Zeal and Enthusiasm Described in the Qur'an: What the Believers’ Excitement is Like
Contents
- Introduction
- What is Zeal?
- Who Belongs to a Society of Ignorance
- The Excitement of Its Members is but a Temporary Desire
- The Source of Believers’ Enthusiasm: Their Faith, Love and Devotion to Allah
- Believers' Enthusiasm is Non-abating
- There are Those Among Believers Who are Foremost in Good Deeds.
- The Kinds of Behavior that Reveal the Zeal of Believers
- Loyalty to Allah Until the End of Their Lives
- Seeking the Kinds of Deeds that Most Please Allah
- Preference of the Religion’s Interests to Their Own
- Commitment to Live Good Morals
- Submission of Themselves and Their Wealth to Allah
- Competition in Righteousness
- Remaining Patient in the Face of Difficulties
- Becoming More Zealous in the Face of Hardships
- Seeking Allah’s Approval with Great Joy
- What the Believers’ Excitement is Like
- The Observance of Allah’s Artistry in Creation
- Seeing Blessings and Beauties
- Love and Friendship
- Protecting the Righteous
- Worship
- Reciting Verses of the Qur’an
- Supplication
- Repentance to Draw Closer to Allah
- Communicating the Good Values of the Qur’an
- The Thought of Paradise
- Obtaining Power and Strength
- Obtaining the Aid and Support of Allah
- Obtaining Paradise
- The Indifference of Those Whose Faith is Not Assured
- Those Whose Faith is Not Assured
- Their Presence Among Believers
- Their Lingering Behind
- Lingering Behind is Not Advantageous but Foolishness
- Consequences Resulting from Deeds Done Unenthusiastically and Reluctantly
- The Only Solution to Lack of Enthusiasm: Fear of Allah
- Conclusion
In societies remote from values of the Qur’an, the word "excitement" often expresses feelings of nervousness, anxiety, stress and agitation in the face of certain events. It is not a positive feeling but something distressful. The excitement of believers, on the other hand, is a feeling of ebullience experienced at the thought of Allah’s artistry, of His blessings, and of the eternal life in paradise. Disbelievers experience feelings of distress because they do not put their trust in Allah. Putting trust in Allah means taking Allah as one’s guardian and relying only upon Him. Since people of ignorance fail to appreciate the greatness of Allah, they cannot experience feelings of trust and submission. Instead of taking Allah as their protector, they expect to receive assistance from worldly sources. For this reason they can never get rid of the fears and anxieties particular to the ignorant. Believers, however, are not afflicted with the distress found in ignorant societies thanks to the trust they place in their Lord. They are the ones who profoundly experience the excitement of faith which the Qur’an describes as an attribute of believers. That is because they are aware that every single occurrence is created for a Divine purpose and so, contemplate deeply to perceive Divine purposes. By exercising consciousness, they can easily see purposes hidden in the most delicate details. When compared to people of ignorance, they show more sensitivity to the very same occurrence, derive more pleasure and feel greater excitement from it. They experience zeal and excitement from knowledge that they have been created from nothing into a colorful world where hundreds of thousands, even millions of miracles exist all together at the same time. Wherever they look, they see the unique artistry of Allah: the universe, the sky, the sun, the moon, the butterflies, millions of animals, plants, fruits, etc. A believer cannot help getting excited when he envisions all these.