Does Sin exist or is it just made up? And More Q's
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sin is the ancient canaa concept for not hitting the target with your bow and arrow. This is interresting. What sin means translated from its symbolic meaning is "he missed the mark. When you sin, you are nowhere near the target. I belive the old's used this symbolism along with things such as "the streght path". Becasue when you sin, you are not on a streight path, you are in fact, of the mark.
peace
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Peace,
Sin doesn't really occur in the Quran. Words as ithm refer to misplacing something and for example tauba refers to returning to the path. You cannot sin against Allah. All laws in the Quran show us what will harm us and which ones will not. God is above need or our deeds. That is why He says"All good comes from Me, and all harm comes from your own Selves. The idea of sin is a religious term which really has no place in the Quranic Deen. You only have things that progresses your soul and things that don't.The idea of sin is that you have sinned against Allah doesn't occur in the Quran in the old religious sense.
Also the term ghafara, doesn't really mean forgiveness and Ghafour doesn't mean Forgiver. Ghafara means to cover and protect like a harnas and helmet. And Ghafour means Allah protects and covers you like a harnass. It has got the meaning forgiveness hidden in the word, because when a person for example had killed somebody from a tribe he payed bloodmoney. The family of the victim would then say You're forgiven. Because the murderer was forgiven, he was protected against revenge. So forgiveness is a protective attribute.
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Great responses thus far Magi and Arnoldyasin.
Magi I think the fact that the Quran tends to allude to familiar stories/scenarios has more to do with the 'language' of the quran than does classical arabic. The language is that it speaks in terms that are understood by those who it reaches.
Arnoldyasin, your post was very inciteful. Have you ever considered your own quran translation?
peace,
khalil -
Peace,
Yes that is why i study Theology, but i want to do moe then just a Translation...
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Hi Arnold,
Interesting views.
Perhaps you could start an online wiki with your translation of each verse, and your study concerning them
and with external links for further study.You have a lot of knowledge, you have to share it (like you're doing in this forum). I'll help in anyway I can -)
Nadeem
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Peace,
Thank you, but i need to study more before i go out in the open with my work. I hope in a few years to be working on my first books. I have already almost completed one http//19.org/index.php?id=91,417,0,0,1,0
My next one is on explaining the difference between religion and the Quranic Deen and how the religious approach has distorted the translations inchallah. But i need more backgroundknowledge before i go public for real...
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Hi Arnold,
I not need be a grand opening right away. You can have like an online internet journal where you, and those interested in your writing can follow you progress on the verses.
But again, you know your schedule better than me. Arrange as you see fit, I simply pray for your success and look forward -)
Thank for the link on your book -)
nadeem
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That is why He says"All good comes from Me, and all harm comes from your own Selves. The idea of sin is a religious term which really has no place in the Quranic Deen.
peace
But doesn't the quran also say, like right after that verse, that good and bad both come from God? contradiction?I think I agree with the idea that there is no "sin." We do things. Some things help us progress, help us get closer to the divine ideal. Other things hold us back, take us further away from the "mark."
And what causes the things that hold us back? it's "shirk," I believe. Worshipping our egos and desires rather than the true God. Shirk is the original sin. -
Peace Phoenix,
478 Wherever you may be, death will find you, even if you are in fortified towers. If any good befalls them, they Say "This is from God," and if any bad befalls them, they Say "This is from you!" Say "All is from God;" what is wrong with these people, they barely understand anything said!
479 Any good that befalls you is from God, and any bad that befalls you is from yourself. We have sent you as a messenger to the people and God is enough as a witness.They look as a contradiction when you don't use your brain and look at the message behind it. Verse 78 shows us that ALL possibilities, good or bad are given by Allah. And verse 79 shows us that it is US that choose the bad or good. So
78=All choices we can make in life are given to us by God, good or bad.
79=Don't complain if something bad befalls you as it is you yourself who had chosen bad.
It is like i give you two colours, red and blue. You use blue in your house but afterwards you don't like it. Both colours were from me, but that the bad colour befell you is because you chose it. So all your choices in colour were given by me, but that eventualy you felt bad about a colour is all from you because you choose that colour.
comprende? )
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Hi brother,
It is like i give you two colours, red and blue. You use blue in your house but afterwards you don't like it. Both colours were from me, but that the bad colour befell you is because you chose it. So all your choices in colour were given by me, but that eventualy you felt bad about a colour is all from you because you choose that colour.
