Nearness and Guidance -> Knowledge and Wisdom = Peace and Prosperity
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Chapter 33 Lore check
331 O prophet, you shall be (1) aware of God, and do not obey the rejecters and the hypocrites. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
332 And follow what is being (3) inspired to you by your Lord. God is fully aware of all that you do.
333 And put your (1) trust in God. God suffices as an advocate.
Time for a reminder with the circular diagram I composed a while ago
| http//farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/10816793444_18c10caea7.jpg
| What my bold numbers within parenthesis mean.• Belief in God - Nearness and Guidance
• Righteousness - Peace and Prosperity
• Belief in Realm - Knowledge and Wisdom
And as you might have read before in this thread if you cared to follow it; Islam can be narrowed down to only to two parts Faith and Actions. And everything together forms the condition which we call Islam.
336 The prophet is closer to the believers than themselves, and his wives are mothers to them. And the decree of God to the believers and the emigrants is that before they help their relatives, they have taken care of their own families first. Such has been decreed in the Lore.
337 And when We took from the prophets their covenant. And from you, and from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary; We took from them a solemn covenant.3326 And He also brought down those who helped support them from among the people of the Lore from their secure positions, and He threw terror into their hearts. Some of them you killed, and some you took captive.
3342 (1) And glorify Him morning and evening.
3343 He is the One who makes contact with you, along with His angels, to bring you out of darkness and into the light. And He is ever Merciful towards the believers.Red Pious Believers who have gotten far on the Nearness and Guidance will feel the stronger bond with God and His allies when he/she performs his/her Communion. You have perhaps seen while reading The Book that when the Prophets of old walked aside and performed a Communion and talked to God about something then God often changed the timeline.
3345 O prophet, We have sent you as a witness, and a bearer of good news, and a warner.
Helpful tip for everyone including myself. I should to a bigger extent ignore the ignorant people
3348 And do not obey the rejecters and the hypocrites, and ignore their insults, and (1) put your trust in God; for God suffices as an advocate.
God bless you
Peace be within you, Man of Faith
I hope you don't mind me posting in your personal thread here ). Just wanted to show you something within your diagram; shouldn't the outer ring (Islam) be among the portion (Actions), because to submit, submission, submissive, and surrender are commands from the Lord, and a command from the Lord has to be fulfilled, which is during our communion with the Lord? And the outer ring should be the Faith in God only, the bond which is yet to be established by the Lord within us, so that we are faithful only to the Lord in this world, and hopefully placed among the righteous in the Hereafter? )
Peace be within you, bro Man of Faith pr
tauhid101 -
Peace tauhid101 ,
Your idea is fine. However, I consider that one reaches a condition of Islam when they fulfill the inner circles of the diagram. As The Book goes you cannot go to Heaven without both Faith and Actions, although they are usually intertwined. As Jesus seems to have wanted to proclaim that you must express your Faith through your Actions. They are linked because if you truly believe but act with evil deeds then you could question whether this person really has Faith, because they are certainly not guided nor have Knowledge and Wisdom. They have not grasped the Lore, or the core Message of Islam.
An example is that many "Muslims" give to charity, but mostly because the "religion" says so and not so much giving it with their hearts, and they can insult and misbehave from the time they gave the charity until the next time they give so their charity is practically in vain.
A full Submission (Islam), therefore, is both Faith and Actions, and that has been the topic of this thread from the start. But it is not just as simple as that because it is the heart within the soul that has to turn good and we have to free ourselves from our egos and our thoughts that we are high and mighty and that if we put our trust in God and rely on Him then we can gain so much more in our lives. Many traditional people think that stereotypical prayers will help them enough on their sole own and that they will not have to think more than that because God will do all the work for them, but that is not the case and The Book (Qur'an) also reveals that between the lines. We have to be steadfast and patient and struggle towards Islam with our own souls and God will not just change our souls for us without testing them. Or people do so-called duah and think that they can only implore God for this or that thinking that they can just lay passive for the wish to come true. No, in fact we have to continue being patient showing our good nature and purifying ourselves through our deeds, and possible meditation and reflections upon creation and so.
I like that you posted in my thread Tauhid and your input was appreciated. With my long walk-through above you see that I consider Islam to be the creed of God and it involves the 1, 2 and sometimes 3 which I go on about in the thread. That is my Islam; I submit through my change within my soul, the purification of it, and that involves Faith and Actions to be a testament to it. I interpret that to be Jesus' point in the Bible testimonies written by Jesus' followers and also The Book with inspired words from God to Muhammad and his pen. And the Ten Commandments given to Moses also show submission through not committing evil and serving The Lord alone. How people later after knowing the teachings of Moses could start idolizing Jesus breaking at least two of the commandments is beyond me. The same goes with Muhammad who has become like a superman in the eyes of certain people.
Have you not noticed how similar the Gospel testimonies in the Bible are to the Message of The Book (Qur'an) if you look on the level of deeds and ignore the fancy words about Jesus and stuff. Jesus truly taught the Lore/Message of God inside out, Faith and Actions, and there were situations with Communion to God from Jesus' side. Turn back the pages and look in the Old Testament, although the actual Torah is not more than the revelations to Moses Ten Commandments and specific commandments to the Jewish people, you see people performing Communion (as-salah) and their prayers were clearly oriented as to seeking God's Guidance and Nearness, to seek help and advice.
But there needs no Bible to follow the Lore; you have The Book these days which is one compilation rather than the Bible which is many stand-alone narrations and hadith and also seemingly things which has nothing to do with God such as Paul's ramblings in the New Testament (I ignore everything except the Gospels when I read it).
And the truly reverent need no book at all if they know the Lore and have sought God's Nearness and Guidance and are accepted by Him and thus receiving active Guidance. Consider that some people speak of bookless God on this forum. As long as one knows the Lore; God's Message to mankind, the Commandments and steadfastly and patiently works to become of a better character then God will simply give them Knowledge and Wisdom. Remember that our ancestor Abraham discovered about God simply through his own contemplation upon existence and the search for the maker of all this and he discovered the Truth.
The Book (Qur'an) was sent down as a guide and a mercy from The Lord and it is a testament to God's existence and a great sign, but its usefulness fades when we have grasped its Message and we know the Lore and what God is expecting out of us. It is a compilation of good, very good, words and always a good book to bring up to read, but it is not like you are doomed to Hell if you improvise as long as you follow the Lore, and rely on God and work righteousness. Our material minds are obsessed with the physical things of this world and Qur'an is no exception to this obsession. The Lore, contents of this Qur'an, is not bound to this book and God's pen does never run out of ink so to say. God says it Himself. So fact is that Qur'an is both a trap and a mercy from God as those who idolize it they will never grasp a word of the Lore. It is interesting but seemingly true that man can idolize just about anything in this life that they forget about God. This obsession runs so deep that people even forget to channel energy from God and have Communion with Him in matters in life and have an unhealthy connection to their Qur'an.
People simply forgot God's point in The Book, even if they study it hard. Too hard in my humble opinion. And then they turn arrogant some of them who argue to have exclusive knowledge due to them knowing Arabic even though there are fine translations these days which cannot distort its Message. One person together with Nearness and Guidance from God can study it with some help from God's servants and his own logic (helped by the Holy Spirit), if his heart is open for the Truth.
But like I said; one is not doomed to Hell as long as he/she understands that God does not ask for illogical things or meaningless things but only full service to Him and that one tries to become a good soul. If God asks to go on a pilgrimage somewhere in an isolated environment that is to shield the mind from all the temptations of this world and not because to mindlessly follow some ritual somewhere. Among the poor translations of Hajj you can see that meditation and contemplation is involved in this pilgrimage. We can always ponder upon the people in the Lore who seem to have traveled off to some remote place on and off. What did they do? Yes of course, they went off on their own pilgrimage to meditate and shield off their minds, and they often went to some place God guided them to and often spent time with other spiritual people, and then after a time they returned to their people.
Muhammad is rumored to have spent time in a cave and even if true or not this is an excellent example of a purpose, a kind of pilgrimage. Moses went up alone on a mountain. Jesus went out in the desert for 40 days and also visited a mountain. Watching the world from the hills of a mountain might give a different perspective and inspiration, and you are alone with God without polluting thoughts of others and the standard evil environment.
Popular Hajj is walking to Mecca, but for what purpose? Walking around a black cuboid building and throwing rocks on Shaytaan? Even if Mecca was the location for pilgrimage of the people of Arabia and those who received The Book it is not the optimal pilgrimage site these days. Simply going there and knowing the Saudi Arabian government has turned it into a big business makes is haraam and losing its purpose.
Sorry for all the text. It seems when I start to write I cannot stop. I delved into things you did not even question.
God bless you
Peace be within you, Man of Faith
I hope you don't mind me posting in your personal thread here ). Just wanted to show you something within your diagram; shouldn't the outer ring (Islam) be among the portion (Actions), because to submit, submission, submissive, and surrender are commands from the Lord, and a command from the Lord has to be fulfilled, which is during our communion with the Lord? And the outer ring should be the Faith in God only, the bond which is yet to be established by the Lord within us, so that we are faithful only to the Lord in this world, and hopefully placed among the righteous in the Hereafter? )
Peace be within you, bro Man of Faith pr
tauhid101 -
Chapter 37 Lore check
374 Your god is indeed One.
375 The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and what lies between them, and the Lord of the sunrises.
3799 And he said ?I am going to my Lord; He will guide me.?
37100 ?My Lord, grant me from among the (2) righteous.?
37101 So We gave him good news of a compassionate child.37109 Peace be upon Abraham.
37110 It is thus that We reward the (2) righteous.
37111 He was of Our (1) believing servants.37117 And We gave both (Moses and Aaron) the clear (3) Lore.
When one is given the Lore means that you have the information about the Truth and God's mission.
37139 And Jonah was one of the messengers.
37140 When he escaped to the charged ship.
37141 And he was guilty, so he became among the losers.
37142 Thus a whale swallowed him, and he was the one to blame.
37143 And had it not been that he was one of those who implored,
37144 He would have stayed in its belly until the Day of Resurrection.
37145 So We threw him on the shore while he was sick.Red Jonah was a real rebel and disobeyed God, but God saw something in him and forgave him when he repented. But some say that Prophets and Messengers are infallible, however, in The Book we read of several cases of them sinning. How come God forgives some people who disobeys and that gravely as in a direct order from God? There is something within their souls that is good but their ignorance causes them to falter. Except that God forgives whom He pleases.
Chapter 38 Lore check
381 S?, and the Book that contains the remembrance.
385 ?Has he made the gods into One god? This is indeed a strange thing!?
Blue The issue now about 1400 years later is slightly different than these years ago as you see here in the narration, but the Message remains the same. It is easy to adapt the Message, but it shows that The Book must be applied on a new generation of people and new sins. Open polytheism was more the issue in the past. Today it is open obsession with Messengers or Prophets or even material things as extreme as even the Book itself. To ground and bottom it is the same fundamental issue as in the past although it is not Baal or statues which are the main issues, and The Book goes on much about this kind of problem that we do not have now over a millennium later. Mankind has advanced and new dilemmas appear. Still it is the idolization and associating partners with God that is the problem, but as we saw before in the thread it can be just about anything that can be a partner even such as one's ego.
