In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

MAN IS SO IGNORANT.

MAN is said to be the best of all living creations. Seeing the life culture of today one finds the mankind living in illusions of future but seldom reach his dreams. Surely, because he doesn’t adopt the right way nor employ the right resources. Man’s ultimate desire is great success in this life as well as in the second life. A sane person will not will to be doomed. What is the ultimate aim of man? Be in Heaven!It focuses on the way of life he lives; but does he exactly know what to do and what to avoid?

What is the right path to lead a successful life, how can
he find it and where?Let us go back to the point of time when Adam (PBUH) was created as vicegerent of God on earth. The Angels labeled the mankind: one who will make mischief therein and shed blood, (The Qur’an, 2:30). Man is weak in creation as hinted at: (The Qur’an, 4:28). Man therefore, is prone to go astray with his built-in inclination to fiasco. And, then, there must be a method of overrun. It is critical that he knows that method only then he can overcome the in-built fiasco, (khusr).At another point man is so honoured that the Angels are ordained to bow before Adam in prostration when breathed with spirit of God, (The Qur’an,15:29). This implies great success is possible and promised heaven is achievable.
Then where is the problem? Why man can’t achieve his ultimate aim of success in this world and the second life? Simple answer is: He must know exactly the way of life from moment to moment that he must practice so that all his thoughts and actions qualify the divine standards of success.Is Iblis responsible for man’s doom? The answer is Yes, if one overlooks his open enmity, and befriends him in this life. Iblis is the open enemy of mankind; man wishes to go to heaven while Iblis has his mission to deviate man from heaven to hell! This tussle between man and satan is going on since the day one of mankind and will continue unabated nearly till end of
the world. Man finds satan at every point of life, to impede good deeds, and catalyze the evil doings. This is the whole crux of Man’s potential doom,(khusr). The satan’s mission to mislead mankind is decreed for practice as evident from these revelations:(Iblis/Satan) said: “O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised.” (God) said: “Respite is granted thee till the Day of the Time appointed.”(Iblis) said: “O my Lord! Because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong,”(The Qur’an,15:36–39)“. God did curse him (satan), but he said: “I will take of Thy servants a portion marked off; I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires, …….. ”Whoever, forsaking God, takes Satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest. Satan makes them promises, and creates in them false desires; but Satan’s promises are nothing but deception”. (The Qur’an, 4:117–20)Satan said: “Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way: Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies).” (God) said: “Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee – Hell will I fill with you all.” (The Qur’an, 7: 16–18)This means that living a life in this world is not that simple for pursuit of the ultimate success hereafter. It is a tough test of life to remain righteous all the way and constantly fighting the ‘open enemy’.‘Living a life’ is a tough subject and most of us never bother to look into the syllabus and scope of this subject; how can we pass the test without knowing the syllabus and study material of the entire faculty of knowledge?
Well, Qur’an is the faculty of knowledge and contains complete scope of material which God will test us about. But do we take it as our guide seriously? The answer is: ‘not all’. We have kept it only for our spiritual solace, a sign of blessings in house.Let us consider a general test model of any course of study subject in this worldly life. In order to ensure securing high pass marks we will chalk it out as under:a. Know the course name and identification.b.The syllabus and complete scope of material/knowledge and the prescribed books. Additionally, suggestive test papers, previous test questions-answers and ‘sample test presentations’ and any other sources.
c. Know the Language of the test, because the examinee can undertake test only after mastering the language or learning it afresh if not already conversant.d. Know the style of the test, venue and time of the final test.e. What is pass score and when it will be announced.
f. Based on the result of this comprehensive test, what reward will be given?g. Is there a chance of retake?h. And all other relevant information about the test so that we aren’t taken aback at the announcement of result.i. Then we do the in-depth study of the subject, covering all parts and links. And finally we take the test.
Now let us analyze our situation and see what we can do for the test of eternity, without wasting any time:
a.The test is of Belief & Iman.b.Quran is the syllabus and complete knowledge material of the test course of this life. It bears answers to all questions. Suggestive test papers, previous test questions- answers and ‘sample test presentations’ can be traced from the Holy Book. Suggestive test paper can be found in the very second generation of mankind where Qabeel failed and Habeel passed
the test, (The Qur’an, 5:27). Previous test questions-answers may also be traced from the Holy Book, two gardeners having their flourishing gardens in neighbor, one was thankful to God and the other was arrogant and disbeliever, thus he failed eternally,(The Qur’an, 18:34-42). Similarly, sample test presentations can also be found in the Holy Book, one is mentioned here – the story of Camel of
Prophet Saleh (PBUH), The Camel lived among the people of Thamud and sadly, the disbelievers who had harassed Saleh turned their anger and resentment towards the camel, and so they later killed her and God punished them with His Wrath.(The Qur’an, 27:48-49).
 Ample sources of knowledge are available in Hadiths.c.The language of test preparation from Quran is Arabic. Translation may help somewhat but it may lead to divergent understanding of the subject material. It is imperative to learn Arabic language, only then the in-depth study would be possible.d. Style, Venue and Final Test - God has destined us to go through the series of tests, spot test at each activity, it is like semester system,there is no final test. Only a synopsis test in the grave and then the reward ceremonies continue their course till the day of resurrection,exception if any is prerogative of God.e. Pass Score & Announcement of Result – it is not quantitative but qualitative, a sincere heart should feel the pass score or otherwise.f.Series of Rewards based on the test result commence in the grave and continue till the Day of Judgment and beyond. Paradise for the successful and hell for the unfortunate. The reward is categorized in three levels as given in the Sura Al-Waqi’ah, chapter 56; The Elevated and The Right Handed in paradise, and The left Handed in Hell.g.The facility of retake is available till moment before last breath but not after that. Repentance of Prophet Adam (PBUH) and forgiveness from God is well known by all, (The Qur’an, 7:23, 2:37).h. The entire test paper is, in fact, ‘out’ and there is no secret question,no question will be out of course. Complete set of answers is found in the life style of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).(The Qur’an, 33:21).Another good news is that marking is ‘lenient’ with benefit and favour to the ‘examinee’.And last of all, the final announcement will be made on the day of judgment in a unique way; the successful will receive the result card in right hand while the unsuccessful one will be handed in left hand.i. Unlimited sources of knowledge are available for preparation of this critical test of the world which will carve the reward in the hereafter.It only requires a link with the best of all teachers as believed by Dr Allama Iqbal:
"Ki MUHAMMAD se wafa tu ne to hum tere hain--ye jahan cheez hai kia loh-o-qalam tere hain" – it is in fact a poetic expression of the verse – (The Qur’an, 3:31).
CONCLUSION: The object of this test model is an attempt to present the ‘a-b-c’ of the eternal success in such an understandable way as to ascertain that it is in fact easy and practicable. Deen is not only set of worship rituals but it also encompasses all and every aspect and question of life. Our Deen is Islam which is chosen and liked by God, hence it is just certain that this Deen is our savior.All answers are available in life style of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).Man can pass the life test for eternal success with thorough study and understanding of the course syllabus book, The Qur’an. But, it is in Arabic ,hence not well understood by non Arabic people of e.g; Pakistan. Here lies the real point, when we can learn bulk of books for university studies including new languages, we can easily learn Quran! We must understand it only then we can practice it well to pass the eternal test of life. Learn Arabic!
Let us make a point to ensure that all people in our circle, house hold and acquaintance , start learning Arabic language. May God make it easy. We cannot understand or comprehend our Deen well in true perspective without understanding Quran, and to understand Quran we have to learn Arabic language. Some grammar rules and vocabulary to understand the message of the quranic verses may suffice for a common reader of the Quran. Others may like to learn the Arabic Language in depth for analytical study.The educational institutions, mosques, NGO’s and madrassas and alike can play a vital role in promoting language learning facilities. Of course, the will of Government and Authoritarians is the main driving force essentially required to maintain the impetus.
I humbly seek refuge of Allah against any improper or incorrect expression of the subject material.
Courtesy:Niaz Kiyani,This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
NOTE:1. Nevertheless, Arabic learning is not the only way to ultimate success, men of any kind, creed or language can possibly achieve the pleasure of God, The Most Merciful.2. The final position of every human is awarded by God, irrespective of any life style as realm of heart and soul is best known by God alone; deciding fate of any is prerogative of God Himself
Compiled,edited and adapted by Khalid Latif,www.thekhalids,org

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