Deal of all life times

In the ongoing Applied Contracts course during GPLLM at UofT, I have been introduced to the basic concept of what could legally be identified as a contract. Few basic elements of contract are: offer, acceptance and consideration. A party (or parties) makes an offer and another party (or multiple parties) accept the terms of that offer to form a contract. However, for a distinction between a legally binding contract and a promise, there has to be something called “consideration”.

Bear with me...

Consideration is defined as:

“Consideration is a promise , performance, or forbearance bargained by a promisor in exchange for their promise. Consideration is the main element of a contract . Without consideration by both parties, a contract cannot be enforceable. For instance, if a person used the money to purchase an apple, the apple is the merchant’s consideration, and the money is the person’s consideration.” (Cornell Law School)

In simple words, there has to be an element of exchange for all involved parties making up a valid contract. Both parties have to give up something for the transaction to take place.

I experienced the "Baader-Meinhof phenomenon" or the "frequency illusion", that is a cognitive bias in which a person notices a specific concept, word, or product more frequently after recently becoming aware of it (Wikipedia). I came across the following ayah during my routine recitation:

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِى نَفْسَهُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ رَءُوفٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ

And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking means to the approval of Allah. And Allah is kind to [His] servants.

I have been pursuing learning Arabic language through courses, much more diligently, in the past year since I started pursuing and completing many certifications in Life Coaching to align both. Part of my learning is that I try to look for the literal meaning of Quran’s words because THAT’s the code of life!.

The word يَشْرِى stood out in the ayah above. This is, per every definition of the concept, an exchange with Allah SWT!

Let’s look into it per the necessary elements of a contract- Offer, Acceptance and Consideration:

Offer: Allah SWT is making an offer to all human-kind- offering HIS approval!

Acceptance: Of the people, one who is not just willing, but actually “sells” their nafs.

Consideration: Simple exchange- sell your nafs in exchange for Allah’s approval

But when we listen to Islamic scholars, they are strictly against the idea of transactional relationship with Allah SWT. In fact, this is the very thing that they condemn about other religions- the practice that the followers of other religions use offerings to gain what they want. Pay ‘نذرانہ’ or ‘چڑھاوا’ (offerings) to the religious figures (Peers, Murshids, Cardinals, Pandits, etc.) or religious institutes (Aastana, Mazaar, Mandir, Church, etc.) to get that job, that promotion, xyz spouse, an offspring, abc bonus, cure for bodily diseases, protection from harm and so on.

But here we are, Allah SWT making an offer to humans, basically for a transaction. So what is the difference, what’s the missing link??

I thought about it for weeks and searched for an answer from different sources. I started writing this post long ago but just couldn’t finish it because I didn’t have an answer.

And then, I was listening to Sheikh Belal Assaad’s lecture on difference between rooh, qalb and nafs and it clicked. There are a few stark differences. One basic difference is this:

قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ ٱلضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا ٥٦

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Invoke those you claim ˹to be divine˺ besides Him—they do not have the power to undo harm from you or transfer it ˹to someone else˺.” (Al-Isra- 56)

قُلْ هَلْ مِن شُرَكَآئِكُم مَّن يَهْدِىٓ إِلَى ٱلْحَقِّ ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يَهْدِى لِلْحَقِّ ۗ أَفَمَن يَهْدِىٓ إِلَى ٱلْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن يُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لَّا يَهِدِّىٓ إِلَّآ أَن يُهْدَىٰ ۖ فَمَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ ٣٥

Say, “Can any of your associate-gods guide to the truth?” Say, “Allah guides to the truth.” Who then is more worthy to be followed: the One Who guides to the truth or those who cannot find the way unless guided? What is the matter with you? How do you judge? (Surah Younus- 35)

وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ إِلَّا ظَنًّا ۚ إِنَّ ٱلظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِى مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ ٣٦

Most of them follow nothing but assumptions. Surely assumptions can in no way replace the truth. Allah is indeed All-Knowing of what they do. (Surah Younus- 36)

If the transactions are made with anyone other than Allah, it’s merely an assumption that you will get what you are looking for because they don’t have any power to give you anything. We have no guarantee of desired results so the transaction is most definitely a bad deal.

Would you give your hard-earned money to a shabby looking beggar who is missing both hands and expect to get a freshly cooked seven course gourmet meal? That person has no capacity, power or means to do the same.

It’s nothing but a foolish assumption that if we do what we think is a good deed (but has actually been adopted from other religions or theories), we might get our wishes fulfilled. It’s not something backed by Allah’s promise.

That’s the first difference. But then there’s also this:

The exchange we are looking at here, is not material in nature. Meaning, you are not giving up money, sacrificing animals, putting clothes on a grave etc. and in return you are not expecting material gains like financial benefits, worldly profits or a spouse, children etc.

This one is special!

This is a direct deal between you and Allah SWT for something that only you and Allah can truly know and witness. No one and nothing in between. Just you and your Rabb! You give up your nafs and you have a certain contract with Allah that you get His approval. You have Allah’s word for it!

What else really is needed?...you get Allah’s approval, your worldly affairs are all automatically settled and so is your afterlife…that is as hard to pass an offer as it gets!

So what exactly is Nafs that we have to give up to hold our part of the bargain? How do we give it up?

We’ll talk about it in the next post in sha Allah.

For now, know this...this is without a doubt, a contract that Allah SWT is offering we enter with Him!

I leave you with this opportunity. It’s an open offer by the ultimate truth and the source of all that is true- Allah SWT!

Any takers?!!?