In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Human Traits - Know Yourself
It is important to learn about our traits as detailed by our Creator. Understanding our human nature and flaws would help to recognize our mistakes and improve our own qualities. Believers work to suppress the negative traits as defined by God. God thus perfects their light, strengthen their foothold, fix their works, and divert them away from evil and aggression.
[50:16] We created the human, and we know what he whispers to himself. We are closer to him than his jugular vein.
[12:53] "I do not claim innocence for myself. The self is an advocate of vice, except for those who have attained mercy from my Lord. My Lord is Forgiver, Most Merciful."
[12:24] ....We thus diverted evil and sin away from him, for he was one of our devoted servants.
[19:76] God augments the guidance of those who choose to be guided. For the good deeds are eternally rewarded by your Lord, and bring far better returns.
[47:7] O you who believe, if you support God, He will support you, and strengthen your foothold.
God has granted us the best physical design (95:4), the hearing, the eyesight and the brain (16:78). However, studying our cognitive, intellectual and emotional human capacities leaves no doubt that we are far from perfect. In fact, the strife to please God alone is never an easy undertaking because of our limited and flawed human nature. The outcome of every battle with Satan is either we allow him to remove our garment of righteousness by exposing one or more of our weaknesses or we aggressively resist his intrusion and strive to polish our righteous qualities and beautify our garment (7:26-27).
Human hesitance is a clear manifestation of the weak human nature (4:28). From the very beginning, we hesitated and failed to make a crucial decision! That was once demonstrated in high society when we questioned God's absolute authority under the deception of the rebellious, arrogant and unappreciative Satan. Even though we bore witness that God is the only Lord and Master (7:172), we wavered, and took back such witness. We were sent down to earth by the Most Merciful for a final chance. Most people on earth are doubting God despite the instinct of knowing Him (30:30).
Humans Fail to Make a Firm Stand [20:115] We tested Adam in the past, but he forgot, and we found him indecisive.* *20:115 When Satan challenged God's absolute authority (38:69), you and I did not make a firm stand against Satan. God is giving us a chance, on this earth, to redeem ourselves by denouncing Satan and upholding God's absolute authority (Appendix 7).
[6:2] He is the One who created you from mud, then predetermined your life span, a life span that is known only to Him. Yet, you continue to doubt.
[14:9] Have you not heard about those before you - the people of Noah, `Aad, Thamoud, and others who came after them and known only to GOD? Their messengers went to them with clear proofs, but they treated them with contempt and said, "We disbelieve in what you are sent with. We are skeptical about your message; full of doubt."
Poorly handling adversities is another manifestation of our human weakness. Most humans despair and turn unappreciative and rebellious in the face of hardship:
[4:28] GOD wishes to lighten your burden, for the human being is created weak.
[17:83] When we bless the human being, he becomes preoccupied and heedless. But when adversity strikes him, he turns despondent.
Rebellious Humans [10:21] When we bestow mercy upon the people, after adversity had afflicted them, they immediately scheme against our revelations! Say, "GOD's scheming is far more effective. For our messengers are recording everything you scheme."
[42:48] If they turn away, we did not send you as their guardian. Your sole mission is delivering the message. When we shower the human beings with mercy, they become proud, and when adversity afflicts them, as a consequence of their own deeds, the human beings turn into disbelievers.
Because of an inherent weakness, most humans readily accept Satan's invitations (12:103,106 - 14:22 - 17:89). They are receptive to him that they get easily intimidated by the vanities of this world. They sink into this illusion through Satan. They also get easily driven with the flow by all that the majority advocates and tend to have minimal resistance to peer and social pressure.
Different Priorities [3:14] Adorned for the people are the worldly pleasures, such as the women, having children, piles upon piles of gold and silver, trained horses, livestock, and crops. These are the materials of this world. A far better abode is reserved at GOD.
[29:25] He said, "You worship beside God powerless idols due to peer pressure, just to preserve some friendship among you in this worldly life. But then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will disown one another, and curse one another. Your destiny is Hell, wherein you cannot help one another."
[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture; they only guess.
