Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 153
Malfuzat - Volume I 153 observe that every day hundreds of students fail in their examinations? Do all of these students not make an effort and are they foolish and mindless? Not at all. Some of them are so intelligent and bright that they are sharper than many of the students who have passed. Therefore, it is necessary and incumbent on a believer to perform prostrations of gratitude before God Almighty whenever they are blessed with an achievement that God did not let their effort go in vain. The result of this gratitude will be that a person will increase in their love of God Almighty and grow in faith. In fact, this is not all; such people will be graced with even further successes because God Almighty states that if one shows gratitude for His bounties, He shall increase His bounties upon such a one; but if one is ungrateful for His blessings, then remember that such a one shall be seized by a grievous punishment. The Difference between the Success of a Believer and a Non-Believer Always keep the principle in mind that the task of a believer is to feel embarrassed when they are blessed with any form of success, and praise God for having show- ered His s grace upon them. This is how a believer advances, and by demonstrating steadfastness in the face of trial, they receive the favour of God. Apparently, the success of a Hindu and a believer are similar, but remember that the success of a disbeliever is a way that leads to misguidance, whereas the success of a believer opens for them the door of divine blessing. The success of a disbeliever leads to misguidance because they, in turn, do not incline towards God, but rather take their own effort, intelligence and capability to be God. A believer, however, turns to God and gains a new understanding of Him. In this way, after every success, a new relationship between them and God is forged and a transformation begins to take place. Allah Almighty states: إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا That is to say, God is with those who are righteous. It ought to be borne in mind that the word taqwa (i. e. righteousness) has appeared in the Holy Quran many a time. This word is understood in light of the word maa (meaning 'with'), which appears before it. That is to say that those who give precedence to God, in return are given precedence by God and He saves such people from every kind of disgrace 1 an-Nahl, 16:129