Piety is to get by, avoiding evil

Piety is to get by, avoiding evil

1986 3 March 5 Piety is to get by, avoiding evil (55) Abu Huraira was asked what piety was. “Have you ever treaded on a thorny path,” he said in reply. “Why, yes,” the man answered. “What did you do?” Abu Huraira asked him. “When I saw a thorn, I kept to one side. I got by, avoiding thorns.” “That is what piety is,” Abu Huraira said.

The story of Adam and Lucifer

1986 3 March 5 The story of Adam and Lucifer (347) This world has been created as a test for man: that is the way that Islam teaches us to look at life. Everyone who comes into the world is created for one reason alone – to be put among fellow humans in order to be tested. Finally, we will all return to God, there to be repaid according to our deeds on earth.

Where – in what arena – is man being tested? The answer to this question can be ascertained from the story of Adam and Lucifer. When God put the first man, Adam, on earth, He commanded the angels and Lucifer to bow down before Adam. The angels immediately did as they were told. Lucifer, however, demurred. “Adam You created from mud,” he protested to the Lord, “while I was created from fire. That means I am better than Adam. Why should I bow before him?”

God then sent both Adam and Lucifer down to Earth, where Lucifer determined to send all of Adam’s offspring astray. The Lord warned Lucifer that he and his followers would be fuel for the fire of hell.

It is clear from this story that the path Lucifer followed was one of pride. He considered himself superior to Adam, refusing to bow down before one he considered inferior to himself, refusing to honour one whom God had commanded him to pay his respects to.

Repeatedly people have dealings with one another in this world. Perhaps the person one has to deal with appears stronger than oneself, and one pays him his due on account of the clout that he wields. But he might also appear to be weak and inconsequential. If, in this case, one ignores his right and refuses to pay him his due, one is following Satan. The way to tread the angels’ path is by following set principles in one’s life, rather than the dictates of self-interest and opportunism. One will then treat all alike, irrespective of whether they are strong or weak, for one will be following the same, constant principles throughout one’s life, and in all one’s dealings.