave charitably and forgivingly, being under the
influence of their lower selves, they cannot keep themselves from
growing angry. In the Qur'an, Allah tells people to "make al-
lowances for people, command what is right, and turn away from
the ignorant" (Surat al-A'raf: 199). Because of this, a believer seeking
Allah's approval will forgive the faults of his brothers and sisters
among the faithful, even if they made serious mistakes.
Moreover, these people shouldn't deceive themselves by hiding

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