A major role of the Qur’an is a source of MOTIVATION and ENCOURAGEMENT for the believers, where Allah uplifts them and reassures the believers that they are on the right path to keep them focused.
And one of the many ways in which He does this is by narrating the stories of the people of the past. These aren’t folk tales or bedtime mythology, these are actual historical events that took place with ordinary people like you and me.
Let’s take some general yet profound lessons of the stories of the Prophets of the past :
1. Nothing worth doing in life is easy. If you think your task/job adds value, guess what – the jobs of Allah’s Prophets were the most value adding of all, and it was no walk in the park. Allah Knows your Efforts and how sincere you are, and that’s all that matters.
2. "The Night is darkest before the Dawn" - For His Righteous slaves, Allah will Spare an immediate success for a greater success. “Failure” is relative – so put things in the right relative perspective. In seeking the Ultimate success, people around you might perceive your efforts as a waste, but Allah, ash-Shakur will NEVER let an atom’s weight of your efforts be wasted. Imagine if Nuh gave in when people mocked him as he made the Ark.
4. The Prophets: People who were more skilled and better in conduct than you have met with considerably worst challenges. So don't get cocky or arrogant.
5. Never give up on your people. The Prophets met with people who are much WORSE than the people you’re dealing with – people who rejected and opposed the Message even when the truth was laid bare in front of their eyes. Yet even they, some of the hardest enemies CAN become good people in the end. If you give up now, you might miss out on that one “push” that could tilt the scales.
6. Allah rewards for your EFFORTS, not your RESULTS. There are Prophets who have no followers – but they still are rewarded Paradise.
7. A sign that you are on the path of success is to have the integrity to still be persistent and patient despite the nonsense around you. “So hold on - It’s only a matter of time!”
8. Just because you have “facts” and “the truth”, doesn’t mean people are going to support you or like you. So don’t compromise the truth. It just means you might have to try again and again : perhaps with better wisdom.
9. Losing arguments doesn’t mean you are wrong, it just means your opponent is louder or more eloquent. Some people argue for the sake of arguing - and they’ll never surrender.
10.Don’t be disheartened when your opponents use Character assassination against you by attempting to make you look stupid just to block your message or distort the facts. They are using the same tactics as Fir’awn, Namrud, Abu Lahab and others – yet the Prophets never used this, or allowed themselves to be affected by it. Stand your ground and don’t sink yourself to their level.
.. And there’s so much more. The reality is, human nature has always been the same – characters, behaviours and mindset have been constant: only the names change, only ‘technology’ improves. Our job is to derive from this accumulated wisdom and apply it.
So when we recite and learn Qur’an, we shouldn’t just treat it as a ritual – don’t just treat stories as stories: It’s an actual tool for us to keep on track. Allah doesn’t Narrate to entertain us, He Narrates to us to TEACH us. So let’s learn =).
And what a great time to turn to Qur’an on this weekend amongst the first 10 days of Dzul-Hijjah =)
فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿١٧٦﴾
“So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect.” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:176)
نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ بِمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ ﴿٣﴾
“We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur'an although you were, before it, among the unaware.” (Surah Yusuf 12:3)
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