Nearness and Guidance -> Knowledge and Wisdom = Peace and Prosperity

[Man_of_Faith]

Salam

I believe both are protected and beyond human reach, unless and until they are free from Shirk.

Knowledge

Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an
In a protected Book
None can grasp it <- not for human to decide, never.
except those purified (from Shirk)
(5677-79)

Wisdom

He grants wisdom to whom He pleases <- not for human to decide, never.
and whoever is granted wisdom
he indeed is given a great good
and none but men of understanding mind
(2269)

Thanks for your input. That is true and it is basically what this thread is trying to prove. Without Nearness and Guidance (and the involved Purification) one will not receive Knowledge and Wisdom through God opening your eyes and will be astray and devoid of the true Message. Trying to trod unto conjecture through not focusing on Nearness and Guidance by "cheating" towards Knowledge and Wisdom will only lead to the typical show of sectarians and Mullahs who look like they know a lot while they actually know almost nothing, particularly because they continue to adhere to associating partners with God and idolize Messengers, Prophets and others, and listening to false sources without wholeheartedly seeking God's Nearness and Guidance. And they are not using their brains. God will make it feel to them like they are right while they are wrong and they will say in the courtroom of God "But we believed!?" while in fact they did not fulfill the circle of criteria as seen previously.

[muslims]

because they continue to adhere to associating partners with God and idolize Messengers, Prophets and others, and listening to false sources without wholeheartedly seeking God's Nearness and Guidance. And they are not using their brains. God will make it feel to them like they are right while they are wrong and they will say in the courtroom of God "But we believed!?" while in fact they did not fulfill the circle of criteria as seen previously.

Salam

Perfect peace

Say Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds?

(These are) they
whose labor
is lost
in this world's life
and they think
that they are well versed
in skill of the work of hands <- righteous peoples, good peoples

These are they
who disbelieve <- but they disbelieve, all or any part of the Qur'an
in the communications
of their Lord and His meeting

so their deeds
become null
and therefore
We will not set up a balance for them
on the day of resurrection

Thus it is that their recompense is hell
because they disbelieved
and held My communications and My messengers in mockery
(18103-106)

Peace

[Man_of_Faith]

Salaam,

I interpret ayat in that verse you talk about as signs and not the actual literal passages. Not exactly the same interpretation we have.

If you do not believe the signs which make you determined that God exist and that you will stand trial in front of God you will be among the losers because the whole chain of what is in the creed Islam is never fulfilled. It is not Qur'an exclusively that is required but Faith in God and the Last Day, Realm or his Message which has been the same all the time. If you fail to acknowledge God and His Message your deeds, no matter good or bad, seems to not mean anything at all on the Judgment Day and you have failed on Criteria 1 and 2 but fulfilled 3 which mean nothing anyway. We need to remember it has been Islam at least from the time of Abraham and he did not have any access to Qur'an but he discovered about God and thus he came to know that he would stand trial.

The whole test seems to be to become determined that God exists and is your Master, you will be responsible for your deeds and judged and the ayat we discuss say that you fail to discover about God then all you did will be completely meaningless in the courtroom of God. It is like discovering a hidden treasure only knowing some hints and if you fail before time is up it is game over, forever. Most people want to know why we are here and the answer is right in front of their very eyes and yet they fail to see that it is because of God.

And there are people who say they believe but are spreading mischief across the land and they obviously do not believe as they would know their behavior will lead to that they chain will not be fulfilled and they probably failed on all parameters even if they thought they believed.

Anyway, Qur'an is a perfect guidebook and it is wise to follow it to the best of one's capability. This book will lead one towards God if you seek His Nearness and Guidance as well as protection from the Evil One and his followers.

Our difference in interpretation of the verse do not really change much except placing a fixation on the Book instead of the Message, in my opinion. Still nothing to argue about as long as we follow the Message, and the Book and seek a close proximity to God. The Judgment God is responsible for and we should do our best according to our minds and ability to see reason.

God bless you

[muslims]

I interpret ayat in that verse you talk about as signs and not the actual literal passages. Not exactly the same interpretation we have.

If you do not believe the signs which make you determined that God exist and that you will stand trial in front of God you will be among the losers because the whole chain of what is in the creed Islam is never fulfilled. It is not Qur'an exclusively that is required but Faith in God and the Last Day, Realm or his Message which has been the same all the time. If you fail to acknowledge God and His Message your deeds, no matter good or bad, seems to not mean anything at all on the Judgment Day and you have failed on Criteria 1 and 2 but fulfilled 3 which mean nothing anyway. We need to remember it has been Islam at least from the time of Abraham and he did not have any access to Qur'an but he discovered about God and thus he came to know that he would stand trial.

Salam

If you wish, there is nothing wrong to interpret it as "signs" and if one reading the whole Qur'an, the word must refer to "Ayat" or "actual literal passages" and it can be "proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations etc". If it is to be treated as "signs", then it is signs specifically mentioned by Allah in the Qur'an. This is the "main premises" from the Qur'an and the basis that Allah wants human to start their comparison or reasoning and learn from. Therefore, it is the "actual literal passages", and then expand from there, from the "Muhkamat" and not the "Mutasyaabihat" (Allah's trap) (37) (1039).

