World Blog by humble servant.Winners and Losers

Winners and Losers

Every year there’s a Super Bowl, a World Series, and a Stanley Cup. The winning team and their fans are extremely happy. That happiness may last for weeks, even months, with celebrations, parades, visits to the White House.

And it’s not just the big game; there’s all the work that it takes to get there. To get to the NFL, they estimate that a child will probably have logged in about 10,000 hours of practice starting from their school years. The time and money spent to reach the top echelon of a sport and then to remain there is staggering. Practice, team meetings, treatment of injuries, weight training—the list goes on and on.

It’s huge, but in a short while, it will fade from our memory and from the public consciousness. Who won Super Bowl XX? Does anyone remember? And it’s not just football, you take any sport or any event from decades ago, people don’t care. One could say, it’s just a game. But even things that were matters of life and death in their time, even entire countries and civilizations, if you go back enough—no one really remembers or cares too much about why the ancient Greeks and Romans were fighting. Or why France and England were battling. Or what was going on in the ancient  Indian or Persian or Chinese civilization centuries ago. And that’s symbolic, in some sense, of this life. It is finite and it vanishes.

And thank God we understand that and with God’s help, we can put things in perspective. God willing, we don’t get too attached to this life because we know we do have to leave it behind.

Rearranging Our Priorities

[6:32] The life of this world is no more than illusion and vanity, while the abode of the Hereafter is far better for the righteous. Do you not understand?!

[28:60] Everything that is given to you is only the material of this life, and its vanity. What is with GOD is far better, and everlasting. Do you not understand?

But let’s ask ourselves how much effort do we put in for the Hereafter? If you ask players or staff if they will put in 8-10 hours of work a day, every week, every year, to get a Super Bowl ring? Most would answer, “Yes!” without hesitation. From the coach to the groundskeeper, they are more than willing to work hard for that prize.

Do we put in that kind of work for the Hereafter? To please God and grow our souls? The victory of the Hereafter lasts forever. It’s not last year’s news. It’s eternal news. While winning or losing in this world doesn’t matter in the long run, we don’t want to be a loser in the Hereafter. [8:37] GOD will sift away the bad from the good, then pile the bad on top of each other, all in one pile, then throw it in Hell. Such are the losers

 

We learn from the Quran that all of the following can lead to becoming “losers” in God’s eyes:

idol-worship: [39:65] It has been revealed to you, and to those before you that if you ever commit idol worship, all your works will be nullified, and you will be with the losers.

Following some religion other than Submission: [3:85] Anyone who accepts other than Submission as his religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be with the losers.

Being unaware of the Hereafter or disbelieving in it: [6:31] Losers indeed are those who disbelieve in meeting GOD, until the Hour comes to them suddenly then say, “We deeply regret wasting our lives in this world.” They will carry loads of their sins on their backs; what a miserable load! [6:32] The life of this world is no more than illusion and vanity, while the abode of the Hereafter is far better for the righteous. Do you not understand?!

Siding with disbelievers: [11:113] Do not lean towards those who have transgressed, lest you incur Hell, and find no allies to help you against GOD, then end up losers.

Killing one’s children: [6:140] Losers indeed are those who killed their children foolishly, due to their lack of knowledge, and prohibited what GOD has provided for them, and followed innovations attributed to GOD. They have gone astray; they are not guided.

Giving priority to this life: [16:107-109] This is because they have given priority to this life over the Hereafter, and GOD does not guide such disbelieving people.  Those are the ones whom GOD has sealed their hearts, and their hearing, and their eyesight. Consequently, they remain unaware.  Without a doubt, they will be the losers in the Hereafter.

Taking God’s blessings for granted: [7:99] Have they taken GOD’s plans for granted? None takes GOD’s plans for granted except the losers.

 

Listening to Satan’s whispers: [58:19] The devil has possessed them, and has caused them to disregard GOD’s message. These are the party of the devil. Absolutely, the party of the devil are the losers.

Our ego: [5:30] His ego provoked him into killing his brother. He killed him, and ended up with the losers.

An inflated opinion of ourselves: [18:103] Say, “Shall I tell you who the worst losers are? [18:104] “They are the ones whose works in this life are totally astray, but they think that they are doing good.” [18:105] Such are the ones who disbelieved in the revelations of their Lord and in meeting Him. Therefore, their works are in vain; on the Day of Resurrection, they have no weight. [18:106] Their just requital is Hell, in return for their disbelief, and for mocking My revelations and My messengers.

So, what does it take to win? Early in the Quran, God talks about Winners.

[2:2] This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous; [2:3] who believe in the unseen, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and from our provisions to them, they give to charity. [2:4] And they believe in what was revealed to you, and in what was revealed before you, and with regard to the Hereafter, they are absolutely certain. [2:5] These are guided by their Lord; these are the winners.

We can be winners, if we follow God’s guidance, worship Him alone, strive against our jinn and Satan and all the disbelievers, if we’re steadfast, humble, and righteous, if we continue to do our prayers with reverence and give to charity cheerfully.

[3:104] Let there be a community of you who invite to what is good, advocate righteousness, and forbid evil. These are the winners.  [7:8] The scales will be set on that day, equitably. Those whose weights are heavy will be the winners.

[30:38] Therefore, you shall give the relatives their rightful share (of charity), as well as the poor, and the traveling alien. This is better for those who sincerely seek GOD’s pleasure; they are the winners.

[23:111] “I have rewarded them today, in return for their steadfastness, by making them the winners.”

[28:67] As for those who repent, believe, and lead a righteous life, they will end up with the winners.

[59:20] Not equal are the dwellers of the Hellfire and the dwellers of Paradise; the dwellers of Paradise are the winners.

Winning athletes often have innate physical abilities that enhance their chance for success. We also have a God-given head start to becoming a winner. We are born with instinctive knowledge about God. That’s like the “athletic ability” or the “God-given gifts” people talk about for athletes. We’re born with this. All of us. Praise be to God.

 

 We Are Born With Instinctive Knowledge About God

[7:172] Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They all said, “Yes. We bear witness.” Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were not aware of this.”

That’s just the beginning. The rules of the game are spelled out, and we have all the “moves” or “answers” we need in the Quran. That’s our “playbook”, the perfect one too. Full of wisdom. And we have the best “Coach” for this playbook, GOD (55:1-2)!

May God help us to do the work, and avoid the pitfalls, so we can all become winners.

Happiness: Now and Forever

[10:62] Absolutely, GOD’s allies have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

[10:63] They are those who believe and lead a righteous life.

[10:64] For them, joy and happiness in this world, as well as in the Hereafter. This is GOD’s unchangeable law. Such is the greatest triumph. [10:65] Do not be saddened by their utterances.