Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings: Introduction

In the Qur'an Allah reveals a very important truth:

Self-sacrifice, one of the basic moral qualities that allows people to attain real goodness, can enable individuals to give up, happily and without a second thought, all that they own, love, and value. When necessary, they will endure every difficulty and exert all of their energy for the sake of their values and loved ones. When faced with choosing between their own advantage and that of their loved ones, they will forego their own benefit and make the greatest physical and emotional sacrifice that they can for their loved ones. All people are created with negative moral tendencies that direct them toward selfishness and egotism. If one's lower self is not trained, this selfishness will take control of one's moral character. Generally, such people think first - or even exclusively - about themselves. They always want Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings the best of everything and expect to be treated with understanding and kindness. When difficulties arise, they expect others to take risks for them and support them at the cost of their own advantage. They always want to protect their own interests and comfort. When faced with adversity, they renounce whatever they value for the sake of protecting their interests and avoiding any harm to themselves. Allah describes the extent of this selfish passion:

People can overcome their lower self by understanding belief in Allah and practicing the Qur'an's moral teachings. Those who grasp the truths revealed in the Qur'an and understand the morality that Allah has laid down for humanity are always able to sacrifice for others. Allah says that those who master their lower self will attain salvation in this world and the Hereafter:

Allah created the human conscience to help people avoid evil and practice the morality that pleases Him. The conscience always warns against evil and shows the way to goodness. The deep love for Allah and strong fear and respect for Him that reside in the believers' heart prevent them from being overcome by their lower self. They know that the main reasons for their existence are to win Allah's favor and to conduct themselves in ways that earn His good pleasure. They know that this earthly life is very short and that they have to work to attain success in the Hereafter. They do not forget that all of this world's benefits are transitory and that one day they will stand in Allah's Presence and account for their life. They are aware that those who pursue their own interests here, instead of trying to attain Allah's favor, mercy, and Paradise, will suffer eternal agony. In addition, they know that Allah will reward their self-sacrificial moral character with good things in this world and incomparable eternal blessings in the Hereafter:

However, self-sacrifice is far more than just giving part of one's possessions to someone in need. For believers, it is a way of life that comes from the strength of their belief, pervades their whole life, and requires that they sensitize themselves to their surroundings. This involves feeling a sense of personal responsibility for social problems and trying to solve the problems of oppressed and needy people. Rather than thinking that the rich and powerful will take care of these problems, they consider it a moral imperative and a demand of their conscience to get involved, for being a virtuous person means to act in the knowledge that every believer who listens to his/her conscience and fears and respects Allah has a responsibility:

This guide will examine the nature of self-sacrifice from all of these angles. We will see that self-sacrifice is a moral virtue that must dominate a believer's life and that it must be lived in its totality to win Allah's favor. Basing their life on this strong understanding, believers strive toward what is good and thus serve as examples of this goodness both in this life and the Hereafter.

Some people avoid self-sacrifice, preferring this world's transient benefits to winning Allah's favor. But sooner or later, they will suffer great loss in both worlds. Thus, this guide will stress the importance of this fact and call upon all believers to follow their conscience and lead lives of self-sacrifice. As Allah states in the Qur'an: Say: "My prayer and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat al-An'am: 162) nly Allah knows the depth of a person's belief, love, and attachment to Him:

However, each one of us can form an opinion about another person's belief, fear, and respect for Allah by observing external signs.

Allah states some important indications of a person's sincerity: observing the prescribed prayers, avoiding forbidden behavior, and doing one's best to live the kind of life of which He approves.

Allah tells us about those people who only pretend to believe. For example, they may act like believers, perform certain acts of worship, abstain from certain things that Allah has forbidden, and live as a believer lives. In addition, certain characteristics can reveal whether or not they are sincere, for some characteristics that are common among believers cannot be imitated. One of these is an unconditional determination to be self-sacrificial. This characteristic cannot be imitated by unbelievers, for they lack the desire to win Allah's favor and love, and attain Paradise, and therefore cannot sacrifice what they value to attain those goals. Sometimes, they may pretend to do so in order to hide their ignorance of the Qur'an's morality or gain some personal benefit. But when they are sure that no benefit is forthcoming, they lose their enthusiasm. When they think that they are about to lose something or suffer some emotional or physical setback, they cannot find the inner strength that comes from belief and so reveal their insincerity. But believers regard any attempt to sacrifice for Allah's sake as a valuable opportunity to show their sincerity. They know that Allah creates difficult and troubling situations, which require patience and self-denial, for a good purpose. They act in the knowledge that this world is a short and transient place of testing to win Allah's favor, and so they seek to win His approval and attain Paradise:

In this world, Allah tests individuals so that they can overcome the lower self's desires by seeking to win Allah's favor and mercy. Thus, Allah tests people with blessings and with difficulties:

He also reveals the purpose of our creation:

Given this, the sensible course to follow is that of true sincerity and readiness to sacrifice, for the greatest virtue is to come in first in the race to do good deeds:

Those who seek to do good in order to win Allah's favor act with great eagerness, determination, and self-sacrifice. Their sincere belief gives them many fine moral qualities: trusting in their submission to Allah as well as remain courageous, patient, merciful, helpful, tolerant, subtle in mind, and thankful in all circumstances. They are not caught up in any passion for this world and the desires of their lower self, for their goal is to win Allah's approval and mercy and to attain Paradise. In other words, they are so attached to Allah by a deep bond of love, respect, and fear that they will give up everything without a second thought for the sake of that love.

