What are some good philosophies in the Quran?
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Very true Huruf. I guess praying to Allah to take us out of the hardship while we take action to improve our condition can do wonder.
O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, "If Allah knows good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.870
1311 ?Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls).?
4115 ?If anyone contends with the Messenger even after Guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than what becoming of men Faith, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, what an evil refuge!?
919-10 ?Truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it.?
So? I didn't get your point here..
Back to the main point, indeed "Acceptance" is a kuffar concept.
As the importance of "Acceptance" appeared in other / kuffaric teachings, such as"Let Thy will be done, on earth as it's in heaven".
-- Kuffar book of Matthew 610"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not as I will, but let Yours be done."
-- Kuffar book of Luke 2242"And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil?
-- A kuffar named Sidharta"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one only sees the manifestations."
-- A kuffar named Lao Tse"Not collecting treasures prevents stealing. Not desiring things prevents confusion of the heart."
-- A kuffar named Lao Tse"The wise therefore rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies, by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones."
-- A kuffar named Lao TseWhy the Devil / Iblis is evil?
Because he desire things which is not his.. he do not accept what is his..
He become bitter, angry, vengeful because he do not get what he desires.. as he desires what other has..?You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.?
-- A kuffar named Siddharta -
So? I didn't get your point here..
Back to the main point, indeed "Acceptance" is a kuffar concept.
As the importance of "Acceptance" appeared in other / kuffaric teachings, such as"Let Thy will be done, on earth as it's in heaven".
-- Kuffar book of Matthew 610
The translation of this is still debated."Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not as I will, but let Yours be done."
-- Kuffar book of Luke 2242"And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil?
-- A kuffar named Sidharta"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one only sees the manifestations."
-- A kuffar named Lao Tse"Not collecting treasures prevents stealing. Not desiring things prevents confusion of the heart."
-- A kuffar named Lao Tse"The wise therefore rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies, by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones."
-- A kuffar named Lao TseWhy the Devil / Iblis is evil?
Because he desire things which is not his.. he do not accept what is his..
He become bitter, angry, vengeful because he do not get what he desires.. as he desires what other has..?You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.?
-- A kuffar named SiddhartaPeople who remix religions are actually called as devil by Allah.
And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy - devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion. But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave them and that which they invent.6112
Let's not call Siddharta a kuffar.What I was saying is that we need to stop seeing things in black and white. Not everything is predestined. The verses I gave showed just that. You can take birth in a poor family and still become rich if you take action to make it happen. In short, many solutions are action oriented. You don't have to accept your condition as it is. But yes, not all causes and situations aren't like that.
What comes to you of good is from Allah , but what comes to you of evil, , is from yourself. And We have sent you, , to the people as a messenger, and sufficient is Allah as Witness.479
Many of the things happen to us because of our own choices. There is no doubt that each thing (good and bad) has come from Allah, but sometimes we are just overly stupid, sheepish and ego driven. Take cancer for instance. Although not all cancers are similar treatment is available for majority of them. Its a fact that our western governments have made the lives of the inventors/discoverers miserable. Poor Burzynski currently is one of the victims. People know he exists. People know Food and drugs department has tried its best to prevent his treatment from reaching patients and they have succeeded. Are we doing anything against it? Nope. We'd rather allow people to die from cancer than fighting against FDA united. Together we humans can make changes, but we choose to not do it.
Let's go back to poor family example again. Allah said he helps those who have patience. It doesn't necessarily mean that every situation is based on "wait and watch". Once again, you have the options. While one can leave you devastated the other one may turn out to be a boon. What if you say you want money as soon as possible and then start smuggling? That way you bring your own destruction. Allah gave us the mind through which we can figure out what is good and bad, the meaning of being lazy, the meaning of expanding our horizon and so on. This world is too complicated for a thought about everything being predestined. A story comes to my mind when I think about it. One of my classmates visited India for a governmental project. He felt sad to see the poor people there. He asked his guide why Indian government doesn't give them benefits to make their living condition better. He was told that God has chosen to make them poor, its their karma and hence, nothing can be done about it. Of course, the guide was using his own judgement, but it came from the hindu concept of reincarnation and karma. This is overly black and white.In this world, some things are test based, some things are result of what we do and some are Allah's punishment. There maybe more. My bounded rationality prevents me from understanding it all. But we must not think everything is predestined.
peace -
Dear reel,
Please don't confuse acceptance with fatalism.Let's take the example of Sisyphos. He knows that each time he has brought the stone to the top, it will roll down again.
