Strive for your abilities to please Allah （Abdullah Cheng )
Dear brothers and sisters,
Out of the Infinite Mercy and Wisdom of Allah (SWT), He has created each one of us differently and has blessed us with unique personalities, talents and abilities that are specific to each one of us. Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا
Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures. [17:70]
Allah Himself testified that we are among the most honored and dignified creations compared to all other creations He has created, which is a mercy and blessing Allah has granted us over others. But yet, there are times when many of us look down upon ourselves, there are times when many of us feel useless compared to others who are skillful in certain areas, there are times when many of us think that no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to achieve what others have achieved.
This is not the mindset that we Muslims should have. We should first remind ourselves of the reality of this life, which is that Allah has put us in this world in order to endure trials and tribulations, and to strive to the best of our abilities to please Him, as Allah says:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا
˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. [67:2]
Even when we feel that some people have extraordinary advantages that we don't have, we must remember that even that is part of Allah's test, both for those people and ourselves. On one hand, those who have been given extraordinary abilities and advantages are tested with responsibilities, whether they use them for the sake of Allah or for their own desires. On the other hand, those who do not have the same abilities and advantages are tested with contentment and patience, whether they are content with what Allah has given them or they feel jealous about others and complain about their own situation.
These extraordinary abilities and advantages are not just some extreme superpowers such as being a billionaire or a genius or a famous celebrity, but they can be as simple as being able to speak fluently, being surrounded by Muslims, being able to make lots of jokes, being able to learn skills quickly, being good at teaching, even just being a Taiwanese or an Indonesian or a Pakistani, being a man or a woman, being an adult or a child, if we really think about it, there are always advantages we have that others don't have. What we need to do is to recognize ourselves and acknowledge our own abilities, and observe how we can leverage, maximize, and make use of these abilities to serve in the path of Allah. It doesn't matter what advantages we are given, whatever advantages we have, they can all be used for the sake of Allah, and Allah will not account for the abilities that are above our control, but we are only responsible for the abilities that are within our control, as Allah (SWT) says in the last verse of Surah Al-Baqarah:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
Allah does burden a soul more than what it can afford [2:286]
In fact, when we look at all the Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, there is always something special about every single one of them. Allah didn't just mention the story of one prophet, but He mentioned the stories of more than 20 different prophets in the Qur'an, because there are lessons we can learn from each of these stories, and from these stories, we learn that despite having different special abilities that are unique to them, for example, Prophet Musa (AS) was given power through his staff to split the Red Sea, Prophet Sulaiman (AS) was given the ability to understand the language of animals, Prophet Yusuf (AS) was extremely good-looking and was given the ability to interpret dreams, and so on, but despite having different special abilities, all of them were tested in different ways, and all of them took good advantage of their abilities and used them in the path of Allah.
We can also see from the life of our beloved Prophet (SAW) how he acknowledged the uniqueness of each Sahabi and assigned them different tasks according to their abilities. One of the classical examples is Khalid ibn al-Walid (RA), who used to be one of the main enemies of Islam, but after he became a Muslim, the Prophet (SAW) recognized his military expertise and appointed him as a leader in battles. Another example is Mu'adh ibn Jabal (RA), whom the Prophet (SAW) praised as being "the most knowledgeable of the Halal and Haram", and he was even appointed as a judge during the lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) when the Prophet was not around. And then we have Bilal ibn Rabah (RA), who was known for his beautiful voice, even though we know that the phrases of the Adhan were revealed through the dreams of Abdullah ibn Zayd (RA), but the Prophet (SAW) chose Bilal to be the first muezzin because he knows that Bilal has a beautiful voice that can attract people to come to perform Salah at the Masjid.
Now when we look back at ourselves, we should be the first ones to know about ourselves, recognize our own abilities, and acknowledge them, both the good sides and the bad sides that we have, and start investing in and developing them, instead of ignoring them and blindly following whatever the trend is. If a farmer has a piece of land very suitable for growing fruits, then he shouldn’t waste time planting vegetables that are not suited to that land just because other farmers are doing the same, as our Prophet (SAW) warned us:
“Do not be blind followers, saying that if our people are good we will be good, and if they are unjust we will be unjust. Rather, decide for yourselves. If the people are good, be good. If they are evil, do not be unjust.” [At-Tirmidhi 2007]
We should remind ourselves that there is definitely something special about each one of us simply because Allah has honored us as the children of Adam.
May Allah (SWT) put His blessings into our time and effort, may Allah increase our worship and devotion to Him, and may Allah allow us to fulfill the responsibilities and duties given to us.