3826 O David, We have made you a successor on the earth. Therefore, (2) you shall judge among the people with the truth, and do not follow desire, lest it diverts you from the path of God. Indeed, those who stray off the path of God will have a severe retribution for forgetting the Day of Reckoning.
Red Uphold or fight for justice is the action part of Islam, and not for dogma or arrogance.
3828 Or shall We treat those who (1) believe and do (2) good works as We treat those who make (-2) corruption on the earth? Or shall We treat the (2) righteous as the (-2) wicked?
3829 A Lore that We have sent down to you, that is blessed, so that they may reflect upon its revelations, and so that those who possess intelligence will take heed.
3872 ?So when I have evolved him, and blow of My Spirit in him, then you shall yield to him.?
3873 The angels yielded, all of them,
3874 Except Satan; he turned arrogant, and became one of the rejecters.
3875 He said ?O Satan, what prevented you from yielding to what I have created by My hands? Are you too arrogant? Or are you one of those exalted??
3876 He said ?I am better than he; You created me from fire, and created him from clay.?Blue Do we not feel the same arrogance in many people around us, particularly those who belong to sects and their dogma. But if the sectarian people believe and do good then I hold no grudge against them, but if they feel better than others (which sadly they often do) then I see the above and become a bit upset. The problem is when we see ourselves as the chosen ones without justification other than empty words without deeds.
3886 Say ?I do not ask you for any wage, nor am I a fraud.?
3887 ?It is but a reminder for the worlds.?
3888 ?And you will come to know its news after awhile.?God bless you
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Chapter 39 Lore check
391 The sending down of the Lore is from God, the Noble, the Wise.
392 We have sent down to you the (3) Lore with the Truth, (1) so serve God while devoting the system to Him.
393 Absolutely, to God is the true system. And those who set up allies besides Him ?We only serve them so that they may bring us closer to God.? God will judge between them in what they dispute. For God does not guide him who is a liar, a rejecter.Blue It sounds exactly like the reason most people who excessively revere Prophet Muhammad use.
Chapter 40 Lore check
4027 And Moses said ?I seek refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning?
4028 And a believing man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his belief, said ?Will you kill a man simply for saying ?My Lord is God?, and he has come to you with proofs from your Lord? And if he is a liar, then his lie will be upon him, and if he is truthful, then some of what he is promising you will afflict you. For God does not guide any transgressor, liar.?Green I meet fierce opposition simply for saying that God's Message is no more than belief and doing good.
Teal There seems to have been a mix of people amongst Pharaoh's people. A few actually believed, although not apparent if it was all the way before Moses came there or not.4053 And We gave Moses the Guidance, and We made the Children of Israel inherit the (3) Lore.
4054 A Guide and a Reminder for those who possess intelligence.
4055 So be patient, for the promise of God is true, and seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify and praise your Lord evening and morning.Green And here it goes again, morning and evening.
4058 And not equal are the blind and the seer, nor those who (1) believe and do (2) good works, and those who do evil. Little do you remember.
4070 Those who deny the Lore, and what We have sent Our messengers with. Therefore, they will come to know.
Chapter 41 Lore check
413 A Lore whose signs are made detailed - an Arabic revelation for a people who know.
416 Say ?I am no more than a human being like you. It is inspired to me that your god is One god, therefore you shall be upright towards Him and seek His forgiveness. And woe to the polytheists.?
417 ?The ones who do not contribute towards Purification, and with regards to the Hereafter, they are disbelievers.?
418 Surely, those who (1) believe and do (2) good works, they will receive recompense that will not end.4114 When the messengers came to them, publicly and privately ?You shall not serve except God.? They said ?Had our Lord willed, He would have sent angels. We are rejecting what you have been sent with.?
4118 And We saved those who (1) believed and were (2) righteous.
4130 Those who have said (1) ?Our Lord is God,? then they did right, the angels will come down upon them ?You shall not fear, nor shall you grieve. Rejoice in the good news of the Paradise that you have been promised.?
4133 And who is better in saying than he (1) who invites to God, and does (2) good works, and says ?I am one of those who have submitted.?
4134 Not equal are the good and the bad response. You (2) shall resort to the one which is better. Thus, the one who used to be your enemy, may become your best friend.
4135 And none can attain this except those who are patient. And none can attain this except those who are extremely fortunate.
4136 And (-2) if bitterness from the devil afflicts you, then seek (1) refuge with God. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.Teal This is something I could learn from myself. It is hard to be kind towards those who are hostile towards you, but the kinder response the better despite unfriendly remarks.
Blue Seek help from God to make you persevere those who seek to hurt you through their choice of words and are ignorant.4140 Those who distort Our revelations are not hidden from Us. Is one who is thrown into Hell better, or one who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do whatever you wish; He is Seer of what you do.
4141 Those who have rejected the Reminder when it came to them; and it is an Honorable Lore.
4142 No falsehood could enter it, presently or afterwards; a revelation from One Most Wise, Praiseworthy.4144 And had We made it a non-Arabic revelation, they would have said ?If only its verses were made clear!? Non-Arabic and Arabic, say ?For those who believe, it is a guide and healing. As for those who disbelieve, there is deafness in their ears, and they are blind to it. These will be called from a place far away.?
Alternative translation (4144) Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in the language) other than Arabic, they would have said "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger an Arab?" Say "It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe; and for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears, and it is blindness in their (eyes) They are (as it were) being called from a place far distant!"
Abused to claim that Arabic is a perfect language. Rather it is that its recipients were Arabs so they would not understand if it was a foreign language.
4145 And We have given Moses the (3) Lore, but it was disputed in. And had it not been for the predetermined decision of your Lord, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, they harbor many doubts about it.
4146 Whoever does (2) good works does so for his own soul, and whoever works (-2) evil shall have the same. Your Lord does not wrong the servants.God bless you
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Peace,
We have thus seen that God's Judgment (deen) for doing good (2) and to have Faith in Him (1) are simply put the only criteria for determining one's possibility of salvation. The whole Message or Lore has been made complicated many times over while it has been there all along since the compilation of The Book, but people can simply not accept that it is this "easy". We have over and over again in this thread gone through the sentences of The Book to show that most of the Book is just a plain repetition of the same Message all along. Be (1) mindful of God and serve Him, (2) uphold justice and do (2) good and refrain from evil.
People in the past got some very simple rules presented to them on stone tablets in the manner; "thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet... etc", but still they want to invent more weird rules and God even makes sarcastic remarks about that in The Book I have noticed in certain portions of it. Jews are talking about 603 rules in Judaism and it is a testament to that behavior of man and I suppose "Muslims" have likely something similar to that. The question is who "wins" this "contest" of manufacturing religious rules.
God made it simple and man makes it hard.
Again I will post my circular diagram with the foundation of Islam
| http//farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/10816793444_18c10caea7.jpg
| What my bold numbers within parenthesis mean• Belief in God - Nearness and Guidance
• Righteousness - Peace and Prosperity
• Belief in Realm - Knowledge and Wisdom
Islam is what is within the outer circle and first split into the inner and outer parts called Actions and Faith by me and then further split down into three sections as shown in the list and in the diagram; Nearness and Guidance, Peace and Prosperity, and Knowledge and Wisdom. I have argued that before you go right there is a certain need for Nearness first to receive Guidance and then you might gain Knowledge and Wisdom (and thus God's Judgement/ability to judge between right and wrong) and then if all works then one shall, God willing, gain Peace and Prosperity which is a whole new dimension of blessings. It is shown that Faith carries weight but not so without good deeds. Perchance awareness/consciousness (1) of God may make one person realize the importance of such (2) deeds.
It is worth noticing that I did not understand myself fully in my composition of this diagram or the thread but I have taken it as inspiration, but it is up to each individual to him/herself evaluate the Truth. While I worked on the thread I realized things after I had done the diagram and how it seamlessly fitted into the Book's narrations and the criteria which I first begun as independent to it. Interestingly the (1), (2) and (3) fitted the topic too without initial intention, particularly the Faith and Actions part.
Man dwells in conjecture while God made it simple. You can reach very far through simply Faith and good deeds. Nearness will give Guidance and thus all the Wisdom and Knowledge will be had too. And with these perks one will do all the good deeds required because one is enlightened of the Truth and the core Message. Peace and Prosperity will be a result to it and one is within Islam. All Messengers tried to prove the same point and most have been misunderstood or falsehood applied to their presence. It is obvious when you read the narration yet people fail to see. And a problem is because "as-salat" has gained complicated meanings despite being such a simple and plain word. Wakas says bond or tie and that is likely it or some sort of Communion, or I said symbiosis but one-way symbiosis.
When we remove all the extracted meanings of words made into complicated practices such as contact prayer, the word as-salat cannot mean it, you see yourselves that is it simply too few syllables to carry any elaborated meaning. The problem is that people apply no logic or reason when it comes to religion because it is that alien sound thingy which is sacred and taboo to question. And "since when do birds or animals perform contact prayer" is another question one may ask to realize how silly the interpretation of salah as contact prayer. But to regard it as when the soul blends with the divine or communion or any other more logical interpretation it rings a bell or is it just mine that rings?
I have decided to abort the continuation of my Lore checks because I found that the remaining chapters are basically a repetition of what I copy-pasted into the thread and does not prove my point any further than it has already be proven. My aim with all the checks was to show that Islam is about what was just discussed (except that I took the liberty to comment on things such as prayers). How I will elaborate from here on now I am not sure about, but I will try to come up with new posts on the subject matter. But the purpose of the thread has basically been fulfilled at this point, however, like I said there might be things I can elaborate upon.
May God be pleased with what I have done and that someone appreciates my efforts.
God bless you
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Peace tauhid101 ,
Your idea is fine. However, I consider that one reaches a condition of Islam when they fulfill the inner circles of the diagram. As The Book goes you cannot go to Heaven without both Faith and Actions, although they are usually intertwined. As Jesus seems to have wanted to proclaim that you must express your Faith through your Actions. They are linked because if you truly believe but act with evil deeds then you could question whether this person really has Faith, because they are certainly not guided nor have Knowledge and Wisdom. They have not grasped the Lore, or the core Message of Islam.
God bless you
Peace be within you, bro Man of Faith
Sorry but I dare not write "my idea" as you put it. The core Message from the Lord is the Truth, the Reality of His Attributes and His creations. To be near the Lord in real time is not just a thought but it is a reality. I dare not write in your thread, or anywhere for that matter, about His Verses/Message which I have no knowledge of their Truth. The Truth comes from the Lord only. I am always aware of His Presence and His Attributes everywhere that I am, even in this forum.
Peace.
tauhid101 -
Peace tau hid,
Absolutely, that is fine. As long as you know The Message and its simple structure then not much else is necessary either. I have not attempted to talk beyond my own comprehension and God willing what I have discussed here are within the boundaries of God's "realm data" (to find a somewhat comprehensible term).
God bless you
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Peace,
I have not yet found anything more to write on this thread, but I must see if I can find something that we may continue utilizing it for its topic to gain God's Nearness and Guidance that we start generating Knowledge and Wisdom through intensified spiritual well-being (infusion of the Holy Spirit) and in the end having Peace and Prosperity. We revealed here that it is a chain of Faith and it must be completed fully in order to be within the boundaries of Islam (submission to God, His Will and His system). One cannot have fully submitted to The Lord without working on the prerequisites to become something that God refers to as Mu'meen* which is one who has Faith (Iman) and it indicates someone who has the circle of Faith fulfilled. An ill-doer will never fulfill the diagram as drawn by me earlier, i.e. be a Mu'meen and reached full Islam/Submission because such is God's system and as shown repeatedly throughout this thread several times it takes that we apply the Justice system of God and judge the way God has taught us through Guidance and Inspiration or God will lead us astray. This is proclaimed by God Himself many times in The Book.
My hope is that my dear readers of this thread will open their eyes and see that (nearly) all that God wants to proclaim in The Book is that we establish or maintain a community of righteousness, i.e. one that uses a Judgment and Justice system liked by God and one that is good will see right from wrong. It is an endless struggle to remain steadfast and patient on our path towards Purification and establishment of Communion with The Lord but the rewards are amazing. But it would seem that we are always exposed to new tests no matter where we are on the path and no matter if we are Mu'meen (fulfilled the circle of Faith) or before this condition. It does not end until the day that God decides to bring us back to Him.
Prophets and Messengers were tested the same way and they may have swayed a little but overall they passed the tests in ways that pleased The Lord. The point I wished to come to is to always be on our guard even if we deem ourselves strong in Faith and we know sound Judgment and how to be fair because there are always traps everywhere and you can always see that in the parables of The Book and some parables may even be difficult to understand at a first glance even though they actually sinned in ways.
If we love God we love the good that He created and we accept his merciful approach to what is wrong and we try to lead our less fortunate co-humans on the true path through being good examples of men and women of Faith. Patience is always valued more than being quick to punish and it is narrated by God in His book. If we counter evil with good that is always the best option although we need to be firm with where we stand but we should always show our good nature to help those less fortunate. Perchance we may not be so hateful if we fathom our fellow human suffering Hell and at least I could cry for less.
Never use more violence than any situation may require to prevent the aggressor from evil and to refrain from punishment if the original aggressor honestly repents and reforms and seeks God's system of Judgment.
There is much Wisdom in the saying "Don't fight fire with fire". It means that responding to a hostile and aggressive action with the same aggression will be as futile as adding fire to the fire for it will not extinguish the fire but more like adding more fuel to the fire. For as much as we know it takes something like water to extinguish the fire and that is normally seen as blue compared to the red of the fire. Same color is the face of a person who is full of rage and compassion, calm (blue) and diplomatic Wisdom and Knowledge will be a better weapon against one who is full of red.
The story narrated in the Gospel testimony written by the followers of Jesus where God allegedly says "If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other side too" and could be explained as it means that instead of punching the one you have some disagreement with back you humble yourself. If you get into a fight try the cheek trick and you will see that few people will strike a second time. If it does not work anyway well then so may it be, but in the ways I have tried a similar approach by offering kindness on evil is that they are shocked and if you play your cards well they may even calm down.
I know some people may dislike it, but drawing parallels to our contemporary motion pictures such as Star Wars is a good way of presenting Islam. Those who have seen the movies and perhaps played the games know the exquisite contrast between the patience and calm of the Jedi Order compared to the greedy, selfish and hateful Sith Order. Even Star Wars is a beautiful example of how a Believer ought to be like. The Jedi Order is advocating a system of Justice and fair Judgment just as Islam, and works for the community's best while the Sith Order is very egotistical and individualistic. The Jedis want to bring a balance to The Force, same as those Believers in real life should act and they want what is natural to be natural. Perfect example of a "Muslim Ummah" if you follow the Jedi Order.
I would recommend that people who are interested in gaming, unless you have already played these games, to play Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic games which has a role-playing approach where you choose to decide how your character treats the people they initiate a dialog with. They can be charitable and good or they can be reckless and selfish and it may give good inspiration of good vs. evil. (I know there may be newer Star Wars games, but I never played them). One good lesson is that evil deeds may lead to more immediate monetary gains, but you will not have many friends except those who are already evil and they will have nothing but animosity and rivalry between each other, and what is most important is that in the end it ultimately leads to sorrow and loneliness. Evil people seem to become sad but unable to get out of the fate they have created for themselves.
- Based on Muslim and Islam following the same logic Mu'meen simply means someone who has Faith, and based on a scenario in The Book (Qur'an) it means when you fully believe in God beyond doubt, and we can deduce that one needs both the Actions and Faith part of my circular diagram to have reached this condition. In future posts I will try to use alternative English words instead.
God bless you
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The Ten Commandments in The Book (Qur'an)
Because I wanted people to see that the often so called Mosaic Law is present in The Book (Qur'an) I make a post with references from The Book which states the same
The so-called Mosaic Law
I am the LORD thy God;
• Thou shalt have no other gods
• No graven images or likenesses
• Not take the LORD's name in vain
• Remember the sabbath day
• Honour thy father and thy mother
• Thou shalt not kill
• Thou shalt not commit adultery
• Thou shalt not steal
• Thou shalt not bear false witness
• Thou shalt not covet
Gathered verses from The Book to show the same commandments are presented in it*
•
283 And We took the covenant of the Children of Israel ?You shall not serve except God, and do good to your parents, and regard the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, and say kind things to the people, and hold the contact prayer, and contribute towards purification.? But then you turned away, except for a few of you; you were objecting.
1722 Do not make with God another god, or you will find yourself disgraced, abandoned.
1739 That is from what your Lord has inspired to you of the wisdom. And do not make with God another god, or you will be cast into Hell, blameworthy and regretting.
2323 And We have sent Noah to his people, so he said ?O my people, serve God, you have no other god besides Him. Will you not take heed??
2332 So We sent a messenger to them from among them ?Serve God, you have no other god besides Him. Will you not take heed??
2568 And those who do not call on any other god with God; nor do they take the life which God has made forbidden, except in justice; nor do they commit adultery. And whoever does will receive the punishment.• 254 And Moses said to his people ?O my people, you have wronged your souls by taking the calf, so repent to your Maker, and kill yourselves. That is better for you with your Maker, so He would forgive you. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.?
• 241 And believe in what I have sent down, authenticating what is with you, and do not be the first to disbelieve in it! And do not purchase with My revelations a cheap gain, and of Me you shall be aware.
2224 And do not make God the subject of your casual oaths. Be pious and righteous and reconcile among the people; and God is Hearer, Knower.
547 And let the people of the Gospel judge with what God has sent down in it. And whoever does not judge with what God has sent down, then these are the wicked.• The only commandment I have not been able to prove part of The Book although I believe in it. I "think" it may be synonymous with the practices of the Friday summoning in Islam and the Sunday Church prayer in Christianity, for example. It is not a sinful practice if one chooses to uphold a Sabbath since the idea is extremely righteous with a day per week devoted solely to God alone and His remembrance.
• 283 And We took the covenant of the Children of Israel ?You shall not serve except God, and do good to your parents, and regard the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, and say kind things to the people, and hold the contact prayer, and contribute towards purification.? But then you turned away, except for a few of you; you were objecting.
• 284 And We have taken a covenant with you ?You shall not spill the blood of each other, nor expel each other from your homes.? And you agreed to this while bearing witness.
2568 And those who do not call on any other god with God; nor do they take the life which God has made forbidden, except in justice; nor do they commit adultery. And whoever does will receive the punishment.• 2568 And those who do not call on any other god with God; nor do they take the life which God has made forbidden, except in justice; nor do they commit adultery. And whoever does will receive the punishment.
• 2188 And do not consume your money between you unjustly by bribing the decision makers so that you may consume a part of the money of other people sinfully while you know!
429 O you who believe, do not consume your money between you unjustly, unless it is through a trade which is mutually agreed by you. And do not kill yourselves; God is Merciful towards you.
6012 O prophet, if the believing females come to make allegiance to you that they will not set up anything besides God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor fabricate any falsehood, nor disobey you in any matter which is righteous, then you shall accept their allegiance, and ask God to forgive them. God is Forgiver, Merciful.• 5106 O you who believe, witnessing shall be done if death is approaching one of you and a will is being made, by two among you who are equitable. If you have gone forth in the land, and death is approaching, then any two may suffice - if you have doubt regarding them, then detain them after making the contact prayer, and they will swear by God ?We will not purchase with it any price, even if it was from a near relative, and we will not conceal the testimony of God, else we are of the sinners.?
• 432 And do not envy that which God has graced some of you over others with. For the men is a portion of what they earned, and for the women is a portion of what they earned. And ask God from His grace; God is knowledgeable in all things.
- There may be even more verses in The Book which state the same thing.
Extra commandments found in the Teachings (Torah) of Moses but which were not in the above list
2173 He has only made unlawful for you that which is already dead, and the blood, and the meat of pig, and what was dedicated with to other than God. But whoever is forced to, without seeking disobedience or transgression, then there is no sin upon him. God is Forgiving, Merciful.
545 And We have decreed for them in it that a life for a life, and an eye for an eye, and a nose for a nose, and an ear for an ear, and a tooth for a tooth, and wounds to be similar; and whoever remits anything of it, then it will cancel sins for him. And whoever does not judge with what God has sent down, then these are the wicked.
God bless you
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Book or Message?
287 And We gave Moses the Book/Message/Lore, and after him We sent the messengers. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that every time a messenger comes to you with what your souls do not desire, you become arrogant? A group of them you deny, and a group of them you kill!
Moses was given the Torah which contains the Message/Lore and the word Torah literally means teaching. Quote from Wikipedia.org (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah)
"Torah (/tr/; Hebrew , "Instruction", "Teaching" is the central concept in the Judaic tradition."
So thus Moses was given the Knowledge of God's Realm but he was not so much given a physical book. However, it is inevitable from a logical standpoint to disregard that he was given something physical and that is "Al-Furqan" which without even needing to analyze the Arabic word can be identified as the tablets with the Criteria that God covenanted with the Children of Israel. All subsequent Messengers taught using this set of rules including Jesus, the Messiah, although Jesus elaborated on the "Law" and showed how stubbornly literally people interpreted it without applying the right intention and thought to it and when showing this he upset the whole religious elite and was persecuted for speaking the Truth. It also ought to warn not to follow religious scholars, but people have not heeded this even yet for another millennium after him.
The moral lesson and the wonders that God showed in those days of Moses could likely be understood as the true Torah, and not necessarily a physical book as you may have grasped by now. There exists countless bits of hearsay in written form and that is what you may find if you open the Bible of Christians or the Tanakh of the Jews. Various parts of the stories are likely to be true which we have a problem distinguishing, but it is not required from us. As long as we get the general Message of it then that is fine. If the narrations seem righteous to the eye then they are likely true even if we know how unreliable hearsay can be by drawing parallels to the so-called "hadith of Muhammad".
If you open The Book you can see that there are distortions in the Bible/Tanakh such as that it is a different son of Abraham being sacrificed in it among many other things.
I have tried hard to prove that there are no books and I hope that some people start to understand this fact. Not the Bible, nor anything in it, is a divine revelation as per "Qur'an" standard and is not what God specifically refers to in it but refers to the Lore of God. So "Ahl Al-ketaab" are the adherers to that Lore, so anyone is "Ahl Al-Ketaab" who follow the Message of God. Even Qur'an, which lot of traditionalists constantly remind me of, means recitation and not book which renders it without the trait of a physical object. I stubbornly hold on to The Book as a translation of Qur'an nonetheless, because a book can be recited when learned by heart, which many people have accomplished with the original Arabic tongue. It is a book you hold when you hold up a "Qur'an" in your hand. I have learned that God do not give magical names so things and so with The Book, and people argue that "as-salat" is a magical word with an intricate meaning despite being only a simple word which is against logic in my humble opinion. Qur'an is just plainly and simply "a book", but 'The Book', or 'The Recitation' if you so argue.
God bless you
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Peace,
The Book (Qur'an) only confirms what is already with you as well as giving some news for the Believers and admonitions for the disbelievers. It is like a sign that God is always present and His "pen" does never run out of ink.
It hints that the "603 laws" of the Jews is an invention and that they lie about God by attributing blasphemous teachings to Him and they are arrogant. It chants what the true prohibitions and rules were for this people and it was a short composition of commandments as much as we know the so-called Ten Commandments and some particular community-specific rules such as not certain fat or other minor differences. The Book explains the community-specific rules which were punishments for their sins, because they repeatedly disobeyed God during the Exodus.
Zoroastrianism originates from the same root as Judaism and they more or less practiced the identical religion as from the Old Testament or Tanakh which would appear as "stolen" from the Persians. If one knows about Zoroastrianism and studies the Old Testament then they will see that the same practices are in action there.
Interestingly, suddenly within the Old Testament, the people start to destroy the high places and the fire altars and it could be a sign that people realized that they were used for the wrong kind of worship. Further forward they reestablish them periodically which could indicate that they drifted back and forth from the path. Bad kings are indicators for this behavior and that they accepted the ceremonial sites. It seems written in the Old Testament as if God deemed a king good overall BUT says that they did not forbid the burning at the fire altars as if it was negative.
I take most of the Old Testament to be a hi-jacked scripture, or rather hearsay or historical records, of a people which were active Zoroastrians. Worth noticing it that Dariush Persian empire established Aramaic as primary language within its expanses. Dariush must have known the language and been able to communicate with the people of The Lore because he spoke directly in person to one pious servant of God called Daniel. And Dariush is seen as a righteous individual that served God and had a good bond (salah) to God and was so strong in the Spirit that he received instructions from the Lord. For example, he helped reconstruct the destroyed temple of Jerusalem on command of the Lord. And the center of events is often modern-day Iraq rather than a fictional Israel.
King David is almost contemporary (as long as historical records are accurate) with the era of the mighty kings of Pars and it arose suspicions for me. Would David and Solomon (his successor) have established a vast empire simultaneously with Cyrus, Dariush & Co?
But the Torah or instructions of Moses is no more than a brief portion of the Old Testament that we know. See my reference of the so-called Ten Commandments in a previous post. Rest is only hearsay that people wrote down. Not even the Torah as found in the NT is the original text but a transcript that may contain errors. Fortunately we have The Book (Qur'an) which confirms what is true. The list of commandments are still true as well as the prohibition of pig meat, already dead animals and blood etc.
How did this relate to the topic of this thread? Well, all is that I want to show the simplicity of the Message and the rest is only biased historical records.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Nearness and Guidance' part 1
Now that the topic from Nearness and Guidance until the blessing of Peace and Prosperity is explained quite thoroughly let us focus on specific parts of the topic. Let us take a lesson in what we shall do to begin on our path towards God.
Before we start let us see the circle of Faith again
http//farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/10816793444_18c10caea7.jpg
On this lesson let us have The Book (Qur'an) speak for us because the answer is in it, the Message, from God allegedly revealed in the 7th century AD. It was known before this age (the Message), but finally mankind had a direct narration from God in their hands which can make other sources redundant. As we saw in my post with the title 'The Ten Commandments in The Book (Qur'an)', the "so-called" Mosaic Law remains within The Book and hence the Bible is basically only necessary as a historical source of information.
I will not nag on about any rituals or specifics how to perform the commanded practices The Book speaks about and I highly doubt that there are such specifics ever decreed for the Believers. However, I do not exclude the wishes of the individual Believer to physically prostrate to God or any other righteous movement because I see that as something between a man or a woman before their God. But we ought to see what The Book actually says about prayers by highlighting "verses" talking about this practice. Whenever we do this thing it has an intricate meaning to establish a connection to God and the Arabic word we know for this called "salah" means just this thing. People have invented more meanings to a word that is pretty simple in syllables to mean more than it actually does. You cannot have such a short word alone mean more than something relatively simple, or it would be against logic. God does not do magic or expect us to understand a word only if it was a complicated meaning kept through history. Salah does not mean more than what one can expect it to do even if it vary slightly in wording in English, i.e. connection, bond, tie, 'Communion'.
Let us return to the topic and that is what gives us 'Nearness and Guidance', i.e. what brings us closer to God and on a straight path. I will quote a sentence from The Book
7205
• And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and in reverence; and without loudness in words, during the morning and the evening. And do not be of the careless ones.
•
And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless. *- I used Sahih because some people may think that 'the Free-Minds group' twists the passages of The Book.
We ought to ponder about these words and how we perceive our Communion with God. There are other sections of The Book that says that during daylight this time we are given respite for our daily hunt to survive. I would say that we should remain constant in our remembrance of God and The Lord should be with us in every action and decision that we take during the day. But the Communion itself, i.e. salah, is purely about establishing a link or connection to God and does not mean more than that. Forget that it means prayer because a prayer is when you wish for something and want a moment of talk with the Maker, for example, you call out upon the Lord for a certain event to take place or change or whatever you would like to happen. With strong Faith (big portion of the Holy Spirit resides in you) and by the Will of The Lord then a call unto the Lord may change things, even though often subtly so you should never expect food to rain from heaven, even though it could happen. If you believe it could happen if the Lord wills then you have a strong Faith. The Lord is always with you and thus you can always express something right out in the air even if it would appear crazy. This is what can make people ridicule you if you do it at any time of the day as in this verse
558 And if you call to the Communion, they take it for mockery and play. That is because they are a people who do not comprehend.
Without really being any expert at Arabic I see that this verse is not properly interpreted. A problem for a Believer is that people may think you are mentally ill for talking to yourself while you are speaking to The Lord who is always listening.
And you can call unto God using many different names as long as they are righteous. And when you call unto the Lord you shall probably restrain your anger for example that you do not scream, but do not be so shy as to whisper. This can be the reason why people would ridicule you as in the above example.
17110 Say ?Call on God or call on the Almighty; by whichever you call on, to Him are the best names.? And do not be too loud in making your contact prayer, nor too quiet; but seek a path in between.
From the prominent examples of communication with the Lord we seem to be expected to use our speech and not only think your glorification and remembrance of The Lord. It also implies in other parts that such communication has a purpose more than only parroting phrases because you need to know what you are saying
443 O you who believe, do not come near the Communion while you are intoxicated, until you know what you are saying. Nor if you have had intercourse, unless traveling, until you bathe. And if you are ill, or traveling, or one of you has excreted feces, or you had sexual contact with the women, and could not find water, then you shall select from the clean soil; you shall wipe your faces and hands. God is Pardoning, Forgiving.
Clean people (in spirit) will understand the above command to clean yourself physically before calling unto the Lord because it will then turn obvious. It ought to mean being clean at any moment of your life because there are many occasions including Communion. For example here
5106 O you who believe, witnessing shall be done if death is approaching one of you and a will is being made, by two among you who are equitable. If you have gone forth in the land, and death is approaching, then any two may suffice - if you have doubt regarding them, then detain them after making the Communion, and they will swear by God ?We will not purchase with it any price, even if it was from a near relative, and we will not conceal the testimony of God, else we are of the sinners.?
So why do these people communicate with God prior to giving testimony?
Communion during the day seem to be allowed in a improvised way while performing another action such as driving or walking. Compared to the ritualists I rather think that it means that you perform the communication with The Lord while doing something else simultaneously. Best is of course to stop the vehicle and then focus on The Lord exclusively without concentrating on something else. Perhaps in the way of the person performing it, some kneel or some prostrate but with absolute concentration on the Communion. See the verse talking about Communion while doing other things
2239 But if you are fearful, then you may do so while walking or riding. If you become secure, then remember God as He has taught you what you did not know.
We can argue what "fearful" means in this situation, but it can probably be that you need to perform your duties without stopping in fear of the boss might fire you or that are not strong in Faith yet that people may ridicule you if you perform Communion in public that you rather do it in your car in the street.
999
• And from the Nomads are those who believe in God and the Last Day, and he looks upon what he spends to make him closer to God, and the communications of the messenger. It indeed makes them closer. God will admit them in His mercy; God is Forgiving, Merciful.
•
But among the bedouins are some who believe in Allah and the Last Day and consider what they spend as means of nearness to Allah and of invocations of the Messenger. Unquestionably, it is a means of nearness for them. Allah will admit them to His mercy. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.•
But some of the desert Arabs believe in Allah and the Last Day, and look on their payments as pious gifts bringing them nearer to Allah and obtaining the prayers of the Messenger. Aye, indeed they bring them nearer (to Him) soon will Allah admit them to His Mercy for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.Red The Free-Minds translation says Contact Prayers here.
It is obvious that salah is simply communication, a bond or as simple as I put it Communion, that you can understand something through intuition as if you always knew it even if you connected to The Lord and focused and commemorated Him that He blessed you with understanding.
Communions have an intricate meaning and especially a meaningful one. It is more than simply parroting phrases at a prayer mat. It is about obtaining active Guidance from The Lord by calling unto Him at every possible moment. We have many examples of when people of the Lore call unto the Lord. The response to a Communion, an expressed wish or generated Guidance, Knowledge or Wisdom is often gradual and therefore we ought to be steadfast as God says. But God responds to prayers as He pleases as we can see in this example
2822 And as he traveled towards Midyan, he said ?Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right path.?
2823 When he arrived at the watering hole of Midyan, he found a crowd of people watering, and he found two women waiting on the side. He said ?What is holding you back.? They said ?We cannot draw water until the shepherds finish, and our father is an old man.?
2824 So he drew water for them, then he turned to a shaded area, and he said ?My Lord, I am poor, lacking any provisions You may have sent down.?
2825 So one of the two women approached him, shyly, and said ?My father invites you to reward you for watering for us.? So when he came to him, and told to him the stories, he said ?Do not fear, for you have been saved from the wicked people.?Red I.e. he went off to a remote location and performed a Communion seeking Guidance from The Lord.
Green Moses expressed wishes verbally with God as the recipient. This is Communion.He said some words that God may guide him straight and he soon came to a test of his Faith which he passed. Together with passing the test and also not forgetting to calling unto The Lord; God blessed him as you see in the last verse above.
This, stated above, is seeking Nearness and Guidance through Communion. I hope it helps clarifying what I have written about earlier in this thread.
See this that may hint that Moses was in a monogamous lifestyle. Some people advocate that The Book allows polygamy, but this is rarely the case among the Prophets and Messengers of old with the exception of Muhammad (and perhaps Solomon in the hearsay even if The Book does not reveal it). Apart from that only unrighteous people such as Pharaoh has multiple wives.
2827 He said ?I wish you to marry one of my two daughters, on condition that you work for me through eight pilgrimage periods; if you complete them to ten, it will be voluntary on your part. I do not wish to make this matter too difficult for you. You will find me, God willing, of the righteous.?
Note that Jacob, in another story, had two wives according to the hearsay in the Old Testament, but it was in that narration because he was promised Rachel for serving Laban seven years but was given Leah instead, and then served another seven years for Rachel. The narration seems pretty strange however if one takes the time to read it. And if we see the text we can observe that Jacob did not treat the women equally, because he originally did only want to marry one of them. He felt obliged to keep Leah. Not sure we can depend on the hearsay of the Bible though because it is often as reliable as hadith of Muhammad.
Sorry for the slip into another topic. I only felt the argue to point it out while reading these verses from chapter 28.
2267 For every nation We have established rites which they are to fulfill. So do not let the matter fall into dispute. And call upon your Lord, for you are on a guidance which is straight.
2186 And if My servants ask you about Me, I am near answering the calls of those who call to Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.
339 So the angels called to him while he was standing, making contact, in the temple enclosure ?God gives you glad tidings of John, authenticating the word from God, and a master, and steadfast, and a prophet from the upright.?
Red Admit it. Zachariah was performing a Communion. And he must have implored the Lord in his wordings to get a son.
I hope to have started to break the big myth about salah/Communion/communication with The Lord.
Next post I will try to discuss the disputed "prayer timings". Personally, I have two obvious timings that barely need discussing and that is morning and evening, but there is a trouble with justifying the prayers/communions during daylight. I am certain that there is Communion between dawn and dusk however, but that it has no fixed timing. If you forget remembrance of God for the whole day after the morning it seems negative as in the case of Solomon and his horses.
Time to end the day.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Nearness and Guidance' part 2
(When?)
At any time
2186 And if My servants ask you about Me, I am near answering the calls of those who call to Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.
2120 They glorify in the night and the day, they do not cease.
4138 So, if they become arrogant, then those who are with your Lord glorify Him night and day, and they never despair.
Dawn and dusk
The Book is mainly talking about glorification repeatedly throughout the narration at dawn and dusk. This appears to be the only ritual-like practice for those who believe. However, there is another event in the afternoon as we shall soon see.
341 He said ?My Lord, make for me a sign.? He said ?Your sign is not to speak to the people for three days except by symbol, and remember your Lord greatly, and glorify at dusk and dawn.?
652 And do not turn away those who call on their Lord at dawn and dusk seeking His face; you are not responsible for their judgment, nor are they responsible for your judgment; if you turn them away, then you will be of the wicked.
7205 And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and in reverence; and without loudness in words, during the morning and the evening. And do not be of the careless ones.
1778 Hold the Communion till the setting of the sun; to the murkiness of the night; and the Qur?an at dawn - the Qur?an at dawn is witnessed spectacular.
Red The current understanding of Qur'an is rendering the interpretation ridiculous. It is not even al-quran but quran, i.e. not definite article. Recitation at dawn could work better in that case as in reciting hymns etc. Hymns are a good way of glorifying The Lord as even Angels sing songs of praise.
1828 And have patience upon yourself regarding those who call on their Lord at dawn and dusk seeking His face, and let not your eyes overlook them that you seek the beauty of this worldly life. And do not obey he whom We have made his heart heedless of Our remembrance and he followed his desire, and his fate was lost.
1911 So he went out among his people from the temple enclosure, and he indicated to them that they should glorify Him at dawn and dusk.
2436 In homes that God has permitted to be raised, and His name mentioned in them. He is glorified therein in the mornings and the evenings.
2458 O you who believe, let those among you who are maintained by your oaths, and those who have not attained puberty, request your permission regarding three times before the dawn Communion, and when you put off your garments from the noon time, and after the evening Communion. These are three private times for you. Other than these times, it is not wrong for you or them to intermingle with one another. God thus clarifies the revelations for you. And God is Knowledgeable, Wise.
3017 So glory be to God, when you retire and when you wake.
3342 And glorify Him morning and evening.
3818 We commissioned the mountains to glorify with him, at dusk and dawn.
4055 So be patient, for the promise of God is true, and seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify and praise your Lord evening and morning.
489 That you may believe in God and His messenger, and that you may support Him, honor Him, and glorify Him, morning and evening.
5248 You shall be patient for the judgment of your Lord, for you are in Our sights; and glorify the praise of your Lord when you rise.
7625 And remember the name of your Lord morning and evening.
Afternoon?
It is strange for a devoted servant of God to think that there is no commemoration of God through the whole day after the morning glorification, but there are hints at certain elements. Nevertheless, morning and evening are clearly the most important glorification moments of the day as seen above that they are repeated many times throughout The Book.
20130 So be patient to what they are saying and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and at the approach of the night - you shall glorify - and at parts of the day, perhaps you may be content.
Note Be aware of "at parts of the day". There is hinted at spontaneous communions whenever we like.
5039 So be patient to what they are saying, and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before the setting.
Nights
God does not mean that you shall never sleep and stay awake all nights but this is clarified in a certain chapter.
317 The patient, and the truthful, and the dutiful, and the givers, and the seekers of forgiveness in the late hours of the night.
1779 And from the night, as an addition, you shall reflect upon it for yourself, perhaps your Lord would grant you a station that is praiseworthy.
5040 And from the night glorify Him, and after prostrating.
5249 Also from the night glorify Him, and at the fading of the stars.
7626 And from the night you shall prostrate to Him and praise Him throughout.
Specification of nightly communication
732 Stand the night except for a little.
733 Half of it, or a little less than that.
734 Or a little more, and arrange the Qur?an in its arrangement.736 The time of the night is more effective and better for study.
737 For you have many duties during the day.7320 Your Lord knows that you rise a little less than two thirds of the night, and half of it, and one third of it; and a group of those who are with you. And God measures the night and the day. He knows that you will not be able to keep-up, so He pardons you. So read what is made easy of the Qur?an. He knows that there will be sick among you, and others that go forth in the land seeking from the bounty of God, and others who are fighting in the cause of God, so read what you can of it. And hold the communication and contribute towards purification and lend God a loan of righteousness. And whatever you put forth yourselves, you will find it with God, for it is better and a greater reward. And seek the forgiveness of God, for God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Conclusion
There are only two utterly important occasions during the day to perform one's Communion, although we can see that the devout will also glorify during daylight hours. Nights are for meditation, thinking and reflection upon creation.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Nearness and Guidance' part 3
Let us investigate the disputed word that is commonly translated into "contact prayer" (salah) and see that it is a communication taking place between the person performing it as in this case where Shu'ayb is told this
1187 They said ?O Shu?ayb, does your contact prayer order you (?) that we leave what our fathers served, or that we do not do with our money as we please? It seems only you are the compassionate, the wise!?
It implies that information is thought of being channeled down to the communicator, in this case Shu'aub. It breaks the myth of being a brain-dead uniform ritual. Thus you can say that the word in the verse with Zachariah, (aldduAAai), could as well be a part of a contact prayer, or as-salat. If you keep holding fast to the salah being a ritual where you aimlessly parrot verses from The Book or so then... keep reading and I will, God willing, intensify my attempts at convincing you. This is my duty from The Lord.
See that I have not done this because I master Arabic but because I enable my logic and God has blessed me with understanding. It can be done with the help of all the tools of understanding the Arabic passages and then simply through a deep analysis of the simple facts in their contexts, or logical deduction. Putting ALL instances of salat into testing and we can see that it can impossibly mean a stereotypical brainless ritual because as proven before in the thread it means that you can kill people unless they perform it and even birds perform them (!). But when you talk about channeling inspiration in a kind of communicative practice then it all makes sense. The birds perform it without any choice and they simply do it automatically. But for us humans is can come semi-automatically through channeling inspiration that we take the right life decisions and judgments. No wonder why salat is told to be done before giving testimony
5106 O you who believe, witnessing shall be done if death is approaching one of you and a will is being made, by two among you who are equitable. If you have gone forth in the land, and death is approaching, then any two may suffice - if you have doubt regarding them, then detain them after making the Communion, and they will swear by God ?We will not purchase with it any price, even if it was from a near relative, and we will not conceal the testimony of God, else we are of the sinners.?
So Communion can be sort of translated into prayer although so much more than only parroting verses but full-fledged communication.
2945 Recite what is inspired to you of the Message and hold the Communion, for the Communion prohibits immorality and vice; but certainly the remembrance of God is the greatest. God knows everything you do.
When you communicate and seek inspiration from God then you can prevent immorality because your eyes are opened due to your daily questions for Guidance to the right decisions in life. Simply monotonously bowing and kneeling down does not on its own help with that. We have many cases with Communion done by the servants of God in the past as previously presented to you by me where they ask God for Guidance in various situations.
Despite all the talk about Communion not being a ritual it is generally practiced under formal conditions. We have various verses that mean you ought to be concentrated and focused while performing it
2238 Maintain the Communion; and the middle Communion; and stand for God dutifully.
2239 But if you are fearful, then you may do so while walking or riding. If you become secure, then remember God as He has taught you what you did not know.Red Translation disputed and I leave it be.
There is an example where Moses went away to an isolated place and undoubtedly performed a Communion under formal conditions
2824 So he drew water for them, then he turned to a shaded area, and he said ?My Lord, I am poor, lacking any provisions You may have sent down.?
Result of Communion
313 A guide and a mercy for (2) the good doers.
314 Those who (1) hold the Communion, and (2) contribute towards purification and (3) regarding the Hereafter they are certain.
315 These are on a guidance from their Lord, and they are the successful ones.The communication with The Lord causes them to be on Guidance because God actively guides them in real time with backup of all the good deeds that they are able to perform with the channeled inspiration.
4060 And your Lord said ?Call on Me and I will respond to you.? Surely, those who are too arrogant to serve Me, they will enter Hell, humbled.
4226 And those that believe and do good works respond to Him, and He increases for them His blessings. As for the rejecters, they have incurred a severe retribution.
What do you think He responds to? Yes very correct; The Lord responds to the Communion of His servants by giving them blessings. And response can be by obeying orders that are channeled down to you through inspiration as per 1187 (?O Shu?ayb, does your contact prayer order you...?) and in return God will reward you with blessings, understanding and so on.
Do you still think that Communion is a brainless ritual? Enjoying yourself?
2186 And if My servants ask you about Me, I am near answering the calls of those who call to Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.
1088 And Moses said ?Our Lord, you have given Pharaoh and his commanders adornments and wealth in this worldly life so that they will misguide from Your path. Our Lord, wipe out their wealth and bring grief to their hearts; for they will not believe until they see the painful retribution.?
1089 He said ?Your call has been responded to, so keep straight and do not follow the path of those who do not know.?Red Communion with their wish.
Purple Response - Wish granted
Green When God responds He expects continued devotion to His cause2189 And Zachariah when he called out to his Lord ?My Lord, do not leave me without an heir, and You are the best inheritor.?
2190 So We responded to him, and We granted him John, and We cured his wife. They used to (2) hasten to do good, and they would (1) call to Us in joy and in fear. And of Us they (1) were reverent.
2191 And the one who protected her chastity, so We blew into her from Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for the worlds.
2192 This is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord so serve Me.Face it; Communion is communication with The Lord, and on an intellectual level.
I suppose this rounds up Nearness and Guidance' and we know the basics of what there is to know about it.
And actually one more input actually connected to the last post (part 2) and prayer timings
3831 When, before evening, well trained horses were displayed before him.
3832 He said ?I have enjoyed materialism more than I enjoyed the remembrance of my Lord; until it had set beyond the horizon!?The horses were presented to him before nightfall which infers that he was not forgetful of the Communion in the morning/dawn but it was when those horses were presented to him presumably some time during the day. Dawn Communion is difficult to forget about as it is the first thing you do when you wake up so it is hard to believe that that is it. It may be related to the "Middle Communion", which can be done while riding and walking if necessary.
We also know
20130 So be patient to what they are saying and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and at the approach of the night - you shall glorify - and at parts of the day, perhaps you may be content.
With this in mind I am confident to say that Communion is something to be done frequently throughout the day.
God bless you
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Summary of 'Nearness and Guidance'
Let us summarize the last three lessons on this important part of our Faith.
• What is Communion (salah)? - Simply communication or connection with The Lord that we perform frequently
• When do we establish Communion? - Explicitly at mornings and evenings, with timings given even by name (as-salat al-fajr and as-salat al-isha). Less clear is a definite timing for the day but seems to be a frequency of communication, however the "wusta" (middle) prayer indicates a singular (ِ *
• Why Communion? - "for the Communion prohibits immorality and vice" - You seek for Guidance when you perform a Communion as in the examples previous shown to you by me as well as obviously bringing a Nearness between you and your Lord.
| 2238 Maintain the Communions; and the middle Communion; and stand for God dutifully. |
After the "and" (و in the beginning of the sentence both the clause from that verse and the next seem to belong to each other despite the separation.| 2239 But if you are fearful, then you may do so while walking or riding. If you become secure, then remember God as He has taught you what you did not know. |
The following verse subtly indicates that the so called "middle prayer" can be done "while walking or riding" in case your are not safe during the daily chores because the verse is not with "and" (و but rather continues as if part of the previous sentence/clause. There is no but or and in the Arabic discourse.|
It is also quite clear that you can normally pray as soon as you get up after sleep and before you need to retreat for the day without fearing an enemy, because there is likely pauses where you rest anyway. Carefully applying the logic to the passages disregarding the linguistic barrier reveals this. In ancient times, halting in dangerous lands with your caravan could perhaps have been a dangerous venture, thus it might have been better to communicate "on-the-fly" like in this verse|
2822 And as he traveled towards Midyan, he said ?Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right path.?|
But as soon as he was not on foot he did this, and what else other than a Communion would he do isolated for himself and he was likely not performing a brain-dead ritual
|
2824 So he drew water for them, then he turned to a shaded area, and he said ?My Lord, I am poor, lacking any provisions You may have sent down.?
There is much to indicate that there is time for Communion from dawn to dusk not to mention the case with Solomon and his newly gotten horses.
Historically, if we accept the Bible and such hearsay as honest references to history they prayed at dawn, afternoon and evening. The reason why I say afternoon is because on one occasion someone refers to the "3 o'clock prayer". Apart from this reference there are obvious instances of Communion taking place during daylight. Even The Book (Qur'an) gives reference to Communion before nightfall as in this case
5039 So be patient to what they are saying, and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before the setting.
|
From 2458|
Except for that it speaks about the approaches of the night (evening) before we retire for the night. Because after the night Communion we have private time and then children etc should be taught not to disturb. It is indicated in the sentence that it is because we take off our clothes and as you know showing yourself naked can be a bit immodest. Adults should certainly already know that one knocks before walking into someone's bedroom (2459).I accept what other people in God's system say about prayers, but I have carefully analyzed the discourse and I cannot draw any other logical conclusion from God's system that there are three recurring daily Communions, whereof two are repeated over and over again in The Book while glorification of The Lord during daylight is slightly more subtle but still there if you take the time of not being so overly criticizing of Communion. See the previous examples
20130 So be patient to what they are saying and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and at the approach of the night - you shall glorify - and at parts of the day, perhaps you may be content.
5039 So be patient to what they are saying, and glorify the grace of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before the setting.
Apart from this there is absolutely nothing which prevents a Believer to communicate sporadically throughout the day like every hour or more. The point in these Communions which God has laid forth in The Book is that we never lose the remembrance of The Lord and that we turn to Him for Guidance.
I know people say this and that about the word "wusta", but even ignoring the whole verse and there is yet no way I can erase a Communion during daylight from the map.
So now that if you have not already performed Communion frequently I urge my fellow brothers and sisters to communicate with The Lord on a regular basis. Not as a brain-dead ritual like the Pagans but yet with some formality and intention and for you to seek God's Nearness and Guidance, that you may be protected from the evil one and his followers, and from yourself and our evil-minded nature.
Next lesson we may, God willing, turn over to 'Knowledge and Wisdom'. I am not sure if there is much to say about that one though because it comes sort of "auto-magically" with 'Nearness and Guidance', and good deeds. Perchance God will inspire me that I have something to say. God's Message is so plain simple that if people would follow these three lessons and what is already posted in this thread should pose more than enough. If we take one step closer to God, devoting ourselves to Him alone then The Lord will basically help us with the rest, as long as we are patient and steadfast and turning to Him for Guidance, and avoid shameful deeds.
God's circle of Faith comes in three easy steps and sincerely stepping up on one is a great victory.
Thank you for reading yet another dull post. I hope, God willing, that it may help someone.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Knowledge and Wisdom' part 1
A prerequisite to reach God-sanctioned Knowledge and Wisdom the previous part of the chain is utterly required where you need the proximity that Communion offers. Let us before we proceed with the topic of this post go through the intention with Communion one more time and add a few examples and details.
| "I seek Your Nearness and Guidance as well as protection from the evil one and his followers. I submit to Your Will" |
Example of introductory speech in a Communion; my own template when initiating contact, but please see that you can use your own customized speech.| 2186 And if My servants ask you about Me, I am near answering the calls of those who call to Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided. |
"that they may be guided" Okay. Now that we have become guided and have His Nearness? After this progress God will bless us with a deeper insight and wisdom, as long as we round up the Communions with purification and good deeds.1823 And do not simply say of something ?I will do this tomorrow.?
1824 ?Except if God wills.? And remember your Lord if you forget and say ?Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is nearer than this in wisdom.?The person who would do this mistake would not yet have become blessed with 'Knowledge and Wisdom' even though he/she has enough 'Nearness and Guidance' to realize the error. As high on step two and you will hardly do this mistake because you know that God will have the utter say in what will happen tomorrow. God is in your mind at all times. But the moral lesson is not to be so sure about what is going to happen the next day.
2810 And the heart of Moses? mother became anxious, that she nearly revealed her identity. But We strengthened her heart, so that she would be of the believers.
2811 And she said to his sister ?Follow his path.? So she watched him from afar, while they did not notice.
2812 And We forbade him from accepting all the nursing mothers. Then his sister said ?Shall I lead you to a household that can nurse him for you, and take good care of him??Moses' mother was certainly near God and a devoted servant and due to the filled 'Nearness and Guidance' "meter" God blessed her with Wisdom in this case that she would see clearly and be wise in the situation. This is a piece of what you get by completing the previous step that I talked about. She nearly disobeyed God by breaking what was inspired in verse 287.
Red She was inspired to use this strategy in this and the next verse.
Green It was but a baby, but God intervened and made the baby reject all tries to nurse him.
Perfect example of where God's Knowledge and Wisdom comes handy and God remarks that performing a Communion asking for the right Guidance in the situation is best instead of judging based on your level of infusion of the Holy Spirit.
458 God orders you to deliver anything you have been entrusted with to its owners. And if you judge between the people, then you shall judge with justice. It is always the best that God prescribes for you. God is Hearer, Seer.
542 They listen to lies, and consume money illicitly. If they come to you, then you may judge between them or turn away from them; and if you turn away from them then they cannot harm you in the least; and if you judge then judge between them with justice. God loves those who are just.
543 And how can they make you their judge when they have the Torah/Teaching(s), in which there is the judgment of God; then they turn away after that. Those are not believers.These people are typical sectarian religious people where God is not in their heart and they think that they are guided. Ironically these people may have Knowledge but nothing else and they have no way of applying it because they have drifted away from God, i.e. lacking Nearness and Guidance, nor are they wise.
10109 And follow what is being inspired to you and be patient until God judges. And He is the best of judges.
The same as with these following righteous people we are to follow their example and gain 'Knowledge and Wisdom' through 'Nearness and Guidance' and good deeds.
| 1222 And when he (Joseph) reached his independence, We gave him judgement and knowledge. It is thus that We reward the good doers. |
Observe this which proves my circle of Faith. Judgment here can be leaning towards Wisdom, so it is 'Knowledge and Wisdom'.2269 He grants Wisdom to whom He chooses, and whoever is granted wisdom has been given much good. Only those who possess intelligence will remember.
2174 And Lot, We gave him Wisdom and Knowledge, and We saved him from the town that used to do vile things. They were a people of evil, wicked.
2175 And We admitted him into Our mercy. He was of the good doers.2814 And when he (Moses) reached his independence and was established, We bestowed him with Wisdom and Knowledge. We thus reward the good doers.
3112 And We had given Luqmaan the Wisdom ?You shall be thankful to God, and whoever is thankful is being thankful for his own good. As for whoever rejects, then God is Rich, Praiseworthy.?
3820 And We strengthened his (David's) kingship, and We gave him the Wisdom and the ability to make sound Judgment.
2120 Neither the Jews nor the Nazarenes (nor the traditional Muslims) will be pleased with you until you follow their creed (of idolizing their Prophet and invented teachings). Say ?The Guidance is the Guidance of God.? And if you follow their desires after the Knowledge that has come to you, then there is none who can help or protect you against God.
Note Sorry, I simply had to add extra text within parenthesis to show how the situation is
37 He is the One who sent down to you the Lore, from which there are lawgiving revelations; they are the essence of the Lore; and others which are of a similitude. As for those who have a disease in their hearts, they will follow that which is of a similitude, seeking to confuse, and seeking to derive an interpretation. But none know its interpretation except God, and those who are well founded in Knowledge; they say ?We believe in it, all is from our Lord.? And none will remember except those who possess intelligence.
Anyone can excel in what I have been talking about all these posts up until now. Knowledge and Wisdom of the level of Prophets and Messengers; "ordinary" people can have that and it is the face of God that you are supposed to seek and gain Guidance. To (1) call upon God, believe, purify yourselves and (2) do good deeds, that is what the Messengers came around and preached, and if you but do this God will make you wise and knowledgeable as you are infused with a higher degree of the spirit.
With Knowledge and Wisdom everything turns more and more crystal clear for you and life thus becomes easier. Suddenly you can reach a whole new dimension of philosophical thinking. Our existence is so obvious. Hence I have separated Knowledge and Wisdom from Nearness and Guidance because it is the growth within you that has now come, the realization.
The sad thing however, that I have felt myself, is how depressing it is to look upon the world with "brand new" eyes. You wish that God would deliver Judgment immediately to stop the madness. But this is what is the test and the majority of people will burn in Hell. I know people want to have a trouble believing this, but it is the fact that most people will actually never go to Heaven. Check these verses which clarify that most people will not continue
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.
1117 For those who are on a clarity from their Lord, and are followed by a testimony from Him; and before it was the Book of Moses, a beacon and a mercy; they will believe in it. And whoever rejects it from among the Confederates, then the Fire is his meeting place. So do not be in any doubt about it. It is the truth from your Lord, but most of the people do not believe.
12103 And most of the people, even if you are diligent, will not believe.
12106 And most of them will not believe in God except while setting up partners.
131 ALMR, these are the signs of the Lore. And what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth; but most of the people do not believe.
4059 Surely the Hour is coming, there is no doubt in it, but most of the people do not believe.
4060 And your Lord said ?Call on Me and I will respond to you.? Surely, those who are too arrogant to serve Me, they will enter Hell, humbled.
God is not harsh. It is obvious for an intelligent person to see that God exists. If only they were not so arrogant that they begun to seek God's Nearness and Guidance. God repeats over and over and over and over and over again in The Book (Qur'an) so many reasons to believe in God and yet people do not. A big portion of The Book goes to give reasons to believe. And with the advent of modern science there are a whole lot more because we are aware of more. The interesting thing is that atheism is like a trend now despite more ways of observing the Creation and our existence.
God willing, there would come down an updated Lore with analogies using modern science that you can see more signs. But sure they will be denied same as in the past despite an overwhelming Truth.
God bless you
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Summary of 'Knowledge and Wisdom'
Found nothing else to add to this subtopic, so let us make a summarizing post. I composed yet another illustration to present things clearly.
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And our system consists of Faith (1) and Actions (2), so without the right deeds one will not progress on that path.
262 Surely those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Nazarenes, and the Sabians (and the 'Muslims', whoever of them believes in God and the Last Day and does good works; they will have their recompense with their Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor will they grieve.
Knowledge and Wisdom comes when Communion with God has become established by the servant of God and the servant does good. The Guidance of God will help to accomplish this righteous commitment and the blessings will land plentifully upon the righteous servant boosting his/her Knowledge and Wisdom. It is the ability to judge fairly and act righteously in "the eyes" of God which you can say is the descriptive phrase of Knowledge and Wisdom.
It is important to know that this parameter is not that much concrete information but rather like a realization from the servant that simply emerges. To put it simply it is like I said before that the spirit of God, that rests inside of us until we depart from this world and that keeps everything going, will have grown inside our souls and body and hence we can gain inspiration to take the right steps in situations and be thoughtful before we act.
Sadly, or depending on how we see it, is that you can easily draw parallels to Star Wars and the 'Force' and for those who have watched Star Wars will be able to understand the phenomenon of the 'Holy Spirit'. It will help us perform our actions and deeds in our daily lives, just like in Star Wars, although with less "hocus pocus". Strong with the Force/Holy Spirit will lead to many more benefits than plainly without it.
Nearness and Guidance is like bonding with the Force (but in reality God of course) and let is flow through the veins to charge you and then prayers are like the meditation they perform in the motion picture Star Wars. The eyes of the practitioner are opened and you become more aware of the world around you. The phenomenon of becoming more aware can be seen as the 'Knowledge and Wisdom' I have been rambling on about. When you realize more about the Truth then you will naturally act more accordingly. Knowledge and Wisdom in this sense cannot that much be studied in books although text from The Book and other Truthful stories will become clear with more awareness of the Truth.
I hope this gave a good and thorough explanation of my concept and what Knowledge and Wisdom means and that it all can be found within The Book and studied. I have done efforts to prove my standing by referring to The Book that readers do not think I am only conjecturing.
Next time I will, God willing, start on the last subtopic of the thread called 'Peace and Prosperity'. The rewards of reaching Islam, or fulfilling the "Circle of Faith", are quite well described within The Book but it may be worth highlighting things anyway. Perchance some brother or sister may not have realized the connection between all parameters in Faith, i.e. between Nearness and Guidance, Knowledge and Wisdom and Peace and Prosperity.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Peace and Prosperity' part 1
3146 And many a prophet had a large number of Devotees fighting with him. They did not waver by what afflicted them in the cause of God, nor did they become weak, nor did they become discouraged; and God loves the patient ones.
3147 And they did not say except ?Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our shortcomings in our responsibility, and make firm our foothold, and grant us victory over the rejecting people.?
3148 So God gave them the reward of this world and the best reward of the Hereafter; and God loves the good doers.God will give people rewards in this life if they good so it would be unappreciative not to accept them by making one's life miserable while God wants to reward those that do good. It is often believed that people must abstain from all kinds of comforts and provisions in this life but they miss the fact that some of them may be rewards from God.
485 Whoever intercedes with a good intercession, he will have a reward of it; and whoever intercedes with an evil intercession, he will receive a share of it. And God has control over all things.
Doing good will be rewarding. This may not come without long-term testing, but persistent charity will be paid back without the slightest injustice, and that in this life as well as the next, which people ought to not forget.
1222 And when he (Joseph) reached his independence, We gave him Judgement and Knowledge. It is thus that We reward the good doers.
Red We can say that Joseph was blessed with Knowledge and Wisdom as in my chain of Faith.
1697 Whoever does good works, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will give him a good life and We will reward them their dues with the best of what they used to do.
1976 And God increases the guidance of those who are guided. And the goodness that endures is better with your Lord as a reward and a far better return.
Guided people that keep the circle of Faith will have their Guidance increased, and we know what is meant by keeping the circle of Faith, right? Yes exactly, it is (1) believe and (2) do good. That is the fundamental explanation of God's System.
2814 And when he reached his independence and was established, We bestowed him with Wisdom and Knowledge. We thus reward the good doers.
2822 And as he traveled towards Midyan, he said ?Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right path.?
2823 When he arrived at the watering hole of Midyan, he found a crowd of people watering, and he found two women waiting on the side. He said ?What is holding you back.? They said ?We cannot draw water until the shepherds finish, and our father is an old man.?
2824 So he drew water for them, then he turned to a shaded area, and he said ?My Lord, I am poor, lacking any provisions You may have sent down.?
2825 So one of the two women approached him, shyly, and said ?My father invites you to reward you for watering for us.? So when he came to him, and told to him the stories, he said ?Do not fear, for you have been saved from the wicked people.?
2826 One of the two women said ?O my father, hire him. For the best to be hired is one who is strong and honest.?Red & Purple Moses is doing good and is receiving a reward for his deeds. If we follow what many people advocate when it comes to accept rewards then you may actually not follow God's System. Think about that.
Of course Guidance, Knowledge and Wisdom are the best rewards of them all, so more than provisions.
1326 God gives the provisions for whom He wishes, and He is Capable. And they were happy with the worldly life, but the worldly life compared to the Hereafter is nothing except a brief enjoyment.
16112 And God puts forth the example of a town which was Peace-ful and content/Prosperous, its provisions were coming to it bountifully from all places, but then it rebelled against the blessings of God, and God made it taste hunger and fear for what they used to do.
Red Sorry I gave a little reference to my own chain with Peace and Prosperity through the passages of The Recitation.
1730 Your Lord lays out openly the provision for whom He wishes, and He is able to do so. He is Expert and Seer over His servants.
Here is a verse that many people mistranslate including Monotheist
My translation 1962 They will not hear in it any nonsense, only peace. And they will have their provision in it Day and Night.
Monotheist translation 1962 They will not hear in it any nonsense, only peace. And they will have their provision in it morning and evening.The phrase to get something Day and Night is a pretty common expression and so also in Arabic. With a modern tune-up we can say "around the clock". And same as in the example of 2458 isha (ا means Night and not evening as translations suggest. In that example salah al-isha ( ِ is something done before retiring for the night. I am not arguing what salah is here, only that this occurrence is something before going to sleep.
Here is what is disliked by God when it comes to provisions or bounty
975 And from them are those who pledged to God ?If He gives us from His bounty, then we will believe and we will be among the upright.?
976 So when He gave them from His bounty, they became stingy with it, and they turned away while they were averse.
977 Thus, hypocrisy follows in their hearts until the Day they meet Him; that is for breaking what they promised God, and for what they were lying.I will try to continue on this subtopic for yet another post as I have run out of time for now.
God bless you
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Lesson on 'Peace and Prosperity' part 2
Let us continue on the subtopic that I begun on the last time I wrote, 'Peace and Prosperity', i.e. the outcome of a dutiful and reverent lifestyle, and God gives us material rewards as well as more important abstract rewards which could also fall under the category 'Knowledge and Wisdom'. It is not shameful to accept these rewards, as long as we are not stingy with them and that we are thankful.
4173 As for those who believe and do good works, He will give them their recompense and increase for them from His bounty. And as for those who are too proud and arrogant, He will punish them a painful retribution, and they will not find besides God any supporter or victor.
We can argue that this is for the next life, but rewards will also come in this life. Guidance is however surely the best reward of them all. But if we do like this then the Guidance will vanish
975 And from them are those who pledged to God ?If He gives us from His bounty, then we will believe and we will be among the upright.?
976 So when He gave them from His bounty, they became stingy with it, and they turned away while they were averse.
977 Thus, hypocrisy follows in their hearts until the Day they meet Him; that is for breaking what they promised God, and for what they were lying.
3779 Peace be upon Noah among the worlds.
We have argued before about the root - - , but we say that it has a nearly magical meaning difficult to translate into English. However I have realized it has no any particularly intricate meaning but means something quite simple. Anyway the point I wanted to get to was that anyone who follows a similar path to Noah (in this case 3775 - 3779) will have "Islam" . If you get S L M like Noah in the above example then what you aim for is the path undertaken like in the example below
320 If they debate with you, then say ?I have submitted myself to God, as well as those who follow me.? And say to those who have received the Book and the Gentiles ?Have you submitted?? If they have submitted then they are guided, and if they turn away, then you are only to deliver, and God is Seer over the servants.
The problem with all kinds of translations and interpretations available is that they grossly create a kind of neanderthal worship of a deity while you can say that you "become one with the System" when you choose .
There is a reason why I call this last portion of the chain as 'Peace and Prosperity' because it is simply put the state of that you will gain. You are in union with God and His System so to say. Salat, or Communion, is a part of the whole unity as it is a kind of communication between you and your Lord and which those who do not really believe may mock you for if they discover that you appear to "speak to yourself" (or imaginary friend) when they cross your path while communicating with The Lord.
I cannot teach you salat, any rites or anything, but I can point towards . Rashad Khalifa, or others calling themselves Messengers, wanted to teach you things never conveyed by God and God's Recitation wanted to tell people a few simple things that some people can use to write entire books about. Simply put all I will tell you is to (1) believe/be with God and (2) be good, and that is where my responsibility ends. It is a spiritual state, with no particular methods, like the bonding with the Force in Star Wars, for those knowing what I am talking about. Your actions will precede you and you will be held responsible only for your own deeds but you can always spread the Light. Such is being a good preacher.
319
319 The system with God is 'Peace and Prosperity', and those who received the Decree did not dispute except after the facts came to them out of jealousy between them. And whoever rejects the revelations of God, then God is swift in judgment.320
320 If they debate with you, then say ?I have "humbled"/harmonized myself to God, as well as those who follow me.? And say to those who have received the Decree and the Gentiles ?Have you harmonized?? If they have harmonized then they are guided, and if they turn away, then you are only to deliver, and God is Seer over the servants.Red Insertion by me to raise your awareness. Moving into a kind of symbiotic state with a powerful system.
Green Experimental translation. Word may imply this meaning. Importance is to turn the obsession away from distinct books.
Purple In your studies of the Recitation, who is guided according to you? Is it not those that uphold a system of justice? And they have just like Noah in 3779.So what is ? Well, God tells throughout the Recitation that it is by upholding what is right, i.e. sound Judgment and Justice by literally bonding with The Lord, seeking His Nearness and Guidance and thus protection from the evil one and his followers. When you recite for protection from God (kind of in prayer) then this will be accomplished but only so when accompanied with good deeds. Corruption will be counter-productive.
In the case of God we can always figure about what the word Peace, or , means and I think I complement its meaning nicely with Prosperity. It is a feeling of wellness and completion. A system of Peace/Harmony/Balance could be a fine extraction into English from the ancient Arabic discourse. Only those with a lack of understanding will translate the word into Submission as the word does not imply that. However, service to God is carrying out His will and it could thus give the impression that it is submission to God, but God has no need for us at all, we only do our service for the betterment of our own "souls"/person. On the other hand, we can somewhat "impress" God by going against the stream and actually show God that He did not create everything in vain after he was gravely disappointed "once upon a time". God knew what the "angels"/malaik did not; that some of those they thought would only spread mischief and vice would actually be eligible for salvation. Such people will be under God's protection in this life and live perfectly well in the next. God loves such people and the malaik will also intervene/intercede on the behalf of these people in the test.
And it does not mean living passive lives but rather standing up for rights and helping those exposed to tyrants and arrogant people. You should struggle that you cause like Jesus allegedly said "may your will be done on Earth as is in Heaven". The practitioners that utter these words (in prayer) are supposed to stand up for the words themselves and live by them.
Note that 319 and 320 as previously quoted are followed by
321 Those who reject the revelations of God and kill the prophets without right, and kill those who order justice from among the people; inform them of a painful retribution.
Does this not ring a bell for you? Can not mean much more than the System as previously mentioned of justice, equity and balance? This is your .
3780 It is such that We reward the righteous.
3781 He (Noah) is of Our believing servants. (or participating servants depending on how you interpret ).Red Like many other Arabic words in the context is another common yet misunderstood one. As I started to study this word phenomenon I realized belief is not an option and this is simply an invented meaning. There is no belief but either proclaiming or hiding (the Truth) without knowing or knowing. Surely those who have not realized the Truth argue as if it is a matter of belief, but there is no belief but either you know or you are unknowing. This is why the understanding of certain verses seem so dull (see below verses for an example) because for God is one step above belief but more like knowing and then joining in, so to say. You are with God or you are not with God, and if you are not with God then you are something like without understanding as God seems to put it. "Kufr" is one that intentionally struggles to hide the Truth and should not be used as a curse word against those that are ignorant to the Truth such as those who have divided their system into sects, causing division and animosity, while there is basically only one objective which is to the discretion of the user (of the system) to choose how to serve. Many different people serve with their specific performances and all will lead on the same path if they are good deeds. What is good is in the narration.
3623 ?Shall I take gods besides Him? If the Almighty intends any harm for me, their intercession cannot help me in the least, nor can they save me.?
3624 ?Then I would be clearly astray.?
3625 ?I am with your Lord, so listen to me!?Red Perhaps it should not be translated this literally, but basically it means to have "joined in with" or simply joined. Is it not laughable when words finally come this clear?
Read that I am not teaching anything but rather "unteaching" what you know and putting things straight. This makes the Recitation so simply and easy that you may even laugh on how weird it feels. Like Yoda (from the motion picture 'Star Wars' said "You must unlearn what you have learned".
God bless you
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Philosophy or even truthful corrections to understanding?
Peace to you dear readers. I finalized my whole main purpose of this thread with my last post, but I thought that I might as well continue to give philosophical input on what I have previously discovered on the interpretation of the Recitation by the alleged prophet Muhammad, and it may as well be true. What I discuss is not completely unfounded and I have spent a long time considering the meaning of many verses and sometimes it is from a logical analysis of the discourse rather than a linguistic one. I argue that in Arabic, words carry a very descriptive and fundamental meanings and do not have multiple meanings but almost the same meaning with some variations, which can be noticed through different spellings. Worth noticing is that I am no Arabic scholar, but I only got interested in the analysis of words and the flow of text from a literal standpoint and by seeing that sentences should look fluent and coherent to be the true interpretation as well as reasonable and logical befitting the "Islamic" philosophy.I have argued that 'ketab' does not mean book based on many weird occasions where it sounds quite absurd and also that it is used for the English word 'decree' in many instances. Look at this experimental translation with controversial words in color
287 And We gave Moses the Decree, and after him We sent the missionaries. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that every time a missionary comes to you with what your souls do not desire, you become arrogant? A group of them you deny, and a group of them you kill!
The same word is translated into 'letter' in the case of Solomon and the queen of Sheba. Check this experimental translation
2728 (Solomon) ?Take this decree of mine and cast it to them, then withdraw from them and observe what they respond with.?
2729 She said ?O commanders, a noble decree has been delivered to me.?
2730 ?It is from Solomon, and it reads ?In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful??
2731 ??Do not be arrogant towards me and come to me as harmonizers??Note that it is more a command than a letter in nature, and you see that it is 'In the name of God...', i.e. written through divine inspiration. Solomon would not write this on his own behalf and formulated like this. The following phrase is indicating that it is God and they should not come towards Him with arrogance and to come as harmonizers. Noble is likely because it is signed "in the name of God.."
Red Another experimentation with the word islam because traditionally it gives God a tyrannical feel when you say submitter.
You see how less idolatrous the recitation becomes with this alternative and probably more truthful interpretation of the ancient text? Moses received a decree and then the subsequent missionaries carried it out or upheld it in a succession. In my world these were not books but decrees, look into this verse with plural ketab (kutub)
6612 And Mary, daughter of Imran, who maintained the chastity of her private part, so We blew into it from Our Spirit, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His Decrees; and she was of those who were dutiful.
Why is dutiful mentioned in conjunction to the previous words? Because kutub in the previous phrase is decrees.
In terms of the "scribe" mentioned in some verses where ketab's root is used is probably likely to be a jurist (or similar) rather than scribe/writer, a person authorized for this kind of work.
You may wonder why it matters if ketaab is understood as book or decree, like my wife did, but it is actually making a big difference in understanding. It causes divine texts to become idols, particularly the so-called "Qur'an" which has no real name but is only called just "the recitation".
You may also have wondered why there seems to be only one highlighted al-ketaab throughout the whole narration, and that is basically because there is only a generic decree. The whole concept is gathered under the decree. This is why I erroneously but not so badly mistranslated the decree as message for a long time (see the earlier of my posts in this thread) and I tried several times with alternatives until I realized the simplest possible meaning was the Truth.
22 That is the Decree in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the righteous.
A guidance because you have a decree for them, i.e. the righteous ones.
278 And among them are Gentiles who do not know the Decree except by hearsay, and they only conjecture.
279 So woe to those who decree the Decree with their hands then say ?This is from God,? so that they can purchase with it a cheap price! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they gained.Green Certainly in English a literal translation sounds a bit lame. I also wonder if "their hands" is intended to be literal, particularly in the context with hearsay. Consider that the same word for hand is used in 326 attributed to God and do you honestly think that God has hands? (see below)
Red The same people conjecture.326 Say ?Our god, Possessor of kingship; you grant kingship to whom You please, and revoke kingship from whom You please, and honor whom You please, and humiliate whom You please; in Your hand is goodness. You are capable of all things.?
Compare 279
Decree sounds much more accurate and to falsely decree something is the most dangerous of blasphemy, i.e. when you give teachings and then attribute them to God and weak-minded and misled people believe in it.
I am certain that ketaab in all instances basically carry the same meaning, i.e. to decree something in different ways, particularly in commanding or law-giving ways. Another traditional use is as record or record something as in
2282 O you who believe, if you borrow for a future period, then you shall decree it. And let a "decreer"/jurist of justice decree it for you; and let not the jurist refuse to decree as God has taught him. Let him decree and let the person who is borrowing dictate to him, and let him be aware of God, and let him not reduce from it anything. If the one who is borrowing is immature or weak or he cannot dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate with justice; and bring two witnesses from among your men; if there are not two men, then a man and two women from whom you will accept their testimony, so that if one of them becomes blindsided, then the one can remind the other. And let the witnesses not refuse to come if they are called. And do not fail to decree it no matter how small or large until its maturity. That is more just with God and better for the testimony, and better that you do not have doubts; except if it is a trade to be done on the spot between you, then there is no sin upon you if you do not record it. And have evidence if you trade. No jurist shall be harmed nor any witness; for if you do so then it is a wickedness on your part, and be aware of God and God teaches you and God is aware of all things.
353 ?Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down, and followed the messenger, so decree/order us with those who bear witness.?
3145 It is not permitted for a soul to die except by the permission of God in an appointed decree. And whoever wants the reward of this world We give him of it, and whoever wants the reward of the Hereafter, We give him of it. And We will reward the thankful.
3181 God has heard the words of those who said ?God is poor and we are rich!? We will decree (for) what they have said and (for) their killing of the prophets without right; and We will say ?Taste the retribution of the Fire!?
Purple This is the decree in the context.
Note the following verse is not completely understood as should be. I have personally not the right one but with decree as translation it could be corrected with some work
481 And they say ?Obedience? but when they come out from being with you a group of them prepares for other that what you have said, and God decrees what they planned. So turn away from them and put your trust in God. God is enough for your trust.
638 And there is not a creature on the earth, nor a bird that flies with its wings, except they belong to nations like you belong. We did not leave anything out of the decree; then to their Lord they will be gathered.
659 And with Him are the keys of the unseen, none know them except He. And He knows what is in the land and in the sea; and not a leaf falls except He knows of it; nor a seed in the darkness of the earth; nor anything moist or anything dry; all in a clear decree.
9121 And anything small or large they spend, or any valley they cross, God will decree a recompense for them with the best of what they did.
Green Entirely "remastered" English phrase based on the original Arabic using decree rather than record.
I see little reason why to ever consider ketaab to mean book ever again. And 'decree' fits the context all the time, when you do not manipulate the interpretation to fit things like record. It becomes more fluent and strange interpretations vanish in the occurrences with ketab. Record is a conclusion people have drawn based on their material obsession and is rooted in the understanding of it as book.
Let us continue because I know people will still hesitate
1021 And if We let the people taste a mercy after some hardship had afflicted them, they take to scheming against Our revelations! Say ?God is faster in scheming;? Our missionaries decree what you scheme.
Green Could be that they cannot keep their secrets hidden. Available translation likely lackluster.
1061 And any matter you are in, or any reciting you do of the Qur?an, or any work you do; We are witnesses over you when you undertake it. Nothing is hidden from your Lord, not even the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heavens, nor smaller than that nor larger, except it is clearly decreed,
1062 For the allies of God (that) there is no fear over them nor will they grieve.
1063 Those who have believed and are aware.
1064 For them are glad tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. There is no changing the words of God. Such is the great triumph.Purple I.e. no changing of the decree.
1713 And We have attached to the neck of every man his deeds, and We bring forth for him a decree on the Day of Resurrection which he will find on display.
1714 Read your decree! It is sufficient for you that you are aware of yourself today.Green I.e. his fate or decree for the remainder of his horrible time afterwards.
1758 And there is not a town before the Day of Resurrection that We will not destroy it, or punish it with a severe punishment. This is in the decree.
1979 No, for what he says, We will decree an increase for him of the retribution significantly.
1980 Then We inherit from him all that he said, and he shall come to Us all alone.It is past midnight here and I have no more time to write, but I hope it makes sense to you, if you have appreciated what I wrote and not taken it for mad ramblings.
God bless us all