The Qur’an has not said that which you have understood from one verse. It is your misinterpretation of the verse which is creating this apparent paradox. In fact, the Holy Qur’an has not said this anywhere, that He will not try people in adversity or will not change prosperity from place to place, from time to time, from nation to nation. This is a general principle laid down by the Holy Qur’an. And also Allah tells in so many words that we try people with adversity as well as with affluence. And both are trials. And then the general principle laid down by the Holy Qur’an is in Surah Mulk, that He has created life and death and whatever is in between, that is understood.
To try you and to find out whoever is fittest for survival. Whose action is better, more fitted for his survival. So this struggle between life and death and all the stages which you find, which are innumerable, between life and death, they are the scheme of things. And they serve a higher purpose. And if you remove this scheme of things under sentimental considerations, for some individual, to save some individual misery, then the whole evolution would completely be nullified. The fact is that it is this war between adversity and affluence. Between having something or not to have something. Between desire and yearning. This war is responsible for the evolution of life. If that war is removed from the scheme of things, the very first cell of life which was created 4.7 billion years ago, that would remain there and will not progress at all.
So there will be no misery either and no happiness either. No development, no consciousness, no answer to ask such questions. So would you rather prefer that? The point is that this is the plan of things applying to a much wider canvas. And if you concentrate on just one small spot in the canvas, completely ignoring the whole plan, then you are likely to be misled rather than to draw your conclusions correctly. So look at the whole scheme and then you will understand the phenomena. But this small speck is man’s soul, which is the essence of creation. Please, please speak there, yes. This small speck which you refer to is the essence of creation. No, I’m not referring to the soul at all. I’m speaking about when the children were dying because they had no food. But what is dying is not their soul. It’s the body.
In the religious, if you talk of God and his schemes, then you must admit that they live on. They’ll only change the form. Please come. Try to understand what I said. Now you have shifted your question to a different angle. Yet the purpose will not be served. The fact is that when you say somebody dies in misery at young age, that is the question. Now if you talk of him in the limited time scale which you have formed in your mind, it may be a very different time scale from the time scale you find in reality.
What happens is that if that was to be the end all, then the question could have some validity. But if according to the religious theory, that person who dies at young age only changes form and lives on in a different form, then looking at it from a different angle, from the angle of an observer, perhaps he’s much better off than those persons who were tried longer in this life because they faced greater trials and they not only faced greater trials, but they failed most often than not. So that innocent child who has died early after suffering a little while, he in reality is much better off if he’s also to be given a new life because he got rid of this miserable imprisonment in the body. So this is why Buddhist philosophy is based on this and the Hindu philosophy is based on this. And many other religions, in the Far East in particular, but some in Africa also, are based on this philosophy that the body or the carnal shape is just an imprisonment and a punishment itself.
So whoever is relieved of this, is relieved of that punishment and begins to enjoy a sort of liberty. So the point is that if there is a God only, then you can object to Him. So when there is a God, you should accept Him. And what He tells you? And He tells you that this is only a limited thing and as compared to this life you see on earth, the life which is to come has such a big and large span that this life, the entire life on earth by mankind as such, becomes a speck. And the extension beyond is so big that it appears to be unlimited as compared to this one.
So for a speck of misery, if you are to be given an unlimited life of ease and comfort and reward, is it a bad bargain? No, but some people would say we don’t believe. Maybe it’s just a myth, a tale. This is exactly what was asked of me in Karachi. There was a gathering at Intercontinental, some top-notches, so-called top-notches were there. So one of them, very sensible man otherwise, he asked this question and later on this aspect came up that this may be just a sort of opium to just keep us lulled. I said that is possible, of course, but it is only possible if there is no God. If there is no God, then why are you objecting against him who is not there? Then accept it as such. The objection only becomes valid, the question only becomes valid if there is a God.
If there is no God, then willy-nilly you have to accept this state. You can’t help it. And if there is a God, then you accept him or don’t object to him. I want to twist my thought slightly. It is already twisted. I want to twist it more. Now some people are aged, they live a good life, but yet they are deprived of spiritual and moral food. So they haven’t been given the whole intelligence. No, again you are misunderstanding the whole thing. The fact is that if a man is not given a choice, then he is not responsible for what he does or where he reaches. If he is given a choice and a chain of choices in his life ultimately end up in either some misery or some big achievement, then in one case it is the punishment which he earned and in another case it is a reward which he earned.
So why to attribute that to a fate which is not in operation at all? The fate that is in operation is described in the Holy Quran under the verse la yukallifullahu nafsan illa wusaha laha ma kasabat wa alaiha maktasabat So any concept of fate which is contrary to what is explained in this verse is totally a false concept. Because this verse is so clear, so positive about what fate is as applied to mankind and the labour of man that there is no doubt left at all. What is mentioned in this verse is la yukallifullahu nafsan illa wusaha The first thing is that no man will be put to any responsibility or obligation beyond his capacity. So if something appears to be beyond one’s capacity then Allah will not hold him responsible for not doing that thing, that is obvious.
So why do you worry about it? Because Allah knows your capacity and Allah knows whether it is something beyond your capacity or within your capacity. The rule is that he will never decide against you if that particular thing which you were expected to do was beyond your capacity, number one. Number two, laha ma kasabat You will get only what you earn. Somebody else’s goodness will not be transferred to your account. So beware of this fact and earn for yourself. wa alaiha maktasabat And for every soul would be suffering suffering as a result of what he earned or she earned, whatever way you call the soul. So this is a very beautiful, well-balanced system of punishment and reward. You earn something and you get it. You make a mistake and earn consciously and then you get the punishment.
Now here the Arabic words are in fact difficult to be translated into English or other languages. There is a very fine distinction made between laha ma kasabat, kasabat is the word and alaiha maktasabat kasabat means by itself what you earn, whether you earn it intentionally or unintentionally. In Punjabi we say, ane hat batera aagaya A Hafiz, a blind man, you know, moves his hand like this and suddenly he gets a quail in his hand. So that is his earning according to this verse. Whatever he comes by, even without conscious effort, would be his. That’s a law of a great largesse on the part of Allah. But iqtasaba means the thing which you consciously with mal-intentions do with an effort. So as far as the sins are concerned there is a much lenient rule as compared to the goodness.
For goodness whatever you do would be put into your account. For bad and evil things Allah would see to it that if you did that bad or evil thing intentionally and advertently, only then you will be punished for that. This is the taqdeer as I read in the holy Quran. So any concept of fate which is contrary to this concept is totally false.
