Partners with God
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Peace all,
4116 God does not forgive to have partners set-up with Him, but He forgives other than that for whom He pleases. Whoever sets-up partners with God has indeed strayed a far straying.
622-26. And the Day We gather them all, then We say to those who set-up partners ?Where are your partners whom you used to claim??
Then, their only excuse was to say ?By God, our Lord, we did not set-up partners!?
See how they lied to themselves; and that which they invented deserted them.
And from them are those who listen to you; and We have made covers over their hearts to prevent them from understanding it, and a deafness in their ears; and if they see every sign they will not believe; even when they come to you they argue, those who reject say ?This is nothing but the tales from the past!?
And they are deterring others from it, and keeping away themselves; but they will only destroy themselves, yet they do not notice.I'm beginning to think that this (shirk) has absolutely nothing to do with physical idol worship, ie, statues and such. See, if one were to worship a statue, then he/she would still be, in some form, humbling him/herself. Even sun-worshippers, or rain-worshippers, or star-worshippers, or whatever, see something that is bigger and greater than themselves. They attribute divinity to that symbol, but they are still worshipping the divinity behind the symbol.
In 4116, it's mentioned that "Whoever sets-up partners with God has indeed strayed a far straying."
Now if a child is born into a sun-worshipping culture, for example, and is never taught much more than basic survival besides that, then has he really "strayed a far straying". Remember, this is the one unforgivable sin according to the quran.Whereas, someone who purposely or inadvertantly worships his/her own ego via material gains(for instance), to the point of forgetting God - has indeed strayed a far straying. It takes years of obediance to the system of material worship to stray so far as to become deaf to the guidance, blind to the signs, and so cynical as to call the revelation, "nothing but the tales from the past!".
Check out the symbolism of Sura 18
16-17 So when you withdraw from them and what they serve besides God, seek refuge in the cave, and your Lord will distribute His mercy upon you and prepare for your problem a solution.
And you see the sun when it rises, it visits their cave from the right, and when it sets, it touches them from the left, while they are in an enclosure from it. That is from God?s signs. Whomever God guides is the guided one, and whomever He misguides, you will not find for him any ally to lead.Where is your cave?
Further along in 18 we read about the 2 farmers - the one who worshipped his own ego so much he said, "?I am better off than you financially, and of great influence. I do not think that this will ever perish. And I do not think that the Hour is coming. And if I am indeed returned to my Lord, then I will surely find even better things for me.?
Overall, it's pretty obvious and not exactly ground-breaking that shirk can take on many forms. What's important, I believe, and judging by the frequency of it's mention, is that it's not an "us or them" thing. There's no group of people working under the banner of "we associate partners with God." It is a daily test, a constant barrage of temptations and influences that we must be on the lookout for. Some days it's worse than others, and some days can turn into weeks or months of subtle influence.
We just need to find that cave on a regular basis and keep ourselves open to God's mercy, guidance and signs.
Peace,
Tay -
Salam Tay
I totally agree with you. This is something which i have too started to understand lately. Some people still insist that idolworship is something that only can happen in religions. No my friends. Idolworship is in all parts of life. We know that someone who is born in for instance a hindu family might be commiting shirk(idolworship) by praying to statues. But what a about someone born in an "agnostic" or "non-religious christian family that believe in one god"? Why should they have better chances since they dont pray to statues. Is god favoring the "christian" and the "agnostic" over the hindu? Off course not. So by reflecting upon this we understand that in order for God to be fair, he will have all human beings to start on a same level. No one is favored. Therefore the idolworshipping acts will be different in the life of the agnostic and the christian. For instance the agnostic might commit idolworship in different forms.
Idolworship by going after our desires
- Having sex outside marriage after being guided to the truth.
- Polluting the air by driving a car with a V8 motor to u job whis is only "300 meters away" from your house.
- Becoming a professional bodybuilder (using steroids etc)
- women that use too much make up, and wears clothes that reveal their body parts too much
- Going to the nightclubs every week, getting drunk every friday/saturday etc.
