Strength to follow the true teachings: Help please!
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Peace to all,
I am going through a battle with my "nafs" and I am sure that some of you are in same shoes that I am. Sometimes you are put in to situations where you are forced to do something which is forbidden by God. I know that as mumins and submitters we are suppose to be following every word of God but even Allah says that humans are weak, sometimes to you the only way out of the situation is to go against teachings of Quran for example as a business owner its nearly impossible to run a business and still be able to follow all teachings of Quran, its especially hard for those who found the truth after they are in the business and there is no way out, for example laws against interest. There are lot of other things that one may have to do to compete in todays world, if you are committing sins that you are forced to commit to be able to survive, whats your take on it?
If you are suppose to be following everything that you read and remember in quran then seems like I can never be a perfect person. Human being has been created weak, how do we get the strength to follow every teaching of quran.
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There are two things we must strive for
- sincerity
- try our best
Thus, no matter what situation you are in, as long as you are sincere in your intentions/approach and trying your best to research or change or do the right thing, then that is the core.
An example we can probably all relate to...
Vast majority of people use a fiat currency money system which is against The Quran etc. My goal is to minimise my participation in such a system and educate others also. Luckily, it just so happens we are in a generation in which such a system is cracking, so we can help bring it down etc. -
Salaam,
As Wakas has pointed it out, it depends on our sincerity and effort on not to commit wrongdoings. In my understanding, the Qur'aan always gives provision for us to 'break' a commandment if it is done for our survival. For example, a murder is forbidden, but it is allowed if for self-defense or fighting against oppression. Eating pork is prohibited, and yet if hunger forces us, then we will commit no sin in consuming it. Uttering disbelief in Islam is allowed if it's to save us from disbelievers.
That being said, you got to ask yourself, if you are really being 'forced' to do it. Consider if you can still survive if you can do it without. For example, high-interest load is prevalent in contemporary society, and many are led to believe that they cannot do without it (e.g. getting a mortgage, credit card etc). That's because the society accepts it as a norm, and it results us in thinking that it is a necessity (really, we can still live without getting an interest-laden loan).
Often times we really have to consider, what we really cannot do without, as opposed to what others make us believe we cannot do without. Don't use others' perception as an excuse to justify our own mistakes.
That being said, God is most Merciful. If you do it for your own survival, then there shall be no wrong. We humans are not perfect (remember the saying, to be human is to err). We are not expected to be 100% righteous, we are expected to strive so that our 'scale' is heavier on the good side than the bad side. As per your question, how do we get the strength to follow the Qur'aan? Be constantly aware of God's presence wherever you are, and whatever you do. Also, network, communicate and engage with other believers and good-hearted people. God willing you'll be motivated to be a better person, and always be on God's path.
Hope that helps ). Salaam.
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Peace,
JazakAllah for your reply. I understand the concept that you both just explained but situation is not really about survival in my case. I have been running a business long before I would say I found the right path or teachings. Now the dilemma for me is that I know whats right and whats wrong and I am not in life or death situation either. I know I can shut down my business today and get a decent job based on my experience and education and still make a living BUT that living is not what I am accustomed to now. I do not want to work for anyone because to me, one point or another you will either be committing shirk or be very close to it if you are working for someone else, its just too hard to avoid it but my main reason for not going that route is because I do not want to give up the success that I have. Something that I have spent all my life working on, I cannot imagine just giving everything up even though I know that may be the right thing to do. I can probably justify all my actions too but then whats the point of teaching/guidance. I feel as if this is a big test and I want to change but I am just not ready for it, I need maybe a year or so to transition from everything but whats scary is WHAT IF I dont get that much time by Allah, I know he is Raheem and Rahman but when you read quran, it increases my faith but at the same time it sometimes scares me beyond explanation.
