Antidote for Human's Loss

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The natural state of humanity is loss. Allah states in the Qur'an,

وَٱلْعَصْرِ‌ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ‌ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ‌ ﴿٣

By time, (1) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (3)

[Qur'an, Al-'Asr 103]

One deep teaching of this short Surah is that learning is important. It's so important. It's a matter of life and death. Learning is what makes the difference between winning and losing -- that is, between the way of life and the way of death.

In this Surah, we learn which members of the human race aren't counted among the losers:

Those who have believed
Those who do good (righteous) deeds
Those who advise each other to Truth
Those who advise each other to patience

The message is clear: without these four things, we lose out on the huge blessings that await us, both in the world and in the next world beginning with our death.

But not one of these things can be acquired passively. They must all be pursued through active lifelong learning.

You can’t believe in something that you haven’t heard, read, studied, or been taught. True belief isn’t simply saying "I believe" and leaving it at that. Belief must be entered into thoughtfully, honestly, with a desire to learn more and a willingness to submit to the discipline of study.

You can’t really do good deeds unless you know what good deeds are. For this you need to study the rule book, both to learn what Allah wants of you and to read about righteous people after whom you should be modeling yourself.

Advising others to Truth is the very essence of education. By passing on Truth and refusing to accept falsehood we’re fulfilling the mandate prescribed us in every cycle of our prayers:

ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَ‌ٰ‌طَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٦﴾ صِرَ‌ٰ‌طَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ‌ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ﴿٧

Guide us to the straight path - (6) The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray. (7)

[Qur'an, al-Fatihah 1:6-7]

We evoke the anger of Allah when we deceive ourselves (through deliberate disbelief) and when we go astray (by allowing ourselves to be deceived).

The way to win His favor is to guard the Truth and encourage each other to do the same. It's not easy but with Allah's help, nothing is difficult. We have to be patient. We need to remember that without both Truth and patience we are at a loss.

There is no doubt that mankind is in loss. But don't despair. There is an antidote for it which is within our reach — lifelong learning. Seeking the path of knowledge is relatively pleasant, brings huge blessings, and has a very happy ending.

Let us remember this, "Verily Allah says: O son of Adam, free yourself for my worship, I will (in turn) fill your chest with satisfaction and remove your poverty, and if you don't I will fill your hands with distraction and will not remove your poverty." [Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban and others]. In another narration, "I will fill your chest with distraction." [Ibn Majah]

In other words, if you don't keep yourself busy with Allah, Allah will keep yourself busy with others (and other things). Indeed, those are the utter losers. May Allah protect us.

May Allah keep us rightly guided and grant us great openings. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah alone grant success.
Wassalaam