Mutual Loss and Gain

The disbelievers say that there is no life after death, so this surah responds by talking about Allah's ability to create and bring everyone back to life for judgment.

On Judgment Day, people will be divided into winners and losers - with the winners going to Jannah, and the losers going to Jahannam.

Allah always supports those who put their trust in Him.

A Muslim should always have true faith in Allah and not be distracted by anyone or anything.

Verses 1-4 talk about Allah's infinite knowledge and ability to create. He is the One Who gave us our perfect form. So, no matter what you look like, this is the form Allah created specifically for you. And no matter what people say, your form is perfect in the sight of Allah. No one should be bullied because of the colour of their skin, the shape of their nose, or the quality of their hair.

Someone may ask, If Allah created humans in the best form, how come some are born blind,deaf, or mute? To answer this question, we have to see the full picture. Overall, Allah created ev-eryone and everything for a purpose. People are born witha head, body, two arms, and two legs. All of their organs are in the perfect place for them to work properly. Imagine if your nose was on your elbow or your feet on your head! However, some people have organs that don't function properly. Every person is blessed and tested in different ways-physically, spiritually, mentally. financially, and so on. While it might be challenging to some who are born with a disability, Allah blesses them in other ways in this life and the next. Growing up ina small village in Egypt, some of my Quran teachers were blind, but Allah had gifted them with a strong memory so they were able to memorize the whole Quran just by listening to it. On Judgment Day, those who had dis- abilities in this life will be able to see, hear, walk, and talk perfectly, and Allah will honour them in Jannah for their patience and sacrifices..

According to a fictional story, two twins were chatting while they were inside their mother One of them believed in life after birth' and the other one denied it. The believer said to tha denier, l am sure there is life outside this womb.The denier responded, No way. There ie nothing after birth. Once we leave this place, we die. The believer said, No, we will mOve to a bigger world, eat fruits and vegetables, run around, and see the light. The denier said, You lost your mind. We will not be able to eat because we don't have teeth. We will not be able to run around because our feet are too weak. And we will not be able to see because there is no light outside. The believer said, Of course, we will. Our mother will take care of us until we are strong enough to eat, walk, and see. The denier said mockingly, What?! We have never seen the mother; we have never touched the mother. There is no proof that the mother ex- ists. The believer said, Just because you have not seen the mother, it doesn't mean that she doesn't exist. If you can't see her with your eyes, you sure can feel her with your heart.

According to the following passage, some people deny life after death, simply because they have not seen it with their eyes. However, we all believe certain things exist even without seeing them. For example, the soul, the mind, oxygen, gravity, radio waves, and the internet. We know for sure that our great grandparents existed even if we didn't see them. When Allah says that something exists, we should believe Him, because His words are more truthful than Our own eyes.Can you correct the person in the illustration below?

We as Muslims believe that Allah is in control of the universe. Sometimes we understand why certain things happen; sometimes we don't. According to the Quran, even the angels didn't know why Allah put the human race on earth (2:30). Prophet lbrahim didn't know how Allah would give life to the dead (2:260). So, they asked Allah for answers because they wanted to learn. not to question His wisdom. We believe that Allah is the Most Wise.How many times have we gotten excited when something go0d happened but it turned out + be a disaster for us? How many times have we felt sad because something bad happened andis turned out to be a blessing for us? Alah sees the whole picture; we only see a small pixel. Sorme times, Alah would make you lose a job, just to give you a better one. Prophet Yusuf suffered one hardship after another, only to become Egypt's Minister of Supplies. Maybe Allah would al. low something bad to happen to someone to protect them from something worse. A passenger once missed a flight. He was very sad on his way home from the airport. In the morning, he found out that the plane had crashed into the sea. Maybe Allah allows natural disasters to happen, so we may donate and volunteer to help our fellow human beings. A student once asked his teach- er, Do you see all the people who are suffering and starving in the world? What has Allah done to help them?The teacher replied He created you!

There was a flood and a man climbed to the roof of his house. The water was up to the roof when arescue boat came to get him. He was told to get in. But he said, I put my trust in Allah. He will save me. Now the water was up to his feet and a helicopter came and told him to get in. He said, I put my trust in Allah. He will save me. Then the water rose again and he was swept away. While he was drowning, he asked why Allah didn't help him. He didn't know that Allah did already. He sent him a rescue boat and a helicopter! The moral is that we need to do our part while also trusting in Allah.

This is a true story of a Canadian sister named Bilkis, originally from Tanzania. In 2002, she lost 3 of her 4 children in a fire that destroyed her house. Although this was a horrible experi- ence for the family, Bilkis didn't give up. She started Qamer Foundation (a charity organization named after her oldest daughter) to help some of the poor people living in Africa, including orphans. Through her organization, she has provided places for children to live and study, and clean water to drink. She has also helped with tons of school and medical supplies. It's true that she lost 3 kids, but now she is like a mother to many.'

Arthur Ashe was a famous U.S. tennis player who won many national and international compe-titions, including Wimbledon in 1975. However, his fans were shocked to find out that he wasgoing to die at a young age after getting infected with AlDS during a heart surgery. Letters o support poured from all over the world. One emotional letter asked, Why does God have tochoose someone like you for this horrible illness? Ashe replied, There are millions who play tennis on both the beginner and professional levels. When God chose me to carry the cup Wimbledon, I didn't ask Him, 'Why me?' Now, I don't have the right to ask Him, Why me?

In 2014, I met a new Muslim brother named Tom (Yaqoub)) at a youth camp in Hamilton, ON,Canada. In his lecture, he told us about how he carme to Islam and did his hail. He also told usthat he was later diagnosed with cancer, and was told by his doctors that he would die in a yearor two, leaving behind two young children, I shook his hand after the talk and asked why hehad a big smile on his face while telling us his sad story, He said, l am happy because ll meetAllah as a Muslim. I then asked, Are you not worried about your little kids? He smiled and said, Allah will take care of them more than I ever could.Brother Tom passed away in z01b,and was buried in the city of Kitchener, ON, Many people attended his funeral because they had been touched by his gentle personality.?

According to the following passage, when we put our trust in Allah, He will take care of us in difficult times.?

Some new Makkan Muslims wanted to join the Prophet a and the rest of the believers in Madinah because they couldn't practice their faith freely in Makkah. However, their families refused to leave with them, so everyone ended up staying in Makkah. Later, when they moved to Madinah, those Makkan Muslims were mad at their families for holding them back in Makkah and missing out on the knowledge that other Muslims had. In the following passage, Allah is teaching those upset Muslims to forgive their families and move on with their lives. (Recorded by Imam At-Tirmizi}

A scholar was invited to give a talk on how to get over bad things that happened in the past. He started oft by teling a very good joke, and everyone laughed very hard. Then he told the same joke a second time, and only a fevw people laughed. Then he repeated the same joke for the third time, and no one laughed because the joke became very boring. He told them, This is my point. Just like you didn't laugh when a good joke was repeated, don't be sad over and over every time you rernember bad things from the past. They are already behind your back. You can't fix the past, but you can try to enjoy the present, and make the future better