Love for the Immediate

The Quran describes an aspect of a human being’s mindset in these words (76:27): “Those people [who are unmindful of God] aspire for immediate gains, and put behind them a Heavy Day.”

The psychology of love for immediate gain was present in people in the past. But today it has become so common that there are hardly any exceptions to it. Almost everyone’s slogan today is ‘Right here, right now!’ ‘If not now, then when?’ these impatient people demand.

People who speak like this certainly do so without proper thinking, because the real issue is not that one should obtain all that one wants today. Rather, the real issue is: Why is it that today too we do not obtain all that we want? History tells us that every person who has taken birth has wanted to fulfil his desires in this world but then almost everyone left this world without this happening. In the whole of human history there are hardly any exceptions in this regard. This being the case, the real question is not that whatever we want we should obtain today, but, rather, why we are not able to obtain in this present life all that we want. If we reflect on this question, we will come to the conclusion that, in line with the Creator’s creation plan, we are not going to obtain in the world of today all that we desire. It is simply not possible.

Exceptionally among all creatures, human beings have a concept of tomorrow. This is in the language of nature an answer to every person’s question. This fact tells us all that an individual desires can indeed be obtained in the phase of life of tomorrow—in the Hereafter, if he proves himself qualified for it. But for him to receive it in the phase of life of today, in this world, has not been decreed according to the law of nature.