If he now goes away and leaves the stone where it is, that would be fatalism.
Acceptance is that he knows the stone will roll back (and accepts that fact) but still tries to his best to bring it to the top.This is how I see it.
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Dear reel,
Please don't confuse acceptance with fatalism.Let's take the example of Sisyphos. He knows that each time he has brought the stone to the top, it will roll down again.
If he now goes away and leaves the stone where it is, that would be fatalism.
Acceptance is that he knows the stone will roll back (and accepts that fact) but still tries to his best to bring it to the top.This is how I see it.
I don't think we are the confused ones here. I am talking about others who abuse the term predestination.
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People who remix religions are actually called as devil by Allah.
I don't think religion is recommended by Allah..
Let alone remixing it...
Remixing truth and falsehood is what the "Trickster" do..What I was saying is that we need to stop seeing things in black and white. Not everything is predestined. The verses I gave showed just that. You can take birth in a poor family and still become rich if you take action to make it happen. In short, many solutions are action oriented. You don't have to accept your condition as it is. But yes, not all causes and situations aren't like that.
Again, pre or post destination is not even in context for something that is not bound by space and time..
If you become rich, and it has been proven that you're now rich, then it's your destiny to become rich.
But it's not the main topic of the discussion..Going back to the main topic..
Yet... does being rich brings happiness and peace?
Can poor people have happiness and peace?Rich and poor has no correlation with happiness and peace..
Their attitude however does..With "ACCEPTANCE" attitude, one can have peace and happiness even when he/she has a verdict that he / she will die within 7 days.
If my life will end in 7 days.. then so be it.. I accept.."Let Thy will be done, on earth as it's in heaven".
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not as I will, but let Yours be done."That's what islam attitude is all about...
And those who have such attitude are called muslim, in the Quran..The same simple concept is also being tought by other books including many of today's self help books...
Salam / Peace
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I don't think religion is recommended by Allah..
Let alone remixing it...Easier to write the term. Deen probably is the word you are looking for?
Remixing truth and falsehood is what the "Trickster" do..
I just gave one verse. There are several others where Allah calls them deceiver, liar and loser. I can't exactly use the word "kafir" here, for I have not come across a verse where he says every deceiver is kaffir. If you have one feel free to post it.
And since I have some new info about hadiths I have come to conclusion that the ones who wrote the hadiths and those who promoted it were not remixers but cult inventors.
If you become rich, and it has been proven that you're now rich, then it's your destiny to become rich.
But it's not the main topic of the discussion..Quite lyrical, but destiny can change. That was my point. Nothing is set in stone except for birth, death and judgement day (might be missing one).
Going back to the main topic..
Yet... does being rich brings happiness and peace?
Can poor people have happiness and peace?Rich and poor has no correlation with happiness and peace..
Their attitude however does..With "ACCEPTANCE" attitude, one can have peace and happiness even when he/she has a verdict that he / she will die within 7 days.
If my life will end in 7 days.. then so be it.. I accept.."Let Thy will be done, on earth as it's in heaven".
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not as I will, but let Yours be done."That's what islam attitude is all about...
And those who have such attitude are called muslim, in the Quran..The same simple concept is also being tought by other books including many of today's self help books...
I know the example I used is too general. Yet if we use your logic of acceptance attitude then we have to conclude that someone getting raped should just accept and enjoy everything that the rapist is doing to her for the sake of peace and harmony.
hmm I am not sure how the parents of 16th December Delhi rape victim would feel about that after coming to know that the rapists pulled out her stomach.
Additionally, no one should criticize the moral police who locked a bunch of school girls and got them killed in Saudi Arabia during a fire breakout just because they weren't dressed "Islamically". We should accept it because its what makes us Muslim.
Unfortunately, I have not found a single passage in Quran and self help books which tell me to accept such things.
peace
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Salam brother Jafar.
Thanks for sharing the nice words of wisdom from various sources. I fully agree with you that the philosophical underpinning of the Qur?an is the one of acceptance ? same as what is taught by Jesus / Siddharta / Lao Tse and all messengers of Allah for that matter. Verily Qur?an teaches us not to differentiate between any of them.
However, acceptance can be of various nature ? active, passive, indifferent, reluctant and so on. I believe Qur?an slightly builds upon the idea of acceptance and recommends a more spontaneous form of acceptance ? namely ?Gratitude?. The verse at the very beginning of Qur?an ? All praise (and thanks) to the Master of the Universe ? gives an upfront declaration of such philosophical position. No wonder the true essence of the word ?kufr? is one of ?ungratefulness? ? and it is against such ungratefulness Qur?an speaks so rigorously throughout.
We humans have an obligation to the One who gave us the gift of life ? its, birth, its nourishment, its sustenance ? that we be grateful and out of that gratitude uphold of inherent sense of right and wrong to lead a righteous life. That is the essence of having faith and acting righteously (amanu wa amalu swalihati) which guarantees the rewards from our Master. Like all other messenger Muhammad (pbuh) was bearer of this good news.
If and when we become fully grateful to Allah ? for not only our happiness and gifts, but also our struggles and challenges ? only then we can overcome all sufferings in this life and the hereafter
4147 What would Allah do with your suffering if you appreciate and you put faith? And Allah happens to be Appreciative, Knowledgeable.
(My personal translation, cross checking is recommended.)
It is all too common to imagine patience (sabr) and gratitude (shukr) to be contradictory to each other ? like one sister is doing in the post above. How can a victim of hideous crime be grateful? Indeed having patience in face of worldly troubles and tortures, and calling upon the Master to increase our strength to remain righteous in face of the troubles and tortures and fight against the troubles and tortures ? is the purest form of acceptance and gratitude. My Master ? let me not break down in face of challenges that come, give me the strength to overcome ? for You are the One we seek help from and You are the One we are slave to. Gratitude is not about thanking our Master for giving us what we desire, gratitude is about thanking our Master for saving us from our weak uncertain desire.
My desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou
save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy has been wrought
into my life through and through.Day by day thou art making me worthy of the simple, great gifts
that thou gavest to me unasked?this sky and the light, this body and
the life and the mind?saving me from perils of overmuch desire.
There are times when I languidly linger and times when I awaken
and hurry in search of my goal; but cruelly thou hidest thyself from
before me.Day by day thou art making me worthy of thy full acceptance by
refusing me ever and anon, saving me from perils of weak, uncertain
desire.(From Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore)
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
Arman -
It is all too common to imagine patience (sabr) and gratitude (shukr) to be contradictory to each other ? like one sister is doing in the post above. How can a victim of hideous crime be grateful?
Thank you for your kind words Arman bro. I suppose you got my point. We can be grateful for little things we have in our lives. Your post describes it all. But if you wish to have a clear understanding of what I was saying you may find this helpful http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?action=post;quote=366207;topic=9607317.0;last_msg=366285 Not diff from what you wrote though.
peace
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Salam Reel.
I am not sure you and I are singing in the same tune here. First of all it seemed to me you misused verse 6112 to claim Qur'an says we cannot take lessons from messengers other than Muhammad. Nowhere does Qur'an imply that Jesus / Siddharta / Lao Tse were enemy to Muhammad. A hadith fan can misuse the same verse to villify those who take a Qur'an only approach! Rather for me the command for not differentiating between messengers is clear and unambiguous. For me Qur'an is clear and unambiguous in saying we must have faith in what was sent down to the messenger as well as what was sent down before him. We cannot have faith in Qur'an on stand-alone basis.
4150 Indeed those who repress (faith) in Allah and His messengers and intend that they differentiate between Allah and His messenger and say, ?We put faith in some and we repress (faith) in others? and intend that they take a path between that ?
4151 They are the ones ? they truly are repressing (faith) and We have prepared a humiliating suffering for the ones who repress (faith).
(My personal translation; cross checking is recommended.)
Secondly, in your specifc post above you questioned whether the philosophy of "acceptance" would appeal to a victim of rape. My clear position is YES it should. If I am victim of a hideous crime towards me or my family, I will not accept the wrongdoing of man and I will protest and prevent the wrongdoing with all my ability, but at the same time I will gratefully accept the fact that my Master has allowed me/chosen me to be the victim of this situation so that I can refine myself through the process of trial and patience. Like Jesus, I would love to sing "Let Thy will be done, on earth as it's in heaven" -for indeed we are for Allah, and indeed to Him we all return.
However, if I really misunderstood your post and you are indeed saying the same thing as I am saying here, then I appologize for my misunderstanding.
May Allah guide us all to the straight route.
Regards,
Arman -
I am not sure you and I are singing in the same tune here. First of all it seemed to me you misused verse 6112 to claim Qur'an says we cannot take lessons from messengers other than Muhammad.
It was directed towards those who remix religion/deen. Not Prophets.
Nowhere does Qur'an imply that Jesus / Siddharta / Lao Tse were enemy to Muhammad.
Misconception. Clarity is provided below. All Prophets came with the same message.
Rather for me the command for not differentiating between messengers is clear and unambiguous.
Yes and since the verse is clear to me also I refrain from choosing one prophet over another to praise. I refrain from saying "this is my fav prophet among all".
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, , "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the destination."2285Secondly, in your specifc post above you questioned whether the philosophy of "acceptance" would appeal to a victim of rape. My clear position is YES it should. If I am victim of a hideous crime towards me or my family, I will not accept the wrongdoing of man and I will protest and prevent the wrongdoing with all my ability, but at the same time I will gratefully accept the fact that my Master has allowed me/chosen me to be the victim of this situation so that I can refine myself through the process of trial and patience.
Unfortunately, the girl is dead. The rape and injury they caused her were responsible for it. Trust me, rape is not easy to accept. That's why certified psychologists are assigned to help them. It can take several years for the psychological trauma to leave. The girl I mentioned went through what no human deserves. They inserted stick inside of them to take out their stomach. The news made me lose my nights of sleep and I am not even from her country. I still get teary eyed when I think about it.
However, if I really misunderstood your post and you are indeed saying the same thing as I am saying here, then I appologize for my misunderstanding.
Its okay. Actually, the discussion was about tradionalists' abuse of the term predestination. If you go back in history you will find that some hadiths were written and credited to Prophet Muhammad to justify torture of the weak. That's, "you shouldn't say anything against the ruler who tortures the commoners because it was in their destiny". Hence I disagreed with
From Quran
The attitude of ACCEPTING.
Acceptance of God's will.
Happiness and peace shall come when you gladfully, gratefully and peacefully accept on everything that has happened, happening or shall happened in the future. Because all of it are God's will.Note that I believe in God's will, but we will go down the path of traditionalists if we accept everything like bots. He has given us the intellect to decide what is right and wrong for a reason. He has made our mind subjective as well as objective. He has given us free will so we can choose for ourselves. And if everything is predestined then why would he warn us about hell and test on this planet?
For me, the concept of God's will is a little different. He works in mysterious ways. Thus, his will shows up in many different forms.
As for Prophets, they all came with the same message. But I can't say that the books we see today are directly from them. I tend to link them to those who wrote them and not the messengers. Example Paul, Matthew, Bukhari, etc. I am very sorry that I didn't include it in my previous posts.
Some people may get confused about the following line I wrote previously.
Thats the doctrine of traditionalists who believe that everything is predestined.
I know it sounds like I am saying that predestination is haram because traditionalists believe in it, they are kaffir and if I accept a single thing from them I will turn into a kaffir too. But no, this is not what I meant. As stated earlier, it was about the abuse of predestination.
peace