Which category of people are you?

Man can conveniently be divided into two main categories: The obedient who are true believers and disobedient with weak faith or even non believers. And then again we have obedient living a happy and contended life and others living in misery or poverty. Likewise there are disobedient who have gone astray or non believers who are living a life one can only envy or those in distress and misery. If these are the main categories and sub categories, have you ever pondered where do you fall in and why?

Let us dwell on this a little in the light of relevant verses of Al Qur'an:

The Obedient and True Believers living a happy and contended life

This is but obvious that those who are men of true faith and obey every commandment of Allah are the most blessed for obvious reasons. The 97th verse of Surah 16. An-Nahl explains the life of these people:

مَنۡ عَمِلَ صَالِحًـا مِّنۡ ذَكَرٍ اَوۡ اُنۡثٰى وَهُوَ مُؤۡمِنٌ فَلَـنُحۡيِيَنَّهٗ حَيٰوةً طَيِّبَةً​ ۚ وَلَـنَجۡزِيَـنَّهُمۡ اَجۡرَهُمۡ بِاَحۡسَنِ مَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ 

(16:97) Whosoever acts righteously - whether a man or a woman - and embraces belief, We will surely grant him a good life; and will surely grant such persons their reward according to the best of their deeds.

The Obedient - True Believers yet living a hard life

The second category of believers are of those who despite having complete faith in Allah, but are in misery and their life is full of tests and hurdle. Yet they cling to their faith and take their life as it comes from Allah. 

These people can be sub divided into two sub categories;

• Believers who are patient and remain steadfast in all trying conditions as mentioned in 155th verse of Surah Al Baqarah (The Cow):

 وَلَـنَبۡلُوَنَّكُمۡ بِشَىۡءٍ مِّنَ الۡخَـوۡفِ وَالۡجُـوۡعِ وَنَقۡصٍ مِّنَ الۡاَمۡوَالِ وَالۡاَنۡفُسِ وَالثَّمَرٰتِؕ وَبَشِّرِ الصّٰبِرِيۡنَۙ‏ 

(2:155) We shall certainly test you by afflicting you with fear, hunger, loss of properties and lives and fruits. Give glad tidings, then, to those who remain patient;

• The second sub category of these people are of those who have faultered somewhere and are ignorant of their faults and thus fail to repent and ask forgiveness from Allah. That is why Allah puts them to test to awaken them so that they return to their faith.  (سورة السجدة 21 )

وَلَنـُذِيۡقَنَّهُمۡ مِّنَ الۡعَذَابِ الۡاَدۡنٰى دُوۡنَ الۡعَذَابِ الۡاَكۡبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡجِعُوۡنَ‏ 

(32:21) We shall certainly have them taste some chastisement in this world in addition to the greater chastisement (of the Hereafter); perhaps they will retract (from their transgression).

The life of those who disobey Allah or are negators of Allah's commandments. These are divided into two sub categories:

• Those living a miserable life: For obvious reasons who shun Allah's guidance and are bent upon caring less about the punishment in the life of the hereafter are certainly given the taste of their disbelief. These people are mentioned in 124th verse of Surah Ta Ha:

وَمَنۡ اَعۡرَضَ عَنۡ ذِكۡرِىۡ فَاِنَّ لَـهٗ مَعِيۡشَةً ضَنۡكًا وَّنَحۡشُرُهٗ يَوۡمَ الۡقِيٰمَةِ اَعۡمٰى‏ 

(20:124) But whosoever turns away from this Admonition from Me shall have a straitened life; We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection,"

• The second category of these disobedient people are those who live a life of comfort and care less for any Divine guidance. For such disobediently people Allah cautions them that though they are being given a leverage, the day cannot be far when all of sudden they will incur heavy losses and will never be able to recover. These are the most miserly people who having lived a life everyone else envied, suddenly fall from grace with nothing in their hands. If such people do not realize their artificial pride and return to Allah, they will be the worst of man ever. Fate of such people is mentioned in the 44th verse of Surah 6. Al-An'am:

فَلَمَّا نَسُوۡا مَا ذُكِّرُوۡا بِهٖ فَتَحۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ اَبۡوَابَ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ ؕ حَتّٰٓى اِذَا فَرِحُوۡا بِمَاۤ اُوۡتُوۡۤا اَخَذۡنٰهُمۡ بَغۡتَةً فَاِذَا هُمۡ مُّبۡلِسُوۡنَ‏ 

(6:44) So, when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened the gates of all things so that while they rejoiced in what they had been granted We seized them suddenly and they were plunged into utter despair.

These are the four categories of people, one of which we are, and the rest three we see in our every day's life. Try to be the ones who are the blessed ones, men of true faith and observance of all Divine Laws as contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Let us pray that we are not tested for tests of Allah are very tough and we will never be as strong faith as required to undergo these tests. And if we are misguided or have been derailed from the Sirat al Mustaqeem, the Straight Path, then let us get back to it as early as possible, repenting and asking forgiveness of Allah. And be rest assured that Allah, our Creator, is extremely merciful and is ever ready and compassionate to welcomes anyone who repents and falls back to him forgivingly.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others life miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

Photo |  For more Q&A about Understanding Islam, please refer to our reference page: Understanding Islam - Frequently asked Q&A. You may also refer to our Quick Reference Pages to know more about Islam, Qur'an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so  that they are able to discuss issues with Non Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Posted in: Understanding Islam