It is noteworthy that the religious duties have various categories. Some, while being performed for God, have physical pleasure with them too, and man is naturally inclined toward them, such as marriage, eating, and sleeping. They can be both godly and means for satisfying one’s nature. Other religious duties are not accompanied by physical pleasure but logically desirable, such as acquisition of knowledge, benefaction, helping the poor, and guiding those who have gone astray. Although such acts are not sought by desire, they are logically desirable, and if they are done for the sake of God, their godly aspects will be mixed with their logical aspects. Hence, it is difficult to acquire devotion in them. Therefore, man cannot claim that his motivation for doing such acts has been God or another factor. If man carefully looks at most of these acts performed as religious duties, he will realize that the share of logic and desire in these acts is more than that of God, and the religious aspect has been naturally overshadowed by the aspect of logic and desire. Hence an effective weapon has not been used for suppressing the concupiscence. In these acts, Satan pollutes man’s pure intention with pretense, love of fame, and other desires rendering the good deeds worthless.
Other religious duties have neither sign of physical pleasure nor logical benefits. A series of acts are neither desirable by temperament nor logic, such as taking off one’s normal clothes and putting on clothes of Ihram (two pieces of unstitched clothes) making one’s head and feet bare, quitting many of everyday habits, going round a house of stone, kissing a black stone installed in the corner of the Kaaba, sevenfold shuttle between two mountains—Safa and Marwa, compulsory stay in specified times on the plain of Mina, Arafat and al-Mash’ar and throwing pebbles, which are desirable neither for temperament nor intellect. It is God’s order that persuades a Muslim to do these acts without expecting to get a physical pleasure or intellectual benefit. This is because Islam is the only factor ensuring the prosperity and perfection of a Muslim who has been trained in the school of monotheism and inspired by the Holy Quran.
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللهِ الإِسْلامُ
“The true religion with Allah is Islam. (The Holy Quran; 3:19)”
Islam means to be submissive to God. Even if there are no socio-political as well as hygienic and economic benefits in enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, the virtue of being submissive to God alone is enough to encourage a wise man to do religious duties and to abstain from committing sins“…and best of all is Allah’s pleasure. (The Holy Quran; 9:72)”
A believing Muslim does not care whether a religious duty has a benefit or not. What is important to him is the pleasure of God. Since most of us do not pay attention to the great impact of devotion and do not know what a great blessing devotion is, we look at it dubiously not knowing that the best acts are those done for the satisfaction. We should note that those acts not having physical or logical motivation, which are merely done for God, are extremely positive in generating devotion and submission, making man devoted servant of God. We all get married but it is not known who does it for the sake of God and who does it for satisfying his instincts. We all study but it is not known who studies with the intention of promoting the Name of God and who does it for pursuing worldly goals. We all help the poor but hypocrites are not distinct from the God-seekers. In this relation, the Holy Quran says:
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِيناً مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ للهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ
“And who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah? (4:125)”
The Holy Quran further says:
لِيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيَى مَنْ حَيَّ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ
“…That he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof. (8:42)”
God’s commandments are aimed at revealing man’s submission to the Creator. But, unfortunately, man being unaware of the secret behind those commandments keeps on asking about the benefits of the Islamic laws and their socio-economic effects, which have their roots in materialism. This way of thinking is not limited to a specific period. All prophets have been asked such questions with sinister results.
FAILURE OF PEOPLE OF SABBATH IN GOD’S TRIAL
According to the Holy Quran, a Jewish tribe was living in a town near the sea and their job was fishing. On God’s order, the Jewish tribe was duty-bound to keep the Sabbath, that is, to be engaged in prayer and not to catch fish on that day. Since God’s trial is always accompanied by difficulty, it so happened that fish would come to the surface of water abundantly on Saturdays, which was the Sabbath, but were scarce on other days. The abundance of fish on the Sabbath was so alluring that refusal to catch all those fishes was painful for the Jewish tribe. “…Thus did we try them because they transgressed. (The Holy Quran; 7:163)”
Finally, avarice overcame faith and pushed the mammonists to sin. So they tried to catch fishes on Saturday with the tricks that Satan had taught them. Hence, God sent tribulation upon them. In this relation, the Holy Quran says:
فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا عَمَّا نُهُوا عَنْهُ قُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ.