Out of the Infinite Mercy and Wisdom of Allah (SWT), He has created each one of us differently and has blessed us with unique personalities, talents and abilities that are specific to each one of us. Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا
Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures. [17:70]
Allah Himself testified that we are among the most honored and dignified creations compared to all other creations He has created, which is a mercy and blessing Allah has granted us over others. But yet, there are times when many of us look down upon ourselves, there are times when many of us feel useless compared to others who are skillful in certain areas, there are times when many of us think that no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to achieve what others have achieved.
This is not the mindset that we Muslims should have. We should first remind ourselves of the reality of this life, which is that Allah has put us in this world in order to endure trials and tribulations, and to strive to the best of our abilities to please Him, as Allah says:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا
˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. [67:2]
Even when we feel that some people have extraordinary advantages that we don't have, we must remember that even that is part of Allah's test, both for those people and ourselves. On one hand, those who have been given extraordinary abilities and advantages are tested with responsibilities, whether they use them for the sake of Allah or for their own desires. On the other hand, those who do not have the same abilities and advantages are tested with contentment and patience, whether they are content with what Allah has given them or they feel jealous about others and complain about their own situation.
These extraordinary abilities and advantages are not just some extreme superpowers such as being a billionaire or a genius or a famous celebrity, but they can be as simple as being able to speak fluently, being surrounded by Muslims, being able to make lots of jokes, being able to learn skills quickly, being good at teaching, even just being a Taiwanese or an Indonesian or a Pakistani, being a man or a woman, being an adult or a child, if we really think about it, there are always advantages we have that others don't have. What we need to do is to recognize ourselves and acknowledge our own abilities, and observe how we can leverage, maximize, and make use of these abilities to serve in the path of Allah. It doesn't matter what advantages we are given, whatever advantages we have, they can all be used for the sake of Allah, and Allah will not account for the abilities that are above our control, but we are only responsible for the abilities that are within our control, as Allah (SWT) says in the last verse of Surah Al-Baqarah:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
Allah does burden a soul more than what it can afford [2:286]
In fact, when we look at all the Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, there is always something special about every single one of them. Allah didn't just mention the story of one prophet, but He mentioned the stories of more than 20 different prophets in the Qur'an, because there are lessons we can learn from each of these stories, and from these stories, we learn that despite having different special abilities that are unique to them, for example, Prophet Musa (AS) was given power through his staff to split the Red Sea, Prophet Sulaiman (AS) was given the ability to understand the language of animals, Prophet Yusuf (AS) was extremely good-looking and was given the ability to interpret dreams, and so on, but despite having different special abilities, all of them were tested in different ways, and all of them took good advantage of their abilities and used them in the path of Allah.
We can also see from the life of our beloved Prophet (SAW) how he acknowledged the uniqueness of each Sahabi and assigned them different tasks according to their abilities. One of the classical examples is Khalid ibn al-Walid (RA), who used to be one of the main enemies of Islam, but after he became a Muslim, the Prophet (SAW) recognized his military expertise and appointed him as a leader in battles. Another example is Mu'adh ibn Jabal (RA), whom the Prophet (SAW) praised as being "the most knowledgeable of the Halal and Haram", and he was even appointed as a judge during the lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) when the Prophet was not around. And then we have Bilal ibn Rabah (RA), who was known for his beautiful voice, even though we know that the phrases of the Adhan were revealed through the dreams of Abdullah ibn Zayd (RA), but the Prophet (SAW) chose Bilal to be the first muezzin because he knows that Bilal has a beautiful voice that can attract people to come to perform Salah at the Masjid.
Now when we look back at ourselves, we should be the first ones to know about ourselves, recognize our own abilities, and acknowledge them, both the good sides and the bad sides that we have, and start investing in and developing them, instead of ignoring them and blindly following whatever the trend is. If a farmer has a piece of land very suitable for growing fruits, then he shouldn’t waste time planting vegetables that are not suited to that land just because other farmers are doing the same, as our Prophet (SAW) warned us:
“Do not be blind followers, saying that if our people are good we will be good, and if they are unjust we will be unjust. Rather, decide for yourselves. If the people are good, be good. If they are evil, do not be unjust.” [At-Tirmidhi 2007]
We should remind ourselves that there is definitely something special about each one of us simply because Allah has honored us as the children of Adam.
May Allah (SWT) put His blessings into our time and effort, may Allah increase our worship and devotion to Him, and may Allah allow us to fulfill the responsibilities and duties given to us.