This is so since everything must start from the Qur'an (constitution) and the meaning expands from the Qur'an according to the types of ayat and its "priority (awwaliyah)". That is why we must first "Islam" (submission) to the Qur'an, yet, faith is still not in our heart. It is Allah who will insert faith in our heart, based on level of our submission to the ayat in the Qur'an (just). Therefore, faith or believe or not believe, is something not for human to decides and therefore, it is the Qur'an exclusively that is required; ie. Submission (Islam).

The bedouins say, "We have believed."

Say, "You have not believed
but say, 'We have submitted,' <- Islam
for faith has not yet entered your hearts. <- no faith, faith is equal to "monkey love"

And if you obey Allah and His Messenger <- Islam, vs. disobedience, all or any part of the Qur'an
He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything <- see below
"NOT DEPRIVE OF ANYTHING" means does not require "FAITH". In fact, does not even have to believe in Allah existence!
Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." <- as long we submit, Allah is forgiving, even if we have 0% faith

The believers are only the ones
who have believed in Allah and His Messenger
and then doubt not
but strive with their properties and their lives
in the cause of Allah
It is those who are the truthful.

Say, "Would you acquaint Allah with your religion
while Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth
and Allah is Knowing of all things?"

They consider it a favor to you that they have accepted Islam

Say, "Do not consider your Islam a favor to me.
Rather, Allah has conferred favor upon you
that He has guided you to the faith <- it is Allah who will give us faith, not human
if you should be truthful." and based on our ability to "obey" to simple rules; ie. Islam
(4914-17)

Therefore, the focus for our salvation is not relating to "what we believe or not believe", BUT what we "obey or disobey". This means it is the Qur'an exclusively that is required, ie. "actual literal passages" and observation on the "DO NOT" prohibition (method, refer here). What we believe is the bonus to our salvation.

It is not Qur'an exclusively that is required but Faith in God and the Last Day, Realm or his Message which has been the same all the time. If you fail to acknowledge God and His Message your deeds, no matter good or bad, seems to not mean anything at all on the Judgment Day and you have failed on Criteria 1 and 2 but fulfilled 3 which mean nothing anyway. We need to remember it has been Islam at least from the time of Abraham and he did not have any access to Qur'an but he discovered about God and thus he came to know that he would stand trial.

Since the day the Qur'an has been perfected, it is Qur'an exclusively that is required and submission without faith is sufficiently enough for one to enter Paradise. Allah does not require faith for one to be in paradise. The minimum requirements is Islam (submission) and they will be the companions of the right, even with 0% faith or not sincere, and as long they obey 100%, from level of his understanding. Those who fail are the one who denies all or any part of the Qur'an, those who ignore the word "DO NOT" in the Qur'an, even 1%. They are companions of the left. The highest achievements are "faith" without doubts and no grieve, while live in the cause of Allah and obeying all rules in the Qur'an. Therefore, we don't need to fulfill all the criteria or complete the circle to enter the Paradise.

And you become three kinds

(1) Then the companions of the right <- based on submission (Islam), even 0% faith
what are the companions of the right? <- not yet certain to be in Paradise, may also be in the Fire

(2) And the companions of the left <- deny all or any part of the "DO NOT" prohibition, even 1% - borderline
what are the companions of the left? <- certainly to be in the Fire, the transgressors

(3) And the forerunners, the forerunners <- based on submission, and level of faith (complete circle?)
Those are the ones brought near <- certainly to be in Paradise
In the Gardens of Pleasure
A company of the former peoples
And a few of the later peoples <- Why? Refer here
(567-14)

There is not upon the doers of good any cause <- Islam, submission
(991)

Allah does not charge a soul
except its capacity <- Islam, submission, even with 0% faith
(2286) and, capacity is referring to"signs" or clear and "actual literal passages"?

These were my views. Allah knows best.

Peace

[muslims]

continue

---

He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything <- see below
"NOT DEPRIVE OF ANYTHING" means does not require "FAITH". In fact, does not even have to believe in Allah existence!
Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." <- as long we submit, Allah is forgiving, even if we have 0% faith

Further, it is may become big mistakes or errors not to believe in Allah existence and merely obey what is in the Qur'an
but that is not the issue since Allah says, "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful"
and the term "Allah" itself is the "Mutasyaabihaat" which no human beings are able to control how to believe in Allah. (sura al-ikhlas)
Therefore, it is Allah who will "guided us to faith" in His existence
based on the level of our submission on all the "clear" rules from the Qur'an
and surely, "Allah will not charge a soul except with that within its capacity "; ie. our faith, believe or not to believe in Allah

Therefore, "obedience" to the rules in the Qur'an is the most important things for our salvation.
ie. the "actual literal passages", the Muhkamat, and not the Mutasyaabihaat.
our "faith" is totally dependant on our level of submission to the Qur'an
and the terms "Muslims"
do not necessarily mean the so-called "Muslims" in today's world definition
ie. the sectarian definition of Muslim

"We hear and we obey"
(2285)

And remember the favor of Allah upon you
and His covenant <- Islam is a contract to obey
with which He bound <- Qur'an is the terms and conditions of contract
you when you said,
"We hear and we obey" <- Never ever breach your contract!
and fear Allah
Indeed, Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts
(57)

These were my views, the non sectarian or non religious views. Allah knows best.

Peace all

[Man_of_Faith]

Salaam,

I do not agree with this but we can agree to disagree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts though.

[muslims]

Salam

These are only my views and you don't have to agree. I agree to disagree. handshake

Peace.

[Lena]

Peace Man of Faith and Muslims I have really enjoyed reading your posts. I believe in God 100%, believe in the angels, the Judgement Day and make an effort to regularly do righteous deeds for others but no matter how hard I try to be 100% obedient to God's message, I continue to committ sins. There are times when I am really exhausted from the struggle against the sinful part of my nature. Especially when I am physically or mentally tired and in a weak spiritual state, I fall down under Satan's influence. I place my trust in God, pray that I will be protected against Satan, go for a few years on the straight path feeling spiritually at peace, then wham!! Satan fells me with a knock out blow when I least expect it. Sometimes I can quickly pick my self back up, repent and ask God's forgiveness, with a renewed committment to obey God. Sometimes it takes me a longer time to find my way back to the straight path and I need the support of righteous non judgemental people.

So I have some questions - how can we be 100% obedient at all times in our life when we are only human? Perfection is a quality of divinity not of human kind. Isn't it true we are all sinners? How do we attain that permanent state of spiritual peace when we are in an ongoing jihad with Satan until we die!! Are any of us so arrogant as to feel we have done enough to secure our place in heaven? Is there a spiritually mature Free Minds Muslima (female), who would like to be my mentor, confidante and support during the down times?

[muslims]

So I have some questions - how can we be 100% obedient at all times in our life when we are only human? Perfection is a quality of divinity not of human kind. Isn't it true we are all sinners? How do we attain that permanent state of spiritual peace when we are in an ongoing jihad with Satan until we die!!

Salam

Thank you and what you asked is too high, which many are not willing to pay for the price. Many are just "wishing" but not really serious about attaining it, or not serious enough.

However, I believe if it is "too perfect", then it is "too perfect".

What else should it be? ???

We are indeed, only human, and that's why we have Allah.

Further, it is the behaviour of a True Auliya... perfection, ie. optimizing good, bad, mistakes etc.

Therefore, we cannot be 100% obedient at all times in our life.

It is in fact the most irrelvant question since "obedient and perfection is a process". (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

It is only Allah that can make us perfect and be 100% obedient at all times in our life.

Allah has promised
those who have believed among you <- conditions, the process to believe?
and done righteous deeds <- justly balanced, understand and communicating with the Sunnatullah (IQRA)
that He will surely

(1) grant them succession upon the earth <- Khalifa, and of course, not like world leaders today
just as He granted it to those before them all or many of them are not known by the public, but in control

(2) and that He will surely
establish for them
their deen <- 100% obedience - perfection
which He has preferred for them

(3) and that He will surely <- no fear, or grieve - "attain that permanent state of spiritual peace"
substitute for them
after their fear, security

(4) they worship Me <- free from shirk of any kind, refer here - 1, 2, 3, and 4
not associating anything with Me

But whoever disbelieves after that
then those are the defiantly disobedient
(2455)

It is You we serve <- serve comes first, only then eligible to ask for help
and You we ask for help otherwise, logically, no help.
(15)

The Process

However, Allah cannot make you perfect if "you wants" to be perfect.

There is no such things as "I want".

It doesn't work that way.

It is always working in the opposite direction.

That is, you must "not be perfect" for "Allah to makes you perfect".

Therefore, there is no "I", "I want" or "I am", "I this..", "I that.." or even "I feel" .. too many "I's", and of course, not even "I" and "Paradise" or "Hell Fire". Allah is not our slave, we are .. and there is nothing in our ibada is for Allah, it is actually for ourselves, ie. solah, fasting, sadaqah, righteousness etc. It is the deen, our deen, not Allah, and for our benefits. Allah don't need our ibada etc.

Therefore, what is for Allah?

All that we do is for ourselves, and there is nothing for Allah.

Who is Lord?

Isn't He is the One who supposed to be our Lord?

This is the factor that determines the "attain that permanent state of spiritual peace", and it is in conflict with the Sunnatullah, ie. 1 & 1.

Since this is a complicated issue.. I just put in summary, something that you can get some idea on its process.

What does Allah want to see from us?

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg338195#msg338195

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg339592#msg339592

What should we do?

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg336189#msg336189

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg336800#msg336800

Okay, how? (Allah's standard)

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg337102#msg337102

Why?

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg335950#msg335950

Proof?

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg335891#msg335891

Some example?

http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9605723.msg336010#msg336010

Consequences

It is You we serve
and You we ask for help
(15)

And when your Lord proclaimed
'If you are grateful
I will surely increase you
(147)

Understand the Qur'an... which will bring us to 100% obedience.

This is the process for the "attain that permanent state of spiritual peace", but as I said, many not willing to pay for the price. Therefore, it is a very complicated question, because they are "unwilling" or just "wishing".

These were my views. Allah knows best.

Peace

[Man_of_Faith]

Salaam Lena,

Thanks for your positive criticism. I have tried to put all my thinking power into this topic and hopefully some inspiration from the One.

