Salvation and forgiveness
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Hi,
I think we need to see around us , the world at large- who are the best of people?
Who we like and who we think deserve ........
Salaams.
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From "Qur'anic Cosmology a modern introduction"
Many religions use the word ?sin? for certain acts they claim are wrong and for
which you will be punished by their deity. The Qur?an is very clear, God cannot be
offended or harmed in any way. So any deed will only be judged on its beneficence
towards humanity (1317), or how it harms and corrupts your own personality. The
consequences of any harmful deed will be experienced over time if they are not
compensated by contributing to humanity. But the consequences, or effects of a person?s
deeds are not present immediately. A delay is made in them so every person has the time
to gain more knowledge and understand the wrong they have done, the delay gives time
for the persons to reform themselves and compensate the damage done.
Mankind has created several concepts on how to redeem its sins they believe they will be
punished for by the deity. It is a mythological concept of how their deeds effect their
environment and the universe. The main concept man has created is the concept of
salvation. Salvation is based on the concept of pleasing or acknowledging a god or gods
through rituals, good deeds and/or faith and thus hope to have his sins forgiven by the
deity to be rewarded by a mythological paradise or easy rewards on earth. The Qur?an
breaks away this man-made belief by saying not even a deed smaller than an atom will be
neglected (997- and thus completely rejecting the concept of salvation.996-8 On that Day will all people come forth as separate entities, to be shown their deeds.
Then whoever has done an atom's
weight of good, will see it. And whoever has done an atom's weight of evil, will see it.I am in agreement with scholar Muhammed Ali and Dr. Sayed Abdul Wadud37 that
?Maliki Yauwme AldDeen? (verse 14), refers to a sort of Qur?anic ?karma? as it can be
understood as ?He that controls the Realm of Existence (Malik) through the System of
Judgement (Deen) that is present in this period of the Universe (Yauwme)?38. Whereby aFootnote
37 Page 4-5. Qur?an translation and commentary by Muhammed Ali, 2004 2nd edition. And Gateway to the
Qur?an by Dr. Sayed Abdul Wadud where on page 137 he says verse 14 means ?The sustenance of
human body is a gift from Allah but the nourishment and development of his Personality is subject to the
deeds he performs, the results of which are under complete control of Allah's law of requital, in this world
and in the hereafter.?constant system of cause and effect creates the outcomes of your deeds and the effects of
them on your further evolution in the Universe.The Qur?an gives thus a far more practical concept then salvation, that of compensation.
To attain salvation is many times very vague within religions, and people will always just
hope for it, by performing rituals and be good and the rest depends on the mood or the
mercy of their deity. It creates a very uncertain situation where man doesn?t know the
outcome. The Qur?an presents a more logical and fair system, where mankind know
exactly what to do to redress and how to correct their mistakes.
When a person has done a deed which has hurt his fellow men, or when a person has
done deeds which corrupts its own character, the Qur?an gives a simple solution. The
person must first understand what he has done wrong, and then take action by not
adopting that path again, this is called Tauba in the Qur?an. ?Tauba? means To return to
the correct point on a path after it is discovered the wrong path had been taken?39. After
this, another action must be taken, not that of rituals, but of humanistic action.11114 Strive to establish and consolidate the Divine System, day and night.
Actions that create balance in the society, Al-Hassanat 40remove the ill effects of inequities,
Al-Sayyi41.Good deeds remove bad deeds. This is a Reminder for those who pay attention.Footnotes
38 Exposition of Surah Al-Fatiha by Arnold Yasin Mol, 2007. Explanation of the words used?Malik means
ruler, king, the one who is control and authority of a realm, former of Rules and Laws and the one who
also executes them. It doesn't refer to a human king in this verse, as the Alif makes the word and its
definitions in an absolute form and thus makes it refer to the Universal Force. Thus Malik means the
Divine Appointer and Executer of Laws and Rules. Yauwme doesn't mean Day in its original sense, but
Time, Era or Period. It was used for day but also for long periods as can be seen for example in the
Qur?an where it is used for a moment , 1000 years and 50.000 years . Yauwme in this verse
and some other verses in the Qur?an refers to this phase of existence, the first Era of Life. Deen has many
meanings. System of law, Debt, Cause and Effect, Judgment, Order, Way of Life, Requital, Outcome of an
Affair. To translate it with Religion is wrong, as Islam covers all fields of Life, from Economics to State to
Individual affairs. Religions mostly only control personal affairs and moral. In 933 it is foretold that Islam
will overcome all other Deen, this thus also refer to Communism, Capitalistic Secularism and all other
systems of life on Earth. Again, to translate it only with 'judgment' or 'requital' cuts out the other meanings
of Deen and Malik. Thus all definitions must be given to have the correct understanding of this verse and
the wide meanings it creates through the combinations of these 3 definitions.?39 Page 77-78 under the root Taba. Dictionary of the Holy Qur?an by Abdul Mannar Omar, 2006 4th
edition. ?To return; repent; turn one's self in a repentant manner (with ila or without it), turn with mercy
(with ala), adapt? And page 84-87. Exposition of the Qur?an, Mafhum Al-Qur?an by G.A. Parwez. 1990.