In the following example, the great Islamic scholar al-Ghazzali (10581111) shows us that human life has no value that can compare with winning Allah's favor and mercy and attaining Paradise, and that those who choose to win His approval will be deemed worthy of reward: Let's assume that someone has a very valuable and exquisite jewel. If he sells it for a low price when he could have sold it for a high price, would not this behavior be a loss to that individual and a grievous error?

At the same time, would not this behavior indicate a deficiency of labor, a weakness of vision, and a shortage of reason? Thus, in comparison with millions and even the whole world and its contents, the praise and things of this world that a servant will receive from other people, if not contented with the mercy, reward, praise, and merit that he will receive from the Lord of the worlds, are as next to nothing. Therefore, is it not a clear error to lose these valuable offerings from Allah the Almighty in return for these worthless things of this world?

If these worthless worldly things are absolutely necessary to you, turn again toward the Hereafter and you will see that the world will follow after you. Seek only the approval of the Lord, the almighty Presence, Lord of the two worlds.

The Prophet states: "There is no doubt that Allah gives the things of this world in return for labor belonging to the Hereafter, but not the Hereafter in return for labor belonging to this world." (al-Suyuti) Thus those people who genuinely labor solely for His approval and for the Hereafter will have gained both this world and the Hereafter. In the same way that they lose the Hereafter if they turn toward this world, they may also not acquire the things of this world, either. Even if they do, those things will not remain in their hands forever. They will eventually become disappointed both in this world and in the Hereafter. (al-Ghazzali, Minhaj al-'Abideen, pp. 264-65)

Believers Seek to Please Allah

People who do not live according to the Qur'an's moral teachings see their lower self as a part of themselves that must be cared for and protected. They do all they can to foster it, justify it, and bring its desires to fruition. They arrange their life, ideals, friendships, and viewpoints according to its demands, because they see it as a force that they must obey and whose every desire they must fulfill if they are ever going to be happy.

But these ideas are based on wrong beliefs, for Allah reveals that the lower self will always lead a person into evil, unless He wills otherwise:

For this reason, only by renouncing it can people be happy and content. Instead of accepting its demands and bowing down to it, people must assert control over it and direct it as Allah wills.

Since the lower self is created together with much evil, people must listen to their conscience and do good. Otherwise, it will lead them to live in ways that do not please Him and that will cause them great disappointment in this world and the Hereafter. Out of His mercy, Allah inspires the human conscience with many ways to train the lower self:

Believers are aware of this truth because adopting the Qur'an as their guide means that they always listen to their conscience. But those whose belief is shallow sometimes fall victim to the lower self's desires even if they acknowledge this reality. As a result, many things in this life are more important for them than winning Allah's favor. Their basic goals are to get a good job, have a good marriage and a good circle of friends, be respected, have money, live in luxury, and make the best use of all of the blessings that this life has to offer. What is wrong with this? In short, they regard these things as more important than winning Allah's favor and so choose them instead of trying to please Him. Otherwise, it is legitimate to have all of the good things in this life. People who think in this way generally do not believe in Allah, the Hereafter, or the Day of Judgment. They just take what they can from this life and placate their lower self. Some people want to hide their strong attachment to this life and their lower self by saying that they believe in Allah and that their main goal is to win His favor. Sometimes they might even display a moral attitude similar to that enjoined in the Qur'an. However, they show their real faces when something conflicts with their lower self's desires, and begins to harm their personal interests. One can see this in daily life. For example, those who worry about the future think that guaranteeing their own material and emotional situation and that of their family is more important than winning Allah's favor. They may regard personal gain as more important than trying to conform to the Qur'an's moral teachings. In the Qur'an Allah describes the insincere nature of this spiritual state, for such people have no real belief and view their own profit as more important than Allah's approval: Yet you see those with sickness in their hearts rushing to them, saying:

Such people do not consider that everything is under Allah's control and that everything happens, both now and in the future, only with His permission. No precautions can prevent a calamity from befalling them, and their efforts will be of no use if Allah has willed the calamity. In the same way, if Allah has willed that something good happens, no one can prevent it.

Those who are aware of this reality will not worry about this life or the future. As long as they are sincere and work to achieve Allah's favor, they will enjoy His assistance, mercy, and support, by His leave. In the Qur'an, He proclaims the glad tidings of this mercy:

Only Allah gives us blessings. People who forget this, thinking that they can obtain their own blessings by pursuing the things of this world, are living in great error.

For sincere believers, nothing is more important than winning Allah's favor in every sphere of life. For them, material possessions, wealth, status, respect, or concerns for the future are unimportant. They never compromise their goals, even if such a decision results in hardship or anxiety. They gladly undertake any act of self-sacrifice to win His favor, for they are aware that Allah's friendship, love, and mercy are beyond value and cannot be compared with any earthly blessing, and that nothing can be given in exchange for them. As Allah states in the Qur'an: Say:

In another verse, He tells us that sincere believers regard winning His favor as more important than fulfilling their lower self's desires:

As Allah says, believers give up everything without a second thought in order to win Allah's favor. Knowing that He will reward them with much finer things in the Hereafter, they live in this world without pursuing their own comfort and advantage, without expecting any return for their self-sacrifice. Their only hope is to win Allah's approval: