![\"beautiful](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.new-muslims.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Life%E2%80%99s-True-Joy-and-Major-Assets.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMan should realize that life is temporary and that it is solely at Allah\u2019s command.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The life of this world <\/a>is one of Allah\u2019s major bounties. Life flourishes at Allah\u2019s command. As rain revives the dead land, filling it with thick foliage and pleasant vegetation, in the same measure Allah makes life full of charms and joys.<\/p>\n Life must, therefore, be led only in the manner that its Master, Allah, asks us to do. Notwithstanding its great attraction, the greenery around us should not blind us to its short life. Allah Who causes life to appear in its innumerable forms does and can reduce it to nothing in no time. The dense vegetation withering and decaying into dry, ugly stubble is a common sight.<\/p>\n From this everyday occurrence man must learn the striking truth that all life is mortal, as brief as seasonal vegetative growth is.<\/p>\n Equally significant is the truth that Allah being All-Powerful causes life to appear in its countless splendid manifestations and again, it is Allah Who ends it suddenly. Man should not therefore be carried away by the outward beauty of life<\/a>. Rather, he should realise that life is temporary<\/a> and that it is solely at Allah\u2019s command.<\/p>\n To illustrate the point further, the Qur\u2019an<\/a> cites the concrete examples of wealth and sons who are extremely dear to man in this life. They are, no doubt, precious assets and a source of much joy. Yet they too, are as impermanent as seasonal vegetation is.<\/p>\n Wealth and sons are adorments of the life of this world: But the things that endure, good deeds, are best in the sight of your Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes. <\/strong>(Al-Kahf <\/a>18:46)<\/p>\n Man cannot turn wholly indifferent to worldly objects. He is dependent upon them in leading his life. And precisely for the same reason has Allah blessed man with the basic necessities, especially wealth and children<\/a>, sources of immense physical and emotional support and comfort. However, man should not be engrossed in these.<\/p>\n Wealth and sons often distract man from strictly and consistently following Allah\u2019s way. Out of his love of wealth and children man is liable to do things which are not desirable in Allah\u2019s sight<\/a>. The Qur\u2019an<\/a> therefore, cautions man against this pitfall. Wealth and sons<\/a> are not evil in themselves. For their outright rejection implies monasticism as the preferred way of life.<\/p>\n Islam does not banish economic pursuits from the sphere of man\u2019s life. The Qur\u2019anic note of caution, nonetheless, is that man should not be given wholly to this world which might misdirect him away from Allah\u2019s path<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Islam these are rather the favours which Allah showers on man, and which render his life joyful and meaningful.<\/p>\n Man should, therefore, set his eyes firmly on the performance of good deeds which bring him Allah\u2019s pleasure. Wealth and sons may be deployed for achieving the same end. Significantly enough, Allah promises eternal reward and hope for deliverance for every good deed.<\/p>\n Any particular deed is not specified on this count. It is evident from several hadiths that every good deed, permeated with the belief in the One True God, brings man nearer to Allah<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is what man\u2019s chief preoccupation in life should be. Although man and life itself are mortal, good deeds <\/a>have a lasting effect, which may brighten man\u2019s prospects and exalt his rank in the Afterlife<\/a>.<\/p>\n Man should, therefore, realise this truth notwithstanding all the distractions and temptations in life.<\/p>\n _________________________<\/p>\n The article is an excerpt from the author’s The Qur\u2019an: Essential Teachings, published by the Islamic Foundation, 2005\/1426 H.<\/i><\/p>\n [ica_orginalurl]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Between life\u2019s countless pleasures and temptations and one\u2019s commitment to their faith and God, what is true joy and how do we find it? How do we live a balanced life? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[465,2],"tags":[2603,5702,5703,6,7,5704,5705,5706,11,14,525,15,167,17,20,2592,21,979,1959,5707,23,25,26,718,5708,27,28,5709,31,32,1963,5710,33,35,37,38,39,40,730,5711,43,46,2606,733,47,50,736,52,55,56,58,5712,63,65,5713,5714],"class_list":["post-1167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-of-faith","category-new-muslims","tag-abdur-raheem-kidwai","tag-allahs-path","tag-balanced-life","tag-belief","tag-belief-in-god","tag-children","tag-closer-to-allah","tag-concept-of-meaning-of-life","tag-creator","tag-end-of-life","tag-eternal-happiness","tag-existence-of-god","tag-featured","tag-foundation-of-islam","tag-gods-love","tag-gods-love-for-mankind","tag-gods-pleasure","tag-good-deeds","tag-happiness","tag-happy-day","tag-hereafter","tag-human-beings","tag-human-nature","tag-humankind","tag-international-day-of-happiness","tag-islamic-beliefs","tag-islamic-theology","tag-joyful-life","tag-knowledge-about-god","tag-knowledge-of-allah","tag-life","tag-love-of-life","tag-meaning-of-islam","tag-meaningful-life","tag-nature-of-allah","tag-one-creator","tag-oneness-of-god","tag-origin-of-universe","tag-peace-with-god","tag-pleasure","tag-principles-of-faith","tag-purpose-of-life","tag-quran-essential-teachings","tag-reality-of-god","tag-recognition-of-god","tag-seeking-jannah","tag-signs-of-god","tag-signs-of-gods-love","tag-submission-to-god","tag-sustainer","tag-tawheed","tag-true-joy-in-life","tag-truth-about-god","tag-way-to-paradise","tag-wealth","tag-worldly-pleasures"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Life%E2%80%99s-True-Joy-and-Major-Assets.jpg?fit=730%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ZvKT-iP","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quran-for-all.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}True Joy<\/b><\/h2>\n
Good Deeds<\/b><\/h3>\n