But then the same logic should apply to all good that befalls us?
My understanding has been that there is nothing but good. When we think something bad has come our way, we think of it as bad as it harms us, but, it can be that in our harm lies a benefit for someone else, more deserving? Or perhaps lies therein a lesson for us to learn so that we may be successful in the future?
What we call 'bad' is our own constructions, our own dislikes, our own moods and whims.
Therefore, I believe, that 'bad' is not from god as the quality 'bad' doesn't exist outside of our own minds.
My 2 cents. I admit I need to think this over.
Nadeem
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Peace to all, here is a portion of a book by G. A. Parwez translated by Khalid M. Sayyed that provides an explanation of the apparent contradiction.
Two verses from An-Nisa
In this regard, two ?verses? from Sura An-Nisa are quite significant. Talking about the ?reverse? mentality of a certain group of the Prophet?s era, the Quran says ?when they are in a pleasant situation, they attribute it to Allah, but blame the Prophet for their troubles. Tell them ?everything is from Allah? (?s law) 4/78. Further, it says ?What is (wrong) with them? They don?t try to understand. Remember, the pleasantness you get is from Allah and your troubles are from you yourselves? (4/79).
There is an apparent contradiction here. One verse says the good and the bad all come from Allah, whereas the other verse appears to say the good is from Allah but the bad is from Man. The apparent contradiction can actually be resolved thus
i) All events- good or bad - occur according to natural (Allah?s) laws
( ه.
ii) Allah?s Law - if followed - shall bring good to you -but
iii) If you follow the path of your own choice (other than Allah?s), the natural result will be trouble.Simply put, then, all events (actions) bear results pre-determined by Allah?s law. If one follows the natural (Allah?s suggested) course, one benefits. Otherwise (when one defies the divine law) the natural consequence is tragedy.
Therefore, all good is from Allah whereas evil is brought upon Man by himself. This point shall be elaborated later in the book under a separate heading of ?Good and Evil?.Misconceptions
We can conclude, therefore, that (i) to attribute a tragedy to Allah is not only erroneous factually but is blaming Allah wrongfully. When people try to philosophize a tragedy by utterances like ?Man proposes and God disposes, ?His is all powerful. He can do whatever, whenever He wants?, ?Only He knows why He does what He does?, etc. they project an image of a lawless, irregular and unreasonable Allah, and (ii) all Man?s efforts and endeavors are furtile and all events occur because of (a whimsical Allah). This reduces Man to a bound, will-less creature.
GOOD and EVIL
No other problem has given mankind more anxiety than the question of Good and Evil. Being an inseparable part of the bigger question of fate and destiny, this problem has been one of high priority for philosophers as well as people of religion. In this regard, the well-known dilemma attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas is
If Evil exists by the will of God, He cannot be all good; and if Evil exists despite His will, He is not all powerful.
Since I have not set myself in this book the task of examining the question of destiny philosophically, I shall not trace the human intellectual endeavors in this regard. (1) It will be suffice to discuss it from the common man?s perspective.It is said that Gautum (Buddha), the crown prince of a royal household, had a very sensitive and humane disposition. He noticed the norm of the strong controlling and oppressing the weak, both in the animal as well as the human world. He concluded that life was just a misery. Hence, it is to be shunned to the point of complete disinterest to achieve a state of freedom from life?s troubles (Nirvaan). Gautum?s philosophy has dominated Man?s thinking for almost 2,500 years!
The principle emanating from this philosophy is that Matter is quagmire for the human soul. The span of worldly life must be spent to liberate the soul from its ?imprisonment?. This can be done by shunning life ---- rejecting pleasures, refusing desires, and doing grueling body (Yoga) exercises. That is MYSTICISM.
