Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Strive Hard We Must

94:0 In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
94:1 Have We not expanded thee thy breast?-
94:2 And removed from thee thy burden
94:3 The which did gall thy back?-
94:4 And raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held)?
94:5 So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief:
94:6 Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
94:7 Therefore, when thou art free (from thine immediate task), still labour hard,
94:8 And to thy Lord turn (all) thy attention.


As far as I know, there is not a verse that is repeated in this manner in the entire Quran; one right after the other. This is to emphasise the importance of facing whatever hardships may come our way and that relief is often close by.

Indeed, with every difficulty and hardship, there is relief although we might not realise it. There is always something to gain from the hardships we face if we manage to wade through it somehow.

This is also an injunction for us to be patient. An injunction for us to remain steadfast and to continue to strive hard although we might be free from any occupation.

This surah (chapter) is also telling us to never rest on our laurels. That we must continue to improve ourselves every single day. And of course we must always have the thought that God is ever watchful of our every action because this will keep us in check.

If this simple commandment is implemented wholeheartedly by every single Muslim, rest assured that they will always be masters instead of slaves.

Before a Muslim nation can attain greatness, individual Muslims must attain individual greatness. If the vast majority of Muslims are of sterling quality, the Muslim nation will assuredly be great. Thus to be a great Muslim nation starts at the level of every single individual. The responsibily rests on our own personal and individual person. No one else will be responsible.

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