Day 65
What motivates us?
TLDR;
We resume studying Surah Al-Baqarah with ayah 39, which discusses the punishment for disbelievers. This highlights the balance of reward and punishment in guiding behaviour.
The term kafir means to disbelieve after knowing the truth. Punishment applies to those who hear the Prophet's message and reject it. Both reward and punishment are necessary for motivation.
Human motivation has three levels: basic reward and punishment, and the highest level—acting out of love and gratitude towards Allah, as shown by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Welcome back to Be Quranic. Today is Monday, the 9th of Muharram, 1446. It's a good day for us to be fasting. Today is Monday, so it is a good day to be fasting, and it is the 9th of Muharram.
On the 10th of Muharram, in the 10th year of Hijrah, Rasulullah ﷺ said that if he were to be alive the next year, he would have fasted on the 9th and the 10th of Muharram.
So today is the 9th, and it's a good day to fast. If you have a dual intention of fasting on the 9th of Muharram and also fasting on Monday, then you get double the reward.
All right, let's look at the ayah we are going to study today. We took a long hiatus from Surah Al-Baqarah. Today is ayah number 39, which reads: "And those people that disbelieve and reject it, or deny our miraculous signs, our ayat, these are the people of fire, and they shall remain in there forever."
This is the counterbalance ayah to the previous one. You will find in the Quran, wherever Allah promises a reward to those who believe and do good deeds, you will soon find an ayah about Jahannam as well. This ayah talks about Jahannam.
We discussed the meaning of kafir earlier in the Surah, which means to disbelieve after knowing the truth. Kafar means to cover or to bury something. So, you've been given the truth, and you choose to bury it. This is the kafir intended in the Quran.
There's also a legal meaning of kafir, which means someone who is not a Muslim. From a fiqh point of view, everyone who is not a Muslim is a kafir. However, the Quranic ayat about punishment do not necessarily apply to every single non-believer. It applies to those who have heard the call from the Prophet ﷺ in a reasonable manner and choose to reject it.
So, not only do they disbelieve (kafaru), but they also act upon it, denying it. They are the people of fire and shall remain in there forever. This balance of reward and punishment is innate in human beings. We respond to reward and punishment, a concept also seen in how animals are trained.
Some people ask why there can't just be reward and no punishment. It's because some people do not respond to reward alone and require punishment. For example, the rich might not be motivated by the reward of Jannah because they feel they are already living in Jannah on earth.
Traffic laws are a simple example: there are fines for breaking the law. Imagine if there were no punishment for running a red light but a reward for stopping at it. People might ignore the reward and just run through the light, causing traffic chaos. Thus, both reward and punishment are necessary.
Human motivation has three levels: reward and punishment, which are shared with all living creatures, and the highest level—doing it for the pleasure of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ demonstrated this highest level. Although guaranteed Jannah, he continued to worship out of love and gratitude towards Allah.
These ayat of reward and punishment serve as reminders. Before acting, we should pause for a millisecond and consider whether our actions bring us closer to Allah and Jannah. Then, we make our choice.
All right, see you tomorrow.