There is a simple answer to your question about sins and fact is that we are sinful by nature and also the pressure from Shaytaan in this world is immense. I will be completely honest with you; I also commit sins and I think most, if not all, of us commit sins, but an important thing is to be conscious about your sins and try to do something about them and purify yourself with God's help. With God's Nearness and Guidance we can minimize our sinful behavior although I doubt we can eliminate them altogether unless we "become a Jesus" who might have had a certain advantage over us. I do not know how "purified" a person can become though and I suspect you can reach pretty high levels where you have a very good control over your sins, but you still can probably not say that you have never sinned.

Muhammad, as according to Qur'an, seem to had come to Faith and was still warned for some obvious mistakes such as judging two men by their looks where an appealing man was preferred instead of a poor blind man or when he let his wives had him make an unwise decision. We are not invulnerable to sins even if we are Messengers.

Moses killed a man of the Egyptians because he wanted to protect one of his people without asking for what reason they fought and the next day the same man was engaged in a fight again, and consider that God even forgave manslaughter you shall know the mercy of the Lord. Moses was honest with himself and God and confessed that he had been subdued by the devil, and suddenly as he had this realization a man (as a blessing) came and warned him that Pharaoh's people were out to get him so he escape. You see, the lives of the Prophets and Messengers were filled by mistakes and probably not only those which were highlighted in Qur'an and previous scriptures, so do not you worry about your sins my friend Lena.

One of them even rebelled, Jonah (Yunus) he boarded a ship and disobeyed God because he was fed up with his "assignment" and then swallowed by a fish at sea but he repented and thus God showed him His immense mercy and Jonah could continue his assignment after being miraculously ejected from the sea-creature's belly and up on the seaside.

Noah tried to defend his disbelieving and disobedient son and was met pretty harshly by God's words (I felt God was really angry in this narration) and he repented to God and God was forgiving and let him off the ship in peace.

You see, dear sister Lena, that the Messengers could sin pretty badly and still be forgiven by God and even continue their Messengership because they were honest in their Faith and they repented wholeheartedly and perhaps did not think of the consequences of their actions at first such as when Moses killed the Egyptian, think of the feelings of the Egyptian's wife and family and their immense sorrow at the loss of their beloved despite being of the oppressing faction the Egyptian might have been innocent of blame and might have just been defending himself against the one of Moses' people, a case of assault.

There is a moral lesson for all the narrations God makes in Qur'an (and possible older scriptures if they are not lies) and one has to listen carefully to them and only the intelligent ones will understand them thoroughly. I must admit that I think expressions from the Bible's Gospel testaments are authentic and coming from a man of God for they are sure wise.

Please do not be afraid as long as you keep being mindful of God and working towards purification. Follow my advice with the circle of Faith or not, but keep God in mind at all times and seek to be a Righteous and pious Believer. Please seek God's Nearness and Guidance and you will, God willing, get Knowledge and Wisdom and in the end you will have Peace and Prosperity. Follow this advice and I can guarantee you in the Lord's name that this is what you shall get. Stay strong and keep being steadfast.

I am better now than I used to be and I praise God for that and that I have become closer to Him, but I suppose I have to work my whole life to become satisfied with the result. This is the result of my devotion to God and that I struggle hard to serve the Lord in every way I can even if I might not always please Him in my ignorance, but I have tried to be steadfast and I was determined that God would be real even if I had not yet Faith grown in my heart and eventually I reached a point where I realized I had not doubt whatsoever anymore. And the constant signs from God that I perceive reassures me further more and are perhaps a reward for being steadfast in Faith. No intention to brag, I just want to share that so someone can see how good the reward is for having believed and begun to receive Peace and Prosperity.

We are tested throughout our whole lives and when we have come to Faith we are tested in new ways and it can be applying the new Knowledge and Wisdom we have acquired in situations when others are preventing us from being righteous and then we need to deal with this too and it can be hard (from own experience) and we have to continue being steadfast even after Faith has come to our hearts and we (God willing) fulfill Islam's criteria.

It is this intention to purify yourself and become better which is most important and being kind and generous is a very good start to reach a good moral character. Qur'an is very thorough in telling the steps on how to better yourself and get rid of negative traits such as arrogance and selfishness. "Kill your ego" is a very good expression which signifies what has to be done in general. The optimal scenario would be that if we just gave away all our annual income and only lived moderately and spent much time helping others in various ways. Certainly those with big egos would exploit you, but I am sure that God would also help you and God said to the people to use their brains and be wise, in the end you would be able to see those who really need help against those who just want to be exploitative and hoard money fraudulently.

With big Faith you will likely be able to invoke God's wrath and be able to get people punished by those who exploited you and if not that God will take care of them in the end, you can rest assured. No reason to cry over spilled milk. Laughs best who laughs last. But best is to offer the other cheek if they hit you on one cheek, allegorically, and try to meet cruelness with kindness. It is hard, but yet the best solution. Revenge is never beneficial except for your ego. I recommend to try to meet evil with kindness, it is an interesting alternative and you might see perhaps unexpected results as in walking out as the winner in the end even if you were fooled and ill-treated at first in various ways. Jesus (allegedly) said "And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well" and it might not make sense from a first glance but if you consider it from different angles you might understand what is good with it. Evil and vice might impress you and seem an easy way to slide through a life, but it only leads to destruction and the person who follow God's guidelines in His Qur'an will see that the cheap material gains are not worth a penny compared to coming to Faith.

