“Be More & Achieve More!”

Welcome,

I’m going to relate to you a story of a group of people who wished the best for themselves and relied on their own capacities alone.

A long time ago there was a group of people who were preparing to go to sleep and dream about how they wanted to gather their harvest early in the morning. They had eagerly looked forwards to reaping the fruits of hard labour and resolved to gather the bounty at the break of dawn. When they awoke, they called upon each other to hurry towards the garden and to move quietly whilst doing so. When they arrived, they found the garden, to their great dismay and anguish, in utter ruins. But why? What had happened?

Well, let’s hear it from the One Who Knows all in His own Majestic words, Chapter 68, The Pen:

17. Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning.
18. But made no reservation, (”If it be God’s Will”).
19. Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.
20. So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).
21. As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,-
22. “Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits.”
23. So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)-
24. “Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day.”
25. And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.
26. But when they saw the (garden), they said: “We have surely lost our way:
27. “Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!”
28. Said one of them, more just (than the rest): “Did I not say to you, ‘Why not glorify (God)?’”
29. They said: “Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!”
30. Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.
31. They said: “Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!
32. “It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!”
33. Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew!
34. Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.
35. Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?

So, these foolish and greedy people wanted to steal the fruits of not just their labour, but other people’s too, who had an equal share in reaping the rewards. And also, they had no inclination towards relying on the Sustainer, the Source of all Goodness, for their provisions but in their ignorance thought they had control over all aspects of livelihood.

But the right way is to remember that all our plan’s success depend on how much they accord with God’s Will and Plan. His universal Will is supreme over all affairs. The foolish men who had secretly plotted to rob the poor of their just rights were frustrated when their plan was foiled by the Greater Force. They were put into a position where they were unable to continue with their fraudulent mission, as a storm destroyed the fruits and trees and altered the place beyond recognition.

This is the spiritual reason behind a physical phenomena which often we do not see nor realise. We will think it an unfortunate matter of ‘nature’ that has nothing to do with anyone, or thing, in particular. But here, we are told that the deceptive, cruel and selfish motives of a certain bunch of people triggered the spiritual intervention that created the physical upheaval. The dreams of the selfish were destroyed because they thought they could cheat the poor of their share. Class struggle? Yes, the rich owners of the orchid did not realise the rights of the poor that they were trampling on so their greed was punished.

Their first thought was of personal loss, the loss their labour and the loss of their capital. They had plotted to keep out others from the fruits: now, as it happened, the loss was their own. When such greed is punished often people are ready to throw blame on others. With varying degrees of guilt, one had pointed out in moments of reflection that he had warned them of wrongdoing and defying the Will of God and the right of man.

The selfishness created an arrogance in them that they were the proud owners of the garden and this led them to forget God. However, once they realised their mistake some sincerely repented and hoped for a better exchange to what the previously had. This is the beauty of God’s Mercy: there’s always room for it if we sincerely draw nearness to Him and repent. If not, we are warned that the punishment of the Hereafter is much worse than what we witness here.

You may wonder “why do the wicked flourish?” God’s mercy is one of the reasons but there are others we can refer to:

1. the limited choice left to man’s will;
2. his moral responsibility;
3. the need of tuning his will to God’s will;
4. the long-suffering quality of God, which allows the widest possible chance of-
5. His Mercy &
6. in the final part, the nature of spiritual punishment, which is not an arbitrary act, but a long gradual process in which there is room for repentance at every stage.

All these aspects are represented in this remarkable Parable of the People of the Garden, which also illustrates the greed, selfishness and heedlessness of man, as well as his tendency to throw blame on others if he can think of a scapegoat.

All these foibles are shown, but the Mercy of God is boundless, and even after the worst sins and punishments, there may be hope of a better orchid than the one lost, if only:

• the repentance is true &
• there is a complete surrender to the Will of God.

And if there is no surrender of the will, then the punishment in the Hereafter is something incomparably greater than the little calamities in the Parable.

So now, think of the times and situations where such phenomena may have taken place in your own life, or in the lives of those you know or have heard of. Can you think of what the real reason might be, unknown to you at the time, of a particular case of misfortune befalling on anyone? It is not the nature of good people to wish bad for any other but we do need to learn the lessons of past mistakes and move ahead with a greater recognition of the universal order around us and the just rights of the people. You may now also begin to see the current global economic crises in a different way: the leaders of wall street and other major banking corporations have had to rely on government bail-outs which ultimately the people will have to pay for.

But the good will wait for their turn and are patient with testing times, for they understand that all affairs rest with Him above and know if they wish to have their dreams materialised, they must trust in God and surrender their will to His.

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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Most often people are troubled by the idea of income and where the money will come from when facing troubles and financial hardships. We can have so many expenditures and barely enough income to cover the costs. So what do we tend to do - borrow and begin incurring debts - whether that’s personal or business loans, bank overdrafts, credit, mortgages, cooperatives or any other means of borrowing from the array of financial instruments. And when the debts are insurmountable, what happens: we become bankrupt. I too have had to borrow in recent times and am the financial pinch as anyone else might be.

But even when we are in the darkest period, we have to resolve to think of higher purpose and the greater scheme of life. I was reading some passages of the scripture and they re-inforced the belief in me that the One Who made the world and is its Sustainer, is the same One who provides for all living beings out of His Mercy. Allow me to present some passages for you to consider from the Final Testament, chapter 16 (The Bee):

66 - And God sends down rain from the skies, and gives therewith life to the earth after its death: verily in this is a Sign for those who listen.

67 - And verily in cattle (too) will you find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies, between excretions and blood, We produce, for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it.

68 - And from the fruit of the date-palm and the vine, you get out wholesome drink and food: behold, in this also is a Sign for those who are wise.

69 - And your Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills on trees, and in (men’s) habitations;

70 - Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours wherein is a healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.

71 - It is God Who creates you and takes your souls at death; and of you are some who are sent back to a feeble age, so that they know nothing after having known (much): for God is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.

72 - God has bestowd His gifts of sustenance more freely on some of you than on others: those more favoured are not going to throw back their gifts to those whom their right-hands possess, so as to be equal in that respect. Will they then deny the favours of God?

73 - And God has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature, and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance of the best: will they then believe in vain things and be ungrateful for God’s favours?

74 - And worship others than God - such as have no power of providing them, for sustenance, with anything in heavens or earth, and cannot possibly have such power?

You can see so many immense lessons of life and wonders of creation given in just a few verses. When I read such words of revelation it becomes hard for me to remain at a level of grief or despair - how can I - when the One Who posseses the Keys of the Heavens and Earth and knows the finest mysteries therein is ever-watching and providing for all?

Lest we skip and forget, take note of five things that I’d like to draw your attention to:

1) Eat and drink of the good things that have been created for you and ask your Creator for health and wellbeing; therafter rejoice in the knowledge that you have been taken care of by the One who fashioned you from dust;

2) Use and develop your skills, just as the bee has to, and scout the glorious earth for the Provision that is destined for you that no one else can deter from you;

3) Use your wisdom and judgment when spending and spend less than you earn. Whenever possible invest the difference in something tangible of lower risk.

4) Don’t agonise over those who appear to have more. If they have more that’s their good fortune. Your job is to identify your calling, align to it and do your best, as anything less is where tragedies and frustrations reside.

5) Begin to foster feelings of contentment with the outcome that is destined for you; reflect and give thanks to your Maker who bestowed too many gifts to list.

I hope this helps put somethings into perspective and be sure that ultimately, there isn’t a crisis or problem in the world for which there isn’t a solution that can be found if you trust Higher Order and work diligently.

As always, for Success and Contentment,

Asad Khan

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