Translation:
Have you reflected on those, thousands of them, who went out of their homes for fear of death? Then God said to them, “Die (be in despair),” and then He gave them life. Surely God is Gracious to people, but most of them are ungrateful!128
And struggle (fight against injustice and ignorance) in the way of God and beware that God is Hearing, Knowing!129
Interpretation:
128 This verse possibly refers to the incident involving the children of Israel at the time of their exodus from Egypt under the guidance of Prophet Moses, and it is a lesson that Muslims should learn from. As God said repeatedly, His dealings with man are based on certain principles, and we will not see deviations from those. Hence, He will treat a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, or any other person in the same way; those who do good deeds will receive rewards, while those who do bad deeds will receive punishments. Punishment is also not a deliberate act but a natural consequence of evil deeds, and it is no different from how poor health comes about from having bad habits and eating bad food. No one has special privileges over another just because he is a Jew or a Muslim; God’s mercy and favor are for those who have faith and do righteous deeds, irrespective of any label they may give themselves.
The Jews left Egypt to move to Palestine for safety and security but then refused to enter the holy land and, as a result, were made to wander around the land for 40 years, causing that generation to perish and a new generation to appear. God requires people to earn their reward and not just demand it, as the Jews did at that time. Unfortunately, many Muslims today are behaving in a similar manner. We let corruption and a lack of belief take us over and let values and justice fall by the wayside for the pursuit of personal benefits, and then we wonder why God does not give us honor and prosperity, just as the Jews used to complain to Moses.129 For every people of faith, struggling to follow their faith and its requirements are essential to receiving God’s grace, and, in most instances, we fall short in this area as a community. It is not a lack of God’s grace on us but our own ungratefulness that leads to our lack of success in this world and in the Hereafter. Struggle is too often assumed to be war and fighting (crusade or jihad), yet the everyday struggles of giving into and fighting good and evil inclinations, of educating ourselves, of earning an honest living, of treating people with justice and compassion, of respecting law and order, of creating a civil society, and of electing honest and faithful leaders are the real struggles that the Qur’an talks about. As the Prophet at one time said, “Little of good work done on a daily basis is better than trying to do lots of good in one day.” Some people feel that advising other people on what they should not do is more important than paying attention to their own mannerisms and conduct. On too many occa- sions, I have seen men (and some women as well) reminding young women that they should were a hijab (head scarf ) when entering the Mosque or should use the back door, whereas the proper behavior would have been to welcome and encourage them (especially youth) to come to the place of worship, to make them comfortable, and then to educate tem with reasoning, if warranted, and not by dictates.
Reflection:
True and sincere reflection on one’s life and the life of other people, of other nations, and of all faiths are important learning tools since God’s dealings with all of His people are based on the same set of principles. Most fundamentalists, no matter what religion they belong to, feel that they are always right and that they have nothing to learn from other people—let us not go down such a path and instead go down the path of knowledge. Whenever an example of the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) is given in the Qur’an, too many Muslims are quick to jump to the conclusion that they refer to their failures or shortcomings, which may be true, but the real intent of the example is to really make us aware of our own condition and make us seriously reflect on whether or not we are behaving in a manner similar to that which the Qur’an condemns or discourages.
Action:
We Muslims are undergoing major failings; our faith is diminishing, illiteracy has increased, trust and honest dealings between people and governments have almost disappeared, and acquiring material gains dominates our thinking rather
than serving God and people. Each and every one of us needs to make a change in our lives and in our outlooks on life to revive this great religion and restore dignity to ourselves and in our daily existence. The types of rigidity, irrational adherence to dogmas, and ritual acts that lead to the demise of other religious teachings and followership have crept into our religious psyche, and people have started to accept imams and so-called religious scholars as the final authority in matters of faith and action while ignoring their own God-given intellect and intuition.