Surah Ale-Imran (The Family Of Imran ) 3 : 14

Overview (Verses 14 - 17)

False and True Comforts

The next few verses in the sūrah fall within that part of the Qur’ān which is mainly concerned with educating the Muslim community. The first of these verses identifies those subtle, natural incentives which cause people to deviate from the right path, unless they are properly checked. In order to control them, one must always be on the alert, yearn for more sublime horizons and aspire to those comforts which remain with God, for these are indeed far superior to worldly comforts.

Pursuing worldly pleasures and giving priority to personal desires and pleasures will no doubt distract a person’s mind and prevent him from reflecting on what fruits one is bound to reap or what lessons one can learn from the facts of life. People are thus drowned in easy, physical pleasures, unable to see what lies beyond of better and superior comforts. They are thus deprived of the enjoyment of looking beyond cheap, physical pleasure, or being preoccupied with the nobler concerns which fit with the great role of man, the creature God has placed in charge of this great dominion, the earth.

Those physical pleasures and worldly comforts and incentives are, nevertheless, naturally infused in man by the Creator to fulfil the essential role of preserving the continuity of life. Hence, Islam does not approve of their suppression. It advocates that they should be regulated, moderated and brought under control. Islam wants man to be able to control these desires, not to be controlled by them. I lam promotes the feeling of the sublime in man and helps him look to what is higher and superior.

Hence, that Qur’ānic statement, which is concerned with the education of the Muslim community, mentions all these comforts and pleasures, but portrays alongside them a variety of physical and spiritual pleasures which are provided in the life to come for those who control their natural desires in this life. These are, in part, the reward awaiting those who maintain their noble human standard, and who do not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by the cheap, physical enjoyments of this world.

In a single verse the sūrah groups together the most enjoyable pleasures of this life: women, children, endless wealth, splendid horses, fertile land and cattle. These represent the total sum of worldly pleasures, either by themselves, or because of what they can provide for their owners by way of other pleasures. The verse which follows, however, identifies the pleasures of the hereafter: gardens through which running waters flow, spouses renowned for their chastity, and what is much more: God’s good pleasure. These are in store for anyone who looks beyond the pleasures of this world and maintains good relations with God.

Alluring to man is the enjoyment of worldly desires through women and offspring, heaped-up treasures of gold and silver, horses of high mark, cattle and plantations. These are the comforts of this life. With God is the best of all goals. Say: Shall I tell you of better things than these? For the God-fearing there are, with their Lord, gardens through which running waters flow where they shall dwell forever, and wives of perfect chastity, and God’s good pleasure. God is mindful of His servants, those who say: “Our Lord, we have indeed accepted the faith. Forgive us our sins and keep us safe from the torments of the fire.” They are the patient in adversity, the true to their word, the devoted who spend in the cause of God, and those who pray for forgiveness at the time of dawn. (Verses 14-17)

“Alluring to man is the enjoyment of worldly desires.” In the original Arabic text, the verb in this sentence is expressed in the passive voice which indicates that this love is part of man’s nature. Hence, this is a statement of fact. Man certainly loves to enjoy these pleasures. There is no need, then, either to deny that love or to denounce and condemn it. It is essential for human life so that it may continue and progress. But there is certainly another side which is also infused in human nature and that is to balance that love and to guard man against total consumption by it to the extent that he loses the great effects of the spiritual element in his constitution. That aspect provides man with the ability to look up to the sublime and to control his desires and fulfil them in a befitting and appropriate measure. He can thus achieve his fulfilment here but, at the same time, elevate human life spiritually and look forward to the life to come where he can enjoy God’s good pleasure. This ability can hold worldly desires in check, purify them and keep them within safe limits so that physical pleasures do not overwhelm the human soul and its aspirations. To turn to God and to fear Him is the way to the achievement of those aspirations.

The verse speaks of those worldly desires as being made alluring to man. There is no suggestion, implicit or explicit, that they are contemptible, or that they should be treated as such. We are only called upon to understand their nature in order to place them in their appropriate place in our lives and not allow them to suppress what is superior to and nobler than them. We are, indeed, called upon to aspire to higher horizons after we have taken what is sufficient and necessary for us of those pleasures.

Islam is distinguished by its realistic approach to human nature and its constant effort to elevate rather than suppress it. Those who talk nowadays of the harmful effects of the “suppression” of natural desires, or about psychological complexes which result from such suppression, agree that the main reason for such problems is the suppression of natural desires, not their control. Suppression stems from the condemnation of natural desires, or looking down on them with contempt. This places the individual under two kinds of pressure which pull in opposite directions. There is first the emotional pressure from within, the result of social traditions or religion, that physical desires are contemptible and should not have existed in the first place. They are portrayed as sinful and evil. There is, on the other hand, the pressure of these desires themselves which cannot be overcome because they are deeply rooted in human nature, having an essential role to play in human life. Indeed, they have not been made part of human nature in vain. As this conflict rages within man, it gives rise to psychological complexes. This is the opinion held by scientists specialised in psychology. Assuming that their theory is correct, we still find that Islam has kept man safe from this conflict between the two parts of his human soul, the temptation to indulge in wanton satisfaction of desire and seek every type of easy pleasure and the aspirations to a nobler existence. It caters for the fulfilment of both, combining continuity with moderation.

It goes without saying that women and children are among the most important and strongest desires of man. Coupled with these in the text listing the desires of this world are “heaped-up treasures of gold and silver”. The phrase “heaped-up treasures” implies a consuming greed for wealth. If it was merely a love of wealth that is meant here, the Qur’ān would simply have used the term “money”, or “gold and silver”. “Heaped-up treasures,” however, adds a further connotation, that is treasure for its own sake. The implication here being the greed to amass gold and silver, because the mere amassing of wealth is a human desire, regardless of what that wealth may be used for, especially in satisfying other desires.

The Qur’ānic verse then adds, “horses of high mark.” Even in the material world of machines in which we live, horses remain among those pleasures loved and desired by all people. A stallion combines beauty with vigour, strength, intelligence and a close relationship with his owner. Even those who do not ride horses warm to the sight of a lively horse as it runs. Cattle and plantations are then mentioned. The two are closely linked together in our minds and in real life. People love the scene of plants growing out of the earth, of life blossoming. When the desire of ownership is coupled with this, then cattle and plantations are certainly craved.

All the desires mentioned in this verse are mere examples of what people strive to have. The ones so identified were particularly appealing to the community which the Qur’ān addressed for the first time, but many of them appeal to all people in all ages. The Qur’ān mentions them before stating their real value so that they are given their proper place in the list of priorities of any believer: “These are the comforts of this life.” (Verse 14)

Better Than All Comforts

All these cherished desires, and all similar ones, are the comforts of this life. Perhaps we should add here that in the Arabic text, the term “this life”, or “dunyā”, connotes “the lower life”. Hence, they are not part of the sublime life or of the higher horizon. They are indeed the easy comforts of the life of this world. What is better than all this, because it is essentially nobler and it helps protect the human soul against being consumed by worldly desires, is that which remains with God. This is available to anyone who wants it, and it more than compensates for the pleasures of this world: “Say: Shall I tell you of better things than these? For the God-fearing there are, with their Lord, gardens through which running waters flow where they shall dwell forever, and wives of perfect chastity, and Gods good pleasure. God is mindful of His servants.” (Verse 15)

The Prophet is commanded to give the happy news of these comforts of the hereafter to those who are described as “the God- fearing”. We note that these comforts are, generally speaking, physical. There is, however, an essential difference between them and the comforts of this world. These are provided only to the God- fearing, who are always conscious of God. This consciousness has a definite moderating influence on both the spirit and the body. It prevents man from being totally consumed by his desires, striving like an animal to fulfil them in any way he can. Hence, when the God-fearing look forward to these physical comforts which they are promised, they do so with a sublimity which remains free of the uncontrolled vigour of animal desire. Even in this life, long before they arrive in their promised abode, close to God, they are elevated by looking forward to these heavenly comforts.

