From Idols of Stone to Idols of Systems

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From Idols of Stone to Idols of Systems

An Era Where Ṣalāh Is Delayed, Faith Is Negotiated, and True Success Is Forgotten

Every era has its trial.
Every generation has its idol.

The tragedy of our time is not that people stopped worshipping —but that they no longer recognize what they worship.

When Livelihood Was Owned by Kings and Priests

In the ancient world, livelihood was centralized and controlled.

Kings owned land and markets
Priests controlled marriage, burial, and legitimacy
Tribes were employment, protection, and survival

Leaving the official religion meant:

Economic boycott
Social death
Hunger or exile

This is why many people recognized Islam as truth, yet hesitated to accept it. They said:

“If we follow the guidance with you, we will be snatched away from our land.”
(Qur’an 28:57)

Their fear was real. Faith endangered existence itself.

Allah answered them:

“Have We not established for them a secure sanctuary to which fruits of all kinds are brought?”
(Qur’an 28:57)

Meaning:
Rizq was never owned by kings or priests — they were only a test.

From Physical Idols to Ideological Idols

When Islam shattered stone idols, Shayṭān did not stop.He changed strategy.

Earlier idols were:

Visible
Named
Openly worshipped

Today’s idols are:

Invisible
Justified
Normalized

No one says:

“Worship the exam”
“Worship the job”
“Worship the system”

Instead, society whispers:

“Without this, you cannot live.”

This is functional worship.

Allah already exposed it:

“Have you seen the one who takes his desire as his god?”
(Qur’an 45:23)

Fear, status, survival anxiety —these have become modern deities.

The Exam and Career Culture: A False Measure of Worth

Modern ideology teaches:

Pass → you matter
Fail → your life is finished

Students are pushed into:

Depression
Loss of ṣalāh
Loss of sleep
Loss of hope
Sometimes suicide

The whisper becomes brutal:

“Either pass — or die.”

But Islam declares:

Failure is a test, not a verdict
Suicide is a major sin
Rizq is not tied to grades
Human worth is not tied to papers

“No soul bears the burden of another.”
(Qur’an 6:164)

Any system that decides dignity, future, and survival is doing what idols always did.

Livelihood as the New Idol

Earlier:

Kings controlled bread

Today:

Corporations control salary

Earlier:

Priests controlled honor

Today:

Institutions control respect

So people begin to say:

“I’ll obey Allah later”
“I’ll pray when life settles”
“Allah understands my situation”

This is where ṣalāh begins to disappear.

An Era of Leaving Ṣalāh to “Earn More Time”

This is one of the clearest signs of our age.

People do not deny ṣalāh.They delay it.

Fajr missed for sleep
Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr skipped for work
Maghrib rushed
ʿIshāʾ delayed in exhaustion

Ṣalāh is no longer the axis of the day —it becomes an interruption.

But Allah says:

“Indeed, ṣalāh has been decreed upon the believers at fixed times.”
(Qur’an 4:103)

Fixed — not flexible around income.

The great lie of this era is:

“Without extra hours, survival is impossible.”

Allah refutes it:

“And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised.”
(Qur’an 51:22)

Rizq never came from time stolen from Allah.

Silent Shirk of Schedules

No one bows to statues.
But many bow their time.

When work calls → ṣalāh waits
When money calls → Allah waits

Allah warned:

“So woe to those who pray — those who are heedless of their prayer.”
(Qur’an 107:4–5)

Not those who abandon it entirely —
but those who push it aside under pressure.

Where True Izzah and True Success Really Lie

This era defines success by:

Salary
Stability
Approval of people

Allah rejects this definition completely.

“Whoever desires honor (ʿizzah) — then to Allah belongs all honor.”
(Qur’an 35:10)

Allah’s Definition of Success

Allah says:

“So whoever is removed from the Fire and admitted to Paradise — he has truly succeeded.”
(Qur’an 3:185)

Not survival.
Not comfort.
Not dunya.

But safety before Allah.

The Highest Reward: Seeing the Noble Face of Allah (Ru’yatullāh)

Allah promises something greater than Paradise itself.

“For those who do good is the best reward — and even more.”
(Qur’an 10:26)

The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah agreed:
“Even more (ziyādah)” = seeing the Noble Face of Allah.

Allah confirms it clearly:

“Faces, that Day, will be radiant — looking at their Lord.”
(Qur’an 75:22–23)

This is true ʿizzah.This is real success.

Ru’yatullāh in the Sunnah (Clear and Decisive)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Indeed, you will see your Lord just as you see this moon. You will have no difficulty in seeing Him.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

This seeing will be:

Real
Clear
Without confusion
Without resemblance

The Prophet ﷺ also said:

“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah will say: ‘Do you want anything more?’ … Then He will remove the veil, and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)

This proves:

Jannah is a gift
Seeing Allah is the greatest reward

The Greatest Failure: Being Veiled from Allah

Failure is not poverty.
Failure is not hardship.

Failure is this:

“No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be veiled.”
(Qur’an 83:15)

This is worse than Hellfire.

Because:

Fire punishes the body
Being veiled from Allah destroys the soul

Allah defines true loss:

“Indeed, the losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Qur’an 39:15)

The Prophet ﷺ: Humiliated by Creation, Honored by Allah

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was:

Mocked
Insulted
Rejected
Attacked
Expelled

Yet when creation humiliated him,
he raised his hands to Allah, not to people.

Allah promised him:

“And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied.”
(Qur’an 93:5)

He lost nothing —
because he never lost Allah.

Final Conclusion

In the past:

Faith threatened livelihood.

Today:

Livelihood threatens faith.

This era teaches:

“Secure dunya first. Obey later.”

Islam teaches:

“Obey Allah — and He will secure everything else.”

Success is not standing confidently before people.
Success is standing accepted before Allah and seeing Him.

Failure is not losing the world.
Failure is being veiled from Allah and His Paradise.

Whoever chooses Allah —
Allah chooses him.

And whoever sees Allah —
has already won everything.

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