Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings: Being Patient and Performing SelfSacrificial Deeds

Allah tells us that people will encounter hardships and anxiety as well as blessings:

Allah explains the reason for this: "We will test you until We know the true fighters among you and those who are steadfast, and test what is reported of you" (Surah Muhammad: 31) and:

Indeed, hardship brings out a person's true character: courageous or cowardly; generous or mean; humane, aware, and compassionate, or thoughtless and selfish. In the same way, the excellent character of those believers who have dedicated their life to Allah and striven to win His favor is also revealed under harsh conditions. No matter what difficulty or hardship they may encounter, they will remain steadfast in the eagerness and determination that their belief has imparted to them. Even in the hardest circumstances they will try to do their best and help others. They know that Allah creates such circumstances to test people, to see whether they will engage in the same amount of selfsacrifice as they would if they were in a comfortable situation. For example, they cannot just be generous when they are well-off, but must be the same when they find themselves in reduced circumstances. They know that being distracted with their own problems and not considering other people's difficult straits are incompatible with the Qur'an's morality, for Allah is pleased when they help those in need. Allah tells us that the believers of Mecca, who abandoned all of their possessions and moved to Madinah to escape persecution, were welcomed by the believers of Madina. The latter took care of the former and gladly shared everything with them, even if they suffered as a result. In the Qur'an Allah tells us about the Madinan believers' (the Ansar [Supporters]) superior moral character toward the Meccan believers (the Muhajirun [Migrants]):

Allah reveals in another verse the good news about the Ansar, who put Allah's approval before appeasing the desires of their own hearts:

Ali said that performing acts of self-sacrifice was a great blessing: I do not know which of these two things is the greater in terms of gratitude: the first is my Muslim brother's applying to me with a pure intent with the idea of relieving my need. The second is Allah's making good his need through my hands. I swear that meeting the need of my Muslim brother is more delightful than having all the world's gold and silver by my side. (Muhammad Yusuf Kandahlawi, Hayat as-Sahabe [Life of the Companions], vol. 2: Sentez Nesriyat, p. 474.) Allah informs us of the excellent moral character of those believers who, in spite of their own need, gave to the poor, the orphans, and the captives:

In these verses, Allah shows us the extent to which believers can sacrifice their own interests. They spend their lives fearing and respecting Allah and listening to their conscience. These things determine their actions. They know that everything they have given up to win His favor will earn them a far better reward in the Hereafter. Their need may be short-lived, but their good deeds will bring them Allah's love, friendship, and mercy. This hope will make them forget their deprivation, for it will be the source of great joy and pleasure. This is the only basis of real goodness and self-sacrifice. Real goodness is defined in the Qur’an as:

Here, it must be noted that people can never be sure of what they will encounter in the Hereafter. For this reason, believers have a constant hope, as well as a sense of fear, in regard to the Hereafter. Only knowing that they have spent their life seeking His approval and practicing the Qur'an's moral teachings keeps their hope constant and strong.

Spreading Good Morals

When believers consciously seek to live an honest and sincere morality, they encourage others around them to do the same. As Allah says, urging others to live a moral life is one of their responsibilities:

Moreover, believers want others to experience the blessings and contentment that living such a moral life brings. Allah says that leading a good life is possible only if people turn to Allah and live the kind of moral life that pleases Him: "Only in the remembrance of Allah can the heart find peace" (Surat ar-Ra'd: 28) and "if anyone turns away from My reminder, his life will be a dark and narrow one, and on the Day of Resurrection, We will gather him blind" (Surah Ta Ha: 124). Throughout history, a society's lack of religious morality has inevitably resulted in its people living lives full of anxiety in troubled, war-torn environments; suffering hunger, famine, exile, and oppression; and denying orphans and those old people who are in need proper care.

Believers are aware of this fact and therefore eager to spread religious morality among their people. This undertaking requires selfsacrifice, patience, and determination.

Moreover, believers understand the true

Qur'anic nature of self-sacrifice and thus naturally feel a sense of responsibility when they see other people coping with anxiety and problems.

Having this clear awareness, believers do not remain uninvolved out of the mistaken idea that it is not their responsibility, that someone more skilled and intelligent should solve the problem, or that someone with more material resources should do something about it. They would never be so selfish as to think that they have enough problems of their own and that other people should solve their own problems.

They consider the guidance, intelligence, understanding, and openness that they have received from Allah as great blessings and act accordingly. Without waiting for someone to ask for help, they are prepared to shoulder every responsibility and transcend their own milieu in an attempt to solve all people's problems. They do this so that they might be examples of good moral character:

Sincere believers may be required to perform many acts of selfsacrifice to fulfill this responsibility. Such individuals place their own problems and needs second to solving the problems of others. They will mobilize all of their resources to do this, even to the point of suffering themselves. They will be patient, determined, and undaunted by the magnitude of the problems they encounter.

Allah tells us about the prophets' and sincere believers' great efforts to establish religious morality, and stresses the importance of having a good moral character in the Qur’an. Although they faced many difficulties while trying to fulfill this task, they spread their moral message with zeal, self-sacrifice, and complete sincerity, because their only purpose was to be rewarded with Allah's approval. Allah inform us of the prophets' many sincere acts, all of which are examples to humanity. For example, the Prophet Noah preached the importance of having a good moral character only to win Allah's approval: ... their brother Noah asked them:

[Noah said:]

Allah tells us that the number of people who follow the prophets' advice is generally very small:

Most people do not accept this invitation to salvation in both worlds, even though doing so would give them a good and happy life. Moreover, they are determined not to understand the message. The prophets and other sincere believers who preached the importance of having a good moral character were always patient and displayed their moral excellence and sincere self-sacrifice by speaking the finest of words. They did all that they could not for their own gain, but to save people from the pain of Hell. They did not become angry with those who refused their message, for their awareness enabled them to proclaim the truth patiently and to find the best way to reach others. The Prophet Noah's message to his people clearly shows his sincerity, self-sacrifice, and patience: He [Noah] said:

The Prophet Noah used many methods to convince his people to follow the true path. We are told in these verses that this virtuous person advised his people day and night and that they opposed him so much that they put their fingers in their ears [and] wrapped themselves up in their clothes. But in spite of this, he continued to relay Allah's message with patience and sincerity: [Noah said:] "I said: ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Truly, He is Endlessly Forgiving. He will send heaven down on you in abundant rain and reinforce you with more wealth and children, and grant you gardens and waterways. Why do you not hope for honor from Allah, when He created you by successive stages? Do you not see how He created seven heavens in layers, placed the Moon as a light in them, and made the Sun a blazing lamp? Allah caused you to grow from earth, and will return you to it and bring you out of it again. Allah has spread out the land as a carpet for you so that you can use its wide valleys as roadways.'" Noah said:

No one responded to Noah's sincere appeal; rather, Allah reveals that they hatched a mighty plot. Other prophets and sincere believers encountered similar opposition from their people. But instead of being intimidated, they persisted in calling them to believe in Allah and live lives pleasing to Him. Allah tells His servants who engage in self-sacrifice only to win His favor that: If anyone desires the reward of this world, We will give him some of it. If anyone desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him some of it. We will recompense the thankful.

Being Patient and Self-Sacrificial at All

Times Prophets and believers have always encountered many hardships, for their people seldom welcome them. Their attempts to spread the Qur'an's high morality conflicted with the interests of those societies inhabited by unbelievers, hypocrites, and idolaters. Such people thought that being honest and having good intentions, engaging in self-sacrifice and generosity, doing good deeds without expecting any return, treating people justly and kindly, and regarding everyone as equal without distinguishing between rich and poor would undo their social system. They understood that the unjust and immoral practices so far in effect would attract far more attention once people who practiced such a morality became the majority. These worries caused them to harbor a great enmity toward all believers, which, in turn, blinded them to the good that following the Qur'an's morality would bring them or the wisdom of the advice contained therein. The prophets spread the message through every kind of self-sacrifice and without expecting any reward, but their people, unable to conquer their own hostility, did whatever they could to stop them and invalidate the message in their people's eyes. The unbelievers' reaction is always the same. In the Qur'an Allah tells us that this is a special test created for believers:

Believers know that all accusations and destructive calumny leveled against them are only part of the test sent by Allah. Therefore, they are not swayed by hardship; rather, they eagerly continue to spread the importance of good morality, hoping to be rewarded in the Hereafter. They experience full contentment and security in the knowledge that Allah always helps, advocates for, and supports sincere believers. Unbelievers set traps for believers, thinking that they can put them off with accusations and attacks. But Allah reveals in the Qur'an that He will bless all believers with success and disprove all of the accusations made against them. For example, people slandered the Prophet Moses, but Allah exonerated him:

Historically, all accusations made against prophets and believers have been pretty much the same. Whenever they called upon their unbelieving societies to practice true religion and high morality, the people accused them of sorcery and of being crazy poets: Do people find it so surprising that We should reveal to a man among them: "Warn humanity and give good news to those who believe that they are on a sure footing with their Lord?" The unbelievers say:

