Lessons from the Holy Qur’an

By: Mohammad Reza Ranjbar

Translated by: Nayyereh Towhidi

“…. Those who spend in ease and adversity, and suppress their anger, and excuse[the faults of] the people, and Allah loves the virtuous;…. “ The Holy Qur’an; Ale-i- Imran, 134

Try to be calm as far as possible. Remember that just as you avoid driving your car when it gets too hot , (for it may catch fire if you go on driving it), so also your whole being has to be controlled when you are angry.

Avoid speaking in an angry mood, otherwise you will hurt yourself as well as the others and will suffer remorse later on. Always remember this life-saving Hadith of Allah’s last Messenger- Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who has advised us to: “Keep silent while you are angry.”

“Say, ‘Indeed my Lord expands the provision for whomever of His servants that He wishes and tightens it, and He will repay whatever you may spend, and He is the best of providers.”  The Holy Qur’an; Saba, 39

According to the Holy Qur’an, our means of livelihood and sustenance are in Allah’s hand and those who out of obedience to Allah and for attaining Allah’s pleasure spend out of their possession(in the way of Allah and for helping the others) will receive their reward from Allah Who is the Provider of sustenance for His creatures. So, we as servants of Allah should avoid stinginess and angry behavior towards the others and should instead try to be generous and benevolent to become worthy of receiving increased blessings and favours from Allah- The Most Benevolent.

“Every soul is hostage to what it has earned,…” The Holy Qur’an; Al-Muddaththir

Be conscious, Allah has explicitly told us that each of us will receive the consequence(s) of our action(s)-good or bad. So, carelessness about our deeds and thoughts will certainly lead to an evil end for us, just as good conduct and piety will bring bliss and salvation for those who are fortunate enough to be careful about what they think, what they say and what they do, well knowing that Allah- the Omnipresent sees them all the time and wherever they might be and returns their deeds to them.  

“….and from the evil of the envious one when he envies.” The Holy Qur’an; Al- Falaq, 5

Take care of your health  through avoiding jealousy. In a Hadith from Imam Ali(AS) we are advised thus: “ Physical health is a result of lack of jealousy(on the part of the healthy person.)”

As for the jealous people, they hurt themselves first, since on becoming jealous, the person indeed sends poisonous needles into his/her whole body, causing various kinds of ailments for him/ herself. So, one should try hard to get rid of the plague of jealousy in case there is any in him/her and of course one should request Allah- The Best Helper for help in this very significant process of self-purification which is needed for one’s physical health as well as emotional well-being.

Also, as inferred from the above-mentioned verse of the Holy Qur’an we need to seek refuge in Allah against the evil and harm caused by those who are afflicted with the disease of jealousy, because the jealous may do all sorts of harm to the ones whom they are jealous of, besides of course hurting themselves.

“So celebrate the praise of your Lord and be among those who prostrate, and worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.” The Holy Qur’an; Al-Hijr, 98-99

So we should serve our Gracious God-Allah to the last moment of our lives and to be able to fulfill our duties towards Allah, we need to let Allah’s last and most perfect Book- The Holy Qur’an penetrate and refresh our whole being profoundly, and never forget about the fact that just as plants need to absorb water to remain fresh, so also our hearts and minds need to absorb the true messages of Allah’s Book in order to be refreshed and revived and to help us serve Allah as He deserves to be served. Obviously, it is by no means sufficient to read a few pages of the Holy Qur’an just in religious gatherings and put that life-giving Holy Book aside for the rest of the time. We need to try to grasp the beauty of this Divine Book and obey its commands all the time to be true worshippers of Allah.

“ Speak to him in a soft manner; maybe he will take admonition or fear. The two of them said,’ Our Lord! We are indeed afraid that he will forestall us or will overstep the bounds. He said,’ Do not be afraid, for I will be with the two of you, hearing and seeing[whatever happens]. The Holy Qur’an; Ta Ha 44-46

Rely just on Allah and on Allah’s words. Do not put your trust in what the ignorant may choose to promise, since according to the Holy Qur’an, the words of the disbelievers are made mean and useless and it is just the word of Allah- the Wise- The Omnipotent and those of His Messengers and friends which are reliable and fruitful. And remember that since Allah’s Word is exalted, you too will be exalted through it, i.e., through hearing and obeying Allah’s Word.   َ

Tenderness, no doubt brings about desirable fruits both for the tender person and for those who receive tender words and tender conduct from him/her.

As we see, in the above verse, Allah- The Gracious orders Prophet Moses(AS) to address Pharaoh in a tender tone, so the latter might be reminded of or fear (Allah). One lesson we can derive from this verse is that harshness cannot be regarded as a useful manner to be applied by those who intend to guide the others to the right path, since human nature is in favour of tenderness and dislikes harshness. So, parents and teachers in particular should bear in mind that yelling and scolding can result in unfavourable reactions.