Article appeared Friday, May 30th, 2014 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation 32!" yo#s#$ %ah&#&#l 'sla%, (h)

's it co%%on to critici*e or slander people who are $ighting $or or giving +#ality ti%e to a ca#se,
-hile engaged in gossip, other people are o$ten inadvertently critici*ed to the e.tent that the
words spo/en &eco%e slander0 )o s#ch criticis%s or slander have any conse+#ences, 1ne
way to answer the +#estion wo#ld &e to analy*e the concepts involved in the +#estion0
First, let #s e.a%ine the word cause0 To #nderstand the %eaning o$ 2ca#se3, the $ollowing +#ote
$ro% 4teve 5oodier {1}, an a#thor o$ a n#%&er o$ &oo/s on personal develop%ent, %ay help0
6a#ses do %atter0 And the world is changed &y people who care deeply a&o#t a ca#se
7 about things that matter. -e don8t have to &e partic#larly s%art or talented0 -e don8t
need a lot o$ %oney or ed#cation0 All we really need is to &e passionate a&o#t so%ething
i%portant9 something bigger than ourselves. And it8s that co%%it%ent to a worthwhile
ca#se that changes the world0 {2}
A ca#se is so%ething that is i%portant, i.e., so%ething that %atters 7 so%ething that is %#ch
&igger than an individ#al0 4o what co#ld &e &igger than individ#als, 6o#ld it &e helping alleviate
poverty, helping ed#cate a nation, saving lives, t#rning aro#nd the li$e o$ a person, etc.? The list
o$ people dedicated to di$$erent ca#ses, e.g., Mother Teresa 1!10 : 1!!;" {3} aro#nd the world
is ever growing0 1n the other hand, to what ca#se did the prophets in the vario#s ages dedicate
the%selves to, -as it to help salvage the so#ls o$ h#%an &eings, 's s#ch a ca#se worthy,
To decide whether the ca#se is worthy or not, we wo#ld need to e.a%ine the p#rpose o$ the
c#rrent li$e on earth $ro% the point o$ view o$ the 6reator0 The %ost recent and $inal Revelation,
the <#r8an, in$or%s=
To >i% the 6reator" is yo#r ret#rn all together0 The pro%ise o$ Allah is tr#e and s#re
to ta/e place"0 'ndeed, it is >e who &egins the process o$ creation and repeats it so that
>e %ay reward those who have &elieved and done righteo#s deeds, dispensed in
?#stice0 B#t those who dis&elieved will have a drin/ o$ scalding water and a pain$#l
p#nish%ent $or what they used to deny. @1004A
-hat do h#%an so#ls deny, The 6reator, i.e., the 1wner o$ everything in the heavens and
earth has created a li$e $or h#%an &eings to live and en?oy0 To deny the role and a#thority o$ the
6reator %eans &eing #ngrate$#l andBor arrogant9 or not doing things that recogni*e the 6reator
as the e.cl#sive 4o#rce o$ li$e andBor not &othering to #nderstand the 6reator8s p#rpose in
creating li$e, i%agining gods other than the 6reator, etc. 1n the other hand those who do ?#stice
wo#ld &e grate$#l and do things to please and s#pport the 6reator8s p#rpose0 4o, is atte%pting
to save people $ro% a pain$#l eternal p#nish%ent a worthy ca#se, 'n his &oo/, Dont Waste
Your Life, (astor Cohn (iper {4} says,
The greatest ca#se in the world is ?oy$#lly resc#ing people $ro% hell, %eeting their
earthly needs, %a/ing the% glad in 5od, and doing it with a /ind, serio#s pleas#re that
%a/es Ces#s loo/ li/e the treas#re he is0 {5}
5od created %eDand yo#Dto live with a single, all:e%&racing, all:trans$or%ing
passionDna%ely, a passion to glori$y 5od &y en?oying and displaying >is 4#pre%e
e.cellence in all the spheres o$ li$e0 {5}
The p#rpose or ca#se o$ all prophets, incl#ding Ces#s p&#h", was the sa%e, i.e., to glori$y the
6reator and de%onstrate e.a%ples o$ how to show gratit#de in one8s day:to:day li$e0 No tr#e
prophet, incl#ding Ces#s p&#h" ever clai%ed divinity0 Nor did any prophet ever clai% that they
co#ld carry the sin o$ ingratit#de or arrogance on their own sho#lders0
Now t#rning to those who critici*e or slander those who spend their reso#rces $or the ca#se o$
the 6reator 7 how sho#ld the 6reator $eel a&o#t those who not only dis&elieve &#t on top
slander those who wor/ $or >i%,
9.79 Those who slander such of the believers as ive the!selves freel" to the
#deeds of$ charit" as well as such as can find nothin to ive e%ce&t the fruits of
their labor and throw ridicule on the! 'llah will throw bac( their ridicule on the!)
