I am weak!

"....The Pursuer (the one who seek worldly pleasures) are the pursued (worldly pleasure) are both weak" (Al Hajj 22:73) 

In this world everyone is seeking something, running after things or obsess with certain things. Let it be their appearances, wealth, status, and love for someone or their career. In the Quran, it is mentioned that, those who are running over these worldly pleasure are weak and thing that they are running after is also weak.


The Question here is WHY? And what does it meant that the thing is weak and it will make us weak?


Okay, let me give you an example.

Try to imagine that you had save some money for the past 10 years to buy a car that you always dream of. And at last when you bought the car, it makes you feel really happy and the whole day you can't stop smiling and talking about it to your friends. Then out of sudden, a new edition came in. The car has better design, it uses less petrol, the cushion is made of leather and it has integrated gps, Bluetooth and security system. Guess what? You also want the new edition.  

Remember, There's always the NEXT car. The NEXT house. The NEXT food. The NEXT guy :) What happen to the car that you just bought? You've invested your 10 years thinking about it, dreaming about it and you deprive yourself to live comfortably in order to save money to buy the car. Why does the feeling disappear? Where's the happiness now? And now you are thinking about the NEXT car?  

This is because every time you look for these worldly things for satisfaction, it becomes your disappointment. And then we go after the NEXT THING, and it will disappoint us again. What will happen to the car after 10 years? The condition will change; the body of the car will start to rupture. The thing that suppose to give us fulfillment, finally fail to give us CONTINUOS fulfillment.


This is the condition of the humankind. They will go around and around, one thing after another to fulfill the void inside the heart. Allah start the ayah in the Quran by saying, "O you mankind" Hence, it is not the condition of a BELIEVER! Or not Allah would have said, "O you believe" If we are truly a believer, we wont find ourselves in this difficult situation. We shouldn't seek the worldly pleasure for fulfillment. Rather it is used as MEANS to fulfillment, to be close to GOD! 


The next ayah, Allah said:

 "They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed Allah is the Most Powerful and Exalted in Might" (Al Hajj 22: 74)

The previous ayah mention about the weakness of mankind and the next ayah mention about the Strength of Allah, subhanallah!  The condition of the humankind is that they appraise their wealth, family, beauty, and status - more than they should appraise Allah. Allah is trying to give reminder to all humankind that if you do that, you will be weak.


Lesson to be learn from the ayah are:

1. If we run after the Pleasure of Allah, then we will become strong.This is because, "I'm running after the Source of all Strength"
2. If we run after the things in this life, we'll be weaken. Just like the condition of the car after 10 years.  

Ibn al - Qayyim al Jawziyya said,

"Truly in the heart there's a void that cannot be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is sadness that cannot be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him"