Spouce and children as idols
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Indeed the Quran warns strongly that our offspring and wife or husband are a ?Fetnah? (test) of our true Worship. Are we going to become wrapped up in them and be distracted from worshipping God? Consider the following verses
He created you from one person (Adam). Subsequently, He gives every man a mate to find tranquility with her. She then carries a light load that she can hardly notice. As the load gets heavier, they implore GOD their Lord "If You give us a good baby, we will be appreciative. But when He gives them a good baby, they turn His gift into an idol that rivals Him. GOD be exalted, far above any partnership.
Proclaim "If your parents, your children, your siblings, your spouses, your family, the money you have earned, a business you worry about, and the homes you cherish are more beloved to you than GOD and His messenger, and the striving in His cause, then just wait until GOD brings His judgment." GOD does not guide the wicked people.
O you who believe, your spouses and your children can be your enemies; beware.
Your money and children are a test, and GOD possesses a great recompense.
Please take note
The ?Adoration? of God is indeed the greatest love of all. The love of God is the noble driving force behind worshipping Him, upholding His Law and working righteousness to please Him. Those who are true believers love God the most. Others, and to varying degrees, have set up idols whom they love equally if not more. The Quran is very clear in stating that we are not to love any one as we should love God
Yet, some people set up idols to rival GOD, and love them as if they are GOD. Those who believe love GOD the most?
It is indeed the duty of every believer to love his brethren and be tolerant. Moreover, God has created for us our spouses with whom we share love and affection (3021), yet all this love should always be conceived in its true perspective. No matter how much we may love our children, our spouses, or indeed God?s prophets whom He sent with guidance; we should never love them as our love of God. Only the love of God is worthy of being elevated to the state of ?Adoration?. Often there is a very thin line between love and ?Adoration?.
Love everybody and every good thing but adore only God.
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Peace.
Welcome to the forum snowcotton.
I myself have been wondering about this for a while now, and I think to address this issue we must first decide a definition for idolatry, so that it can be avoided even in love of a spouse or child.
One could possibly say that loving somebody 'too much' could be classed as idol worship, but I don't personally think that works, becuase even between different people there will be differences between how much is 'too much', and in loving somebody its just natural to love them alot, thats good for a healthy relationship, so my conclusion at this moment in time is that we musn't love somebody to such an extent that we associate them with some kind of power.
For example, loving a child is fine, but saying that becuase of this new born child your finances are doing well, or there is a lot of happiness in life. Perhaps what the God wants us to do in this situation is to abstain from ascribing any power to the child, by not being superstitious or anything like, or saying that the baby is 'lucky'. The fact that God wants us to accept is that only the God has control over everything.
One other way to think about it could be that we give greater importance to those who we love than God, and this is idolatry. However, I myself tend to disagree, becuase to go to heaven all we are required to do is to believe, and we are not told to have God constantly at the top of our to do list, as many would accept is not possible to do all of the time.
So I think as long as we don't associate our loved ones with some kind of power, we'll still be in the God's good books.
Peace.
Natu on the line. -
Peace,
Thanks for the heart warming welcome, guys!God bless!
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Peace Natu,
Yes, you're right. A simple definition of idol worship is to believe that anything beside God can help us, or to hold something as more important to us than God. Thus if we hold our property (for example) as more important than God /or give our jobs more time and attention than God - we are committing idol worship. Unfortunately, the majority of people who believe in God commit this gross offense without even realizing it.
The majority of those who believe in GOD do not do so without committing idol worship.
This is why we note that one of the most important and most repeated commandments in the Quran is
"O you who believe, you shall remember God frequently; glorify Him day and night."
You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; DO NOT BE UNAWARE
If we love God the most, we strive to be reverent and remember Him alone frequently. However, since we're not immune from Satan and his desperate urge of claiming us, most of us fall into idol worship in one way or another and seeking or pleasing God alone simply becomes lip service.
He said, "Since You have willed that I go astray, I will skulk for them on Your straight path.
"I will come to them from before them, and from behind them, and from their right, and from their left, and You will find that most of them are unappreciative."
Often times, I find myself "preoccupied" in this worldly life, thus distracted me from remembering God. Before I know it, Satan succeded in duping me, making my evil works pleasing to my eyes.
O you who believe, do not be distracted by your money and your children from remembering GOD. Those who do this are the losers.
The devil wants to provoke animosity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling, and to distract you from remembering GOD, and from observing the Contact Prayers (Salat). Will you then refrain?
Yet the Most Gracious, by His infinite mercy inspired me to know my shortcomings and hereby I could immediately ask for forgiviness thereafter before it's too late.
Idolworship is not limited in associate our loved ones with some kind of power. It could also be mean if we subconsciously think that they possess power to make us feel good, happy(benefit) or harm us OTHER THAN GOD. Since, God alone possess all power.
For example, I have a cute child and a beautiful wife. If I preoccupied my mind and give them too much attention INSTEAD of the all powerful, eternal God, I thus commit Idolworship.
O you who believe, your spouses and your children can be your enemies; beware.
This Life is a test. The Human being will tested base on our own weakness.
Thus, I think idolworship or associating any partners to God implies that God alone IS NOT ENOUGH to remember in our mind.
Is GOD not sufficient for His servant? They frighten you with the idols they set up beside Him. Whomever GOD sends astray, nothing can guide him.
May God protect us from worshiping idols.
Recall that Abraham said, "My Lord, ?. protect me and my children from worshiping idols.
Say, "My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.He has no partner. This is what I am commanded to believe, and I am the first to submit." Say, "Shall I seek other than GOD as a lord, when He is the Lord of all things? No soul benefits except from its own works, and none bears the burden of another. Ultimately, you return to your Lord, then He informs you regarding all your disputes."
God bless!