Indian philosophers noticing the social & economic inequality in human societies, arrived at the notion of re-incarnation --- one is rewarded or punished in life on the basis of one?s previous life. This was nothing more than the ancient Greek idea of ?Transmigration of Soul?; the Indians have simply borrowed Christianity?s ?ORIGINAL SIN'. Some thinkers came to the thesis that Man is intrinsically evil. Christianity formulated the concept of the original sin by Adam and Eve in Paradise. Therefore, Man, born with sin, must absolve himself through believing in Christ and Crucifixion.
Persian thinkers theorized about two universal forces eternally at war with one another - Ahrman (darkness) and Yazdaan (light). They are engaged in the struggle of good and evil. This theory of dualism, being the religion of the ancient Persian Magig, is attributed to Zoarastra. The very concept of two opposite warring forces is the origin of the theory of DIALECTISM of Hegel, the famous German philosopher. That, in turn, is the basis of the economic theories of Marx.
Yet another ideology claims the non-existence of opposing forces, attributes like right / left, above / below, etc. Thus, only good exists. Contrary to this is Shaupenhaur?s ideology of pessimism claiming that only evil exists. This echoes the Buddhist philosophy. Shaupenhaur fell a victim to pessimism as any intelligent but nervous person would. Yet another school of thought claims good and evil to be individual relative human impressions rather than real. For instance, a cyclone (or flood) coming to an uninhabited jungle is not termed ?evil? but it is very much so when it ravages a human settlement. Better still, a dark night is evil for the robbed but good for the robber.
These, then, are the various, confusing, conflicting human ideologies about good and evil. Let us now see what the Quran has to say on this intriguing question.
The Quranic Philosophy
About physical events, termed . natural evil?, the Quran says ?We have not created the skies and the earth and what is between them (the Universe), but rightfully (ق? (15/75). The many-faceted word Haq here means something constructive. Contrarily, ?? (wrong) means destructive. Therefore, the Quran pronounces the universe constructive (good) as a whole. It has been seen that there are countless FORCES OF NATURE at play according to Allah?s law. We have also seen that Man has the potential of discovering and harnessing those forces ? ?Whatever is between the skies and the earth is rendered harnessable for you (all)? (45/13). Until the discovery of physical laws governing a force (SCIENCE), it remains uncontrolled and destructive. It becomes constructive when harnessed. Many forces of Nature were awesomely destructive during Man?s infancy. They become constructively useful as they were gradually harnessed through scientific work. The Quran felicitates men who approach the Universe with a scientific mind and make discoveries and thus help probe the rightfulness of the Universe and its forces.
IN PRAISE OF RESEARCHERS Sura Aal-e-Imran says
?There are great signs of the Truth in the Universe and in the cycle of day & night for those who use their mental faculties wisely. That is, for those who keep in view Allah?s law in every facet of life, standing, sitting or even lying down; ponder deeply over the structure of the Universe and discover enough truth to say out loud ?O our Preserver! You haven?t produced (all) this wrongfully. You are too exalted to have produced it so. (It is our ignorance which brings calamities upon us). Grant us the potential to (discover and utilize the Universe through scientific application and thus) save ourselves from destruction (and calamities).?
Nations ignoring scientific work remain deprived of the good that there is; their actions go wasted; they remain down-trodden. Clearly, such people do not get help from any quarter!? (3/189-191).
The Quran terms such researchers as ULEMA (the knowledgeable) (35/27-2. Man?s efforts to provide practical proof for ?O our Preserver! You haven?t produced (all) this wrongfully? have harnessed
the hitherto awesomely destructive forces of Nature --- and considered ?evil? --- and have rendered them useful, constructive and ?good?. Rain water is flood if not controlled but is a revitalizing life source when harnessed. Uncontrolled fire is another such force. Yet another example is a wide variety of poisonous creatures (snakes, scorpions, etc.) which are now a valuable source of antidotes.The author?s own experience I take the liberty of citing my own personal experience in this regard. After I have had a successful surgical operation in 1964, I experienced an accidental hemorrhage. All the expert, sincere efforts of the physician (1) were in vain. I fainted. People around me, including the physician, gave up hope. My breath going, the doctor gave me an injection as a last resort. The bleeding stopped and I gradually came to, returning from the very edge of life. Later, the physician told me about the wonder-drug he had used. It was REPTILASE, an antidote made from snake poison! ?O our Preserver! You haven?t created (all) this wrongfully!? By the way, my experience is not unique or extraordinary. A visit to a chemist?s can provide ample evidence of this phenomenon.
