Loyalty and fidelity

Everyone who has a mental and moral balance will undoubtedly appreciate the characteristic called loyalty and fidelity. But it is also true that there are very few who want to inculcate this in their person. Sometimes they may act loyally without having a spiritual purpose. Rather they do it for worldly gain. The day they find it an obstacle to attain their goal, they can easily retract and behave dishonestly. Thus, their main purpose is worldly benefit. According to them, something is good as long as it does not represent an obstacle for that benefit. This is to such an extent that something bad is also considered good if it is not an obstacle.

Let's consider ourselves for a moment. As a Muslim, we acknowledge that we have made a commitment to Allah Ta'ala and we acknowledge Allah Ta'ala as our Rabb. That is, we acknowledge that it is Allah Ta'ala who gives us all our needs. Showing gratefulness to someone who has rendered you a service is a commendable and appreciable trait which is admired by one and all. The extent that we should show gratitude, loyalty and faithfulness to Allah Ta'ala is not difficult to understand. It is something that an even impure animal such as a dog understands. One gives him a piece of bone. This suffices to render it grateful to you. A dog is always loyal and faithful to its master. But we, Insaan, have not proven our loyalty to our Rabb. We use his favours to please his enemies! We misuse the wealth that He has given us. We waste the time and energy that He has given us in His disobedience. Have you ever seen a dog disobeying his master? The competition is between us and dogs. It remains to be seen if we can prove to be the best performers. Until proven otherwise, we may say that a dog seems to be more faithful and loyal to his master than Insaan in general is to his Rabb.

[English version of "Loyauté et fidélité" – Al Jamiat – Vol.7 No.2]