Helping the
Dear Ones
The Quran says:
-
“O
you who believe, save yourselves and your families from the Fire whose fuel will be men
and rocks, over which will be appointed stern and severe angels as wardens who would never
disobey what God would command them, and would do what they will be commanded.”
(66:6)
An individual who believes that a Day of Final
Justice is bound to dawn would do everything possible within his means to save himself and
his family from the Fire of Hell. Consequently, whenever he would find any of his close
ones deviating from the right path, he would hurry to bring him back. His attempt would be
at least equal in earnestness to that of someone attempting desperately to rescue a close
one from the flames of a threatening fire. The fear that his attempt would earn for him
the displeasure of others would not deter him from pursuing his objective. Indeed, a fear
of temporary unhappiness of some relatives and friends is far easier to face than the
accountability in the Hereafter if this responsibility is avoided. The Prophet of Allah,
may Allah be pleased with him, had warned thus:
-
“Each
one of you is a shepherd, responsible [to the Almighty] for [the conduct of] his
herd.” (Muslim, Kitab-ul-Imaarah)
Love and sympathy for others, if carried too far,
make an individual lazy and unmindful about religious matters. Emotional attachment to the
religion of Allah, as a result, gradually drops to a level where open violations of the
Almighty’s injunctions even by the close ones fail to move him to take corrective
measures. He satisfies his conscience by entertaining the deceiving thought that time
itself would reform them gradually. There are many who instead of reforming their kins,
spare no efforts to justify their faults. This highly unbecoming attitude is adopted even
by those who have taken up the task of reforming the entire society!
The obvious reason why people do not take up the
responsibility of reforming their near ones seriously is that they fail to realize that
true love does not demand individuals to meekly overlook the irreligious conduct of their
family and to allow them to be swallowed by the flames of Hell; it requires, instead, that
they should somehow be pushed away from it, even though the process might necessitate some
discomfort to them. Remember, anyone who remains unconcerned at the un-Islamic behaviour
of his close ones is not loving them, but is, in reality, callously allowing them to move
closer to the wrath of the Almighty.
The Holy Quran warns us that many people would find
themselves and their families in an unenviable fate on that Fateful Day. It says:
“You would see them brought before the fire, abject in disgrace, looking stealthily.
And those who believe will say, `Indeed losers are those who have failed themselves and
their families on the Day of Resurrection.’ Be informed that these transgressors will
suffer a lasting torment. They will have no protector to help them than God. He whom God
allows to go astray has no way [to revert].” (42:45-6)
We, therefore, pray to the Almighty: `O Lord, give us
of good in the world, and give us of good in the life to come and save us from the
torment of the Fire.’ Aameen.
© Copyright December 1998. All Rights
Reserved with the Author
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