“Therefore, when they revoltingly persisted in what they had been forbidden, We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated. (7:166)”
Talut (Saul) whom the Holy Quran admires as worthy king had a strong physique and great knowledge. The Holy Quran says:
قَالَ إِنَّ اللهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً في العِلْمِ والجِسْمِ
“He said: Surely, Allah has chosen him in preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique. (2:247)”
This strong man was appointed by the prophet of that time to be the leader of the Israelis to fight their enemies. Talut mobilized a great army to fight Jalut (Goliath) the tyrant, who oppressed the Israelis. He (Saul) said to his soldiers: Be careful, for God will test you through a river on your way; he who will not drink from it though he might be very thirsty will be (considered as) obeying God and will be among my helpers and entitled to God’s grace. But anyone who will drink from it is not my follower and will be deprived of God’s assistance.
It was hot, the land was dry, and thirst prevailed. Suddenly, the river came into sight and the thirsty soldiers saw a river flowing with limped water before them. It requires great patience and strong faith to resist desire to pass by a river and not quench one’s thirst for the sake of God. The river was a great test for the army of Talut. Satan began to tempt them as what the philosophy of suffering from thirst is while being near to a river. Why water, a source of life, should be banned. No, one must drink from it, feel fresh, and fight the enemies; not knowing that man’s number one enemy is his concupiscence which disobeys God’s orders. First of all, one must fight this inner enemy and then be sure that after suppressing it, God’s help will come. Finally, the pleasant sight of the river and Satan’s temptations weakened their will. Except for 313 soldiers, the entire army whose number was 80,000 drank from the river and revealed their weak faith against physical desires.
فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالجُنُودِ قَاَل إِنَّ اللهَ مُبْتَلِيكُمْ بِنَهَرٍ فَمَنْ شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَنْ لَمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي ِإلاّ مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ، فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ ِإلاّ قَلِيلاً مِنْهُمْ.
“So, when Talut departed with the forces, he said: Surely, Allah will try you with a river; whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is surely of me, except he who takes with his hand as much of it as fills the hand; but with the exception of a few of them, they drank from it. (The Holy Quran; 2:249)”
ANOTHER TRIAL OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ القَـرْيَةِ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَداً وَادْخُلُوا البَابَ سُجَّداً وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ وَسَنَـزِيدُ المحُسْنِينَ. فَبَدَّلَ الّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلاً غَيْرَ الّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزاً مِنَ السّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانوُا يَفْسُقُونَ.
“And when We said: Enter this city, and then eat from it a plenteous (food) wherever you wish and enter the gate making obeisance; and say, forgiveness. We will forgive you your wrongs and give more to those who do good. But those who were unjust changed it for a saying other than that which had been spoken to them, so We sent upon those who were unjust a pestilence from heaven, because thy transgressed. (The Holy Quran; 2: 58-9)”
The unyielding tribe of the Israelis, due to the dignity of Prophet Moses (a.s) was entitled to God’s grace. So, they had the impression that they became really honorable in the sight of God and became God’s favorites and the most devoted servants. To test them and to make them subject to curse and punishment, God appointed certain duties for them. The prosperous land of Damascus was envisaged for their settlement provided that they, first, would enter the city through a specific gate, they, second, would enter the city while bowing as sign of humbleness to God, and, third, they would say, ‘forgive us,’ so that God would pardon their wrongdoings. But they said to themselves, ‘why should we enter the city through a narrow gate while there were wider ones?’ They entered the city not only without bowing but also with their backs forward; and instead of saying, ‘forgive us,’ they said indecent words. The result was a pestilence from heaven.