David's personal opinions of what different types of idolworship are
- Using all your time on your car = Idolworship
- Using all your time and energy on getting rich while not giving some money to poor = Idolworship
- Following fake teachings and accepting them as truth = Idolworship (Quran 1736)
- By following the desires of misguided people (Quran 527)
Conclusion There are hundreds and maybe more than thousands of different ways people might commit idolworship.
Peace,
David -
Nice to hear some ground -level wisdom.
Yes I totally agree with the matter of what you have said - but also - point of consideration - in the Quran it says that God can forgive everthihng apart from idol worship - would that not make the majority of us doomed?
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Peace humandesign
That depends on "how we interpret" the verse in Quran about the unforgiveable sin. Even dough a sin is an unforgiveable sin it doesn't mean that persons who commit that sin will be doomed. Nothing in that verse tells us that they will be doomed, it just tells us that idolworship is an "unforgiveble sin", and thats all. In my opinion, those who commit the "unforgiveable sin" will not reach the highest ranks in paradise since they commited "that sin". And since god is the most merciful, he forgive human beings for all their sins exept that one. Therefore they may attain forgiveness, and paradise, but since they commited the "unforgiveble sin", they will probably not attain the highest ranks in paradise. The unforgiveable sin might take away the key to reach the highest ranks in paradise. By doin the "unforgiveable sin", they will loose the key to the highest ranks. These are just my opinions, and only God knows what will happen to humans on the day of judgement. But it is interesting to reflect upon it.
What do you think about my interpretation humandesign, and what is your interpretation of the "unforgiveable sin"?
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Peace to you all dear brothers and sisters,
A wonderful saying,Tay..
People think they
re safe as long as theyre not bending or kneeling at front of hand made statues,they boast their monotheism while kissing stones,seeking absolute and guaranteed gudiance from their priests,reading Quran with empty eyes,shut minds and suspended senses just to collect "hasanat","hasanat=deeds?Quran says so?no only "hasanat",something like points,when a mole shows up on somebodys skin we call it "hasanat".. Why worry about deeds?eventually theyre all going to heaven,prophet Muhammed promised so,and he will intercede personally with God to guarantee it happens..What do care?we`re heretics..
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David - K
What you are saying sounds reasonable but there is a slight hole - in that everything can be forgiven but not idolatry yet,,,, not an atoms weight will be ignored of deeds done on earth for calculating our worth.
Therefore, if it were the case that idolatry were simply the biggest sin it would be more straightforward to simply say that idolatry is the highest sin. So then we could have understood that everything is registered and we will be given our worth taking in to account also our levels of repentence. But it does not appear to make such a clarity as far as I am aware.
I honestly don't know the answer - but many times I see when I am reading from the whole Quran and I ponder for a while on a verse that does not make sense - I find myself in one way or another coming to a conviction - I guess I would need to come to the place in the Quran naturally and see what happens when I try to comprehend it.
Aswell - not forgetting that all of the prophets and angels will be wieighed as well.
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This is good to hear. I mentioned this on another muslim forum and they thought I was nuts!! Anything of this world can become idolworship. Keeping up with the Jones mentality.
Every sin in Christianity is forgiveable execept for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12
31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. -
Peace be upon you,
And that which is called the "Holy Spirit" is the same as what is called the "Nafs"...the subconcious. It is the subconcious that directs the events of your life. He who purifies it succeeds and who corrupts it fails.
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Peace,
Respectfully.I agree with you, brother David K, totally.
Some people have forgotten God The Most Powerful to the point that when you mention Him, The Most Wise, they say"Oh, you're one of those."
Or they just smile, thinking, well, we live in 21. century, welcome to the programme where you have to pay taxes and bills and where you can eat pork because it tastes the same as lamb.When i explain a few things about the Quran to my roommates, with whom i talk aboput religion almost on daily basis, they say, well, you were born Muslim, that's why you get it. I try to approach them from the point of Bible - i always say that Quran confirms the truth told in the former Scriptures and then the debate starts with the crucifixion, prophet Jesus and Mary, needless to say, i win the debates all the time, Thank God, because when they ask me stuff about Islam and the Quran or Muslims, i quote Quran but when i ask them few basic stuff about their beliefs, they are speechless.
May Allah swt guides us all and protects us all from satan the rejected one.
