Summary
All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon His Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.
Brothers in faith! Fear Allaah and be dutiful to Him. Always be conscious of Him and know that you will meet Him and that He will compensate every soul for what it has earned on the day that no soul will be treated unjustly.
فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْـمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ [الزلزلة:7-8]
{So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.} (Az-Zalzalah: 7-8).
Verily, every human strives for something and our strivings are of different focus and nature.
الليل: إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّى (4)
{Verily, your strivings are divergent.}
Fellow Muslims! Man’s aspiration to attain high ranks and degrees of virtue and his efforts towards achieving perfection in matters of religion and in matter of life is clear evidence of his sound mind and fine intellectual and psychological structure. It is also a sign of his entitlement to all the good of this world and the next. Such a man rises above the standard of the low-minded people, those who have no will to aim high, who are indifferent and lazy and are pleased to live on the sidelines of life.
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَاءُ لِمَنْ نُرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَاهَا مَذْمُومًا مَدْحُورًا (18) وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُمْ مَشْكُورًا (19) كُلًّا نُمِدُّ هَؤُلَاءِ وَهَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ عَطَاءِ رَبِّكَ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَاءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا (20) انْظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَلَلْآخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًا (21) - الإسراء
{If any do wish for the transitory things (of this life), We readily grant them such things as We will, to such persons as We will: in the end have We provided Hell for them: they will burn therein, disgraced and rejected. (18) Those who do wish for the (things of) the Hereafter, and strive therefor with all due striving, and have Faith, they are the ones whose striving is acceptable (to Allah). (19) Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on all these as well as those: the bounties of thy Lord are not closed (to anyone). (20) See how We have bestowed more on some than on others; but verily the Hereafter is more in rank and gradation and more in excellence. (21) }
In contrast to the people of high-mindedness is another group of people who have no ambition to seek and do good works or who seek abhorrent objectives that no sensible person would ever desire or even cast a look at. These include aspiring to commit sins that Allaah and His Prophet Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam have forbidden and warned against and aspiring to snatch away blessings of Allaah that others have acquired. These people wish to seize these blessings for themselves without earning them. They would resort to jealousy, injustice and aggression to achieve their aims. In fact, many of these are victims of ghuroor (self-deception) and believe that they are the REFORMERS and among the best of the Muslims.
قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا (103) الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا (104)
{Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? (103) Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life. While they thought that they were acquiring good by their works.}
It is from Allaah’s Mercy and Kindness to His slaves that He ordained for them, through Islaam, laws and regulations with which He shows them the correct way, thereby directing all attention to His straight path. He explained for them the finest personal qualities that may keep them away from ill intention and repugnant behavior. He promotes social harmony among Muslims by providing opportunities for each individual that are commensurate to their talent, ability and nature. He also makes every sensible person realize with certainty that making efforts to achieve unlawful aspirations is ultimately harmful to their soul and leads to a miserable life, this would entail treating Allah's favors with disdain and ungratefulness. This is in addition to the destructive war that such a situation wages on our acceptance of established Islamic norms as well as the evils and calamities that emanate from this. All this and the fact that this is the cause of wasting ones precious life away with base desires that are neither useful nor sensible.
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَا كُفْرَانَ لِسَعْيِهِ وَإِنَّا لَهُ كَاتِبُونَ (94) - الأنبياء
{Whoever works any act of Righteousness and has Faith, his endeavour will not be rejected: We shall record it in his favour. (94)}
أَفَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي تَوَلَّى (33) وَأَعْطَى قَلِيلًا وَأَكْدَى (34) أَعِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى (35) أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى (36) وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى (37) أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى (38) وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى (39) وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى (40) ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَاءَ الْأَوْفَى (41) وَأَنَّ إِلَى رَبِّكَ الْمُنْتَهَى (42)
{Seest thou one who turns back, (33) Gives a little, then hardens (his heart)? (34) What! has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can see? (35) Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the books of Musa, (36) And of Ibrahim who fulfilled his engagements, (37) Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; (38) That man can have nothing but what he strives for; (39) That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight; (40) Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete; (41) That to thy Lord is the final Goal; (42)}
During the time of the Messenger of Allaah Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, the Muslim women sought that which Allaah had made exclusively for men. They wanted a share of jihaad in the way of Allaah, to defend the truth and spread guidance although Allah had placed this responsibility upon men and given them a different "fiy sabeel Allah". Some of them may have also wanted to have an equal share of inheritance. The men for their part wanted to be given preference over women in the reward for their good deeds due to them being given a larger share of inheritance and mistakenly thought themselves to be superior to women before Allah based on the roles and responsibilities they had been given. Allaah diverted both groups away from these inappropriate wishes and wrong-headed ideas to that which would be of benefit to them. That was to ordain for each of them obligations that were suited to their nature while decreeing for each their equal share of good reward. He encouraged them to ask Him for His bountiful favours for He is the Most Generous, the Endower. Allaah says:
وَلاَ تَتَمَنَّوْاْ مَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ لّلرّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مّمَّا ٱكْتَسَبُواْ وَلِلنّسَاء نَصِيبٌ مّمَّا ٱكْتَسَبْنَ وَٱسْأَلُواْ ٱللَّهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلّ شَىْء عَلِيماً [النساء:32]
{And do not wish for that by which Allaah has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of His bounty. Indeed Allaah is ever, over all things, a Witness.} (An- Nisaa: 32).
Brothers in Islam! Some people may think that the prohibition that is in the verse quoted above is contrary to the saying of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as reported by Al-Bukhaari:
((لا حسد إلا في اثنتين: رجل علمه الله القرآن فهو يتلوه آناء الليل وآناء النهار، فسمعه جار له، فقال: ليتني أوتيت مثل ما أوتي فلان، فعملت مثل ما يعمل، ورجل آتاه الله مالاً فهو يهلكه في الحق، فقال رجل: ليتني أوتيت مثل ما أوتي فلان، فعملت مثل ما يعمل))
“There should be no jealousy except in two things: A man that Allaah endowed with the knowledge of the Qur’aan who recites it day and night while a neighbour of his hears this and says, ‘I wish I was endowed with the same as that which so and so is endowed with so that I could do as he does’; and a man whom Allaah blessed with wealth who spends it in His cause while another man observes this and says, ‘How I wish I was blessed with what so and so is blessed with so that I could do as he does.”
The fact of the matter is that, there is no contradiction between the verse and the hadeeth. This is because the ‘jealousy’ mentioned in the hadeeth is of a positive nature and it is for something which is appropriate both to the one who possesses it and the one who yearns for it. It is actually just a yearning for the like of what the blessed one has. This is lawful and not forbidden. What is forbidden in the hadith is wishing for something which someone else has until one wishes for that other to lose it. This is the disease known as "hasad". What is forbidden in the verse is wishing to have that which has been rightfully assigned by Allah to another, i.e., to CHANGE that which Allah has legislated which is another matter entirely..
One of the greatest things the creator of all life and of all things has promised us is THANKS for our efforts. Imagine that! The One who created us from nothing will give US thanks!
إِنَّ هَذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُمْ مَشْكُورًا (22)
We should all therefore fear Allaah, and hold fast to the guidance of the Qur’aan and Sunnah and direct and purify ALL of our EFFORTS in that diection in order that we may be among the prosperous ones.