Are any of us so arrogant as to feel we have done enough to secure our place in heaven?

I do not want to call myself arrogant and I do not know my fate, but my mind is quite at peace about this and I do not worry much. I take the requital from the Lord and I am aware that for any bad I do I am responsible. No I do not know if I am destined for Heaven or Hell, but I am not afraid. Not sure if you can know subconsciously within your soul when you are ready, but I do not feel I am ready yet, I have lots to fulfill still. But no, it does not stress me much anymore except some people in my vicinity act as brake pedals unfortunately but my trust is in the Lord.

So I have some questions - how can we be 100% obedient at all times in our life when we are only human?

See the paragraphs above where I talk about the Messengers and Prophets.

God bless you and good luck on your journeys

[Man_of_Faith]

Peace and Prosperity (Righteousness)

| http//farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/10816793444_18c10caea7.jpg
| Okay. Let us continue with the final part of my thread's contents which is Peace and Prosperity which basically can be related to Righteousness. If you have studied my thread and what I have said up until now I think you will understand why I put it under just this category. After I am done presenting this part of my studies I will elaborate more on what I have been writing all the time until now and hopefully more intricate Wisdom. The whole purpose of this thread was to encourage Wisdom through a more more graphical presentation of the Message of God. Not saying God's Message in Qur'an is inadequate, but this is only a bit more "streamlined" but nothing blasphemous.

When you have reached this far onto the chain, your faith is reflected through your actions very convincingly and you certainly are aware of the living and you appreciate God's provisions that he bestows upon you. It could also be regarded as an engine which fuel is faith and through this use of fuel one is able to run the whole ship towards righteousness. To reach Islam one needs to balance all these three parameters decently and well. Maintaining Islam upon death and it will be safe to say that one will be happily enjoying God's promised Paradise. And a steady and devoted service to God will also mean an inner peace or harmony within the soul which was the basic intention with my terminology "Peace and Prosperity" and even if you are exposed to further trials until your departure from this world, you will meet them with a feeling of harmony and peace with many beneficial blessings in form of both material and abstract provisions.

This can be equaled to lending God your time and life and in return you get back more than you originally invested even if regarded for the weaker in Faith as a waste of time and money.

The stronger in Faith will realize the importance of a good character and will sacrifice more of both time and money, but will amaze him/herself over how rich he/she has become both in harmonious and prosperous ways. We need to remember true wealth is not exactly about the money. One's accumulated wealth is worth absolutely zero at the time of death and I mean absolutely Z E R O. No need to even save the money excessively but rather be generous and kind. And, for some surprisingly, God will actually often reward you so even if you use money on others you might as well end up with more provisions later. It is this dependance upon our materialistic and illusive things that we possess we have to reduce. Best is to not even see them as your own things but rather something you received as a blessing from God and hold on to temporarily.

That was the end of this categorical talk and I hope to soon delve more intricately into what I have just discussed up until now. If you have any questions or something to add about what I wrote feel free to reply here in this thread.

[Man_of_Faith]

About being of an ultimately good character in Islam

I will mix in some signs that God's creed is about being a kind, goodly character who treats people without insult and arrogance. God's Islam is like Jesus preaches in the Gospel of Christianity's Bible which has been denied (by some). Poor behavior is not a desirable trait in Islam and will show that 1/3 of Message was not understood but in fact has deeper roots such as disbelief in Realm and honest Faith in God

2044 ?So say to him soft words, perhaps he will remember or be concerned.?

4134 Not equal are the good and the bad response. You shall resort to
the one which is better. Thus, the one who used to be your enemy,
may become your best friend.

5226 They said ?We used to be compassionate among our people.?

7310 And be patient over what they say, and depart from them in a
good manner.

9017 Then he has become one of those who have believed, and exhort
one another to patience, and exhort one another to kindness.

Apart from these obvious verses from Qur'an one must consider what the word being good and righteous connotes, so with that in mind behavior is basically repeated about several times per chapter of the Message.

Basically from this verse is the foundation of Islam and its three criteria (as according to my diagram)

262 Surely those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the
Nazarenes, and the Sabians, whoever of them (1) believes in God
and the (2) Last Day (which I refer to as Realm) and (3) does good works; they will have their
recompense with their Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor
will they grieve.

I.e

• Belief in God - Nearness and Guidance - Faith (takes patience and steadfastness and lot of contemplation upon our existence)

• Belief in Realm - Knowledge and Wisdom - Faith (God does for you with honesty and proximity to God, does not take much action)

• Righteousness - Good works (Peace and Prosperity is a reward) - Actions (and way of living)

Verily, God's creed is not much harder than these three easy steps yet we humans make it harder upon ourselves with lots of conjectural ideas and idiocy. Well, being righteous is hard enough let alone reassuring yourself that God is really real. Achieving these three steps is a great triumph and is a winning concept. No more needs to be accomplished to have Islam and salvation. Sorry if I make my posts like a dummies guide to God, but it is the easiest way to invite to God.

God bless you

[GODsubmitter]

Beautifully put!

But I should only add to all that an unshakeable trust in God, and faith, or knowledge, that He is the Only One God Alone, and there is none beside Him.

Peace

[Man_of_Faith]

Absolutely true, GODsubmitter. Complete certainty is a long term goal for the one who seeks the Truth.

Peace

[Indelwyn]

THANK YOU MAN OF FAITH! bravo

[Man_of_Faith]

Further simplification of the Message is possible

Please see this

2112 No; whoever (1) submits himself to God, while (2) doing good, he will have his recompense with his Lord. There will be no fear over them, nor will they grieve.

Here in fact God narrows his criteria down to two, so one can in fact say that Belief in Realm can be integrated into Belief in God as a Faith part of the creed. This by no means indicate that my circular diagram is wrong, but it is fully possible to further split the Faith into two parts, (1) Faith and (2) Actions, proving my second circle in the diagram to be fully applicable. Praised be God for helping me out on this as I had not anticipated this coincidence. When we honestly believe in God seeking His Nearness and Guidance and accept His creed without associating partners with Him, the Realm part of Faith comes sort of automatically.

But we must remember that very few people ever get beyond the first threshold of monotheism as we can see in this verse from Qur'an

12106 And most of them will not believe in God except while setting up partners.

And this is the reason for the above, i.e. most fall prey to this

6116 And if you obey most of those on the earth they will lead you away from the path of God; that is because they follow conjecture, and that is because they only guess.

Here you have everything from "friends" and spouses to religious leaders who will also threaten you with eternal Hell and call you kufr/disbeliever when you do not follow their religion. This is something many people, thousands of people, fall prey to and they indoctrinate themselves by following the stream and readily accept their conjecture. Refer back to the circular diagram and (1) and (2) from this post and you see that the Message is not so hard after all. What your friends actually promise you is eternal Hell while ironically saying the opposite. Yes, the Message is this simple, exactly. If God says;

2112 No; whoever (1) submits himself to God, while (2) doing good, he will have his recompense with his Lord. There will be no fear over them, nor will they grieve.

; this is what He means. There is no "hocus pocus" mentioned either here nor in any other parts of Qur'an except encouragement to meditate and "pray" for Nearness and Guidance as well as some things which are relatively obvious from anyone who is fond of you such as advising you not to intoxicate yourself/cloud your judgment by using drugs or into animosity and poverty through gambling. And apart from this (1) Mindfulness of God and Purification, He asks you to be (2) good.

In this way God is very kind and would be like a father to his son. God is very kind and clement. Apart from God's wise words it is quite obvious for the intelligent to see that substance (ab)use is most often leading to damage of the body and little gain. Qur'an is really a guidebook and mostly encouraged as a book to use as such, to give help what to ponder upon to realize that God must be really real.

I could of course hypothetically count among most, but Qur'an itself is a testament to that I speak of the Truth. There is no gain for me here and I ask for no money or fame. All I ask of you is to obey on (1) and (2) which will not lead you astray. And if you then slowly expand this into the criteria as mentioned in the circular diagram you have a winning concept. Unless you have done it already, pray God that you receive His Nearness and Guidance as well as protection from the evil one and his followers, and be steadfast and patient in His service. Submit to His will. (1) Actions and (2) Faith will lead you straight on the Path of Light. God did not make His creed complicated

2277 O you who * believe, kneel and prostrate and serve your Lord and do good that you may succeed.
2278 And strive in the cause of God its truly deserved striving. He is the One who has chosen you, and He has made no hardship for you in the system, the creed of your father Abraham; He is the One who named you ?those who have submitted? from before and in this. So let the messenger be witness over you and you be witness over the people. So hold the (1) Mindfulness and contribute towards Purification and hold tight to God, He is your patron. What an excellent Patron, and what an excellent Supporter.

Note I rather interpret the word as-salat as Mindfulness than contact prayer which is Monotheist Translation's choice of words. This word has been changed above. An interpretation as "contact prayer' indicates that as-salat is a kind of ritual which immediately makes God's creed way harder whereas when you simply call it Mindfulness naturally means to keep God in your mind and as the same time contact/connection. God said to hold regular salat although then He means to frequently bond with Him which needs no ritual. However, we may choose to commence physical movements to show gratification but then that is personal. There is no reason and logic in that God would repeatedly throughout the book promise Paradise for those who do traditional "contact prayer", particularly when people are so divided with their own styles of service to God, but when you change it into Mindfulness or it makes better sense.

• This may indicate that there is a certain inclination towards voluntary physical movement, but this does not explain almost total absence of the popular discussion about details of physical prostration. Qur'an is not unclear, if there were rituals like "contact prayer" in traditional regard there would have been details about this in the book, but now since as-salat is Mindfulness of God and perhaps expanded into Connection with God during special sessions of meditation and thinking and free-speech, no such details are required from the book. It is verily fully detailed and if it is fully detailed details of a physical ritual would have been printed out if they existed. Mindless rituals is a trap for those who listen to the majority of people as seen previously in this post. This behavior is stemming from Paganism. To us it seems like God is a neanderthal god which does only trigger on certain key words like in an adventure video game. It does not impress God. Salat is Communication and open to interpretation for yourselves, either by my simply put "Mindfulness" or your own words for it. Start rambling to God and it is Salat.

Remember

• Faith

• Actions

• Mindfulness of God and Purification

• All the good that you do

Related verses in the same context as the elaboration above are these

2111 And they said ?None shall enter the Paradise except those who are Jewish or Nazarenes;? this is what they wish! Say ?Bring forth your proof if you are truthful.?

Subsequent to the advent of Qur'an we could theoretically add Islam as per sectarian arguments here, perhaps under the heading "Muhammadan", if God would reveal another scripture. "None shall enter Paradise except those who are Jewish, Nazarenes or "Muslims;" this is what they wish!" could be a potential candidate for revision.

There is no creed to convert to as long as you fulfill (1) and (2), all else is as per conjecture. Becoming a man of Faith means carefully following God's intention with Qur'an to enlighten about Him to contemplate our existence and then
"realize that God is really real"

And then we can start talking... Hope all 1 and 2 did not make you dizzy while reading. Being a good fellow human being is hard enough for most people, at least it is for me. It is a big challenge God brought forth to His test, but with His help I have managed to improve myself. Have you?

Be GOOD, do like GOD by following in His footsteps

Please heed my Message and see that I am not arrogant, and I try to be friendly and kind just like my role model... God. Who can hope for a better role model. God did not shy away from showing His nice attributes throughout Qur'an and He did it with all right. Why not imitate God who says this in His verses

2207 ... God is kind to His servants.

12100 ... My Lord is Kind to whom He wills. He is the Knowledgeable, the Wise.

1947 ... He (God) has been most kind to me

2265 ... Indeed, God is Kind towards the people, Merciful.

8514 And He is the Forgiver, the Most Kind.

In the name of God, why can we not do like God?

These people were acting in the image of the Lord

5226 They said ?We (2) used to be compassionate among our people.?
5227 ?God thus blessed us, and has spared us the agony of the fierce hot winds.?
5228 ?We (1) used to implore Him before; He is the Kind, the Merciful.?

Do you think that only the followers of Issa/Jesus ought to be like this?

5727 ...And We sent Jesus, son of Mary, and We gave him the Gospel, and We ordained in the hearts of his followers kindness and mercy...

Remember, submitting to God does not mean living like a slave to God but as someone who lives in His way. In that regard God is not an individual, any man, God is God, the One. It is difficult to submit concretely to a superpower who does not really have any need for you or your submission, but if you live in His ways you show that you belong to His creed Islam. God has no need for you as a slave, He can just say 'be' and anything is. But if you can imitate even the slightest of God's good image then you will be part of His Realm also after this test is over because God will become your friend and you are good and complete, and you have Islam.

Then your training will be complete, unless you fall to the Dark Side of the Force (Shaytaan) jedi

Source (for quotes) Monotheist translation of Qur'an rev 2013

God bless you

[Man_of_Faith]

THANK YOU MAN OF FAITH! bravo

Peace,

Thank God, dear sister. He inspires me and He has been good to me. I take no credit in this as it is His Message. I lend Him my time only, and my body and soul. God's pen does never run out of ink. Please see me as your brother in Faith and serve the One. I claim nothing spectacular for myself so please do not think I try to be someone other than a humble Servant of God.

Peace and Prosperity as God deems fit for me is enough for me. If I can help others it suffices me. My aim with this study is to show the simplicity of God's Message whereas mankind makes it difficult. They even added connotations to words which never existed and made whole books on those words while they mean no more than connection or mindfulness as I put it. Thus you see the grace of God. My previous post show that God did not want to make the creed difficult. If all those sectarian rules are true then God would contradict Himself, do you believe God would contradict Himself as a superpower? Following the 2 or 3 steps is no easy thing for most people anyway.

God bless you

[Man_of_Faith]

Message or Book?

378 And from among them is a group who twist their tongues with the Message so that you may think it is from the Message, while it is not from the Message, and they say it is from God while it is not from God, and they say about God lies while they know.

379 It is not for any human being that God would give him the Message and the authority and the prophethood, then he would say to the people ?Be servants to me rather than God!? Rather ?Be Devotees for what you have been taught of the Message, and of what you have studied.?

Note This is from my hypothesis that kitab does not mean a physical book but rather message. With all kitab replaced into Message Qur'an makes much better sense in my opinion.

Few people that God sent brought with them physical books as far as I am concerned and this is a general statement in 379 and could illogically mean book. The contained books from within the Bible are not God's narrations and no books that God gave them. That it says al-kitab or the Message is because there is simply put just one Message and not several. And if you studied my very recent posts in this thread you will know what the Message contains. And a Jew or Christian can by God's terms not refer to a non-existent "book" which means he refers to the Message. Ahl al-kitab thus logically and basically means "Followers of the Message".

262 Surely those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Nazarenes, and the Sabians, whoever of them (1)believes in God and the (2) Last Day (which I refer to as Realm) and (3) does good works; they will have their recompense with their Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor
will they grieve.

2112 No; whoever (1) submits himself to God, while (2) doing good, he will have his recompense with his Lord. There will be no fear over them, nor will they grieve.

In 262 you could add any group or people who argue that they are the ones that are correct about the Message, subsequently Islam as per traditionalists could be referred to here as well as long as they are monotheists. Yet they argue. But we need to remember

12106 And most of them will not believe in God except while setting up partners.

So those brothers and perhaps sisters who say that God is a "bookless" divinity are not so wrong, His Knowledge is in the Message and not necessarily in the book(s). Besides who needs a book when they know criteria 1 and 2 except to seek inspiration on how to better purify themselves and come closer to God. Qur'an is a guide and manual, but the Message is more abstract and intricate than that.

