Existence of Good People: A Secret of the Qur'an

Stress, distress, abuse, torture, cruelty, dishonesty, insensitiveness, and all things related experienced by and witnessed by an individual shapes the way he begins to view people in the world. It even leaves many people confused over why people behave that way.

Let us consider a few cases to illuminate further what is being said. For example, if one's best friend who he thought was so close and trustworthy all his life shows disloyalty one day, he becomes depressed, confused and becomes suspicious of everyone he comes across in life and eventually does not trust anyone. Or for instance, a woman who sees a friend leading a life under the constant abuse of her husband despite her best effort to lead a good life begins to wonder why men are so insensitive and cruel. If she notices a group of men staring at her in a perverted way, she begins to think all men are inherently of that nature and begins to treat all men in light of her bad experiences. Briefly, the negative experiences in life whether directly experienced or witnessed, can lead people to view everyone in view of their negative experiences. You can add more to the list from your personal experiences.

We can extend the list of evil to the most extreme of evil deeds we see on TV and read in newspapers. Everyday, one is bombarded with cases of murder, rape, child molestation, war, bloodshed, burglary and fraud among many other highly distressing crimes.

We must keep our mind open for bad people in society who may harm us or harm others. In this article, we will make a very important observation from the Qur'an. Those who are ignorant of religion or do not take the Qur'an as a guide make a mistake when they do not keep their mind open for the possible existence of truly good people who are the complete opposite of the sorts of people we have identified so far.

We will explain who the truly good people are according to the Qur'an. According to the Qur’an, being truly good is not just avoiding the evil deeds we listed above. No doubt, avoiding the evil acts mentioned above are attributes which are certainly required from a believer. But being good from a Qur'anic standpoint, is to sincerely believe in the existence of Allah and working for the sake of the Hereafter by studiously avoiding all types of sins and doing righteous deeds for Allah’s sake. Only when people fear Allah can they steadfastly obey their consciences under all circumstances in both big and small matters. According to the laws of Allah, only then are their good actions counted as good in the Hereafter. People who fit this definition are the true believers. The Qur'an is the only Guide on earth that shows people how to be the truly good people. Following both the Qur'an and conscience through fear of Allah is essential to be a truly good person in Allah's sight. From this we conclude that out of all the people on earth, the truly good men and women are the true believers in Allah and His Book.

“The Believing Men and the Believing Women, they support each other and command what is right and forbid what is wrong” (Qur’an 9:71)

In a world where we see non-ideal people all around us, the Qur'an reveals to us this momentous secret: The existence of believers, the good people on earth. The Qur'an gives mankind examples of believing people who have existed in the past, men and women, who earned the pleasure and mercy of Allah and were the flag-bearers of true goodness. The following are examples of Verses that reveal such people:

“Allah has given examples of believers: Pharaoh’s wife, who said, ‘Lord, build me a house near You in the Garden. Save me from Pharaoh and his actions; save me from the evil doers,’ and Mary, daughter of Imran. She guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her Our spirit. She accepted the truth from her Lord’s words and Scriptures: she was truly devout.” (Qur’an 66:11-12)

“They say, ‘Be Jews or Christians and you will be guided.’ Say, rather adopt the religion of Abraham, a man of natural pure belief. He was not one of the idolaters.’ (Qur’an 2:136)

One important aspect to note from the above Verse is that the believers are not associated with any single Prophet as many people assume them to be. Rather they are people of natural faith in Allah and simply follow the religion of Allah that has been existent through all time. On our planet today, believers are the people who are the reason to why Allah created human beings:

“When your Lord told the angels, ‘I am putting a Successor on earth,’ they, (the angels) said, ‘How can you put someone who will cause damage and bloodshed, when we celebrate Your praise and proclaim your holiness?’, ‘I know things you do not.’ “ (Qur’an 2:30)

The secret we have identified in this article, revealed to the believer, is of great significance to him. Amid all the wrong actions people commit around him, knowing this secret of the Qur'an gives him hope that a person he meets in life may just be the kind of true believer mentioned in the Qur'an. The believers have unwavering faith, sincerity, loyalty, trustworthiness and all things good about them. However, in the world today, people who truly fear Allah with heedfulness of the Qur'an, that is, the truly good people, the believers, are very few in number. Such people are difficult to find but the Qur'an's disclosure of the existence of real believers is a comfort to the true believer. Unlike those who are ignorant, he knows that the reason why there are people who commit evil and unconscientious deeds in the world is because they do not truly believe in Allah and the Hereafter. He knows that they are the people who are preparing for themselves the Fire of Hell. A misguided person who cannot comprehend the existence of good people, is prone to developing the following personality:

• Treating everyone in a semi-harsh or not completely polite manner as he has to be on the defensive against everyone who in his own mind, are out to take advantage of him.

• He becomes incapable of knowing the true believers because he himself is not one. He does not derive any comfort from being with true believers nor enjoy their security and warmth.

• Failure to see honesty in people for the good deeds done for him, because he thinks people only serve their own interests. Believers are the opposite, they are self sacrificing, but he does not know them. He is therefore generally never truly grateful for favours done for him by anyone.

The examples of existence of true believers in the Qur'an also gives the true believer the enthusiasm that he could be different from everyone around him, and be the kind of person who earns Allah's good pleasure and Paradise in the Hereafter.

In conclusion, despite constantly encountering people committing sins of all types everywhere, the true believer is the one who does not loose hope for the existence of true believers, the truly good people. Unlike the ignorant kind of people, he does not rashly view everyone in light of his negative experiences of other people but acts appropriately with an open-mind when meeting people to objectively establish their position in respect to the Qur'an and mindfulness of Allah. This is quite unlike the ignorant sorts of people who become lost, confused and depressed seeing evil-doers around them, and knowingly or unknowingly carelessly view everyone in light of their negative experiences. That is why the believer values people for what they are truly worth, which is based on their nearness to Allah and adherence to the teachings of the Qur’an.

"Those who were already firmly established in their homes and firmly rooted in faith, show love for those who migrated to them for refuge and harbour no desire in their hearts for what has been given to them. They give them preference over themselves, even if they too are poor. It is those who are saved from the greed of their own souls who are successful." (Qur'an 59:9)