The Question of Pain Pain in considered by some as the ultimate example of evil. But medical experts point out the usefulness of the phenomenon of pair; it is actually the warning signals sent out by a body when it malfunctions. In the absence of pain, one would not be aware of a physical or physiological problem until it is too late. Pain is a blessing in disguise!
The Right Measure It is equally important for mankind to discover the correct measure of substances for maximum benefit. A glass-full of water gives life; huge amounts of water causes death by drowning. Arsenic in minute quantities is revitalizing but kills in large doses. Use of substances in right quantity is of immense importance. It is so effectively proved by the Homeopathic system of medicine where treatment is based upon this principle of ?the right dose?. Homeopathy is living proof of the maxim that all things in the Universe are essentially ?good?. They become ?evil? when they are in the ?wrong? quantity?.
This should explain clearly the Quranic verses (113/1-2). One must be careful of the evil in things. A thing becomes ?good? or ?evil? according to its use by Man. Sura Aal-e-Imran states this principal in (3/25) to say Allah has created ?Good? alone and He has measures / standards for all things. This principle reminds one of the verse (4/79) in Sura Nisa The ?good? you get is from Allah and the ?evil? you get is of your own doing. Verse (4/7 says ?Say Everything is from Allah?. (all actions bear results in accordance with Nature?s law). Also, in (28/60), it says ?Whatever (you) get from Allah is ?good? and permanent?. (if you follow Nature?s law, you will get good for ever). Sura Beni Israel says ?When We bless Man with Our bounties, he acts indifferent; when he is in problems, he is frustrated? (17/83; 41/51). Elsewhere, the Quran says ?When We give Man a taste of bounty, he gets carried away. When he begets problems from his own doing, he gets depressed (and disappointed)? (30/36; 42/4. Sura Aaraaf says ?Fertile land yields well (by Allah?s law) whereas bad land not so well? (7/5.
MORAL GOOD & EVIL
So for we have discussed the physical universe and its properties. In the human world, however, good and evil demonstrate another diversion. A sword has the basic property of cutting (throats), but the different motives of sword-wielding men (a tyrant and a champion of the oppressed) produce opposing results in human society. Yet another example is the use of human faculty of mind which can be used either to deceive or to safeguard against deception. The question, then, is how to determine the (good or evil) nature of an act in human
human social situations. Decidedly, human reason cannot provide the answer --- it is simply impossible for it to be objective. The source beyond human reason is Allah?s Word which has already determined the standards of good and evil ? the Permanent Values. When Man follows the permanent values established by Allah?s Message, good occurs. Otherwise, evil happens. A society negating permanent values (relying on human reason alone) is called the Wrong System (ل because it results in evil. Such a society utilizes the Universe according to human reason which is guided by human emotions which are really instincts inherited from Man?s animalistic phase (self preservation, self-aggression, etc.). Self-preservation, for example, on the group level, actually means preservation of one?s nation. It is not hard to imagine the chaos resulting from this attitude by various nations all over the globe.Mankind is currently going through the hell of nationalism and the resulting chaos of selfish and ruthless human societies that we have today --- ?its sparks spread (all round)? (76/. Ignoring permanent values results in division of mankind not only on the global but also on a national level. Rich and poor classes are created and become permanent and hereditary. A particular life-style is pre-decided for a child according to the social class it is born in. It is not surprising, by the way that Hindu clergy explained the socio-economic disparity of humanity through the philosophy of reincarnation.
Allah?s Will? The viewpoint opposite to this theory attributed the social differences to God who was the architect of Man?s socio-economic status ? fate! Drummed up through ages, this ideology became one of the firm tenants of faith for the common man. This propaganda was deliberate. It aimed at keeping the masses ignorant of the real cause of socio-economic disparity --- the unfair system established by the ?haves? (rulers, clergy, capitalists) to perpetuate their privileged social position to rule and control the multitudes of ?have-nots?.
