Surety of Belief

"Verily the Believers are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger without harbouring any doubt and they strive with their wealth and persons in Allah's path. These are the truthful." (Surah al Hujuraat 49:15)

 The second condition for true Eemaan mentioned in the verse is absence of doubt. The belief in Allah and His Messenger has to be firm and unshakeable for it to benefit one who claims to possess it in this life and in the next.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an Allah has warned the Muslims in severe terms against unstable and wavering Eemaan, saying,

"Verily, those who believe then disbelieve, believe again and then disbelieve and then increase in disbelief will not be forgiven by Allaah nor will he guide them to the path." (Surah an-Nisaa 4:137)

There is no valid reason for leaving Islam after entering, except if one entered for reasons other than belief in its principles, for Allah has made two promises which clearly demonstrate the greatness of divine justice and mercy in exchange for the stability of Eemaan and patience in the face of adversity. First, He said:

"Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear." (Soorah al- Baqarah 2:286).

This statement contains the foundation of divine justice. Each soul is tested according to its ability and its own particular circumstances. A test which is beyond the human soul's ability would be, of necessity, unjust because failure is guaranteed. Judgement and punishment based on such a test would consequently be totally unfair.

Hence, suicide is totally forbidden in Islam because the one who commits it is, in fact, saying that he or she was unjustly burdened by Allaah with a situation which was beyond their ability to withstand. Secondly, Allah not only said,

"Surely with every difficulty comes ease" (Soorah al-Inshiraah 94:6)

but He also repeated the statement for special emphasis, word for word, in the verse following it. This is a divine promise of mercy, wherein, Allah clearly states that He would never continuously burden an individual. There will always be a time of ease following all periods of hardships, therefore, man is enjoined to have Sabr (patience) at all times.

It is man's impatience which drives him to act impetuously, prematurely choosing what appears to be the easy way out, even though it falls under what has been forbidden. Impatience is a part of man's nature, for Allah Himself said,

"Man was created hasty." (Surah al- Anbiyaa 21:37)

Consequently the great reward in store for the righteous can only be attained if patience is exercised and the path of righteousness is followed especially in times of difficulty and temptation.

by: Dr. Bilal Philips

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