There are lot of people who keep living their life thinking that later on in their life they will revert back to religion or be more righteous but what if you dont get enough time. I have been striving to change things and my the help of Allah I think I have changed a lot, if nothing else atleast my faith has grown very strong, to a point where I have no doubt left but when you dont have any doubt left thats when it gets really scared because now Allah has given me the guidance, I have got the message, I read and study the message, I know whats right and wrong and after all these blessings of Allah I am not following everything then thats a shame.
What really scares me are some of the verses in Quran which say that some people accept some verses and reject the other, now I dont reject anything but when you are told whats right and wrong and you still do whats wrong then that pretty much means that you are rejecting.
For me to change everything in one day is like for me to give up everything that I have worked very hard for in my whole life and pretty much go from riches to rags, now I have started working on the path to transition everything and be in accordance with all the teachings or atleast the ones that I can remember at different times but the only thing I am scared of is what if I dont get that 1-2 years of time by Allah. Maybe this is my test!
Is there anything from Quran that can help give me some confidence or guidance in my situation, if anyone can think of anything that would be really helpful. I pray to Allah that he may give us the strength and courage to be able to stand against everything in this world and become righteous but at this point seems like that is so hard to achieve that I cant think of a normal person trying to fit into this cruel world will be able to do that, no wonder the reward mentioned for such people is so big.
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Salam
May Allah make it easy for you to hold fast to the commandment . I hope your intention is right and you dont break any commandment to maintain your worldly status and rank given by society. I pray Allah gives me that blessing too.
Peace
----------------- Student of Allah
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Peace,
JazakAllah for your help again Mr Wakkas and Student of Allah. I'll shed some more light on my situation may be I can get pointed towards the right direction. I am a trader, trading commodities and brokering business deals. I have been very successful in the field and thats how I make my living, I honestly know of no other method to make a living besides get a low paying job and lose everything that I have. Quranic commandments like
Sura 6
181. "Give just measure and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
182. "And weigh with scales true and upright.
183. "And withhold not things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working mischief.Now the whole idea behind trading is based off on withholding things until their demand increases in market and resell them at higher price. Withholding contracts of grains for months to make a gain on them sounds like against the commandment, it may even come under giving just measures because when you resell it, its not really just measure, you bought the same contract for lot less and now you are selling it for a higher price.
Same goes with brokering business deals, anyone who has ever brokered a deal in business or real estate will understand that its all about the presentation, sometimes you have to hide the faults or lie about some of the things. Now I am not talking about straight up defrauding someone but lets say you are selling or renting a house and you know that the house is built in a way where all the windows are directly infront of sun and every owner or tenant in the past has complained about very high elec bills in summer but you dont mention that fact because you are doing a presentation or showing during the winter and the interested party is not gonna find out that fact. Now that to me was never a big deal, part of the business. You have to sell them on the ideas they are excited about and hide the facts that are gonna discourage them from buying, thats the art of closing any deal. I cant be the only one here stuck in this dilemma, I am sure everyone in their lifetime will face or have faced something like this, no matter if you are doing a garage sale and trying to convince someone to buy an old TV set or brokering a $50 million business deal.
How far does the meaning of "just measures" go. There isnt much information out about this topic to fit in todays world. Very few people in todays world are involved in weights and measurements and especially with standards weights and measures, that commandment if taken literally is not even a concern to anyone but if you apply the same principal to anything in todays economy, it seems nearly impossible to do business or trading. Commandment on just measures is very strong and I am not sure whats others take on this. This even applies to those grocery store owners or gas station owners here in US who buy stuff from sams club and put them on sale for 3-4 times their value, isnt that defrauding too? What about gas station owners who raise their prices during hurricanes or natural disasters? What about those who sell gas at 20 cents higher just because of a prime location at airport?
Very confused about this subject and there is very little if any information available on this topic.
Thanks for your help in advance!
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If I'm my own boss, am I being shirky too?
It's good to be conscious, but please balance it with a strong faith that you can change things with all the God-given tools you have.
How about first change your perception--this world is not cruel (it's just our collective mirror image at any given time). Unless you're cruel.