Furthermore they say:

[They said:]

The ruling circle of his people who did not believe said:

Those who do not believe say:

Unbelievers use such slander to diminish the influence of the believers' words. But what makes the believers' words so effective is their sincerity, honesty, awareness, and truthfulness, not to mention the fact that they are calling people to solid truth. Only Allah can cause these words to influence people and move their hearts. So, such events do not affect the people in the way that the unbelievers had hoped. In addition, other believers pay no attention to the slander directed toward fellow believers, for Allah reveals in the Qur'an:

Knowing that all prophets and sincere believers have encountered such accusations, believers think good things about their fellow believers and support each other to prove that the accusations have no foundation. As befits their character, they pay no heed to these accusations and slurs, for they

The unbelievers' war of words is not limited to making false accusations; sometimes, they actually threaten and oppress the believers in an effort to stop the spread of religious morality among their people. They threaten the believers with death, exile, prison, and torture; sometimes, they actually assault them. Allah tells us that this is nothing new, for:

Clearly, the unbelievers seek to get the believers arrested, killed, or exiled. But instead of doing so openly, they set traps to stop the spread of the Qur'an's morality. Allah tells us of these traps in many verses. One example is the case of the Prophet Lot and his family, whom the unbelieving inhabitants of the land wanted to expel for trying to live a pure and upright life among them. The Prophet Lot called upon the people to live a moral life and to abandon their shameless immorality, but: The only response of his people was to say:

Right after he and his family left, Allah destroyed the city and turned the traps set for believers against those who had set them. Believers were also threatened with imprisonment. In fact, Allah reveals that Pharaoh threatened the Prophet Moses with prison if he did not obey him: He [Pharaoh] said [to Moses]:

Another method was execution, based upon their mistaken belief that killing the prophets would prevent the spread of the Qur'an's morality and intimidate other believers. The people's threat to stone the Prophet Jethro to death was a result of this hostile attitude: They said:

Pharaoh and his inner circle made plans to kill the Prophet Moses. But with Allah's help, Moses learned of this trap:

A man came running from the furthest part of the city, shouting:

The Prophet Abraham's people tried in vain to burn the prophet who called upon them to abandon their idols and worship Allah. But Allah miraculously rescued His messenger from this difficult situation: The only answer of his people was to say:

Unbelievers act with as much hostility toward sincere believers as they do toward prophets. But no matter how aggressive their assaults may be, all prophets and believers continue to call their people to accept the Qur'an's morality with great patience. Despite all of their hardships, they remain examples of courage and self-sacrifice. They submit themselves to Allah in trust and resignation, knowing that He controls everything: Say:

[Believers are] those to whom people said: "The people have gathered against you, so fear them." But that merely increased their faith, and they said:

[Their messengers said:]

These traps and assaults, which always end favorably for believers, reveal those people who have a sickness in their heart, who work against believers, and who refuse to sacrifice for His sake. In the Qur’an Allah describes the attitudes of those who lose their zeal to spread the message in times of difficulty and who even rejoice in their lack of eagerness:

Among you there are people who hang back and if you encounter a setback then they say,

However, being slow and lazy in proclaiming the Qur'an's morality, avoiding self-sacrifice and putting the responsibility on others is not the proper way to behave. Those who ignore their conscience and abandon the truth, even though they understand it in their mind and conscience, must not think that they have gained anything. Those who are slow and among the last to live the kind of moral life pleasing to Allah will find themselves held accountable for such serious errors. Those who remain passive in this world in order to preserve their own comfort and protect their own interests will, in the Hereafter, suffer misery beyond their most vivid imaginations. Their ensuing pangs of conscience will cause them great anxiety. Besides this, if Allah wills, He may give such people misery in this life, too:

Believers place their trust in Allah when confronted with the pressure exerted on them by those seeking to block the spread of the Qur'an's morality. They will do their best to live according to the Qur'an's moral teachings regardless of their circumstances. Allah gives these people the following glad tidings:

But if they turn away, say:

Even in the face of hardship, sincere believers continue to spread the message with great enthusiasm, because they want to outdo each other in goodness and be in the forefront of those who win Allah's pleasure. They know that the self-sacrifice enjoined in the Qur'an is not limited to certain situations only, and realize that they must live every moment undaunted by hardship and determined to practice this morality. This moral character is praised in the Qur'an, and Allah promises them the following reward:

Many a prophet has been fought when there were many thousands with him. They did not give up in the face of what assailed them in the way of Allah, nor did they weaken or yield. Allah loves the steadfast. All they said was: