Reflection 27 – If They Only Knew You, They Would LOVE YOU

Globally, atheism is on the rise. People denying the existence of a God is a rising trend in nearly every part of the globe. However, there is nothing really new in the denial of people to their own creator. But maybe with the advancement of communication technologies and the unprecedented rise of various social media platforms, atheism is much more visible. Apart from those who openly reject the idea of God, I would safely say that there is a similar rise within different religious denominations, who have issues with Allah. Their reasons vary; some see wars and atrocities and complain how would a merciful God allow for this; others can‘t withstand poverty and inequality ramping the world, and so on. Although I‘m not here to debate or convince those types of people, I believe that a common thread is not believing in the hereafter. And if you look at all of these depressing issues in a strictly worldly sense, then it would be reasonable to have these thoughts. Only when the hereafter is considered along with the notion of punishment and reward that these issues get understood and justified. At any rate, my focus group today are those people, who are MAD at Allah! And before being surprised, YES lots of us can easily be angry towards our lives (and towards Allah indirectly even if we don‘t spell it out).

So what makes people MAD at Allah?

I strongly agree with Nouman Ali Khan, who summarized the root cause of most of those people as mentioned by Allah in his Holy Quran in the following ayah:

وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةًۭ ثُمَّ نَزَعْنَـٰهَا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُۥ لَيَـُٔوسٌۭ كَفُورٌۭ

If We give people a taste of Our mercy then take it away from them, they become utterly desperate, ungrateful. [Quran 11:9]

One ayah summarizes this whole mess we see around us. Basically, Allah says that when we provide people with different blessings be it health, wealth, security and so on and then take it away, human beings get very desperate and strongly ungrateful. In simple words, people are angry because of what they feel they have been deprived of. We indirectly accuse Allah (silently and sometimes openly) for the mishaps in our lives. For some, it is the dream job they never got, for others it is that lovely partner they never married, for others it is that sickness they were struck with, and the list doesn‘t stop! I would argue that the reason behind this behavior is two-fold. First, people have a self-deserving attitude. Most of us believe that they fully deserve whatever blessings they are showered with. Second, and even more disturbing, is that most of us, if not all, don‘t truly appreciate Allah nor his blessings. You and I need to always remember that we are his own creation. Allah is not obliged in any way to provide us with those magnificent bodies that can do an infinite number of complex processes so that we can enjoy our lives. With all the advancement in sciences, we are still discovering new stuff about our own selves (and we will always remain to discover). Nor did he have to create all of those living beings around us that are at our service. Please read the following ayah with your heart:

هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَسَوَّىٰهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَٰتٍۢ ۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ

“He is the One Who created everything in the earth for you. Then He turned towards the heaven, forming it into seven heavens. And He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.” [Quran 2:29]

Now, think about it! Next time when you look at sun, moon, stars, oceans, mountains, trees, birds, animals, deserts, forests, vegetables, fruits, and any other creation, remember this SIMPLE yet IMPORTANT fact: ALL of this was created for you and me. FULL STOP! How could a God so loving, caring, and merciful not love us or be unfair to us?!

SOLUTION

Before being carried out or having unrealistic preconceived misconceptions about Allah because of some of the difficulties you are going through in your life, spend some time exploring what Allah says about himself in the Quran or what was authentically narrated by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about his Lord. As we mentioned in previous reflections, humble yourself in front of the words of Allah and approach it with no biases and you will surely get a new flavor for the Quran. One that will necessarily offer you a beautiful and fresh perspective about our magnificent Creator.

PS: This reflection was actually inspired by a recent talk I had with a dear person (Mustafa Hosny), who told me that he sees my reflections as a way to reconcile people’s relationships with Allah. Frankly, it was not only an amazing thing to hear but also extremely encouraging! For me, if I can do just this part, I believe I would be both happy and proud when I meet Allah to tell him that I tried to get people to love you and appreciate you more.