Rocks or Hearts?
“Then your hearts become hardened after that, being like stones or even harder. For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.”
(Surah Baqarah – Ayat 74)
Allah SWT states in the Quran, the example of those whose hearts have hardened. While this ayat refers to a particular group of non-believers, it also shows the attributes they possess.
Rocks are compared to the hearts of people:
- There are rocks that gush water to benefit people, but there are people who can not benefit other people. The rocks have the capability of helping us while there are humans who are not capable of feeling the pain and suffering of others.
- The second type are the rocks that may not gush water but still split open to provide water to people. They provide minimum benefit. However there are those people who are not even capable of that. They do not provide support or any type of benefit to others.
- The third type of rocks may not provide water but still move and budge. However, there are human beings that are too stubborn to change or adapt. They are too stubborn to change their ways and beliefs even though they are well aware that they are wrong.
Allah SWT uses examples in the Quran that are relatable and that we can understand easily. While the above attributes are for the non-believers, they are trickling in to the Muslim ummah as well. It is possible that we are people who others benefit from on a large or small scale, or we may be the ones in the stubborn category and not benefit others nor learn lessons and change our ways for the better. Once we start entertaining such behavior, we distance ourselves from Allah and become individuals with only Muslim names – nothing more. It is important to identify these behaviors within us and change our ways before it is too late.
