Nearness and Guidance -> Knowledge and Wisdom = Peace and Prosperity
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Peace,
I am going to study salat a bit more in depth as time is ready, but I do not feel Mindfulness is a "term" entirely wrong. As you perhaps know it has connotations on connection, contact and why it is often interpreted "contact prayer" in lack for other terms. Perhaps as difficult to translate as Islam.
God bless you
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Peace,
In case you have not yet noticed it; chapter 4 of Qur'an is mostly about protection and justice. It is the theme of it. God refers to those who do not want to fight as cowards who do not want to stand up for justice when they ought to know that it does not matter if they die or not if they fight for freedom and justice as they will be admitted into Heaven if they believed and were good-doers. And family matters are elaborated upon in the chapter as well and we ought to be kind towards our wives, and even if the ignorant ones say it is okay to beat your wife into obedience it does not suit the theme of this or any other chapter. And those who argue that it is non-conditional polygamy in Islam I wonder where they get this argument from as even in traditional translations this meaning cannot be extracted from it. The surrounding verses in the context about orphans and being righteous towards them busts this myth. We also saw that the best solution would be to have the orphan's mother marry another man without any wife before marrying someone already married. The solution in Qur'an is an "emergency solution", when you cannot be fair to the orphans without marrying their mothers, but most righteous is to be able to be fair to the orphans without marrying their mothers. It is pretty clear.
Something I have philosophized upon is whether it is a marriage contract in traditional regard at all but rather a contract so that conditions are written down on paper so you can treat all with equity due to them not being your "real" children and only orphans of a fallen brother and his widowed wife. Righteous men ought to see that polygamy is not the optimal kind of living and it is hard to be equal towards the wives and it is probably hard on the original wife who married her husband to "share him" with other women. And as God says; it definitely is a good way to avoid financial hardship not to marry additional wives, particularly in the context of doing it for the orphans who likely is an extra financial burden.
And another dilemma we get in continuity when we include polygamy with widowed women is that we know that life is eternal and that the righteous will enter Heaven and then be again with their fallen men. Would they like the scenario that their wife became intimate with another brother after he left the face of the Earth? I would definitely not consider this a righteous situation as if we consider that no one really dies when their apparatus stops working here on Earth but rather go to the next life. It would clearly be like adultery, do you not agree on that? Even if the man is gone from here he is still somewhere waiting for her?
This is why the most righteous is to go hands off the women but enter a care-taking contract to be fair towards the orphans. But even more righteous is to not require a contract at all but simply be fair to them on your own volition.
If I truly loved my wife and the love was returned and then she suddenly died for some reason; I would not re-marry again with a new wife but would patiently wait until my time is due and then reconcile with her in Heaven (God willing). I do believe and I know this is just a temporary illusion and if I have wife and children then I can patiently wait the final years in case she dies before I do. Would she then not qualify for Heaven; God will reimburse me with something I deserve when I enter Heaven (in case I do). Women and children are just tests in this life and if my wife would die I can devote myself 100% in the service of God instead and preach the Message. It is not harder than that.
God bless you
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Chapter 5 walk-through
51 O you who believe, honor your contracts. Made (3) lawful for you are the animals of the livestock, except that which is being recited to you. You are not permitted to hunt the game while you are under restriction. God decrees as He pleases.
52 O you who believe, do not (3) violate the symbols of God, nor the restricted month, nor the donations, nor what is regulated, nor the safety made by the Restricted Sanctuary; for they are seeking a bounty from their Lord and a blessing. And when it is permitted for you, then you may hunt. And let not (-2) the hatred of another people; because they had barred you from the Restricted Temple; make you aggress. And (2) help each other in piety and righteousness, and (-2) do not help each other in sin and aggression. And (1) be aware of God, for the retribution of God is severe.I have a feeling that parts of these verses in this context are not fully understood in any translation I have read so far from any source and I can thus not explain them. May the Lord reveal their true meaning some day. I am not going to guess lest I fall prey to conjecture, so that means I leave important parts unexplained without delving any further into ignorance. Though "some people" consider my elaborations in this thread to be nonsense anyway despite following my best logic and reason available.
53 Forbidden to you is that which is (3) already dead, and the blood, and the meat of pig, and what was dedicated to other than God, and that which has been strangled, and that which has been beaten to death, and that which has fallen from a height, and that which has been gored, and that which the wild animals have eaten from except what you managed to rescue, and what has been slaughtered on altars, and what you divide through arrows of chance. This is vile (seems to belong to the arrows of chance). Today the rejecters have given up from your system, so do not be concerned by them, but be concerned by Me. Today (3) I have perfected your system for you, and completed My blessings upon you, and I have (3) approved submission as the system for you. So, whoever is forced by severe hunger and not seeking sin, then God is Forgiving, Merciful.
What is so hard to understand in what I have preached earlier in this thread? Basically (1) believe, submit to God, serve Him and (2) do good deeds. That is what Islam is about; find wholeness and a balance (in the Force (for Star Wars fans , even George Lucas got it right without knowing).
54 They ask you what was made lawful to them, say ?All the good things have been made lawful for you, and what the trained dogs and birds catch, you teach them from what God teaches you.? So eat from what they have captured for you and mention the name of God upon it, and (1) be aware of God. God is swift in reckoning.
And they say dogs are "haraam", but it is okay to use to catch the game where they probably touch the animal which by traditional logic would render the animal "haraam". It does not add up. And the "Sleepers of the Cave" had a dog with them inside and it lived with them. Righteous people of the past used dogs but so not righteous "Muslims".
56 O you who believe, if you rise to hold the Mindfulness, then wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles; and if you have had intercourse, then you shall purify. And if you are ill, or traveling, or you have excreted feces, or you have had sexual contact with the women, and you cannot not find water, then you shall select from the clean soil; you shall wipe your faces and your hands with it. God does not want to place any hardship on you, but He wants to cleanse you and to complete His blessings upon you that you may be thankful.
This kind of cleansing is historically very widespread, although I feel that the interpretation is not completely accurate. I still consider that this kind of ablution has some kind of function of being spiritually clean through basic hygiene that you may more easily keep Mindfulness. I have for the better part of my life had a problem that I feel unclean over relatively short time span unless I wash myself frequently and I do not know if it has any connection to this and without cleaning myself I could never concentrate on God. No intention to brag about Faith but well... I suppose you get the hint. Anyway, test improving your hygiene on your own and see if it has any benefits for you and see for yourself I would say; God definitely does not talk against it.
57 And remember the blessings of God over you and His covenant that He has bound you with, for which you have said ?We hear and obey,? and (1) be aware of God; for God knows what is in the chests.
58 O you who believe, stand for God and (2) be witnesses for justice, and let not the hatred towards a people make you avoid being just. (2) Be just, for it is closer to righteousness, and (1) be aware of God. God is expert over what you do.The theme of chapter 4 is very well confirmed here and giving a good hint at the Message of God.
59 God has promised those who (1) believe and (2) do good works that they will have forgiveness and a great recompense.
Why do you think that this phrase always follows verses which talk about the instructions of the Message where good is advocated? It is obviously criteria which are regarded as the foundation of whole Islam. Right before this elaboration on the Realm information (3) God turns to talk about Righteousness (2) and then ends off with the (1) believe and (2) do good phrase. By now even by investigating only a few chapters it is pretty obvious what the foundation of the Message is.
I knew all this before I started studying Qur'an, but my Faith was strengthened and I became more knowledgeable and wise once I stumbled across Qur'an. Qur'an cannot cause all good in the world without proper Guidance. But the Message is very simple and it is as simple as I thought before I started to study Qur'an I have come to realize. It is this simplicity that I wish to make people aware of and not to complicate things and follow (1), (2) and (3) from the Knowledge and Wisdom God teaches. God has warned the people before. Basically take from what is good and avoid what is bad; so it has always been. Serve the Lord and work righteousness through good deeds and behavior. Are the good examples narrated about the Messengers of old not enough for you? Islam narrowed down = Good vs. Evil.
We cut it there for tonight.
God bless you
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Fascinating post Man of Faith. Good effort apart from some translations of words which I don't agree with however you've already pointed that out and I enjoyed reading that. Your point with the dogs is also something I strongly hold too . A good read might be this. As you said believing in God and doing good deeds is the foundation of submission and giving yourself up completely to God, but we also have mumins
http//www.free-minds.org/mumins
Well done.
peace
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Peace,
Which words are not right? I suspect "contracts" to be improperly understood based on the context. It is likely meaning to uphold the Covenant of God, to make the verses coherent.
Do you mean the ablution? Or Mindfulness? I have thought of the inclusion of clean soil in the ablution to be strange, but in fact sand is okay to make hands clean at least. Mindfulness must be some meditative or prayer-like activity, but not the traditional "Muslim" way but something more focused as you need to know what you are saying.
Meat of pig is among the most controversial topics but it has not been proven to be wrong so far. I have instinctively avoided pig from my childhood so it might be something about it. The Bible prohibits pig even if most Christians seem to ignore the fact it is in the Old Testament.
Well, it is good that we discuss our Wholeness Islam. But most important is that we believe and work righteousness.
Mumins are simply people who have reached the point of absolute certainty and they have all three parameters of Faith Nearness and Guidance, Knowledge and Wisdom and Peace and Prosperity.
God bless you
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Move on from Chapter 5 verse 10
510 And those who reject and deny Our revelations, they are the dwellers of Hell. - Monotheist Translation rev 2013
Here I agree with other translations which refer to "ayatina" as signs rather than revelations in this case, and that is everything that God ever presented of the Message to Messengers of old and the Messenger of Qur'an. Anyway, those who reject the simple Message we have been going through the past posts of mine are amongst these people who do not heed the prescribed good work and behavior. They have missed the foundation of the Message and thus have a (-3) and not so little of (-3), but that is probably reflected of a hypocritical and lack of Faith (-1), and it is not only me claiming that but God pretty clearly expressing that and it is the same no matter which translation of Qur'an I use if you carefully examine it, except that traditional translations tend to twist the passages to fit the dogma. Without Faith (-1) then you will receive no Guidance and thus no Realm knowledge (-3) and the whole chain falters (-1, -2, -3). It is also quite expressly elaborated by God in Qur'an without my assistance.
