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Belief
in the Unseen: Incentive to Work
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By
Sheikh Muhammad Nur `Abdullah **
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September
4, 2005
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Question:
Respected scholar, belief in the Unseen (ghaib)
is employed by some Muslims in a way that incites effort and prompts work and
continuous struggle. On the other hand, some Muslims use belief in the Unseen
as a justification for defeatism and laziness, claiming that they believe in
the Unseen and this includes the belief in the future victory of Islam, which
is a matter of the Unseen. According to them, there is no need for work and
effort to help Islam. Please comment.
Answer:
The correct belief in the Unseen is what
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us.
Al-Israa' and Al-Mi`raj is a sign of Allah's power given to spiritually and
emotionally support Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to
face the trials and tribulations in Makkah. So the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) did not stop working for Islam; the event came at the
right time when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his
Companions were working for Islam and were subject to tribulations and
tests.
A similar situation happened at the time of
Hijrah when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) believed
in the Unseen, which is the help of Almighty Allah. But the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) took all the necessary measures and took all
preparations for the journey, such as hiding in the cave of Thawr and hiring
an expert guide. So belief in the Unseen does not mean that we sit and wait
for miracles to happen.
**
ISNA President and Member of the Fiqh Council of North America
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