مومن اور منافق کی زندگی کی مثال

Kaʿb ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The likeness of the believer is like the fresh, tender branch of a crop, which the winds bend and knock down, and at times straighten again, until its appointed span is complete. And the likeness of the hypocrite is like the pine tree that stands firm and rigid; no jolt shakes it (that is, it neither falls under the pressure of the wind nor bends) until, all at once, it crashes to the ground." (Bukhārī and Muslim)

In this blessed hadith the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made clear the difference between the life of a believer and that of a hypocrite through a most eloquent parable. The believer is likened to the fresh, tender branch of a growing crop: just as the buffeting of the winds keeps acting upon the branch — sometimes knocking it down, sometimes straightening it — yet the branch, though it endures the harshest and most violent gusts, keeps standing in its place until the very last moment of its time; likewise the believer is at times knocked down by the harsh blows of hardships, troubles, weakness and illness, and at other times the reviving breezes of health, well-being and joy raise in his life a wave of freshness and delight, and so he passes the days of his life.

The hypocrite here is likened to the pine tree: just as the pine tree stands firm in one place, unaffected by the pressure of the wind, yet when its time comes it crashes to the ground all at once — in exactly this way is the hypocrite, who in worldly life appears outwardly happy, content and cheerful, upon whom no rain of hardships and troubles falls and whom the blows of illness and weakness do not touch, until, all at once and without any illness or weakness, he falls into the valley of death.

The upshot of the hadith is that the life of a believing Muslim passes amid hardships, troubles, pain and distress: sometimes he is caught in the snare of illness and weakness, sometimes the lack of wealth takes him in its grip, sometimes other worldly calamities and sorrows cast their dark clouds over his bright life — yet the believing Muslim keeps on living through it, and all these things are declared, in his favour, to be signs of his success and blessedness in the Hereafter, provided he does not let go of patience, contentment and gratitude at any stage.

By contrast, the life of a hypocrite or transgressor is such that it is mostly untouched by the shadow of grief and pain, by the dark clouds of illness and distress, or by the round of other worldly humiliation, failure, calamity and worry; rather he remains outwardly healthy, sound and cheerful. Thus he neither attains the rank that a believing Muslim earns as expiation through hardship and distress, nor does he receive the reward and blessedness which, through being afflicted with hardships and distress, guarantees the believing Muslim's success and salvation in the Hereafter.