God bless you

[Man_of_Faith]

Descendants of Muhammad any reliable guides?

2124 And Abraham was tested by words from His Lord, which he fulfilled. He said ?I will make you a leader for the people.? He said ?And also from my progeny?? He said ?My pledge will not encompass the wicked.?

Qur'an is very thorough here that being a descendant of someone is no guarantee that it is safe to follow them. Woe to those who without questioning the teachings of descendants of Muhammad and rely on hearsay that the Prophet anointed a successor to him on his deathbed. Besides it is something anyone could say that they are a descendant of Muhammad. And our physical body is just a shell we have during our brief stay here on Earth. Even if Muhammad truly anointed a successor on his deathbed according to hearsay then "My pledge will not encompass the wicked" comes into play anyway.

A Messenger or righteous person is not right for what he is but for what he does. And man cannot live by words alone...

God bless you

Peace

[Man_of_Faith]

Messengers, Apostles or Missionaries?

God delivers clear warnings and Qur'an and people who act as Messengers and despite this people stubbornly adhere to their leaders and learned ones who are full of conjecture and "extra-religious" information

3366 On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say (2) ?Oh, we wish we had obeyed God, and obeyed the messenger?
3367 And they will say ?Our Lord, we have obeyed our leaders and our learned ones, but they misled us from the path.?

A person who preaches the Message is basically a Messenger. Obedience to what has been told is voluntary, but by studying my previous posts in this thread would only reveal that I speak of the Truth and that the Message is so dead-simple. And it is easy to preach the Message because it contains of so few steps yet you risk being persecuted for doing so.

Obey does obviously not mean to obey under any condition, but when someone tells the clear Message of God then it is wise to "obey" with the use of a word with a cold connotation. I would rather use the word "listen to" or "pay attention" or "heed the words".

Qur'an contains examples of what is obedience in past times

26176 The people of the Sycamore disbelieved the messengers.
26177 For Shu?ayb said to them (2) ?Will you not be righteous??
26178 ?I am to you a trustworthy messenger.?
26179 ?So (1) be aware of God and obey me.?
26180 ?And I do not ask you for any wage, for my reward is upon the Lord of the worlds.?
26181 ?Give full measure and do not be of those who cause losses.?
26182 ?And weigh with the balance that is straight.?
26183 ?And do not defraud the people of their belongings, and do not venture into the land corrupting.?
26184 ?And (1) be aware of the One who has created you and the generations of old.?

It is a cutout from dialogues that happened in the past and the Messenger basically told the people to be good and mindful of God. No more or less is the purpose of the Messenger; to deliver the simple yet important Message of God.

Here follows the narration of Lot

26160 The people of Lot denied the messengers.
26161 For their brother Lot said to them (2) ?Will you not be righteous??
26162 ?I am to you a trustworthy messenger.?
26163 (1) ?So be aware of God and obey me.?
26164 ?And I do not ask you for any wage, for my reward is upon the Lord of the worlds.?
26165 ?Do you approach the males of the worlds??
26166 ?And you leave what your Lord has created for you of mates? You are an intrusive people!? *

• This people had put into system to prefer men over women. This is the disputable story to see that God condemns homosexuality. This is not the discussion in this thread so please do not raise a dialogue on this matter here.

And Saleh

26141 Thamud denied the messengers.
26142 For their brother Saleh said to them (2) ?Will you not be righteous??
26143 ?I am to you a clear messenger.?
26144 ?So (1) be aware of God and obey me.?
26145 ?And I do not ask you for any wage, for my reward is upon the Lord of the worlds.?
26146 ?Will you be left secure in that which you have here??
26147 ?In gardens and springs.?
26148 ?And green crops and palm trees laden with fruit.?
26149 ?And you carve homes out of the mountains with great skill??
26150 ?So (1) be aware of God and obey me.?
26151 ?And do not obey the command of the carefree.?
26152 ?The ones who corrupt in the land and are not reformers.?

Hud's story

26123 ?Aad denied the messengers.
26124 For their brother Hud said to them (2) ?Will you not be righteous??
26125 ?I am to you a clear messenger.?
26126 ?So (1) be aware of God and obey me.?
26127 ?And I do not ask you for any wage, for my reward is upon the Lord of the worlds.?
26128 ?Do you build on every high place a symbol, for the sake of vanity!?
26129 ?And you take for yourselves strongholds, perhaps you will live forever??
26130 ?And if you attack, you strike ruthlessly??
26131 ?So (1) be aware of God and obey me.?
26132 ?And (1) be aware of the One who provided you with what you know.?
26133 ?He provided you with livestock and sons.?
26134 ?And gardens and springs.?
26135 ?I fear for you the retribution of a great day?

By the name of God, can you not understand what the Message is?

Be mindful of GOD and work towards your purification, and work righteousness.

Of course history repeats itself as it always has and people continue to adhere to their learned ones and leaders, no matter living or dead ones. And people complicate the Message by adding lots of things that are irrelevant. And to defend their practices they turn aggressive and hostile, further demolishing their work on criteria (2).

God bless you