Page 358 Volume 1. Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane, based on Taj-Ul-Roos, 2003 2nd
reprint. It gives ?To return to obedience to God?.40 Page 206-208 Volume 2, Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane, based on Taj-Ul-Roos, 2003
2nd reprint. ?Make good, seem good/beautiful/comely/pleasing, be excellent, make or render a thing good
or goodly, to beautify/embellish/adorn a thing, strive or compete in goodness, to do good or act well, act or
behave with goodness or in a pleasing manner towards a person, confer a benefit or benefits upon a
person, act graciously with a person?.The system of compensation is fair, practical and clear. Your further progress of
evolution is not based on rituals or belief, but on your actions to benefit mankind. Al-
Hassanat can only be done towards other humans, not to God. And Al-Sayyi can only be
done to other humans, not to God. The concept of sin is not present in the Qur?an. Words
as Ithm, although many times translated as sin in the majority of Qur?an translations, have
a far more clearer meaning. Ithm , for example, refers to being weak and slow, to be the
last camel in the caravan42. It gives an idea that persons committing Ithm do not commit
a ?sin? towards God, but harm themselves and their environment, so that it becomes
weak. It describes that harmful deeds can weaken the person?s position within the cosmic
evolutionary scale as the person has done things which has not contributed society, but
even weakened its potential and slows its progress. If the damage done to one?s Self or
their environment is not compensated, the compensation, the requital of the damage will
be experienced in this life or in the next phase of the universe. One way or another, if
man doesn?t compensate the damage he may have done, then the universe will
compensate it with you.The word Ghafara has also been presented in a very wrong way. Ghafara means to
protect against dirt or harm43, it does not mean forgiveness in the Qur'an, as 996-7 and
2147 clearly point out is not present in the universal system. But this doesn?t mean God
has not created any ease or exceptions within this system of compensation. God is also
called Al-Afaa, Afaa means to remit previous deeds, it also means the surplus of
something (see 2219). It is used around 7 times for God who remitted those that upheld
their present life above the better one. He is Al-Afaa because people are given time to
remit their wrongdoing and because He gives more (surplus) for every good deed
(6160)44. In the Qur?an, forgiveness stands for giving room to compensate for wrong
deeds done. The Quran An Encyclopedia says ?Forgiveness involves a change of heart
that may advocate that the wrongdoer receives punishment or be considered accountable
for redressing the wrong.? 45Footnotes
41Page 181-183 Volume 4, Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane, based on Taj-Ul-Roos, 2003
2nd reprint. ?To treat badly, do evil to disgrace, be evil/wicked/vicious, ill, anything that makes a person
sad and sorrowful, bad action, mischief and corruption?42 Page 58-59 Volume 1 under the root Athima. Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane, based on
Taj-Ul-Roos, 2003 2nd reprint. It explains on page 59 ?she-camel, (S,) and she-camels, slow, or tardy;
meary, fatigued, or jaded. That is slack, or ldo, in pace, or going.?43 Page 405-406 under the root Ghafara. Dictionary of the Holy Qur?an by Abdul Mannar Omar, 2006 4th
edition.It says ?To give protect, to cover over, shield, suppress the defect, set the affairs right. Ghafar al-
Mata?a means He put the goods in the bag and covered and protected them. Mighafar is a shield and
helmet. Ghafr means covering with that which protects a thing from dirt. Ghafour, name of God The
Protector.? Page 15-16, Exposition of the Qur?an, Mafhum Al-Qur?an by G.A. Parwez. 1990. Page 57-59
Volume 6, Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane, based on Taj-Ul-Roos, 2003 2nd reprint.44 Page 379-380 under the root Afa. Dictionary of the Holy Qur?an by Abdul Mannar Omar, 2006 4th
edition45 Page 213-216 under Forgiveness,by Bahar Davary. The Quran An Encyclopedia edited by Oliver
Leaman, 2008 Paperback.The effects of their deeds on their own Self will be judged according to these factors
? The person?s is judged on intention (2225, 589).
? Has no knowledge of the law or the Divine Law or doesn?t understand it
correctly (6131).
? Is minor or insane and not capable of understanding (1736).
? Is forced to do a thing (16106).The above mentioned factors that will determine the recompense of the person?s deeds,
and these are also used in almost all courts of law in the world.
The system of compensation have been made in a merciful way, whereby the benefiting
deeds have more weight on the universal scale then the harming ones.- He who does a good deed will receive ten times its worth; and he who does evil will
be requited to an equal degree; and no one will be wronged.
4146 Whoever does good to others, does good to his own ?self?, and whoever causes
imbalance in the lives of others, hurts his own ?self?. Your Lord is never unjust to His
servants.This system of compensation is thus not a religious one, but takes on the form of a
natural law that determines the fall and rise of nations and the development of human
personality.Robert Briffault
?In the natural scale, that action is good which contributes to the process of human
development, that act is evil which tends to impede, retard, oppose that process that
individual life is well deserving which is in the direct line of that evolution, that is futile
which lies outside the course of its advance; that is Condemned which endeavours to
oppose the current. That is the natural, the absolute and actual standard of moral values.
Nature does not value the most saintly and charitable life which brings no contribution to
human growth, as much as a single act which permanently promotes the evolution of the
race. The only measure of worth of which nature takes any account? by perpetuating it?
is the contribution offered towards the building tip of a higher humanity.? 46Footnote
46 Page 352. The Making of Humanity by Robert Briffault, 1919.As we can see in the above verses it is clear not one
single deed will be ignored and forgotten. The Qur?an gives these laws which operate the
judgment system which will determine if a person is fit for further evolution? Every human action affects his own Self (6164). His deeds are recorded by the
Universal Forces, Malikah, constantly into the Umm Al-Kitaab, the Divine
datebase which is called the Quantum Field/Vacuum by scientists (2147, 997-6,
7829, 8210-12).
? The Self is also affected by hidden and unfulfilled desires or intentions as these
are the foundations for further actions not committed (4019).
? Only Allah knows how much credit or discredit is to be given to a particular act.
(5332), but the benefiting deeds outweigh the harmful ones by 10 to 1 (6160).
And God?s Rahma, all the resources for further development, is the reason for our
creation, and this will also weigh, He has created us for further development, this
is His driving thought behind our creation, and this will decide how His law of
judgment will work
11119 Save him on whom your Developer of all your stages of evolution has given
His Rahma, His continuous nourishment; and for that He did create them.
? When the new universe is created, to determine the level of evolution (Jannah), or
non-evolution (Jahannam), all the actions will be weighed. Those whose balance
of good and constructive deeds are in the majority (is heavier) will evolve further,
but those whose balance goes against them (is lighter) are the ones who have
harmed themselves by their willful rejection of Allah's Message and will be in a
state of non-evolution (78-9).
? As the system is fair and based on your personal development, no one would be
able to help any other, nor any intercession is allowed (2123).
? No action would go un-recompensated (325).
? Everyone will get the consequence of his own deeds. (7147, 5216, 3739,
452.
? Absolute and full justice will be done, and no one will be dealt with unjustly, as
the selection is made by laws and not by emotions (16111, 4017, 3970).
? No one will be able to transfer his good or bad deeds to others ? every person will
be judged on their own contributions or harm to one?s Self or others (2286,
6105, 6165, 10108, 1317, 177, 1715, 2740, 2792, 296, 3112, 3518, 3941,
4515).http//deenrc.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/quranic-cosmology-a-short-introduction-by-ay-mol-f.pdf
- He who does a good deed will receive ten times its worth; and he who does evil will
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Salaams Br's,
Don't you think truthfullness is a deterrant to wrong doing? for a seeker of forgiveness.
More so then any ritual.
Salaams.
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11114 clearly says we can only compensate the wrong things we have done (sayyi) by doing Hassanat. Hassanat can only be between humans or from God towards a human, but not from a human towards God. So rituals will do nothing to compensate.