The Seventeenth Flash

There are also proofs in the plant world that recompense lies within the very nature of service. One of them is as follows:

Plants and trees obey the commands of the Fātir-i Dhul-JalālAllah, Whose greatness and majesty are boundless and Who creates all things from nothing. in a manner that appears full of eagerness and satisfaction. The delightful fragrances they emit, the beautiful adornments with which they attract those who benefit from them, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for their fruits and shoots all show the attentive observer that they derive such satisfaction from obeying the commands of Allah that they carry out their duties even at the cost of self-sacrifice, until at last they perish.

Do you not see how fruit-bearing trees such as coconut palms, which store abundant reservoirs of milk within their coconuts, and fig trees, by the language of their very nature, ask from the treasury of the All-Merciful for the finest nourishment? They receive it in order to feed their fruits, while they themselves remain content with muddy water.

Likewise, pomegranate trees are blessed with a pure drink from the treasury of the All-Merciful with which they nourish their fruits, while they themselves are satisfied with turbid and muddy water.

Even in seeds, a clear eagerness may be seen as they fulfil their duty of germination. Just as someone confined within a narrow place longs to emerge into an open field, so too a similar longing and joyful eagerness may plainly be observed in seeds as they carry out their duty of sprouting.

Indeed, because of this mysterious and comprehensive principle within the law of SunnatullahThe established laws and principles of Allah governing creation, nature, and human life, through which His will and wisdom are manifested. that prevails throughout the universe, those who do not work, who are lazy and ease-loving, and who waste their time in idleness experience more distress and hardship than those who strive and labour.

For this reason, the idle and useless often complain about their lives and seek distractions and amusements merely to make time pass more quickly. The one who works, by contrast, is grateful to Allah and does not wish his life to pass swiftly.

Thus the saying:

اَلْمُسْتَرٖيحُ الْعَاطِلُ شَاكٍ مِنْ عُمْرِهٖ وَ السَّاعِىُ الْعَامِلُ شَاكِرٌThe idle person who rests complains about his life, while the one who strives and works is grateful.

has become a universal principle in social life. Likewise, the saying “comfort lies behind hardship, and hardship behind comfort” has become proverbial.

Indeed, when one looks attentively at inanimate beings, it becomes clear that they too are set into motion in accordance with the principle of SunnatullahThe established laws and principles of Allah governing creation, nature, and human life, through which His will and wisdom are manifested. mentioned above. Through struggle and activity, they bring forth latent capacities that could never develop through inactivity and transform them into active potentialities.