512 God has taken the covenant of the Children of Israel and raised from them twelve representatives, and God said ?I am with you if you hold the (1) Mindfulness / Contact Prayer, and contribute towards Purification, and (3) believe in My messengers, and (2) support them, and lend God a loan of righteousness; then I will cancel your sins and admit you into estates with rivers flowing beneath them.? Whoever rejects after this from you, then he has strayed from the path.
Compare the two choices of translation of the words and it all depends on one's preference, I prefer to call it by a word that refers to the mind although the word is a definite noun and has a connotation to Connection / Contact of course in a spiritual way. But since God is not a neanderthal god it has to be an intellectual exchange that is presumed to be established once commencing operation, and you need to know what you are saying
443 O you who believe, do not come near the contact prayer while you are intoxicated, until you know what you are saying. Nor if you...
Of course I would agree in case you say that the word Mindfulness sounds a bit awkward, but it still gives a better connotation than "Contact Prayer" in my humble opinion. "Salah/Salat" is quite a special word just like Islam and it likely difficult to get a decent translation into English. But the word by applying logic ought to mean establish a link or connection to God on a regular basis in the context of Qur'an, and you need to know what you are saying while doing it which has to mean that it is an intellectual exchange. Possibly it might be that you say things which you may regret later and seem disrespectful.
The intention you bond with God and try to absorb the Holy Spirit is that you want to grow spiritually and thus you can do by the Mindfulness; it ought to be like a data uplink straight to God which boosts you with positive energy. That you add words to that likely has a rhetorical purpose because it is more serious in that kind of expression that simply think something towards God. God gave us the tongue too and He hears us if we use that tool.
Okay. That was a bit of philosophical thinking regarding Mindfulness. Agree or not agree; something must be interesting to read, but as long as you are (1) mindful of God, believe in Him (2) while working righteousness by performing good actions and showing good behavior you are fine.
The traditional translation/understanding is off that chart at least; I mean, God repeats that a special type of ritualistic charity is to be paid numerous times throughout Qur'an. It does not make sense in my opinion, and the same kind of prayer activity with counting of prostrations instead of channeling in on God. Then we are on the neanderthal level again.
513 But because of them (-2, -3) breaking their Covenant, We have cursed them, and made their hearts become hardened; they (-3) take the words out of context; and they forgot much of what they were reminded of. And you will still discover betrayal in them except for a few; so pardon them and overlook; God loves the good doers.
"Muslims" too have broken the Covenant and thus you see what has happened as of today.
516 God guides with it whoever follows His acceptance, to the (2) ways of peace; and it brings them out of the darkness and into the light with His permission; and it guides them to a straight path.
Is the Message still unclear after these obvious verses? Well. I will continue in case that some people still cannot heed the Message.
517 Rejecters indeed are those who have said (-3) ?God is the Messiah, son of Mary.? Say ?Who has any power against God if He had wanted to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother, and all who are on the earth!? And to God is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that is in-between; He creates what He pleases. God is capable of all things.
Unfortunately it does not seem like those who believe Jesus to be God's son will have any forgiveness if they die in this belief. It is further clarified in other verses that God does not forgive this association.
518 And the Jews and the Nazarenes said (-3) ?We are the children of God, and His loved ones.? Say ?Then why does He punish you for your (-2) sins?? No, you are merely human beings which He has created. He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases. And to God is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that is in-between, and to Him is the destiny.
Also this punishment has turned a lot of people away from God when they think that there exists no god because there is so much evil in the world and they are exposed to so much evil. It is the opposite evil chain and tragic spiral which happens when you go minus on the 1, 2, 3 steps I explained in this thread. The "Muslims" in the world cannot see that this is why they are exposed to so much evil too.
519 O followers of the Message, Our messenger has come to clarify for you after a lack of messengers; so that you cannot say ?No bearer of good news or warner has come to us;? for a bearer of good news and a warner has come to you; and God is capable of all things.
And I try to clarify for you without any physical book other than what is already with me.
535 O you who believe, (1) be aware of God and (1) seek a way to Him, and (2) strive in His cause; that you may succeed.
538 As for the thief, both male and female, you shall cut from their resources ? as a penalty for what they have earned ? to be made an example of from God. God is Noble, Wise.
Traditional translations call for the cutting of the hand here which would seem inappropriate and investigators from this forum have found the same word usage in the verse with the women who say Joseph which most likely did not cut their own hands. No it is no barbaric punishments here. Anyway, the verse follows with
539 Whoever repents after his wrongdoing and amends, then God will accept his repentance. God is Forgiving, Merciful.
So the thief ought to be able to be pardoned if he repents after his crime too. And forgiving is more righteous in the eyes of God (take no literal interpretation of my words please).
541 O messenger, do not be saddened by those who increase in disbelief from among those who said ?We believe? with their mouths while their hearts did not believe. And from among those who are Jewish (and "Muslims", there are those who listened to lies; they listened to people who never came to you; they distort the words from their context, and they say ?If you are given this, then take it, but if you are given anything different, then beware!? And whoever God wants to test, then you will not possess anything for him against God. These are the ones whose hearts God did not want to cleanse; in this world they will have humiliation, and in the Hereafter they will have a great retribution.
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 (and Qur'an), in which there is the judgment of God; then they turn away after that. Those are not believers.Do you not see a parallel to what happens today? Just insert and it fits the context beautifully. But people do not even care to analyze the passages of their scripture.
544 We have sent down the Torah, in it is a Guidance and a Light; the prophets who have submitted judged with it for those who are Jewish, and the Devotees, and the Priests, for what they were entrusted of the Message of God, and they were witness over. So do not be concerned with the people but be concerned with Me; and do not purchase with My signs a cheap price. And whoever does not judge with what God has sent down, then these are the rejecters.
That old Message is still valid and practically the same as Qur'an which is a reminder. What is so hard to understand?
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.
Check up on the Gospel of the Bible and you see Jesus elaborating on that Message. Forgiving is better than seeking revenge. Just because God gave the right to equally damage the culprit does not mean you need to give it back. It might be more righteous to forgive.
546 And We sent in their footsteps Jesus, son of Mary, authenticating what was present with him of the Torah. And We gave him the Gospel, in it is a Guidance and a Light, and authenticating what was present with him of the Torah, and a Guidance and a Lesson for the Righteous.
You can see for yourself what Jesus' lesson was if you study the Injeel, and traces of that story within Qur'an. An intelligent man/woman can extract much Knowledge and Wisdom even from the corrupted texts of the New Testament. My conclusion is that Jesus came with some news and warnings and elaborated on the so-called "Mosaic Law" and showed that you can apply your heart and brain in interpreting the Message too; not be like a very literal neanderthal human. God equipped us with a brain for a reason, rarely are we appreciative. Otherwise it has always been the same old Message...
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.
Can you extract any other meaning than that the Message is practically the same or God would not let people follow the Gospel? ONE MESSAGE
548 And We have sent down to you the (3) Message with the Truth, authenticating what is between your hands of the Message and superseding it. So judge between them by what God has sent down, and do not follow their desires from what has come to you of the Truth. For each of you We have made laws, and a structure; and if God had willed, He would have made you all one nation, but He tests you with what He has given you; (2) so strive to do good. To God you will return all of you, and He will inform you regarding that in which you dispute.
549 And judge between them by what God has sent down, and do not follow their desires, and beware lest they divert you away from some of what God has sent down to you. If they turn away, then know that God wants to inflict them with some of their sins; and many of the people are wicked.The Message is practically intact apart from a few differences as you can easily spot in Qur'an. However, the foundation of the Faith remains the same, (1) believe while (2) working righteousness. If you mock, oppress, murder and kill each other because of your (minor) differences then you did not understand it and fell in a great trap. By not follow their desires means all the conjecture that floods the groups. So clear God repeats the same phrase twice.
562 And you see many of them hasten to sin and transgression and consuming money illicitly. Miserable indeed is what they were doing.
I did not copy-paste the verses in between this and the previous ones as 562 explains what they do wrong.
563 If only the Devotees and Priests had prohibited them for speaking evil and consuming money illicitly. Miserable indeed is what they have done.
564 And the Jews said ?The hand of God is tied-down!? Their hands will be tied-down, and they will be cursed for what they have said. No, His hands are wide open spending as He wills. And for many of them, what has been sent down to you will increase them in rebellion and rejection; and We have cast between them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they ignite the fire of war, God puts it out; and they seek to make corruption in the land; and God does not love the corrupters.Unfortunately I have heard/read similar phrases to this in real life by some cleric.
565 And if the followers of the Message only had (1) believed and been aware, We would have cancelled for them their sins and admitted them to gardens of bliss.
566 And if they had upheld the Torah and the Gospel (and the Qur'an), and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would have been rewarded from above them and from beneath their feet. From among them is a pious nation, but most of them only do evil.568 Say ?O followers of the Message, you are not upon anything until you uphold the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to you from your Lord.? And for many of them, what was sent down to you from your Lord will only increase them in transgression and rejection. So do not feel sorry for the rejecting people.
569 Surely (1) those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Sabians, and the Nazarenes (and the Muslims), whoever of them (1) believes in God and (3) the Last Day and (2) does good works; then they will have nothing to fear nor will they grieve.Uphold the ONE MESSAGE. The Messengers go on and on about the same Message but most people keep rejecting. How many times to I have to highlight these verses?
571 And they did not consider it might be a test, so they were blind and deaf. But God would have accepted the repentance from them; but many of them were still blind and deaf. God is Seer over what they do.
572 Rejecters indeed are those who have said ?God is the Messiah, son of Mary.? And the Messiah said ?O Children of Israel, (1) serve God, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever sets up partners with God, then God will restrict the Paradise from him, and his destiny will be the Fire; and the wicked will have no supporters.?Add Muhammad to the example and it is the same in this case except they do not call him son but he is darn close to it.
577 Say ?O people of the Book, do not overstep in your system other than the Truth, and do not follow the desires of a people who have been misguided before, and they misguide many; and they strayed from the right path.?
Except that a modern Message would be changed slightly the text in red is still as valid as 1400 years ago in a situation we have.
587 O you who believe, do not make unlawful the good things that God has made lawful to you, and do not aggress; God does not love the aggressors.
590 O you who believe, alcohol, and gambling, and altars, and arrows of chance are tainted - by the work of the devil. You shall avoid him so that you may be successful.
591 The devil only wants to cause strife between you through alcohol and gambling, and to repel you away from remembering God and from the Mindfulness. Will you be deterred?It is the consequences of these activities which is the bad thing as highlighted above. You see yourself that your mind is clouded and you are not mindful when you are high like a skyscraper.
599 The messenger is only to deliver. And God knows what you reveal and what you conceal.
5100 Say ?The bad and the good are not equal, even if the abundance of the bad impresses you.? (1) So be aware of God, O you who possess intelligence, that you may succeed.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.?
A link to seek inspiration from God it ought to mean.
5109 The Day God will gather the messengers and He will say ?What was the response you received?? They said ?We have no knowledge, You are the Knower of all the unseen.?
5110 God said ?O Jesus, son of Mary, recall My blessings upon you and your mother, that I supported you with the Holy Spirit; you spoke to the people in the cradle and middle-age; and I taught you the Knowledge and the Wisdom, and the Torah, and the Gospel; and you would create from clay the shape of a bird, then blow into it and it becomes a bird with My permission; and you would heal the blind and the leaper with My permission; and you would bring out the dead with My permission. And I have restrained the Children of Israel from you, that you came to them with proofs; but those who rejected among them said ?This is clearly magic!??
5111 ?And I inspired the disciples ?You shall believe in Me and My messenger;? they said ?We believe, and bear witness that we have submitted.??It came as inspiration to them through the Holy Spirit. Inspiration is something that may come with As-Salat/Contact Prayer/Mindfulness/Connection/Uplink/(verbal) Meditation(?). Have you not read in the passages that as soon as some Blessed People of old connected to God there came an Angel/Controller to them with a Message or through pure (divine) inspiration? God does not speak to them directly; only to Moses He did, but anyone can become a "mouth of God".
5117 (Jesus) ?I only said to them what You commanded me to say, that (1, 2, 3) you shall serve God my Lord and your Lord; and I was witness over them as long as I was with them, but when You terminated my life, You were watcher over them. You are witness over all things.?
Muhammad does not know anything about what is going on for us either nor can he intercede.
5118 (Jesus) ?If You punish them, then they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, then You are the Noble, the Wise.?
5119 God will say ?This is a Day when the truth will benefit the truthful; they will have estates with rivers flowing beneath them, abiding therein eternally; God has become pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. Such is the greatest victory.?
5120 To God is the Sovereignty of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them; and He is capable of all things.569 Surely (1) those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Sabians, and the Nazarenes (and the Muslims), whoever of them (1) believes in God and (3) the Last Day and (2) does good works; then they will have nothing to fear nor will they grieve.
Please! Understand the Message!
May God bless you
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Chapter 6 analysis
61 Praise be to God who has created the heavens and the earth, and Who made the darkness and the light; (-1) yet those who have rejected their Lord continue to deviate.
62 He is the One who has created you from clay, then He decreed a period of time for you; a time only known by Him. (-1) Yet you still deny.
63 And He is God in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secrets and what you reveal; and He knows what you earn.
64 (-1) And every sign that came to them from their Lord, they turned away from it.
65 (-1) They have denied the Truth when it came to them. The news will ultimately come to them of what they were mocking.When God talks about rejection in Qur'an we can ask ourselves what God really means and verses hint that people simply reject that God created us and not that we reject a lot of religious conjectural rituals such as the contact prayer a 'la "Muslims". I stand by that God says (1) Believe while performing (2) good deeds and show good behavior and moral character, and that it is the substance of the Message. But the verses here, and the following verses after these, do primarily talk to the big crowd of people who entirely reject God and deny His existence while indulging in this life without heeding God or being good.
66 Did they not see how many generations We have destroyed before them? We granted them dominance over the land more than what We granted you, and We sent the sky to them abundantly, and We made rivers flow beneath them; then, (-2) We destroyed them for their sins, and established after them a new generation.
And their disbelief was reflected in whatever they did in terms of sins.
629 And (-1, -3) they had said ?There is only this worldly life, and we will not be resurrected!?
630 And if you could see them when they are standing at their Lord; He said ?Is this not the truth?? They said ?Yes, by our Lord,? He said ?Then taste the retribution for what you have rejected.?
631 Losers are those who have denied their meeting with God; until the Hour comes to them suddenly, then they say ?We deeply regret that which we have wasted in it,? and they will carry their burdens on their backs; miserable indeed is their burden.
632 (3) And the worldly life is nothing more than play and distraction, and the abode of the Hereafter is far better for those who are righteous. Do you not comprehend?648 And We do not send the messengers except as bearers of good news and warners; whoever (1) believes, and (2) does good, then there is no fear for them nor will they grieve.
670 Leave alone those who have taken their system for play and distraction, and this worldly life has tempted them. And remind with it that a soul will suffer for what it has earned, it will not have besides God any supporter nor intercessor; and even if it brings all justice, none will be accepted from it. These are the ones who have suffered with what they have earned; for them will be a boiling drink, and a painful retribution for what they had rejected.
The example of Abraham
674 And Abraham said to his father, Azar ?Will you take statues as gods? I see you and your people are clearly misguided.?
675 And it is such that We showed Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so that he will be of those who have certainty.
676 When the night covered him, he saw a planet, and he said ?This is my Lord.? But when it disappeared he said ?I do not like those who disappear.?
677 So when he saw the moon rising, he said ?This is my Lord.? But when it disappeared he said ?If my Lord does not guide me, then I will be among the wicked people!?
678 So when he saw the sun rising, he said ?This is my Lord, this is bigger.? But when it disappeared he said ?My people, I am innocent of what you have set up.?
679 ?I shall turn my face to the One who initiated the heavens and the earth, in monotheism, and I am not of the polytheists.?Abraham understood that God was One by applying his own logic and once he realized this fact he submitted to the Lord. It is much like my own experience in my younger years when I contemplated our existence and understood that there must be a Creator without following the religions. Abraham had no Torah, Gospel or Qur'an available when he worked this out and verily it does take no book to realize that God is One. And when he had understood and actively believed then God guided him since he had sought God's Nearness and Guidance and he as seen in the subsequent verse became a Messenger
680 And his people debated with him. He said ?Do you debate with me regarding God, when He has guided me? I do not fear that which you have set up except if my Lord wills; my Lord encompasses all things in knowledge; will you not remember??
681 ?And how can I possibly fear what you have set up; yet you do not fear that you have set up partners with God, for which He has not sent down upon you any authority! So which of our two groups is more worthy of security if you know??
682 Those who (1) believe and (2) do not confound their belief with wrongdoing; they will have security, and they are guided.
683 And such was Our argument that We gave Abraham over his people; We raise the degree of whom We please. Your Lord is Wise, Knowledgeable.What more is the Message about other than what was elaborated from the example of Abraham? (1) Believe and (2) do good. It is that simple.
688 Such is the guidance of God, He guides with it whom He pleases of His servants. And if they set up partners, then all that they had worked would fall away from them.
691 And they did not appreciate God as He deserves to be appreciated, for they said ?God has never sent down anything to any human being.? Say ?Who then has sent down the Book which Moses had come with, a light and a guidance for the people? You treat it simply as paper for display, and you conceal much; and you were taught what neither you nor your fathers knew.? Say ?God has.? Then leave them playing in their folly.
Do you not get a funny parallel to Qur'an?
693 And who is more wicked than he who invents lies about God, or says ?It has been inspired to me,? when We did not inspire anything to him; or who says ?I will bring down the same as what God has sent down.? And if you could only see the wicked at the moments of death when the angels have their arms opened ?Bring yourselves out, today you will be given the severest punishment for what you used to say about God without truth, and you used to be arrogant towards His revelations.?
6104 ?Visible proofs have come to you from your Lord; so whoever can see, does so for himself, and whoever is blinded, will be such. I am not a watcher over you.?
6105 It is thus that We dispatch the signs and that they may say ?You have studied,? and We will make it clear for a people who know.
6106 Follow what is inspired to you from your Lord; there is no god except He, and turn away from the polytheists.The Messenger's role is to make people believe by being a sign himself or through what inspiration from God he comes with.
6108 And do not insult those who call on other than God, lest they insult God out of ignorance. And We have similarly adorned for every nation their works; then to their Lord is their return and He will inform them of what they had done.
Important to know that we should not make fun of those who call upon Jesus or Muhammad, or other idols.
6114 ?Shall I seek other than God as a judge when He has sent down to you the Book/(Knowledge) fully detailed?? Those to whom We have given the Book/(Knowledge) know it is sent down from your Lord with the Truth; so do not be of those who have doubt.
6115 And the word of your Lord has been completed with truth and justice; there is no changing His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
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.6126 And this is the straight path of your Lord. We have fully detailed the revelations to a people who remember.
What God has commanded
6151 Say ?Come let me recite what your Lord has made unlawful for you (-1) that you should not set up anything with Him - and (2) do good to your parents; and (-2) do not kill your children for fear of poverty, We provide for you and for them; and (-2) do not come near immorality, what is public of it and private; and (-2) do not take the life which God has made forbidden, except in justice. That is what He enjoined you that you may comprehend.?
6152 ?And do not come near the money of the orphan, except for what is best, until he reaches his independence; and give honestly full measure and weight equitably. We do not burden a soul except with what it can bear, and if you speak then (2) be just even if against a relative; and regarding the pledges made to God, you shall observe them. This He has enjoined you that you may remember.?
6153 And (3) this is My path, a straight one. ?So follow it, and do not follow the other paths lest they divert you from His path. That is what He has enjoined you to that you may be righteous.?
6154 Then We gave Moses the Book/Knowledge, to complete for those who do right, and to fully detail all things, and a Guide and Mercy (3) that they may believe in the meeting of their Lord.What is the purpose of the Message, huh?
6155 And this is a Book/Knowledge that We have sent down which is blessed, so follow it and be aware, that you may receive mercy.
6156 Lest you say ?The Book/Knowledge was only sent down to two groups before us, and we were unaware of their study!?
6157 Or you say ?If the Book/Knowledge was sent to us we would have been more guided than they!? Clarity has come to you from your Lord, and a Guidance and a Mercy. Who is more wicked than he who denies the signs of God and turns away from them? We will punish those who turn away from Our signs with the pain of retribution for what they turned away.6159 Those who have divided their system and become sects, you are not with them in anything. Their matter will be with God, then He will inform them of what they had done.
