Self-Improvement Study Guides - Study Guide 3: Overcoming Difficulty
STUDY GUIDE 3
OVERCOMING DIFFICULTY
READING MATERIAL
Holy Qur'an
Surah 21 "The Prophets"
Surah 93 "The Brightness of the Day"
Surah 94 "The Expansion"
Page 3; Page 4, Para. 1,2;
Page 5, Para.1-4
FACTS
Allah has said in the Holy Qur'an that He has created man (and woman) to face difficulty.
It is a general law of nature, that as night follows day, likewise, ease follows difficulty.
Both the Bible and Holy Qur'an teach us that struggle is ordained for man by Allah (God).
QUESTION
What evidence is there in nature that proves Allah (God) has ordained struggle for man?
DISCUSSION
1) First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the GLOSSARY.
2) Why has Allah (God) ordained struggle for you and me? What is our ultimate goal in life? Is a struggle necessary to obtain that goal? Is there any life form that comes into existence without a struggle?
3) Minister Farrakhan has said that, "if Allah (God) has created man to face difficulty, then a 'Difficulty Factor' is present that intensifies as man moves closer to the goal ... the 'Difficulty Factor' is attached to everything of value."
Is your life valuable? Was there a Difficulty Factor attached to our coming into existence? What was it?
Does the Earth contain valuable resources? Name some of them. Knowing what is in the Earth is one thing. Is there a Difficulty Factor attached getting the resources out of the Earth? What is it?
Is Marriage (the desire to unite) valuable? Is there a Difficulty Factor attached to Marriage? What is it?
4) Read Surah 21:1-10. In these verses there is an example of the Difficulty Factor encountered by the Apostle. What is it?
Is there a difference between the rejection encountered by the Apostle in these verses and the rejection encountered by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan from our own people today? Are our people valuable? Are they difficult to reach?
If our people are resisting the Message as did people before them, then will they not be destroyed for rejecting knowledge? If they are going to be destroyed, then why should Minister Farrakhan continue with his mission? Shouldn't he just give up and go home? If he should not give up, why not?
5) Is there a Difficulty Factor attached to following a man with a message? Why?
6) Read Surah 21:16-18. Who is the "WE" who did not create the heaven and earth for sport; who did not take a "Pastime"; who "hurl the Truth against falsehood, so it knocks out its brains, and lo! It vanishes..."?
What is the significance of Falsehood having "brains"? Is it difficult to hurl the Truth at the brains of Falsehood?
Have you watched Minister Farrakhan 'hurl' Truth at Falsehood from the rostrum? What happens to the false concepts we carry when the Truth is hurled at them? Has Minister Farrakhan encountered any difficulty as a result of hurling Truth at Falsehood? Describe the difficulty. Has he turned away from the mission as a result of the difficulty factor?
What is your duty when you encounter Falsehood? Do you think it will be difficult? Will you turn away from the difficulty? Why or why not?
7) Read Surah 21:51-58. Abraham took an action. What was it? Why did he do it?
8) Read Surah 21:59-68. What was the response of the people to what Abraham did? Why did they react in the manner that they did? What was the response of the Jews to minister Farrakhan when he spoke the Truth about them'? Why did they react in the manner that they did?
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9) Read Surah 21:69-71. What did Allah (God) do when the opposition attempted to kill His servant?
Read Surah 21:74-91. What do we see in these verses concerning the prophets of Allah (God) when they find themselves in distress? What is the response of Allah (God) to their calls for help? In what situation did He fail His servant (s)?
What does this tell us concerning what we should expect in times of distress if we call on Allah (God) in sincerity?
Who or what did the prophets call on besides Allah?'
10) Have you ever faced a difficulty and turned away from it? How did that make you feel? What caused you to turn away? Was it a Fear of some kind, perhaps (loss of job, loss of income, loss of friendship, etc.)?
After tonight's session, who do you consider the source of your security?
Have you ever faced difficulty and overcome it? How did you feel afterwards?
SUPPLEMENT
1 Explained in GLOSSARY.
2) The Holy Qur'an teaches us that Allah does not desire hardship for us, 2:185. Further, it is His desire to please us, 93:5. Even so, we can find no life form that came into existence without a struggle. Whether it is the lowest form of insect or man himself, we see that overcoming adversity is a necessary part of life, since life cannot come into being without it.
We must struggle in order to obtain our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to meet with Allah (God). Difficulty is an essential factor in the journey from being a speck of dust to being one with Allah (God).
We know struggle must take place by understanding what struggle causes us to do. Review SELF-IMPROVEMENT, Page 3, para. 5, "...without struggle, you cannot bring out of yourself that which God has deposited within you. It is something that has to be brought out and it is a struggle overcoming difficulties that manifest your own gifts and your own sublime qualities..."
What God has deposited in us, as seen in our previous study sessions, is the potential to be one with Him.
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When we face difficulty, we struggle; we are forced to turn to the One God for help. On Him alone must we rely.
3) Of course your life is valuable. It is invaluable. It was not obtained without intense suffering. The journey of the sperm to the egg is beset with difficulty. It is a tortuous journey. While many sperm are killed, many just give up and die. Their tragic end, lying dead in the middle passage, serves as a lesson to us that we cannot even come into existence without overcoming difficulty, since each and every one of us represents the resolve of a tiny sperm who overcame difficulty.
Gold, Oil, Uranium, Diamonds, are valuable to us. They are in the ground. There is tremendous difficulty involved in getting them out of the ground before we can benefit from their value.
Marriage is the desire to unite. The marriage vow is the statement of intention to unite. Immediately thereafter, difficulties arise. The difficulties are generated by our desire to unite in that they bring the man and woman together in a trying situation. Because while God created man and woman to incline toward one another and to seek unity with one another, He also made it a difficult thing to do. The process of uniting through marriage is a replication of the process of uniting with God. If we run away from the difficulties of marriage, we diminish our ability to face the difficulties of seeking to become one with Allah (God).
Why do people get divorced? Why do people join an organization to unite, only to leave?
"The desire to attain a goal brings us face to face with difficulty. When we undergo the trial of difficulty, the trial may be so intense that it extinguishes the light of the desire to attain the goal."
4) A man brings a people a beautiful message. But, the Holy Qur'an says, -the message comes "while they sport" and "their hearts (are) trifling." Trifling- does this sound familiar? Are there not many of our people who are more interested in the football game on Sunday afternoon than hearing the Minister lecture? Are they not more interested in sport and play than in a word which might help them up out of their condition?
So in this state of mind and heart, what do the people do? They "counsel in secret". They come together and talk about him. They say, "He is a poet". Compare this to what is said of Minister Farrakhan: charmer, skillful, magician, etc.
The Minister should not give up and neither should we who say we are with him. Why not? Remember last weeks lesson. We came from dust. Look
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again at 22:5-7. If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, know that "Allah will raise up those who are in the graves."
5) Yes. Because we encounter constant attempts by people to try and diminish our intelligence: "What are you doing following him? I know he's trying to take your money ... He's a charlatan ... etc., etc."
Remember, the Human Potential. We have difficulty seeing divinity in a man or a woman because in this world we are so far beneath the thoughts and ways of Allah (God) that we don't know what a complete man or woman looks like, therefore, we don't recognize a man or woman with a message and mission from God right in our midst.
6) The WE is YOU and ME. We would like to know that we are unanimous in agreement that each of us has the potential to be included in the WE. But there is a journey we must undergo in order for that to happen.
Falsehood has brains. That is, LIES are conceived of and perpetrated by THINKING MEN & WOMEN.
Sunday (1 2/21/86) was an example of Truth (There is no such thing as a big fat white man coming down your chimney and leaving gifts) being hurled at Falsehood. When forced by Minister Farrakhan to find logic in one man going to every house in the world in one night, in a sled, through the air, carried by reindeer, what happened to the myth? IT VANISHED. Why? Because it never existed. It was a FANTASY to begin with.
7) Abraham destroyed the idols to help his people see the error of their ways; that these man-made 'things' could not be Lord of the Worlds.
8) The leadership was angry and hostile. They had been exposed as fools. They were humiliated and they hated Abraham for it. The Minister exposed the myth perpetrated by the Jews that they are the chosen people of God and immune to criticism, free to engage in evil. The Minister showed the world that this is a lie. Their reaction was vile hatred and just as Abraham's people said, "Burn him!", the Jews cried, "Death to Farrakhan!" This is not over yet. They continue to plan against him.
9) Allah always delivers His servants. The prophets are examples to us that on Him and Him alone must we rely.
10) The exertion of energy in facing and overcoming' difficulty strengthens character. Each time we face Difficulty and use our faith in our Lord to overcome it, there is a reward. This reward gives us the incentive to try and try again.
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PRACTICAL APPLICATION
When you leave tonight, we want you to purchase and take with you a product. You are to sell the product before you come back next Friday.
There is a Difficulty Factor in sales. Selling is accompanied by a certain degree of rejection. Do you fear the possibility that someone will tell you "No."? How do you handle that?
You know that you have a good product. There is someone out there who wants the product. Will you be successful in getting to the many people who will say "Yes" if you are immobilized by fear of the "No"?
What is the reward of overcoming the difficulty? Is there an immediate reward? What is it? Is there a lasting reward? What is it?
NEXT WEEK
Please come prepared to discuss your experience with the product you have chosen.
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DIFFICULTY The condition or fact of being difficult. Something that is difficult, as a hard problem or an obstacle or objection. Trouble, distress, etc. or a cause of this.
EMINENCE A high or lofty place, thing, etc., as a hill. Superiority in rank, position, character, achievement, etc.; greatness; celebrity. A person of eminence.
FACTOR Any of the circumstances, conditions, etc. that bring about a result; element or constituent that makes a thing what it is. Any of two or more quantities which form a product when multiplied together.
PASTIME A way of spending spare time pleasantly; anything done for recreation or diversion.
OVERCOME To get the better of in competition, struggle, etc.; conquer. To master, prevail over, or surmount (to overcome obstacles).
EASE Freedom from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort. Freedom from difficulty; facility. Freedom from poverty; state of being financially secure; affluence. Rest; leisure; relaxation.
RELIANCE The act of relying. Trust, dependence, or confidence. A thing relied on.
SUBLIME Noble; exalted; majestic. Inspiring awe or admiration through grandeur, beauty, etc.
INVALUABLE Extremely valuable; having value too great to measure; priceless.
ADVERSITY A condition of hardship or affliction; misfortune.
DESIRE An earnest wishing for something; longing; yearning. A request or prayer.
TRIFLE (TRIFLING) To pass, as time, in an idle and purposeless way. To act without dignity or seriousness.
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