Complying With The Qur'an Removes Man's Burden

Each person comes into existence and grows into an adult by Allah's Will, and needs His protection in every phase of life. The sole protector, guide, and supporter of all people is Allah, the Living, Who is the Creator of everything. The following verse states this fact:

Allah, the Creator of the universe and all beings, whether living or non-living, sent down the Qur'an as a mercy to humanity. However, some people make up various excuses not to live by its values. One of these is the mistaken idea that Islam's morality somehow limits their chosen lifestyle. Yet this is a great delusion, for people who live in societies that do not follow the Qur'an's morality encounter great distress, difficulties, and limitations, whereas the Qur'an's morality presents a blissful, peaceful, and secure life. The Qur'an is a mercy that relieves the pressure that people inflict upon each other, removes strict rules and all unnecessary and restricting principles, relieves people's trouble, and ensures a peaceful life.

Indeed, Allah states that by communicating His message, the Messenger relieves people of their heavy loads and the chains around them. In addition, those who answer the Messenger's call and then support, help, and protect him and follow Allah's true path will attain salvation: peace, happiness, and blessings. As we read:

In societies where people do not abide by the Qur'an's principles, some needlessly strict rules make people's lives hard and cause many problems to remain unsolved. The principles and outlook harbored by people impose new rules and prohibitions and, through these limitations, subject people to needless pressure. Some lawful food, for instance, may be prohibited. Or, the people's behavior may be restricted because certain acts are declared unlawful. Every society has some rules and practices stemming from its own culture and interests. Although they are not expressed verbally, they are practiced and implemented, in general, by all members of the society.

After all, people try to prove themselves to others and present themselves as having superior qualities. Consequently, under society's repressive rules and limitations, people cannot speak, laugh, or live as they desire, for they live under the constant social threat of humiliation, condemnation, or gossip.

People who do not know Allah, place their trust in and submit to Him, and live by the Qur'an's principles harbor countless fears: fear for the future, of being left alone, growing old, having an accident, dying, seeing their children's health threatened, losing possessions, failing in business or marriage, being deprived of a good education, and so on.

All of these are a source of sheer unmitigated anxiety. No doubt, the Qur'an's morality enables people to avoid such fears, for people who are far from Islam's values are unaware that everything occurs by Allah's Will and that everything is predestined. They fail to think that the good and the bad events in life are tests, and that Allah provides and owns all blessings and beauties. For this reason, societies made up of such individuals are characterized by tension, chaos, unrest, distress, and insecurity.

A society composed of people who adhere to the Qur'an's morality is immune to such negativity, as can be seen by its members' moral excellence. Such people place their trust in Allah and persevere, and also show mercy, compassion, and love. Inherently humble and contented, they feel the peace and comfort of living according to the religion described by Allah. As the Qur'an commands, they fear no one but Him and pursue His good pleasure over and above everything else. They know that every blessing they enjoy is from Allah and that the loss of any thing or value is a test from Allah, and so retain their composure when they achieve success or face an unexpected event. Also, they do not react thoughtlessly when confronted with hardship or trouble.

The Qur'an clearly explains what is lawful and unlawful, and gives a detailed account of the morality that pleases Allah. For this reason, the only rules that govern the believers' life are those mentioned in the Qur'an, for it introduces judgments that befit human nature by ensuring an ease of conscience and bringing peace and security. Allah states that He intends to relieve people of their heavy burdens, as follows:

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi explains the spiritual paradise that will be enjoyed by those people, in this very life, who abide by the Qur'an and its commandments:

The moment I saw this world in the midst of the darkness, my heart, spirit, and mind, and all my human faculties, indeed, all the particles of my being, were ready to weep and cry out in pain. But suddenly, Almighty Allah's Name of All-Just rose in the sign of All-Wise, and the Name of Most Merciful in the sign of Munificent, the Name of All-Compassionate in the sign of (that is, in the meaning of) All-Forgiving, the Name of Resurrector in the sign of Inheritor, the Name of Giver of Life in the sign of Bountiful, and the Name of Sustainer rose in the sign of Owner. They gilded and filled with light many worlds within the world of humanity. Opening up windows onto the luminous world of the hereafter, they scattered lights over the dark human world. (Nursi, "The Letters: The 29th Letter")

Allah endowed humanity with a nature that never finds peace and tranquility in a non-Islamic system. Underlying the difference between believers and unbelievers, this quality of the believers becomes more apparent in the Hereafter. People who do not comply with the Qur'an are depressed, while people of faith experience great joy: