From their childhood, people always want to have someone on whom they can truly trust. They feel the need to insure everything they have, because the lower-self always fears that something wicked will befall them. Until they pass from this world, people can’t help but grapple with this feeling.
They either suspect that their closest friend would backstab them or fear losing their possessions, or getting sick and dying. Nevertheless, as a requisite of the test in this world, the lower self always feels insecure and concerned.
In family life, school life, married life or business life there is an environment of incessant conflict, and a damaging spirit of competition. People want to live at ease, establish friendships and share their sorrows and joys. Yet in order to experience such sincerity, they lack the necessary building blocks; the sense of security is under perpetual assault and people try to protect it by various measures.
These people can in no way relish the pleasures of this life not only because of the insecurity they feel regarding others but also for their lives. Concerns occupy every moment of their lives.
Let’s think of a person: He works for years, earns some money and ultimately accomplishes buying the house of his dreams. That house, however, becomes a source of concern from the very day it is purchased. He needs to make more effort to be able to maintain it than the effort he exerted to buy it. He has security cameras installed all over the house, the garden is enveloped with barbed wire fences and high walls. As if these measures were not sufficient, the security is upgraded with an alarm system controlling every part of the house and a watch dog in the garden, accompanied with signs hung over the gate saying, “Beware of dog.” But all these measures are still not sufficient.
That house which is bought after years of sacrifice and hard work can be burned down to the ground in no time. A single spark can all of a sudden reduce a house into ashes. Once these thoughts start to occupy one’s mind, people lose sleep and find themselves visiting their local insurance agent. They, at least, want to feel at ease in the case of ordinary damage. A house purchased to lead a peaceful and comfortable life turns out to be a source of concern, something that may at any time cause them trouble. In the uneasiness of not knowing what might befall them, they constantly strive to insure their possessions.
Indeed people have also made it a habit to sign a prenuptial agreement. This agreement is designed as a means of not losing one’s possessions to the other party in case they decide to divorce one day. This is a measure taken based on the possibility that that love, compassion and friendship would ultimately come to an end. It is not a practice that stems from the concern felt for someone, to whom one addresses as “My love” and intends to spend an entire lifetime together.
This is essentially a security measure taken to guarantee one’s own life and to eliminate the risk of being cheated one day. However, this is also meaningful in showing the dimensions of spiritual damage that insecurity inflicts on people.
It is not only possessions that cause trouble for people. As he grows older, he thinks that he also needs to protect his body. People are totally oblivious about what is happening in their bodies. Pondering over it also distresses them. As they think they can contract cancer any moment or become disabled, they feel even more distressed. Upon this, they purchase health insurance, thinking they can never be entirely sure that they would not become sick. They feel obliged to save some money for such unexpected health problems. This also causes a lifetime of worry. The money spent on health becomes an even greater annoyance than the fear of illness or death.
In brief, people can never find peace in their souls because of the persistent sense of insecurity that haunts them. They often find the solution in other methods. They think that once they secure their possessions, they will find peace. Alternatively, once they don’t have any health problems, they will be happy. The fact is, the key to peace and bliss is putting one’s trust in God. Once a person understands that everything is under God’s control, that not even a leaf falls without God’s leave, and that God has the might to create anything by His order “Be”, he feels a sense of relief in his heart.
It is God Who creates all incidents, whether favorable or not, with all their details to test us in this world; whether we can see the goodness in them or not, goodness and auspiciousness is concealed in each seemingly bad thing. Our actual guardian and protector is God. It is not an insurance company, a watchdog in the garden or cameras that will protect our house. God protects our houses, but He makes those measures instrumental for it. It is not an insurance company or physicians who will heal us when we get sick. It is God Who will keep us healthy or cure us when we get sick. It is an act of worship and obligatory upon us to take measures, but after taking all the necessary measures, we put our trust in God. After all the measures we take, if that adversity still persists, then we forbear, realizing that God puts us to the test with it. If God wills goodness for us in destiny, no one can ever hinder it. If He wills hardship, there is again no one who can prevent it. Whatever God wills in destiny, it will assuredly happen despite all the possible measures that could be taken.
Our possessions, lives, health, spouses, kids, everything belongs to God. It is God Who endows us with blessings and it is also God Who may take them from us as a part of the trial. It is the peace of being aware of these truths and having faith in God that renders the soul satisfied, not any temporary measures we take. Indeed, in one verse of the Qur’an God relates thus:
“We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and life and fruits. But give good news to the steadfast.” (Qur’an, 2:155)
Consequently, what we should do is to know that everything is under God’s control and that we must trust in Him with all our hearts. The sole remedy to insecurity, uneasiness and apprehension in the lower-self is to put one’s trust in Allah.
