Avoiding the useless

The Quran advocates a purposeful life. It exhorts people not to indulge in useless talk or useless activity. On this subject there is a particularly apt verse in the Chapter Al-muminun (The Believers) of the Quran:

“Successful indeed are the believers, those who are humble in their prayer; and those who turn away from everything vain.” (23: 1-3)

Human pursuits fall into two categories—worthy and unworthy. A worthy pursuit is one which leads to positive results and an unworthy pursuit is one which leads to no result at all. A true believer is one who has before him a specific target, which makes him selective. He therefore makes a point of always selecting that kind of activity which is worthy and avoids that which is unworthy. It is this kind of person who will be rewarded with success by God Almighty.

Before taking any action, the believer must assess its possible result. His response to any situation must be rational and well-considered and not just an emotional outburst. This principle includes all kinds of human expressions and activities like thinking, discussions, reading, dealing, association, shopping, travelling etc. A believer must adopt this kind of behaviour in every aspect of his life, both in word and deed.

It is a fact that we are on this planet earth for a limited time. Our life span being so very short, we cannot afford the luxury of wasting time and energy; we have to be very prudent. We have to select only such targets about which we can say with certainty that in the end they will yield the required result.

If an honest person indulges in useless activities, his conscience will go against him. Conscience, working as an internal check, is a moral keeper for every person. Your conscience never fails and if you pay heed to it, you will save yourself from going astray. Follow your conscience and you will surely develop into a divine personality.