The human is egoistic, arrogant and argumentative. These are some of the most disastrous human insecurities or weaknesses. Guided humans know full well that they cannot be with God, in His kingdom, if they maintain their arrogance or fail to overcome their egos. Satan was debased to earth once he expressed his arrogance. Ego simply obstructs the divine Truth to push us away from God's path and eventually it causes our exile from God's kingdom.
The Test Begins
[7:12] He said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I ordered you?" He said, "I am better than he; You created me from fire, and created him from mud."
[7:13] He said, "Therefore, you must go down, for you are not to be arrogant here. Get out; you are debased."
[21:19] To Him belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth, and those at Him are never too arrogant to worship Him, nor do they ever waver.
[21:20] They glorify night and day, without ever tiring.
The Prophets of Israel [2:87] We gave Moses the scripture, and subsequent to him we sent other messengers, and we gave Jesus, son of Mary, profound miracles and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it not a fact that every time a messenger went to you with anything you disliked, your ego caused you to be arrogant? Some of them you rejected, and some of them you killed.
The Ego as a god [25:43] Have you seen the one whose god is his own ego? Will you be his advocate?
[18:54] We have cited in this Quran every kind of example, but the human being is the most argumentative creature.
Other human weaknesses are being anxious, impatient, shortsighted and ignorant. Ignorance flourishes with ego! Once we choose to surrender to our egos, we are shielded from the divine knowledge. To the contrary, subduing the ego increases the level of awareness and enhances all mental procedures to dwell on and benefit from available knowledge. God confirms to us in Quran that the knowledgeable are more likely to recognize Him and reverence Him (35:28).
[70:19] Indeed, the human being is anxious.
[21:37] The human being is impatient by nature. I will inevitably show you My signs; do not be in such a hurry.
[75:5] But the human being tends to believe only what he sees in front of him.
[17:11] The human being often prays for something that may hurt him, thinking that he is praying for something good. The human being is impatient.
A Consequence of Their Own Decision [6:111] Even if we sent down the angels to them; even if the dead spoke to them; even if we summoned every miracle before them; they cannot believe unless GOD wills it. Indeed, most of them are ignorant.
Most humans are unappreciative and transgressing towards the most Kind and Merciful to them.
[22:66] He is the One who granted you life, then He puts you to death, then He brings you back to life. Surely, the human being is unappreciative.
[32:9] He shaped him and blew into him from His spirit. And He gave you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains; rarely are you thankful.
[40:61] GOD is the One who designed the night so you can rest in it, and the day lighted. GOD bestows many blessings upon the people, but most people are not thankful.
[14:34] And He gives you all kinds of things that you implore Him for. If you count GOD's blessings, you can never encompass them. Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative.
[74:14] I made everything easy for him.
[74:15] Yet, he is greedy for more.
[70:21] If blessed by wealth, stingy.
[96:6] Indeed, the human transgresses.
[96:7] When he becomes rich.
Humans are selfish by nature unless their souls are strong enough to steer them to righteousness and grace instead.
[4:128] ... Selfishness is a human trait, and if you do good and lead a righteous life, God is fully Cognizant of everything you do.
The above traits are some of our human imperfections. The strife to upgrade the above traits to the righteous standards as defined by God in Quran is all that we are here for. The road map is very clear, perfect and fully detailed. Nothing that we need for our redemption is left out of this Quran (6:38, 12:111, 6:115). The upgrading path is the difficult one.
[90:4] We created the human being to work hard (to redeem himself).
[90:5] Does he think that no one will ever call him to account?
[90:6] He boasts, "I spent so much money!"
[90:7] Does he think that no one sees him?
[90:8] Did we not give him two eyes?
[90:9] A tongue and two lips?
[90:10] Did we not show him the two paths?
[90:11] He should choose the difficult path.
[90:12] Which one is the difficult path?
[90:13] The freeing of slaves.
[90:14] Feeding, during the time of hardship.
[90:15] Orphans who are related.
[90:16] Or the poor who is in need.
[90:17] And being one of those who believe, and exhorting one another to be steadfast, and exhorting one another to be kind.
[90:18] These have deserved happiness.
Peaceful Friday, salaam, and God bless.