Why Is Man in Loss?
Seminary scholar Ayatollah Seyed Mostafa Mohaqqeq Damad has discussed this subject in a recent Quran interpretation session, excerpts of which are as follows:
The only being in the world whose actions are out of free will is mankind. Although there are some restrictions in terms of heredity and environment that limit what he can do, his actions are based on free will. Anyone who refers to his Ftrat (nature) realizes his free will and freedom of choice.
Every action of man has two aspects: An overt and a covert aspect. The overt one is the behavior that one has and the covert one is his intention. One first decides to do something based on his motivations and then goes on to take action. So intention has precedence over action.
That is why we say a righteous deed is one that originates from faith. That is to say, one’s intention in doing a righteous deed comes from his faith. A righteous deed is one that originates from a divine motivation.
A righteous deed is one that is done for the sake of God. In doing righteous deeds, one’s intention should be getting closer to God.
Acts of worship are not limited to Salah and fasting. Every deed carried out with the intention of helping one get closer to God is an act of worship. This way, all activities of a person are acts of worship. On the contrary, if one does not do his acts of worship for God, they will not serve him and will even bring divine punishment. The essence of worshipping God is having the intention of getting closer to Him.
Great Arifs (mystics) believe that the relation between righteous deeds and faith is that between a tree and its fruits. A believer without righteous deeds is like a tree without fruits.
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi says in his interpretation of Surah Al-Asr that he did not know the meaning of Khusr (loss) in this Surah for a long time. Once he was walking in the bazaar when he saw someone selling ice and telling people that if they don’t buy the ice, he will be in loss because they will melt and he will lose his capital.
Fakhr al-Razi says that, being in loss, therefore, means losing one’s capital.
The Holy Quran says one loses his life second after second and if he sells those seconds of life for what they are worth, he will not be in loss. The value of one’s life in faith and righteous deeds. Prophet Abraham (AS) prayed that God give him theoretical Hikma (wisdom) to know God and the world and make him one of the righteous people, which is practical Hikma.