They find in them more than a mere compensation of the worldly desires and pleasures they miss in this world. If the pleasures of this life included fertile plantations, they have in the hereafter gardens through which running waters flow. Moreover, both they and their gardens live forever, unlike the plantations of this world which people enjoy only for a limited period of time. In contrast to the pleasures of women and children in this life, there are in the hereafter wives of perfect chastity. Their purity makes them far superior to what people desire of women in this life. As for the horses of high mark and the cattle, and the heaped-up treasures of gold and silver, all these are viewed in this life as means to achieve more and greater comforts. In the hereafter, all comforts are freely available to everyone. No special means are required to achieve any ends.

There remains what is far superior to all comforts, namely, “God’s good pleasure.” His pleasure is, to a believer, more precious than this life and the life to come combined. The Arabic term which is used to express this pleasure has endless connotations of love, tenderness, care and compassion.

“God is mindful of His servants.” He knows their nature and the motivations and incentives which form part of it. He also knows what suits human nature in the way of directives and instructions. He knows how to deal with it in this life and the life to come.

The passage then describes the relationship of the God-fearing with their Lord, which earns them this blessing of God’s good pleasure: “Those who say: ‘Our Lord, we have indeed accepted the faith. Forgive us our sins and keep us safe from the torment of the fire.’ They are the patient in adversity, the true to their word, the devoted who spend in the cause of God, and those who pray for forgiveness at the time of dawn.” (Verses 16-17)

Their prayer is indicative of the fact that they are God-fearing. They state first that they are believers, before they appeal to God on the strength of that faith to forgive them their sins and to keep them safe from the Fire.

Every one of their qualities is of great value in human life and in the life of the Muslim community. Their patience in adversity suggests that they endure pain without complaint. They remain steadfast, happy to fulfil the duties of their faith, submitting themselves to God and accepting whatever happens to them as part of God’s will and design. Being truthful shows that they hold the truth, which is the mainstay of human life, dear to their hearts. They find lying contemptible, for lying is indicative of a state of weakness which prevents one from telling the truth, in order to realise some benefit or to avoid some harm.

Their devotion is a fulfilment of the duty of the servant towards his Lord. Moreover, it elevates man because he addresses his devotion to the only God in the universe, not to anyone else. Spending in the cause of God liberates man from the captivity of the material world, and from the greed for wealth. It also places the reality of human brotherhood above the desire for personal comfort. It achieves social security on a mutual basis which is worthy of human life.

To pray at dawn for forgiveness adds to all this connotations of purity and compassion. Indeed, the mere mentioning of dawn reminds us of the lovely feelings of this particular part of the night, shortly before the break of day. At that time, everything is beautiful, pure and still. Man’s thoughts are at their purest. The inner motives of uncorrupted human nature are at work. When we add to all this the condition of praying to God for forgiveness, then the atmosphere is one of total purity in both the inner soul of man and the inner soul of the universe. Both are truly submissive to God, the Creator of both man and the universe.

The God-fearing, who are characterised by these essential qualities, will have “God’s good pleasure.” They deserve it, and with it all that is associated with God’s compassion and grace. It is certainly superior to any worldly comfort and to any of man’s desires.

We note how the Qur’ān deals with the human soul. Its approach begins with man on earth. Gradually but steadily it elevates the human soul to higher horizons until it brings it into the highest society with ease and compassion. It never forgets man’s weakness, nor his motives and nature. However, it directs man’s abilities and aspirations gently, without the suppression of any motive and without the use of force. It is also mindful that human life should continue and progress. This is the nature of God’s method: “God is mindful of His servants.”