What has not happened? And they claim that we have divided into another sect while we only proclaim the Truth and are Muslims.
6160 Whoever comes with a (2) good deed, he will receive ten times its worth, and whoever (-2) comes with a sin, he will only be recompensed its like; they will not be wronged.
6161 Say ?My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright system, the creed of Abraham the monotheist; he was not of the polytheists.?
6162 Say ?My Bonding, and my rites, and my life, and my death, are all to God, Lord of the worlds.?
6163 ?He has NO partner, and it is to this that I was commanded, and I am the first of those who have submitted.?
6164 Say ?Shall I seek other than God as a Lord when He is the Lord of everything?? And every soul earns what is for it, and none will carry the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return and He will inform you of what you disputed in.
6165 And He is the One who made you inheritors on the earth, and He raised some of you over others in grades, to test you with what He had given you. Your Lord is swift to punishment, and He is Forgiving, Merciful. -
Peace,
Which words are not right? I suspect "contracts" to be improperly understood based on the context. It is likely meaning to uphold the Covenant of God, to make the verses coherent.
Do you mean the ablution? Or Mindfulness? I have thought of the inclusion of clean soil in the ablution to be strange, but in fact sand is okay to make hands clean at least. Mindfulness must be some meditative or prayer-like activity, but not the traditional "Muslim" way but something more focused as you need to know what you are saying.
Meat of pig is among the most controversial topics but it has not been proven to be wrong so far. I have instinctively avoided pig from my childhood so it might be something about it. The Bible prohibits pig even if most Christians seem to ignore the fact it is in the Old Testament.
Well, it is good that we discuss our Wholeness Islam. But most important is that we believe and work righteousness.
Mumins are simply people who have reached the point of absolute certainty and they have all three parameters of Faith Nearness and Guidance, Knowledge and Wisdom and Peace and Prosperity.
God bless you
Peace Man Of Faith,
I was more meaning your following translation
52 O you who believe, do not violate the symbols of God, nor the restricted month, nor the donations, nor what is regulated, nor the safety made by the Restricted Sanctuary; for they are seeking a bounty from their Lord and a blessing. And when it is permitted for you, then you may hunt. And let not the hatred of another people; because they had barred you from the Restricted Temple; make you aggress. And help each other in piety and righteousness, and (-2) do not help each other in sin and aggression. And be aware of God, for the retribution of God is severe.
I would say that the translations of Restricted Sanctuary and Restricted Temple are not correct (cross reference occurences in all verses of the Quran and you'll see it doesn't fit very well). I'd recommend reading Ayman's explanation on these meanings or the excellent article Wakas has written for us.
http//mypercept.co.uk/articles/meaning-masjid-al-haram-Quran.html
Peace peace
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Peace,
Okay. Well, I left them unexplained and translated according to Monotheist Translation, but I have my own thoughts regarding them. It is not utterly important in my elaboration on our Faith and you see how simple Islam is.
There is no Mecca we can travel to anyway. It is crowded with idolaters.
EDIT God blessed me with understanding immediately and I saw that it is related to the Qiblah you heard me talking about before. Of course it is related to the direction of Faith as already previously known by me. Thanks for highlighting it.
God bless you
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Man Of Faith I meant no harm in just pointing it out. I am simply just making a point about the translation was all. I was not intending to divert the discussion from the number of posts you've so kindly wrote. Don't get offended by it (or I hope you haven't anyway).
I've been studying the Qur'an long enough to know that submission to the Creator is simple. The God has made our system of life easy and hasn't put any hardship upon following the rules. It's up to us if we decide to follow it simply, or rebel against it and cause conflict within ourselves.
Qiblah is simple a direction or focal point. You shall direct yourself to the truth from your Lord. Al masjid al haram IS the truth made evident in the verses of the reading. You'll also learn a few home truths about Mecca along your studies if you study deep enough and include some archaeological research in your searching. Good luck and continue to post your good work.
Peace out peace
Peace,
Okay. Well, I left them unexplained and translated according to Monotheist Translation, but I have my own thoughts regarding them. It is not utterly important in my elaboration on our Faith and you see how simple Islam is.
There is no Mecca we can travel to anyway. It is crowded with idolaters.
EDIT God blessed me with understanding immediately and I saw that it is related to the Qiblah you heard me talking about before. Of course it is related to the direction of Faith as already previously known by me. Thanks for highlighting it.
God bless you
-
Man Of Faith I meant no harm in just pointing it out. I am simply just making a point about the translation was all. I was not intending to divert the discussion from the number of posts you've so kindly wrote. Don't get offended by it (or I hope you haven't anyway).
I've been studying the Qur'an long enough to know that submission to the Creator is simple. The God has made our system of life easy and hasn't put any hardship upon following the rules. It's up to us if we decide to follow it simply, or rebel against it and cause conflict within ourselves.
Qiblah is simple a direction or focal point. You shall direct yourself to the truth from your Lord. Al masjid al haram IS the truth made evident in the verses of the reading. You'll also learn a few home truths about Mecca along your studies if you study deep enough and include some archaeological research in your searching. Good luck and continue to post your good work.
Peace out peace
Peace,
Yeah. I am involved in a lot of the studies of the origins of the Middle-Eastern history and then particularly the "religious" part. You may know that I already did not interpret Qiblah as a prayer direction but rather as the focus on the Faith itself. It is thus accurate that "al-Masjid al-haram" must in conjunction with Qiblah mean the current "submission" system of God. Read that together with the "symbols of God" or alternatively the "signs" which the symbols can indicate.
My current research is on how Zoroastrianism is related to "Islam" and why it is by no means mentioned in Qur'an (which is actually is but under another term), and also misconceptions about Zoroastrianism due to the current state of that "creed". It has not always been a polytheism according to my studies but like most other "followers of the Message" have diverted away from the path. Ahl al-kitab in my studies rather indicate "followers of the Message" rather than most other people believe it as and means those who practically follow the "Abrahamic" creed as it is usually referred to as, apparently even by God Himself as seen earlier in this thread
6161 Say ?My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright system, the creed of Abraham the monotheist; he was not of the polytheists.?
It was bookless at that time and I cannot comprehend that kitab can thus translate into book as we know it, but at best Knowledge, Message or Information as I have tried to indicate earlier in this thread.
Al masjid al haram IS the truth made evident in the verses of the reading
I am not going to argue against that. Focal point of the submission system to God. You should have that in every home that is righteous.
I will get back to the analysis of chapter 7, God willing, later tonight. The intention I have in this thread is to prove the title of the thread that Islam is only about what was in the circular diagram presented earlier and not entirely to show how much superior in Knowledge I am. God guides, I can only highlight the simple Truth as a servant and it is up to the other part to understand or not. And since I started I have understood that you can even narrow down the Faith into two criteria if you really try although some Knowledge in (3) is somehow "practical" to know, but (1) believe, (3) knowing that you will be held responsible, while (2) working righteousness through good deeds and behavior is still the main criteria. If you know 1 and 2 you obviously already believe in 3... of course(?). That you will be held responsible is the most important criterion of the Realm part, really.
God bless you
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Let us proceed with chapter 7
72 A Message that has been sent down to you, so let there not be any burden in your chest from it, that you may warn with it; and a reminder to the believers.
73 Follow what was sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow besides Him any supporters. Little do you remember!78 And the balance on that Day will be the Truth. So, those whose weights are heavy on the balance, those are the successful ones.
Why some people fail
712 (God) He said ?What has prevented you from yielding when I have ordered you?? He (Shaytaan) said ?I am far better than him, You created me from fire and created him from clay!?
Do you not feel the same arrogance in certain people?
728 And if they commit immorality, they say ?We found our fathers doing such, and God ordered us to it.? Say ?God does not order immorality! Do you say about God what you do not know??
Something that some people should consider with all the crazy flow of hadith in the "Muslim" world.
729 Say (2) ?My Lord orders justice, and (1) that you set yours faces at every temple, and that you call on Him, (2) while being faithful to Him in the system; as He initiated you, so you will return.?
730 A group He has guided and a group have deserved misguidance; that is because they have taken the devils as allies besides God; and they think they are guided!
Why do you think they deserved misguidance? Yes, you guess it right, they committed evil and did not do good, righteous deeds.
733 Say ?My Lord has made unlawful immorality; what is public of it and private; and sin, and aggression without cause, and that you set up partners with God that which He has never authorized, and that you say about God what you do not know.?
735 O Children of Adam, when messengers come to you from among yourselves and tell to you My Signs; (1) then for those who are aware, and upright, there will be no fear over them nor will they grieve.
736 As for those who reject Our Signs, and become arrogant towards them; then these are the dwellers of the Fire, in it they will abide?
737 Who is more wicked than he who invents lies about God, or denies His Signs? These will receive their recompense from the record; so that when Our messengers come to terminate their lives, they will say ?Where are those whom you used to call on besides God?? They said ?They have abandoned us!? And they bore witness upon themselves that they were rejecters.740 Those who have denied Our Signs, and became arrogant towards them, the gates of the heavens will not open for them, nor will they enter the Paradise until the camel passes through the eye of a needle. It is such that We recompense the criminals.
Will some people turn arrogant towards these highlights out of the Message?
But the Believers, i.e those who believe and do good
742 As for those who (1) believe and (2) do good; We do not burden a soul except with what it can bear; those are the dwellers of the Paradise, in it they will abide.
743 And We removed what was in their chests of hate; rivers will flow beneath them; and they will say ?Praise be to God who has guided us to this, and we would not have been guided unless God guided us. The messengers of our Lord had come with the Truth.? And it was called to them ?This is the Paradise; you have inherited it for what you have done.?They became peaceful because they sought God's Nearness and Guidance and thus escalated. They became close to Him.
752 And We have come to them with a Message which We have detailed with knowledge; a Guidance and a Mercy to those who believe.
755 Call on your Lord in humility and in secret (?!). He does not like the aggressors.
756 And do not corrupt the earth after it has been made right; and call on Him fearing and hoping. Surely the mercy of God is near the righteous.Note that most people translate the first part of the verse as "in secret" which implies that Salat may be something private much like Jesus advocates in the Bible's Gospel.
Noah's Messengership's aim
759 We had sent Noah to his people, so he said (1) ?My people, serve God, you have no god besides Him. I fear for you the retribution of a great Day!
760 The leaders from his people said ?We see that you are clearly misguided.?
761 He said ?My people, I am not misguided, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds.?
762 ?I deliver to you (3) the messages of my Lord, and I advise you, and I know from God what you do not know.?
763 ?Are you surprised that a (3) reminder has come to you from your Lord through a man from among you to warn you, that you may be (2) righteous, and that you may receive mercy??Hud
765 And to ?Aad We sent their brother Hud, he said ?My people, (1) serve God, you have no god besides Him. (2) Will you not be righteous??
766 The leaders who rejected from among his people said ?We see you in foolishness, and we think you are one of the liars?
767 He said ?My people, there is no foolishness in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds.?
768 ?To deliver to you the messages of my Lord, and to you I am a trustworthy advisor.?
769 ?Are you surprised that a reminder has come to you from your Lord through a man from among you to warn you? And remember that He made you successors after the people of Noah, and He increased you in status. So remember the grace of God, that you may succeed.?
770 They said (-1) ?Have you come to us to serve God alone and abandon what our fathers had served? Bring us what you promise if you are of the truthful ones!?
771 He said ?A tainting and wrath shall befall you from your Lord. Do you argue with me over names which you and your fathers have created with no authority being sent down by God? Wait then, and I will wait with you.?
772 We saved him and those with him by a mercy from Us, and We destroyed the remnant of those who rejected Our Signs, they were never believers.What is the Messenger's duty? Teach meaningless rules or one simple concept?
Saleh
773 And to Thamud, We sent their brother Saleh, he said ?My people, (1) serve God, you have no god besides Him; clarity has come to you from your Lord, this is the camel of God, in her you have a Sign, so leave her to eat in God?s earth, and do not harm her, else the painful retribution will take you.?
774 ?And remember that He made you successors after ?Aad, and He established you in the land so that you make palaces on its plains, and you carve homes in the mountains. So (1) remember the grace of God, and do not roam the earth as (-2) corrupters.?
775 The leaders who were arrogant from among his people said to those who were weak and believed from among them ?How do you know that Saleh was sent from his Lord?? They said ?It is in that which he has been sent that we believe.?
776 Those who were arrogant said ?In that which you believe, we reject!?
777 They thus killed the camel and defied the command of their Lord, and they said ?O Saleh, bring us what you promised us if you are of the messengers!?
778 The earthquake took them, thus they became lifeless in their home.
779 Thus he turned away from them, and said ?My people, I have delivered to you the message of my Lord and advised you; but you do not like the advisers.?The advice was relatively simple, was it not? Not a lot of complicated rules but only believe and work righteousness.
Shu'ayb
785 And to Midyan, their brother Shu?ayb, he said ?My people, (1) serve God, you have no god besides Him. Clarity has come to you from your Lord, so (2) give full weight and measure, and do not hold back from the people what belongs to them, and do not make corruption on the earth after it has been set right. That is better for you if you believe.?
786 ?And do not stand on every path, (-2) robbing, and turning away from the path of God those who believe in Him, and you seek to make it crooked. And remember that you were few and He multiplied you; and see how is the retribution of the corrupters.?
787 ?And if a group of you believes in what I have been sent with, and a group disbelieves, then wait until God judges between us. He is the best of judges.?
788 And the leaders who became arrogant from among his people said ?We will drive you out of our town Shu?ayb, along with those who have believed with you, or you shall return to our creed!? He said ?Will you force us??
789 ?We will then be inventing lies about God if we return to your creed after God has saved us from it; and we will not return to it except if God our Lord wills, our Lord encompasses everything with knowledge, (1) in God we put our trust. Our Lord, make an opening between us and between our people with the truth, you are the best of openers.?
790 And the leaders who rejected from among his people said ?If you follow Shu?ayb, then you are losers.?
791 The earthquake took them, thus they became lifeless in their home.
792 Those who denied Shu?ayb, it is as if they had never prospered therein. Those who denied Shu?ayb, they were the losers.
793 Thus he turned away from them, and said ?My people, I have delivered to you the messages of my Lord and advised you. How can I feel sorry over a rejecting people??You see; they tried to force Shu'ayb and his people to follow their conjecture and evil ways. The Messenger only said "Believe and do not commit evil!". It is that simple. Can you not see a pattern in these stories?
796 And if only the people of the towns had (1) believed and been aware, then We would have opened for them blessings from the heavens and the earth; but they denied, so We took them for what they had earned.
7107 He (Moses) cast down his staff and it manifested into a serpent.
7108 And he drew out his hand, and it became pure white for the onlookers.
7109 The commanders from among the people of Pharaoh said ?This is a knowledgeable magician!?It was amazing Signs Moses came with yet people denied and thought it was only magic tricks. I suppose even if a Messenger today would come with completely marvelous Signs people would still disbelieve in them.
The might of God
7143 So when Moses came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke to him, he said ?My Lord, let me look upon you.? He said ?You will not see Me, but look upon the mountain, if it stays in its place then you will see Me.? So when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He caused it to crumble; thus Moses fell unconscious. When he awoke, he said ?Glory to You, I repent to You and I am the first of those who believe.?
Think of this scenario and how unstable the ground that Moses stood on must have become. Must have shaken very intensively.
7178 Whoever God guides, then he is the guided one; and whoever He misguides, then these are the losers.
The one who seeks God's Nearness and Guidance and is a good man or woman will be guided.
7180 And to God belong the most beautiful names, so call Him by them; and leave alone those who deviate His names. They will be punished for what they used to do.
And I do not understand why people are so obsessed with "Allah".
7188 Say ?I do not possess for myself any benefit or harm, except what God wills. And if I could know the future, then I would have increased my good fortune, and no harm would have come to me. I am but a warner and a bearer of good news to a people who believe.?
7196 ?My supporter is God who sent down the Message; and He takes care of the righteous.?
My supporter is God...
7197 (-1) As for those whom you call on besides Him, they cannot aid you, nor can they aid themselves.
7198 And when you invite them to the Guidance, they do not listen. And you see them looking at you, while they do not see.
7199 Take to pardoning, and (2) order what is good, and turn away from the ignorant ones.
7200 And if bitterness from the devil afflicts you, (1) then seek refuge with God. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
7201 Those who are pious, when any evil from the devil touches them, (1) they remember, then they can see.
7202 And their brethren attempt to (-2) drive them towards error, they do not cease.
7203 And because you do not bring them a Sign, they say ?If only you had brought one.? Say ?I only follow what is inspired to me from my Lord. This is an evidence from your Lord, and a Guide and Mercy to a people who believe.?
7204 And if the Qur?an is being read, then listen to it and pay attention, that you may receive mercy.
7205 (1) 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.
7206 (1) Those who are at your Lord, they are never too proud to serve Him, and they glorify Him, and to Him they yield.Is the Message not simple?
God bless you
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Peace sushi1992,
The intention of this thread is to discuss the topic of the thread which is about the main parameters
• Nearness and Guidance
• Knowledge and Wisdom
• Peace and Prosperity
Since I started the thread I have realized (possibly through extra inspiration) that my original discussion topic has correlated with Islam's basic principles as we recently discussed
• Belief in God (1)
• Do good (2)
• Know basic salvation information (i.e. know that one will be held responsible) (3)
And we also saw that it is possible to narrow it down to only two parts, Faith and Actions.
I began to go through Qur'an to show that my reasoning is true and that I am not only rambling on about something. As we have seen up until now my "theory" is pretty much proven true.
A secondary aim of the thread might be to provide help on how to understand 'Nearness and Guidance, Knowledge and Wisdom and Peace and Prosperity', but only in ways which follow the guidelines of Qur'an.
God bless you
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Keep going Man of Faith especially bout Zoroartrianism.
Recently I read a book about this and now I need some evidences from Man of Faith and noshirk.
Salaam
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Peace Earthdom,
I have not had much time lately after I got a new job the other week and many other things besides I spent much time on clarifying that the Message is very simple, even extremely simple and just a couple of steps and could be counted to three at most. The more you understand the less you think that there is not really much to know except believing and working righteousness in terms of doing good and behaving well. Thus preaching Islam is incredibly simple and you had the stories narrated in Qur'an parroted by me in this thread and that is basically what the Messengers of old did. They reacted when evil deeds were done and when people were treated unfairly and they warned the communities of their time, both to shape up and to put their Faith in God alone. See, it is what my (1) and (2) is about.
But I understand you are curious about my Zoroastrianism research. I would like to continue on that topic, but I felt I did not really have more to come with and I have a lack of time right now. God has also thus not inspired me with more.
I am sure that Zoroastrianism was a monotheism which went polythestic according to this concept described in Qur'an. A few thousand years later we believe that Zoroastrianism is not a monotheism and hence the Truth is confounded by falsehood. And like I said before; it is strange that Zoroastrianism is not mentioned in Qur'an, is it not? Well, in fact it is and it is either the Yahoods or Nazarens who are them. Christianity was something invented by the Roman Empire and those power nations. Perhaps even the constant quarreling in Qur'an between those factions is between Romans and Persians where Romans begun to believe that Jesus was the son of God and the Persians had their mysterious figure Uzair which is a mystery still to me. You need to remember that modern Christianity has been constantly formed and distorted and changed according to this principle
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.
1036 Most of them only follow conjecture. While conjecture does not avail against the truth in anything. God is aware of what they do.12106 And most of them will not believe in God except while setting up partners.
Despite so much profound signs some people still believe that God has sons. It is incredible how the human being is so naive and ignorant, and believing conjecture some people only guessed that they were true. Even in the 21st century AD a good portion of the people on Earth believe that Jesus is the son of God. You would think that people had become more advanced with the advent of sophisticated technology. God needs no sons or representatives on Earth; the whole universe is within His very hand, so to say. He says be and anything is. He is the ultimate power in the Universe encompassing everything and God does certainly not have a need for any co-regents. It is ONE ultimate Force in the Universe! ONE! GOD is ONE, encompassing all matter, dead or alive, in this world.
By the name of God; will you not believe? And work righteousness in the ways of good deeds and decent behavior?
If I preach the above it is basically what the Messengers of old said when they came around in their respective communities, probably with their choice of words. It is not likely that they only said it once but they repeated it on and on but most did not heed the Message anyway. And if really choose to preach the above it is not my words but from the One who is my Master. Lots of righteous people in the past said the same and they did not want to be called lord, or receive wealth and fame.
Thus is the Message from the start. The rest is conjecture and sometimes individual choices in showing appreciation. What is decent behavior and good deeds? Ask a young child and you will get a pretty good answer unless they are tainted by the reality and vain desires around us. Even human research has begun to prove this. Mankind has all kinds of equipment and instruments to analyze almost everything but they still have not realized that there is a Creator. At least not most of them.
By the name of God; will you not believe? And work righteousness in the ways of good deeds and decent behavior?
Be among those who do it right. They believe in the one who sent them and they know their actions are never unseen and unaccounted for. Do good and treat your neighbor well and be with those who will have eternal bliss. The Message has always been this simple. Why complicate things? You have always a Watcher over you and He does never miss a thing. God is superior, the ultimate Force in the Universe.
You may adapt the Message to the present as long as you keep the principles of Islam within your Faith. But many a people said that you need to like this or do like that or otherwise you will burn in Hell. God never said that. Such lies against the Lord of the Universe. However, the one who invents lies and lives a life in mischief and evil deeds will surely have their "recompense". They say they believe while their actions precedes them. God is One and has commanded that you do good to your fellow humans, to the poor and the exposed and are charitable towards them. The Lord has commanded you to put your Faith in Him alone and never associate any partners with Him.
By the name of God; will you not believe? And work righteousness in the ways of good deeds and decent behavior?
Muhammad was but a Messenger like those of old to proclaim the Message and a prophet of God and was a humble servant and not an object of idolization. He would never have told anyone to say to him 'lord', nor would anyone else who serves the Lord of the Universe. No one seeks any distinction and directs every believer towards God, to put your Faith in Him only. The reverent and those who possess Nearness and Guidance will understand and see the Truth.
Here follows narrations of old
1059 Say ?Have you seen what God has sent down to you from provisions, then you have made some of it forbidden and some lawful?? Say ?Did God authorize you, or do you invent lies about God??
1060 And what will those who invent lies about God think on the Day of Resurrection? God is with great bounty to the people, but most of them are not thankful.
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 in a clear record.
1062 For the allies of God, 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.
1065 And do not be saddened by their speech, for all glory is to God. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
1066 Certainly, to God belong all who are in the heavens and those who are on the earth. As for those who call on partners besides God, they only follow conjecture, and they only guess.
1067 He is the One who made the night for you to reside in, and the day to see. In that are signs for a people who listen.
1068 They said ?God has taken a son.? Glory be to Him! He is the Rich. To Him is what is in the heavens and the earth. Do you have proof for this? Or do you say about God what you do not know?
1069 Say ?Those who invent lies about God, they will not be successful.?
1070 A short pleasure in this world, then to Us is their return and We will make them taste the severe retribution for what they were rejecting.By the name of God; will you not believe? And work righteousness in the ways of good deeds and decent behavior?
God bless you
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Chapter 8 Message check
Let us continue. I have not had much time lately, but I will try to continue to present the simplicity of God's Message to us. Like explaining the Message. Well, it is just to highlight portions that prove my standing when it comes to the arguments I come with in this thread, and to show you that the Message is more straight-forward and easy than people generally believe.
839 And fight them all until there is no more oppression, and the entire system is for God. But if they cease, then God is Seer over what they do.
Obviously warfare is only to uphold peace and justice and not for conquest or because some other people do not believe like you do. System is for God is obviously when there is no evil and vice in the community and not like dogmatically tell people to convert to the illusive Islam.
861 And if they seek peace, then you also seek it, and put your trust in God. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.
You see the contrast in the verses which talk about warfare and that when the oppressors put down their swords you should no longer attack. It is obvious that the warfare in Qur'an is to restore peace and order.
873 As for those who reject, they are allies to one another. If you do not do this, then there will be oppression on the earth and great corruption.
874 And those who have (1) believed and emigrated and (2) strived in the cause of God, and those who have sheltered and supported, these are truly the believers. They will have a forgiveness and a generous provision.
875 And those who believed afterwards and emigrated and strived with you, then they are from you. And the relatives by birth are also supportive of one another in the Message/Knowledge of God. God is aware of all things.Summary of chapter 8 is that it talks about doing good (2). It speaks of warfare, but it is a warfare to protect people and not to aggress.
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Kitab + Book = Not True
I will be blunt; the word Qur'an means book. Look at all these verses containing Qur'an and then compare them with my previous uses of kitab = Message, Knowledge or Information. I will write Qur'an and with my understanding of Book after a slash.
2185 The month of Ramadhan, in which the Qur?an/Book was revealed; as a guide to the people and clarities from the guidance and the Criterion. Whoever of you witnesses the month, then let him fast it. And whoever is ill or traveling, then the same number from different days. God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship; and so that you may complete the count, and magnify God for what He has guided you, that you may be thankful.
482 Do they not reflect on the Qur?an/Book? If it was from any other than God they would have found in it many a discrepancy.
5101 O you who believe, do not ask about things which, if clarified, would harm you - and if you ask about them with the Qur?an/Book being revealed, then they will become clear to you. God pardons for them, and God is Forgiving, Compassionate.
619 Say ?Which is the greatest testimony?? Say ?God is witness between me and you, and He has inspired to me this Qur?an/Book that I may warn you with it and whoever it reaches, that you are bearing witness that with God are other gods!? Say ?I do not bear witness!? Say ?He is only One god, and I am innocent ofwhat you have set up!?
In 619, do you not see that Book fits the context fluently while if you say Qur'an it sounds very weird. Yes, that is because the word Qur'an means book like any other book. There can be many Qur'an, but only one al-Qur'an so to say rotfl
7204 And if the Qur?an/Book is being read, then listen to it and pay attention, that you may receive mercy.
9111 God has purchased from the believers their very lives and their wealth, that they will have the Paradise; they fight in the cause of God so they kill and are killed; a promise that is true upon Him in the Torah (?) and the Gospel (?) and the Qur?an/Book. And whoever fulfills this pledge with God, then have good news of the pledge which you are concluded with. Such is the great triumph.
Now this would logically mean that Torah and Gospel were not books and this could well be the case actually. Statutes in stone (Ark of the Covenant) cannot be called a book, right? The Gospel many people even before have doubted their book status so to say. Jesus did not write any books. However, there has been a Message which has sounded practically the same all the time.
1015 And when Our clear revelations were recited to them, those who do not wish to meet Us said ?Bring a Qur?an/Book other than this, or change it!? Say ?It is not for me to change it of my own accord, I merely follow what is inspired to me. I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the retribution of a great Day!?
1037 This Qur?an/Book could not have been produced without God; it is to authenticate what is between his hands, and to give details of the Message in which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.
The verse starts with Qur'an/Book, but later you encounter the word al-kitab, but as you see in my changing this adds more coherence to the translation.
1061 And any matter you are in, or any reciting you do of the Qur?an/Book, 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 in a clear record.
Note in the Arabic discourse in 1061 in the end kitab is obviously used for saved information/knowledge and not book here and this is the words proper use too as we hopefully can agree on at some point soon.
123 We tell to you the best stories through what We have inspired to you in this Qur?an/Book; and before it you were of those who were unaware.
151 ALR, these are the signs of the Book, and a clear Qur?an.
My own experimental translation A L R These are the contents of the Message, and a clear Book.
1587 And We have given you seven of the pairs (?), and the great Qur?an/Book.
1590 As for the dividers in what We sent down.
1591 The ones who have made the Qur?an/Book partial.
1592 By your Lord, We will ask them all.Here the context busts the myth of the book case. Because God uses Qur'an straight away there is no doubt about the word Qur'an.
1698 When you read the Qur?an/Book, you shall seek refuge with God from the outcast devil.
179 This Qur?an/Book guides to that which is more upright, and it gives glad tidings to the believers who (2) do good works that they will have a bountiful reward.
1741 And We have dispatched in this Qur?an/Book that they may remember, but it only increases their aversion!
1745 And when you read the Qur?an/Book, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter an invisible barrier.
1746 And we place shields over their hearts, that they should not understand it, and a deafness in their ears. And if you mention your Lord in the Qur?an/Book alone, they run away turning their backs in aversion.1760 And when We said to you ?Your Lord has encompassed the people.? And We did not make the vision that We showed you except as a test for the people, and the tree that was cursed in the Qur?an/Book. And We are making them fearful, but it only increases their transgression.
Of course if you do not understand this verse with Qur'an = Book it sounds a bit weird. Also this tree was not only mentioned in the definite Qur'an anno the 7th century.
1778 Hold the contact prayer/communion/Mindfulness till the setting of the sun; to the murkiness of the night; and the Qur?an/Book at dawn - the Qur?an/Book at dawn is witnessed.
This is one of the verses I think we do not to 100% understand what it is saying.
1782 And We send down from the Qur?an/Book what is a healing and mercy to the believers. And it only increases the wicked in their loss.
Obviously those who believe in concrete books can throw themselves against the wall. God's "Qur'an" does never run out of ink.
1788 Say ?If all mankind and the Jinn were to gather to bring a Qur?an/Book like this, they could not come with its like, even if they were helping one another.?
1789 And We have dispatched to the people in this Qur?an/Book from every example, but most of the people refuse to be anything but rejecters!1854 And We have dispatched in this Qur?an/Book for the people from every example; but man has always been most argumentative.
202 We did not send down to you the Qur?an/Book so you may suffer.
20114 Then High above all is God, the King, the True. And do not be hasty with the Qur?an/Book before its inspiration is completed to you, and say ?My Lord, increase my knowledge.?
2530 And the messenger said ?My Lord, my people have deserted this Qur?an/Book.?
2532 And those who rejected said ?If only the Qur?an/Book was sent down to him in one go!? It was done as such so We could strengthen your heart with it, and We arranged it accordingly.
2535 And We gave Moses the Book/Message (kitab) and We made his brother Aaron a minister with him.
2536 So We said ?Go both of you to the people who have denied Our signs.? So We then destroyed them utterly.So they were Messengers, and what did they deliever? Well, they came with a Message or Information to Pharaoh. Kitab in verse 35 refers to the Message/Knowledge/Information they received to take to Pharaoh. Myth about kitab busted. They did not bring a physical book to Pharaoh, but you know full well yourselves what happened at Pharaoh's palace. And what the heck do you use a minister for?
271 T?S, these are the signs of the Qur?an and a clear Book.
Interestingly God prints out a similar verse as before with Qur'an but opposite order. My (experimental) translation is as follows T'S, these are the contents of the Book and a clear Message.
276 And you are receiving the Qur?an/Book from One who is Wise, Knowledgeable.
2776 This Qur?an/Book tells to the Children of Israel most of that which they are in dispute over.
2792 ?And that I recite the Qur?an/Book.? He who is guided is guided for himself, and to he who is misguided, say ?I am but one of the warners.?
2885 Surely, the One who decreed the Qur?an/Book to you will summon you to a predetermined appointment. Say ?My Lord is fully aware of who it is that brings the guidance, and who has gone astray.?
2886 Nor did you expect this Book/Message/Knowledge to come your way; but this is a mercy from your Lord. Therefore, you shall not side with the rejecters.You see! Knowledge and Wisdom. This is the Knowledge you can receive. And kitab is not book here but it means something more abstract as previously shown.
3058 And We have put forth for the people in this Qur?an/Book of every example. And if you come to them with a sign, those who rejected will say ?You are bringing falsehood!?
3431 And those who rejected have said ?We will not believe in this Qur?an/Book, nor in what is already with him.? And if you could but see these transgressors when they stand before their Lord, how they will accuse one another back and forth. Those who were weak will say to those who were mighty ?If it were not for you, we would have been believers!?
362 And the Qur?an of wisdom.
No, it is 362 And the Book of Wisdom, thank you very much.
3669 And We did not teach him poetry, nor does he need it. This is a reminder and a clear Qur?an/Book.
381 S?, and the Qur?an/Book that contains the remembrance.
3927 And We have put forth for the people in this Qur?an/Book from every example, that they may take heed.
3928 A revelation/Book in Arabic, without any crookedness, that they may be righteous.Here you see how bad the coherence is unless you change Qur'an into book in 3928.
4126 And those who rejected said ?Do not listen to this Qur?an/Book and make noise over it that you may succeed.?
4331 And they said ?If only this Qur?an/Book was sent down to a man of greatness from the two towns!?
4629 And We directed to you a company of Jinn, in order to let them listen to the Qur?an/Book. So when they arrived there, they said ?Pay attention.? Then, when it was finished, they returned to their people, to warn them.
4630 They said ?O our people, we have heard a Book/Message/Knowledge (kitab) that was sent down after Moses, authenticating what is between his hands. It guides to the truth; and to a straight path.?4724 Do they not reflect upon the Qur?an/Book? Or are there locks on the hearts?
501 Q, and the Qur?an/Book of glory.
5045 We are fully aware of what they say; and you are not a tyrant over them. So remind with the Qur?an/Book those who fear My promise.
5417 And We made the Qur?an/Book easy to remember. Are there any who want to learn?
5422 And We made the Qur?an/Book easy to remember. Are there any who will learn?
5432 And We made the Qur?an/Book easy to remember. Are there any who will learn?
5440 And We made the Qur?an/Book easy to remember. Are there any who will learn?
552 He has taught the Qur?an/Book.
5677 It is an honorable Qur?an/Book.
5678 In a protected Book/Message.
The difference between Qur'an and Kitab is pretty obvious.
5921 Had We sent down this Qur?an/Book to a mountain, you would have seen it trembling, crumbling, out of concern from God. And such are the examples We put forth for the people, that they may reflect.
734 Or a little more, and arrange the Qur?an/Book in its arrangement.
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/Book. 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 contact prayer 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.
7623 We have sent down to you the Qur?an/Book in stages.
8421 And when the Qur?an/Book is read over them, they do not prostrate.
8521 No, it is a glorious Qur?an/Book.
8522 In a tablet (?), preserved.Conclusion
This was not all, but mostly when Qur'an is used as the definite 'the Book', i.e. the Qur'an as we know it. I will later also reveal when Qur'an is used in general to refer to book unless that is already agreed on after this long post. I gave only a few examples with 'kitab', but I have more at my disposal and there is no way it refers to a concrete object like a book depending on the context. I know it is absurd for first-time viewers but it is the hard Truth. Kitab is not book, but Qur'an is. Kitab is the Knowledge inside a book at best, abstractly speaking.
God bless you
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Before I continue
From here I will change all instances of 'Qur'an' into the English word 'book' while when 'Kitab' occurs I will use something more appropriate from what you have seen from the previous post. al-Qur'an is 'The Book'!
Kitab = Message/Knowledge/Information
I have not yet decided on the most perfect English word to use for kitab, but I use all three of my alternatives at the moment, i.e. Message/Knowledge/Information. If I choose Knowledge then that suits my 'Knowledge and Wisdom' terminology. Who knows, it was maybe the will of God to have my start on this thread. Anyway, I choose Message as it seems to make the reading more fluent. But this time I will print the verse twice with the Monotheist translation and below it my change.
22 That is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the righteous.
22 That is the Message in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the righteous.244 Do you exhort the people to do good, but forget yourselves, while you are reciting the Book? Do you not comprehend?
244 Do you exhort the people to do good, but forget yourselves, while you are reciting the Message? Do you not comprehend?There is no divine revelation in book-form for these people to read. It means that they remind them of the Message verbally, and as you can see here do not live by it themselves. You see, kitab does not translate very well into book on a contextual basis.
253 And We gave Moses the Book and the Criterion, perhaps you would be guided.
253 And We gave Moses the Message and the Criterion, perhaps you would be guided.Here is a good example to show the power of this new Knowledge. The Criterion (َ is the tablets of stone that Moses received on the mountain and this was what Moses received in terms of a (direct) revelation and there is no book in the case of him. The tales you find in the Bible are written based on the legend of him and probably while the tablets of stone were still to be found (Ark of the Covenant). The Message is equal to Knowledge of God's Realm; the Realm information I have been talking about previously in this thread. And the Message is very, very simple as we know. (1) Believe and (2) do good.
278 And among them are Gentiles who do not know the Book except by hearsay, and they only conjecture.
278 And among them are Gentiles who do not know the Message except by hearsay, and they only conjecture.The translation of this verse is a bit so-so. Despite my inferior Arabic knowledge I see that it means something else based on context and the new-found kitab realization.
279 So woe to those who write the Book 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.
279 So woe to those who write the Message 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.285 But then here you are killing each other and expelling a group of you from their homes; you act towards them with evil and animosity. And if they come to you as prisoners, you ransom them while it was unlawful for you to expel them! Do you believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in part? The punishment for those among you who do so is humiliation in this worldly life, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be delivered to the most severe retribution. God is not unaware of what you all do.
285 But then here you are killing each other and expelling a group of you from their homes; you act towards them with evil and animosity. And if they come to you as prisoners, you ransom them while it was unlawful for you to expel them! Do you believe in part of the Message and disbelieve in part? The punishment for those among you who do so is humiliation in this worldly life, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be delivered to the most severe retribution. God is not unaware of what you all do.287 And We gave Moses the Book, 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!
287 And We gave Moses the Message, 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!No no no, Moses never got any "book", he received some statutes in stone and a Message. Kitab clearly refers to Message and not book. Good example to clarify the misconception. Message weighs heavily on Knowledge, so you know.
289 And when a Book came to them from God, authenticating what is with them; while before that they were mocking those who rejected; so when what they knew came to them, they rejected it! The curse of God be upon the rejecters.
289 And when a Message came to them from God, authenticating what is with them; while before that they were mocking those who rejected; so when what they knew came to them, they rejected it! The curse of God be upon the rejecters.How many God darn books do you think God sent down? No, they received Messages and they denied 'em all, most of them at least.
2101 And when a messenger came to them from God, authenticating what was with them, a group of those who had already received the Book placed the Book of God behind their backs as if they did not know.
2101 And when a messenger came to them from God, authenticating what was with them, a group of those who had already received the Message placed the Message of God behind their backs as if they did not know.2105 Neither do those who have rejected from among the people of the Book, nor from among the polytheists, wish that any good comes down to you from your Lord. But God chooses with His mercy whom He wishes; and from God is the greatest grace.
2105 Neither do those who have rejected from among the followers of the Message, nor from among the polytheists, wish that any good comes down to you from your Lord. But God chooses with His mercy whom He wishes; and from God is the greatest grace.2109 Many of the people of the Book have wished that they could return you to being rejecters after your believing, out of envy from their souls after the truth was made clear to them. You shall forgive them and overlook until God brings His will. God is capable of all things.
2109 Many of the followers of the Message have wished that they could return you to being rejecters after your believing, out of envy from their souls after the truth was made clear to them. You shall forgive them and overlook until God brings His will. God is capable of all things.2113 And the Jews say ?The Nazarenes have no basis,? and the Nazarenes say ?The Jews have no basis,? while they are both reciting the Book! Similarly, those who do not know have said the same thing. God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection in what they dispute.
2113 And the Jews say ?The Nazarenes have no basis,? and the Nazarenes say ?The Jews have no basis,? while they are both reciting the Message! Similarly, those who do not know have said the same thing. God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection in what they dispute.One of those verses in 'The Book' which ought to prove that kitab is Message.
2121 Those to whom We gave the Book, they recite it as it truthfully deserves to be recited; they believe in it. As for those who disbelieve in it, they are the losers.
2121 Those to whom We gave the Message, they recite it as it truthfully deserves to be recited; they believe in it. As for those who disbelieve in it, they are the losers.2129 ?Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from among themselves, that he may recite to them Your revelations and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them. You are the Noble, the Wise.?
2129 ?Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from among themselves, that he may recite to them Your revelations and teach them the Knowledge and the Wisdom, and purify them. You are the Noble, the Wise.?Here is the killer. This verse busts the myth of kitab as book completely. I even translated into Knowledge because it suits the context so beautifully. Abraham did not even possess a book at his time and he could likely not see the future. Kitab IS NOT a physical book
Tired of printing out verses twice
2144 We see the shifting of your face towards the heaven; We will thus set for you a focal point that will be pleasing to you ?You shall set yourself towards the Restricted Temple; and wherever you may be, you shall all set yourselves towards it.? Those who have been given the Message know it is the truth from their Lord. And God is not unaware of what you do.
2145 And if you come to those who have been given the Message with every sign they will not follow your focal point, nor will you follow their focal point, nor will some of them even follow each others focal point. And if you were to follow their desires after the information that has come to you, then you would be one of the wicked.
2146 Those to whom We have given the Message know it as they know their own children; and a group of them hides the truth while they know.2151 As We have sent a messenger to you from among yourselves to recite Our revelations to you, and purify you, and teach you the Knowledge and the Wisdom, and teach you what you did not know.
2159 Surely those who conceal what We have sent down to them of the clarities and the guidance, after We Had made it clear for the followers of the Book; these will be cursed by God and be cursed by those who curse.
2174 Surely, those who conceal what God has sent down of the Message, and they purchase with it a cheap price; they will not eat in their bellies except the Fire, and God will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful retribution.
2176 This is because God has sent down the Message with the truth; and those who have disputed about the Message are in far opposition.
2177 Piety is not to turn your faces towards the east and the west, but pious is one who (1) believes in God and (3) the Last Day, and the angels, and the Message, and the prophets, and (2) who gives money out of love to the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and those who ask, and to free the slaves; and who upholds the contact prayer, and who contributes towards purification; and those who keep their pledges when they make a pledge, and those who are patient in the face of adversity and hardship and when in despair. These are the ones who have been truthful, and these are the righteous.
2178 O you who believe, equivalence has become Knowledge for you in the case of those who are slain; the free for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. Whoever is forgiven anything by his brother, then it is to be followed with kindness and goodness towards him; that is an alleviation from your Lord, and a mercy. Whoever transgresses after that, he will have a painful retribution.
2180 It has become Knowledge for you that if death should come to any of you, that it is best if he leaves a will for his family and relatives out of goodness; this is a truth for the righteous.
Note Apologize, experimental translation attempts using the new-found discovery about kitab. That was the most useful translation I could achieve. I know I am talking about the root . But simply seeing that it is told a per Message it is important to see this contrast. It does not necessarily change the meaning even if the translation is not 100% accurate.
2183 O you who believe, fasting has become Knowledge for you as it was Knowledge for those before you, perhaps you may be righteous.
2185 The month of Ramadhan, in which the Book was revealed; as a guide to the people and clarities from the Guidance and the Criterion. Whoever of you witnesses the month, then let him fast it. And whoever is ill or traveling, then the same number from different days. God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship; and so that you may complete the count, and magnify God for what He has guided you, that you may be thankful.
This verse is not containing kitab, but there was a brief observation I made in this verse while reading and that was the mysterious al-furqan as was given to Moses. This is one of those confusing and disputed verses whether there is a fasting or not. The book according to my interpretation elaborates on the al-furqan given to Moses. I have doubts that the Message has changed very much from the past and it seems extreme with 30 days of fasting per year and the other people who followed the Message in the past do not seem to have fasted for 30 days in a row.
2213 The people used to be one nation, then God sent the prophets as bearers of good news and warners, and He sent down with them the Knowledge with the Truth so that they may judge between the people in what they were disputing. But after receiving the clarity, the people disputed in it due to animosity between them. And God guided those who believed with His permission regarding what they disputed in of the truth. And God guides whoever He wishes to a straight path.
2231 And if you have divorced the women, and they have reached their required interim period, then either you remain together equitably, or part ways equitably. And do not reconcile with them so you can harm them out of animosity; whoever does so is doing wrong to his soul; and do not take the revelations of God as mockery. And remember the blessings of God upon you, and what was sent down to you of the Knowledge and the Wisdom, He warns you with it. And be aware of God and know that God is knowledgeable of all things.
2285 The messenger believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord; and the believers, all who believe in God, and His angels, and His Messages, and His messengers ?We do not make a distinction between any of His messengers;? and they said ?We hear and obey, forgive us our Lord, and to you is our destiny.?
I will not continue on this as I feel the walk-through here with chapter 2 is enough for busting this myth.
God bless you
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Chapter 9 Message check
94 Except for those with whom you had made a pledge from among the polytheists if they did not reduce anything from it nor did they support anyone against you; you shall continue the pledge with them until its expiry. (2) God loves the righteous.
95 So when the restricted months have passed, then you may kill the polytheists wherever you find them, and take them, and surround them, and stand against them at every point. If they repent, and they hold the contact prayer, and they contribute towards purification, then you shall leave them alone. God is Forgiving, Merciful.This translation in incompatible with the Message as it is pretty dogmatic and zealous as it obviously makes it fine to kill them if they do not perform "the Contact Prayer". It is another instance of the word as-salat being misunderstood if you ask me. However, if you understand the word as-salat as in being mindful of God, respecting His system and azzakat as doing things which purify you then it a whole lot better sense, i.e. righteous actions which are not mischief and vice. Traditional translation makes it fine to kill them as long as they do not start praying. Sadly this is one of the verses in 'the Book' which is abused to propagate "Islam" violently and dogmatically.
910 They do not respect those who are believers, nor a kinship, nor a pledge. These are the transgressors.
911 If they repent, and they keep Mindful, and they contribute towards purification, then they are your brothers in the system. We explain the revelations for a people who know.Sorry, it is impossible for me to see these lines as contact praying at all.
913 Would you not fight a people who broke their oaths, and obsessed to expel the messenger, especially while they were the ones who attacked you first? Are you concerned about them? It is God who is more deserving that you be concerned with if you are believers.
914 Fight them; perhaps God will punish them by your hands and humiliate them and grant you victory over them and heal the chests of the believing people.
915 And to remove the anger from their hearts; God pardons whom he pleases. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.It is fighting against oppression in the whole context as we can see, to fight evil in the people and only fight until there is no more oppression. And no unnecessary killing. If those who fight are righteous when they win against them and let them live when they surrender they might see the Light and believe.
917 It was not for the polytheists to maintain the temples of God while they bear witness over their own rejection. For these, their works have fallen, and in the Fire they will abide.
918 Rather, the temples of God are maintained by he who believes in God and the Last Day, and he keeps the Communion, and he contributes towards Purification, and is only concerned by God. It is these that will be of the guided ones.
919 Have you made the watering of the pilgrim and the maintenance of the Restricted Temple the same as one who believes in God and the Last Day and he strives in the cause of God? They are not the same with God. And God does not guide the wicked people.It is obvious that these people sought their own monetary gain and gave little in return. And a little like it is today in Mecca, where the Saudi government squeaks out every little coin of the pilgrims and to only earn more money to their wealth and fame. History repeats itself. Communion is sadly associated with Pagan rituals in Christianity, but the word fits our needs in English as according to this dictionary input communion / kmyunyn / noun 2 formal a special relationship with someone or something which makes you feel that you understand them very well
between/withIn the mountains, I feel in communion with nature.
I suppose you go right on spot with this definition from the dictionary concerning salah. I think we, praise to God, went right on spot in the definition of as-salah. Of course it does not conflict with the prescribed regular salat as it is also a definite communion.
924 Say ?If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers, and your wives, and your kin, and money which you have gathered, and a trade which you would be concerned over its decline, and homes which you find pleasing; if these are dearer to you than God and His messenger and striving in His cause, then wait until God brings His decision. And God does not guide the wicked people.?
One of the abused verses to put love on Muhammad while it means loving the cause of God and His Messenger (at that time).
929 Fight those who do not believe in God or the Last Day, nor do they restrict what God and His messenger have restricted, nor do they uphold the system of truth; from among the people who have been given the Message; until they pay the reparation, willingly or unwillingly, and they are subdued.
Another abused verse. Even used to take out a constant tax (jizyah) from any non-muslim forever and ever. Its traditional interpretation conflicts and contradicts the verse which tells that there is no compulsion in the system. Why should they pay an unfair tax simply for not believing the way another one does, when it is said that righteous Nazarenes and Jews will go to Heaven.
930 The Jews said ?Ezra is the son of God,? and the Nazarenes said ?The Messiah is the son of God.? Such is their utterances with their mouths, they imitate the sayings of those who rejected before them. God will fight them. They are deluded from the truth!
Of course these ones were not the only assigned sons of God when 'the Book' was revealed.
931 They have taken their Priests and Monks to be patrons besides God, and the Messiah, son of Mary, while they were only commanded to serve One god, there is no god except He, be He glorified against what they set up.
Obviously this is against the ancient Criterion given to Moses "You shall have no other gods before Me, You shall not make idols. What do the people not do anyway? Both Jews and Christians had the Message at their hands and yet they manage to create sons of God. What ignorance is that not? And now Muhammad is a patron of God too, so the history repeats itself, while they were told to serve One god.
933 He is the One who has sent His messenger with the Guidance and the system of Truth, so that it will expose all other systems, even if the polytheists hate it.
We have patrons of polytheists here who hate the things we write. Is that not a fulfillment of what God has already told? They want us to revert to their ways.
966 Do not apologize, for you have rejected after your belief. If We pardon one group from you, We will punish another group. That is because they were criminals.
967 The hypocrite males and the hypocrite females, they are to each other. They order vice and prohibit good, and they close their hands. They forgot God, so He will forget them; indeed, the hypocrites are the wicked.It is obvious that they "believed" until the Messenger came around and showed that the loads of conjecture that had in their system was only wrong and that the Message was only consisting of a few tiny parameters, possible to be narrowed down to (1) believe and (2) do good.
970 Did the news not come to them of those before them, the people of Noah and ?Aad and Thamud. And the people of Abraham, and the dwellers of Midyan, and those overthrown. Their messengers came to them with clarity; it was not God who wronged them, but it was themselves that they wronged.
Have I not told you in previous posts what these people came and told to their respective communities? It was very plain simple telling them to be good and believe in the One god.
986 And if a chapter is sent down ?That you shall (1) believe in God and (2) strive with His messenger,? those with wealth and influence ask your leave and they say ?Let us be with those who remain behind.?
9111 God has purchased from the believers their very lives and their wealth, that they will have the Paradise; they fight in the cause of God so they kill and are killed; a promise that is true upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Book. And whoever fulfills this pledge with God, then have good news of the pledge which you are concluded with. Such is the great triumph.
9119 O you who believe, be aware of God and be with the truthful.