Article appeared Friday, May 9th, 2014 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation !2"# yo$s$% &ah'$'$l (sla&, )h*

+ow do we react to the gi%ts that we receive, Are we grate%$l, *o we show o$r gratit$de 'y
de&onstrating love in ret$rn, A%ter receiving a gi%t, i% we do not say than- yo$, are we le%t with a
'ad or $ne.plained %eeling / a %eeling that we &ay 'e later asha&ed o%, or a %eeling that we
&ay not want others to %ind o$t a'o$t,
A lot o% so$l0searching 1$estions2 To start loo-ing %or answers, let $s %irst loo- at the de%inition o%
a gi%t3 4hat is a gi%t, The dictionary {1} gives the %ollowing de%inition,
5o&ething given vol$ntarily witho$t pay&ent in ret$rn, as to show %avor toward
so&eone6 or present so&ething 'estowed vol$ntarily or ac1$ired witho$t any partic$lar
e%%ort 'y the recipient or witho$t its 'eing earned3 {1}
5o what gi%t or gi%ts have we 'een %avored 'y, To answer this 1$estion, let $s analy7e what the
French writer 8oltaire 1"94 / 199:# said a'o$t the li%e that we are living;
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. {2}
+ow can one <live= the gi%t o% li%e, Be%ore we can $se the gi%t properly, we &$st learn to %$lly
appreciate the opport$nity o% li%e that we have, the personality and s-ills that we have, the
%ac$lties and intelligence that we have and the environ&ent and reso$rces that we have to
e.ercise and en>oy what we have3 (% we are a'le to appreciate these things, gratit$de and love
wo$ld a$to&atically %ollow %or the ?ne who has designed and created everything %or o$r
en>oy&ent3 ?nce we reali7e the enor&o$s potential o% the gi%ts that we have 'een given, we
sho$ld then go all o$t to do the 'est we can to please the ?ne who has given $s the gi%t o% li%e3 (%
we are a'le to do this, we wo$ld 'e giving o$rselves the gi%t o% living well3 To those who have
reservations a'o$t the gi%t o% li%e, the @er&an writer 4alter Anderson 1::A 0 19"2# said the
%ollowing;
Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of
my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss,
or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life
itself. {3}
+ow is li%e itself the &ost precio$s gi%t, Ban we re%lect on a co&parison to $nderstand what
Anderson {3} was trying to convey, (&agine i% so&eone is o%%ered all the wealth in the world, all
the %ood therein along with the highest stat$s and power in the world, how wo$ld we %eel, Now,
i% we were as-ed to give o$r li%e in ret$rn, what wo$ld we do, 4o$ld we 'e willing to give $p o$r
li%e, No, 4hy not, ?ne reason wo$ld 'e that li%e is &ore precio$s than everything else p$t
together in the world3 Also, witho$t li%e, having everything else wo$ld 'e &eaningless3 The
Breator has not only given $s a li%e to en>oy, +e has %$rthered honored $s 'y &a-ing each one
o% $s $ni1$e with an individ$al and 'ea$ti%$l personality3 +e has gone all the way >$st to see
how we respond to +i& %or the opport$nity to en>oy the gi%t o% li%e3
5o, what a'o$t those who %eel that they deserve what they have, or %eel deprived when
co&paring the&selves with others andCor are $ngrate%$l, Ti&othy *e.ter 194: / 1:0"# had the
%ollowing to say a'o$t $ngrate%$l people,
An ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see
where they come from. {4}
4hy is *e.ter co&paring h$&an 'eings with ani&als, Ani&als do not have the intelligence to
as- 1$estions and search %or answers3 A hog >$st -eeps loo-ing %or %ood and eats witho$t
%$rther tho$ght3 5o there is no di%%erence 'etween a h$&an 'eing who does not $se hisCher
intelligence and a hog3 The D$rEan, on the other hand, warns that the ways o% $ngrate%$l people
are worse than ani&als3
?r do yo$ thin- that &ost o% the& listen or reason, They are only li-e cattle6 nay they
are worse astray in their ways. F2A344G
The D$rEan in%or&s $s that there is another gro$p o% people who clai& that they are 'elievers,
i.e., they %ollow )rophet M$ha&&ad p'$h# and the D$rEan, yet in their hearts they have no
%eelings o% gratit$de towards the Breator3 5$ch people are called hypocrites3
9.64 The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a surah (i.e. Verses) be reveale abo!t
the"# e$posin% the tr!th o& 'hat is act!ally in their hearts( say (to the")) *+oc,
(as "!ch as yo! li,e)( inee -llah 'ill brin% to li%ht all that yo! &ear.*
Behind the scene, s$ch people &oc- 'elievers3 The 8erses 'elow s$&&ari7e their nat$re3
4hen they &eet those who 'elieve, they say, H4e 'elieveH, '$t when they are alone
with their evil ones they say; H4e are really with yo$ we were# only >esting3H Allah will
throw 'ac- their &oc-ery on the& and give the& rope in their trespasses6 so they will
wander li-e 'lind ones to and %ro#3 These are the ones who have 'artered g$idance %or
error; '$t their tra%%ic is pro%itless and they have lost tr$e direction3 F2314 / 231"G
9.6. -n i& yo! as, the"# they 'ill s!rely say# */e 'ere only tal,in% ily an in
play.* -s,) */as it at -llah# 0is Verses an 0is -postle that yo! 'ere "oc,in%1*
9.66 +a,e no e$c!se) yo! have re2ecte &aith a&ter clai"in% belie&. 3& /e paron
so"e o& yo! /e 'ill p!nish others a"on%st yo! &or that they are in sin.
9.64 The 0ypocrite "en an 'o"en (have an !nerstanin%) 'ith each other)
they en2oin evil an &orbi 'hat is 2!st an are close 'ith their hans. They have
&or%otten -llah( so 0e has &or%otten the". Verily the 0ypocrites are rebellio!s
an perverse.
Believers o%ten %ace a lot o% opposition %ro& those who can 'e classi%ied as hypocrites3
+owever, Allah is as-ing 'elievers not to worry 0 it is >$st a &atter o% ti&e that everything
will 'e revealed3
9.65 -llah has pro"ise the 0ypocrites# "en an 'o"en an the re2ecters o&
&aith the 6ire o& 0ell) therein shall they 'ell) s!&&icient is it &or the") &or the" is
the c!rse o& -llah an an en!rin% p!nish"ent
9.69 -s 'as in the case o& %enerations be&ore yo!) they 'ere "i%htier than yo!
in po'er an "ore &lo!rishin% in 'ealth an chilren. They ha en2oy"ent o& li&e
%iven to the") an yo! are en2oyin% li&e as they i be&ore yo!( an yo! in!l%e
in ile tal, 2!st as they i. Their 'or,s are &r!itless in this 'orl an in the
0erea&ter an they 'ill lose (all spirit!al %oo).
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{7otes};
{1} http;CCdictionary3re%erence3co&C'rowseCgi%t
{2} http;CCwww3'rainy1$ote3co&C1$otesC1$otesCvCvoltaire1!40993ht&l
{3} http;CCwww3'rainy1$ote3co&C1$otesC1$otesCwCwalterande1:!09A3ht&l
{4} http;CCwww3'rainy1$ote3co&C1$otesC1$otesCtCti&othyde.!120993ht&l