God bless you all.Peace.
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Alen why would GOD allow one scripture to remain whole and not another. This is one really dumb point that Islam keeps saying and it really makes no sense!!
Mohammad had the Holy Scriptures from GOD in his presence. Did muslims start questioning it when they saw it didn't preach the same thing as the Quran? They decided oh well this is corrupt or not the same scripture. Early Islamic scholars did not question the Gospel. When did they start questioning it?
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Because the last one is up to date. And do you know why it got up to date? Because God gave a bible, but the people who used it ended up corrupting it, maybe it was a test, but now God says He protects the Quran, i think i can trust that huh.
Also, can shirk be when someone do something so passionately that it makes him break some rules laid down in the quran? Like one dude eat so much he forgots God.
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Peace Yosemite,
can shirk be when someone do something so passionately that it makes him break some rules laid down in the quran? Like one dude eat so much he forgots God.
It's become my understand that anything that occupies one's mind and resources so much that it keeps the person from their spiritual connection with their Creator can and should be understood as shirk. The term itself is not nearly as important as what it represents - because, quite simply, if one is so comsumed with something other than their spiritual develpoment and peace, then how can they even ask for forgiveness?
The wisdom of the ayat describing shirk are less to do with what God will do to us, and more to do with what we will have done to ourselves.
So, whether it's an addiction to food, or television, or women, or work, any act/action that prevents our maintenance of balance and harmony is effectively replacing that chunk of our lives that should be filled with spiritual well-being via connecting to God - hence, it has become a "partner".
peace
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Alen why would GOD allow one scripture to remain whole and not another. This is one really dumb point that Islam keeps saying and it really makes no sense!!
Mohammad had the Holy Scriptures from GOD in his presence. Did muslims start questioning it when they saw it didn't preach the same thing as the Quran? They decided oh well this is corrupt or not the same scripture. Early Islamic scholars did not question the Gospel. When did they start questioning it?Peace,
Respectfully.God gave the Christians the Bible and people thought they could trick God so they hid some stuff, they corrupted some things and thought no one would ever know.
Little did they know, that God sees all and when the Quran came, Quran confirmed the Bible, Torah and corrected what people corrupted, also allowed certain things which were prohibited before or not done sex during the nights in the Ramadan, charity, how much to give, to whom and when, how to pray, what tone to use in a prayer, how to stand, what to say, how to start the prayer and finish it, these and other things were apparently corrupted or forgotten but i think they just corrupted them because they always prayed, they just prayed to the sun, stars, moon, planets, rocks, people and so on.People were always told to stay away from worshipping idols, prophet Ibrahim destroyed them with his right hand, prophet Moses burned the golden calf and even prophet Muhammad destroyed idols, we are always told to stay away from statues.
Not just statues but from worshipping others and not God.
We are told to worship only God and be aware of Him.Quran also exposes those Christians who did not follo w prophet Jesus and those Jews who did not obey prophet Moses.
Peace.
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Peace be upon you PVB,
No, the Holy Spirit is one of the manifestations of the One True GOD.
Everything is a manifestation of God. ) So with that in mind we have to understand the symbols of God. There is God , which is Conciousness itself (the innermost part of your being that you share with God), then all else is energy/matter, which is SUB-concious. All THINGS are manifestation of this "Holy Energy"
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There are all kinds of apocrypha that has not been hidden, burned, or destroyed. You can find them in any library.
There were so many copies of the different books of the Bible that it was easy to see if someone tampered with a book. Yes the Quran confirms the Bible for it is the very same as when the Quran was written.
LOL!! Alen - Christians never prayed to the sun, stars, moon, planets, rocks, people and so on.
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Every sin in Christianity is forgiveable execept for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12
31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.And that which is called the "Holy Spirit" is the same as what is called the "Nafs"...the subconcious. It is the subconcious that directs the events of your life. He who purifies it succeeds and who corrupts it fails.
Salam,
In Matthew 31-32 the ruh and ruh qudos is being spoken of not the nafs. nafs and ruh are two seperate things.
Mohammad had the Holy Scriptures from GOD in his presence.
Yes.
Salam,
Arnab