and they shall have a grievous penalty.
The 6reator does not even per%it the as/ing o$ $orgiveness $or people who slander others0 >e
calls the% perversely re&ellio#s0
9.*+ ,hether "ou as( for their foriveness or not #their sin is unforivable$)
#even$ if "ou as( sevent" ti!es for their foriveness 'llah will not forive the!)
because the" have re-ected 'llah and .is '&ostle/ and 'llah uides not those
who are perversely rebellious.
An e.a%ple o$ people who re$#sed to help (rophet M#ha%%ad p&#h" on his Tabuk E.pedition
and on top critici*ed his wor/ is given in the $ollowing Ferse0
9.*1 Those who were left behind #in the Tabu( e%&edition$ re-oiced in their
inaction behind the bac( of the '&ostle of 'llah) the" hated to strive and fiht
with their oods and their &ersons in the cause of 'llah) the" said 01o not forth
in the heat. 2a" #to the! that$ 0The fire of .ell is fiercer in heat.0 3f onl" the" could
understand4
9.*2 5et the! lauh a little) !uch will the" wee&) a reco!&ense for the #evil$ that
the" do.
9.*3 3f then 'llah brins "ou bac( to #face$ an" of the! and the" #later$ as( "our
&er!ission to co!e out #with "ou$ sa") 06ever shall "ou co!e out with !e nor
fiht an ene!" with !e) for "ou &referred to sit inactive on the first occasion)
then sit now with those who la behind.0
9.*4 6or ever &ra" for an" of the! that die or stand #&ra"in$ at his rave) for
the" re-ected 'llah and .is '&ostle and died in a state of &erverse rebellion.
9.*5 6or let their wealth or their #followin in$ sons da77le "ou) 'llah8s &lan is to
&unish the! with the thins in this world and that their souls !a" &erish in their
#ver"$ denial of 'llah.
9.*9 ,hen a 2urah co!es down en-oinin the! to believe in 'llah and to strive
and fiht alon with .is '&ostle: those with wealth and influence among them:
as( "ou for e%e!&tion and sa") 05eave us #behind$) we would be with those who
sit #at ho!e$.0
Allah as/s those who do not wish to s#pport the ca#se o$ the 6reator and $eel sa$e and sec#re
in their co%$orta&le ho%es=
)o yo# $eel sec#re that >e -ho is in heaven will not ca#se yo# to &e swallowed #p &y
the earth when it sha/es as in an earth+#a/e", @G;01GA
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{6otes}=
{1} http=BBwww0li$es#pportsyste%0co%Ba&o#t:#s0ht%l
{2} http=BBwww0goodreads0co%B+#otesBtagBca#ses
{3} http=BBen0wi/ipedia0orgBwi/iBMotherHTeresa
{4} http=BBwww0desiringgod0orgBa&o#tB?ohn:piperBoverview
{5} http=BBwww0goodreads0co%Bwor/B+#otesB24;323:don:t:waste:yo#r:li$e