Assignment # 35: Explore the literary value of لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا&;learn how the Holy Quran helps to see the option of forgiveness despite being too close to the situation For the Departments of English & Media Studies by Prof. Dr. Sohail Ansari
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
“Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its
capacity” Al Baqarah (2): 286
So, every time one faces any difficulties or hardships. He must keep
this verse in mind.
Whenever one thinks of giving up,
just remember that one can actually overcome it. Our Creator knows better of us
as one of his creatures, that we are capable of facing it. He believes we can!
So now we have to believe in ourself.
Literary value
Literary value means that the book has
substance. Books with literary value usually have complex and/or fascinating
plots. Books with literary value usually teach you something worth knowing;
oftentimes the message is so strong that it changes who you are as a person. It
leaves an impact on you and makes a difference in the reader.
Exercise: Explore the literary
value of
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ ۚ إِنَّهُ
كَانَ تَوَّابًا –
Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and
ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance. (110:3)
Surah An-Nasr 110
The above verse gives us the clear indication
that all we need is to always look upon to Allah and his mercy, He clearly
mentions that he accepts the repentance of those who seek his forgiveness.
The instruction:
'To seek His
forgiveness in order to both remove pride and negligence from himself, and
avoid revengefulness'.
The phrase /inna hu kana
tawwaba/ 'surely, He is Oft-returning (to mercy)' is the statement of reason in
proportion to 'seeking forgiveness', that is, 'seek forgiveness and repent
because Allah is Oft-returning (merciful)'.
By the way, it may also refer
to the meaning that 'when Allah accepts your repentance, you, too, should
accept the repentance of the guilty after victory, as far as you can, and do
not repulse them from yourselves as long as there is no sign of offense or plot
coming from them.'
It
was not only the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) who celebrated Allah's grace and glory
on his final victory against his enemies, but all prophets throughout history
also did so. For example, when Joseph (a.s.) became exalted in Egypt and his
parents and his brothers succeeded in seeing him after a very long time, he
said: O my Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on me some power, and taught
me something of the interpretation of dreams and events, - O Thou Creator of
the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in the world and in the
Hereafter. Take Thou my soul (at death) as one submitting to Thy Will (as a
Muslim), and unite me with the righteous. (Sura Yusuf, No. 12, verse
101).
Or,
when Solomon saw the throne of Bilqis (Queen of Sheba) ready before him, he
said: ...this is by the grace of my Lord! - to test me whether I am
grateful or ungrateful!... (Sura Naml, No. 27, verse 40).
What lesson to be learned?:
It is not about Man's
self-glory, but humility; not power, but, service; not an appeal to Man's
selfishness or self-sufficiency, but, a realization of Allah's Grace and Mercy,
and the abundant outpouring of Allah's Praises in word and conduct.
Forgiveness can be hard.
We all have this tendency to our
hurt and carry it around like a weight in a backpack. We just keep piling in
those hurts, until we bend and break beneath the weight of our bitterness. Even
as adults, this is something we’re prone to do. No matter how we try
forgiveness doesn’t seem to be our natural instinct.
It has always been
difficult for us because we never learn
to grapple with the emotions associated with hurt. Friends can be fickle. Hurt
people hurt people. And we are left aching from the hurt yet unable to process
what we’re feeling and find the path towards forgiveness.
Exercise
Howۚ إِنَّهُ
كَانَ تَوَّابًا can help us
see how to forgive and then experience the freedom from the additional hurt
that comes along with holding a grudge.
Exercise
we are often too close to the
situation to see any other option than letting the bitterness sink in making
way for revenge to take over. And so, our words fail us and we need some help.
Howۚ إِنَّهُ
كَانَ تَوَّابًا can help us
Thankfully, we have this verse
and that gives us a perspective on life we can’t see on our own. Forgiveness is
one of those areas where such verses of the Quran can offer a perspective for us
to discover a pathway out of the pain to find a place where we can let go of
that bitterness backpack we’ve been carrying around.
Exercise
What perspective ۚ
إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا
gives us?
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