OCTOBER 16
Everything is a Matter of Trial
Describing an incident in the life of the Prophet Moses, the Quran states:
The elders of Pharaoh’s nation said: ‘Will you allow Moses and his people to commit evil in the land and to forsake you and your gods?’ He replied: ‘We will put their sons to death and spare only their daughters. We shall yet triumph over them.’
Moses said to his people: ‘Seek help in God and be patient. The earth is God’s; He gives it to those of His servants whom He chooses. Happy shall be the lot of the righteous.’
They replied: ‘We were oppressed before you came to us, and oppressed we still remain.’ He said: ‘Your Lord will perchance destroy your enemies and make you rulers in the land. Then He will see how you conduct yourselves.’ (7:127-129)
We learn from these verses that the Israelites, subjected to too much cruelty and injustice, complained about it to Moses, the Prophet of their time. Yet the Prophet Moses did not tell them to solve their problems through protest and demand and confrontation. He told them rather that it was all God’s doing and that they should, instead of complaining, turn to God in patience and prayer.
The Israelites reacted by asking what use it was his being a prophet. They had thought that with the emergence of a Prophet amongst them they would be blessed with power and honour. But this had not happened, and while the very reverse was happening to them, they were simply asked to remain patient; Moses then told them that the wielding of political power also demanded patience. This was because, by granting power to man, God intended to see how he would behave when invested with power.
The actual problem for human beings in this world does not relate to having or not having power. The actual crux of the matter is how good a performance man puts up in any given set of circumstances.
The present world is one of trial and the next world is that of reward. As such, man must focus always on maintaining the highest standards of behaviour regardless of the external circumstances.