PROPHET IBRAHIM AND GOD’S STRANGE TRIAL
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى في المَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانْظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَى، قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ سَتَجِدَنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ. فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ. وَنَادَيْنَاهُ أَنْ يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ. قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ الرُّؤْيَا إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي المُحْسِنِينَ. إِنَّ هَذَا لَهُوَ البَلاَءُ المُِبينُ.
“And when he attained to working with him, he said: O my son, surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; consider then what you see. He said: O my father, do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you will find me of the patient ones. So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead, and We called out to him, saying: O Ibrahim, you have indeed shown the truth of the vision; surely thus do We reward the doers of good. Most surely, this is a manifestation trial. (The Holy Quran; 37:102-6)”
This is a strange scene and a strange duty! A handsome youth, much loved by an elder father has to be sacrificed for God. What a strange order and what a difficult duty! How can a kind father throw down his son and put a sharp knife on his throat with his own hands? This act is approved neither by temperament nor common sense. But here neither man’s intellect nor does does his common sense have any saying, for it is the realm of love of God Who is the Only Beloved in the world. The love for others is subject to His permission and pleasure. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) then prepared himself for carrying out God’s order without any delay. He told the story to his son to know both his duty and to test the devotion of his son. The son, too, asked his father to do what he had been commanded and asked God to make him patient. What devotion it is! May God bless this stage of submission forever. Both father and son submitted. The father threw him down ready to cut his throat. A shocking scene amazed the whole world against the power of faith and love for God. Therefore, God praised the devotion of these two devoted monotheists. This is sufficient to indicate their greatness:
وَفَدَيْنَاهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ
“And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. (The Holy Quran; 37:107”
To acknowledge this devotion, God said:
سَلامٌ عَلَى إِبْراهِيمَ. إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا المُؤْمِنِينَ.
“Peace be upon Ibrahim. Surely, he was one of Our believing servants. (The Holy Quran; 37:109, 111.”
To sum it up, if we look at the acts commanded in God’s trial, we will not see any benefit or advisability. In certain cases, there is harm, too, like the ban on catching fish on the Sabbath, which entailed economic loss, or the ban on drinking water from the river in the story of Talut, Ibrahim’s dream to sacrifice his son, and the Israelis’ entering into Damascus. In none of these cases, logical and tangible benefits could be seen. The best advantage of the said acts lies in God’s commandments and the inhibitions themselves to be followed by obedience and submission, the result of which is affinity with God and attaining His pleasure.
Since certain religious duties are based on devotion to God without having social, economic, political, or hygienic benefits, certain acts related to the Hajj rites are aimed for revealing man’s devotion and submission to God.
One of the advantages of Hajj is that its aspect of devotion is more evident than other religious duties. Throwing pebbles at Satan is extremely effective, for he is attempting to prevent man from obeying God by skepticism and raising questions in man’s mind. For example, Satan through temptations makes man ask himself if Prophet Ibrahim’s wife; Hagar, shuttled seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwa in search for water, why should be do the same and in search of water? Or when Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) was in Mina for completing his mission and Satan appeared on his way trying to prevent him from obeying God’s order, Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) drove him away by throwing stones at him, what is he doing in Mina now? Has he, too, seen Satan on his way to throw stones at him? A devoted servant of God finds out that Satan is always on the way to steal faith. Hence, he gets ready to expel the satanic temptations from his heart. The Holy Quran says:
إِنَّ الّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ.
“Surely, those who guard against evil, when a visitation from the Satan afflicts them, they become mindful, then lo! They see. (7:201)”
I, too, as I have learnt lessons of devotion in the school of the prophets, take God as my Guardian and consider myself devoted servant of Him. I do not care whether certain act is beneficial or not. What I do is for obtaining God’s pleasure. If I am told to shuttle between Safa and Marwa all my life for the pleasure of God, I will do it whole-heartedly.
The Hajj rites, consisting of apparently unjustifiable acts, are means of trial of men’s devotion to God. Hajj makes those who follow ‘self’ and superficial intellect distinct from those following God.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلاّ لِيَعْبُدُوا اللهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ.
“And they were not enjoining anything except that they should serve Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience. (The Holy Quran; 98:5)”