The Quran is a source of ?good? Let us now refer back to the verse which attributes all good to Allah and all evil to Man. The permanent Values needed to achieve ?good? are preserved in the Quran. Sura An-Nahal says ?They (who oppose) ask those who adhere (to the system)? What has your Preserver sent down? They reply ?good? ? (16/30). Thus, Allah is the source of ?good?. So is the code of life (the Quran) given by him. Therefore, ?good? comes from Allah and ?evil? comes from Man! This is further explained in the same verse ?Those who are (true to permanent values of) ?good? in this life have good in the hereafter? (16/30). This brings to light another definition of ?good?.
Good and Evil (Profit and Loss) can be quite clearly seen (as material gain and loss) in the realm of physical (animalistic) life. As such, nothing is permanently good or evil. That status changes under changing circumstances --- milk is good if one is healthy but not when one is down with flue etc.; (a glass of) water is good but (a pitcher-full of it is) evil under other condition. Therefore, good and evil are relative (not absolute).
At the human level of life, however, Good and Evil have a different standard i.e. good is which develops and integrates the human personality; evil is that disintegrates and damages it, since the human personality is non-physical, too. For instance, the Evil in poison can be readily observed, but the Evil is falsehood in beyond observation. The standard of Good and Evil for the human personality, therefore is the Permanent Values (Morality). Morals are exclusive to Man. They are non-existent in the rest of the Animal Kingdom. Morality has no basis in a society which does not accept the existence of the human personality. Such a (materialistic and secular) society has social and / or legal laws which keep the social fabric intact. Generally, such laws are erroneously referred to as morals ? lying, cheating, etc. In essence, however, they are social rules not moral code. For example, a person in a secular (materialistic) society will think (1) nothing of lying if it is beneficial and can go undetected by the society?s law-enforcing apparatus. Contrarily, a person who accepts the existence of the human personality does not lie under any circumstances. Such abstention from falsehood aims at preserving the integrity of the human personality. That is morality. From the Quranic perspective, the definition of a person of high moral character (the best behavior) is ?The one who rejects material benefits in order to preserve permanent values (to benefit one?s personality)?. As against the materialistic (secular) societies, the code of morality for the human personality are permanent. Adhering to this code generates absolute Good, ignoring it results in absolute Evil, i. e., for example
(i) fraud will always be evil,
(ii) fraud will always be evil, whatever its nature of gravity,
(iii) fraud will always be evil, regardless of changing times or circumstances.Permanent Values (pertaining to the human personality) are permanent, unchanging and absolute.
Since the concept of permanent values is non-existent in a ?wrong? (non-Quranic) society, a member of it who tries to adhere to and follow such values often incurs material losses. In the face of such a clash, mysticism suggests rejection of the (material) world as the way out. This attitude is self-deceptive. One just cannot ignore the world one lives in. The Quran?s suggestion under such circumstances is to create a society on the basis of Permanent Values ? to ensure good for one?s body ? ? (the worldly benefits) as well as for one?s personality ? ? (the benefit of hereafter).
Therefore, the Absolute Good, according to the Quran, is that which provides good in the physical as well as the personal realm. The opposite is, of course, Absolute Evil.
The meaning of verse (16/30) of Sura Nahal should now be very clear which talks about ? ? and ?" in the hereafter. Such a social system is termed ad-Deen by the Quran. To summarize what we have said so far
?The Materialistic (secular) concept of life caters only for the physical side of Man. Ad-Deen opposes this.
?Mysticism advocates rejection of the physical side of Man. Ad-Deen opposes this, too.
?Ad-Deen (the Quranic ) concept of life caters for the physical as well as the personal side of Man. This is absolute Good.This Absolute Good is achievable through conviction (ن and proper deeds (ى, or in other words, by having unshakable trust in Allah and the human personality and leading a life according to Permanent Values. Sura Baqara says ? If they become convinced and lead a proper life, they?ll get Good from Allah. Only if they knew!? (2/103). Such people have been called abraar (ر in (3/19, i. e., those who enjoy the bounties of (the physical) life as well as of (the human) personality. Sura Nahal asks the convinced not to ?sell? (ignore) a permanent value for material benefits, if they want to have Good from Allah, (16/95).
The not-so-convinced prefer the material gain in a clash of values. This misconception is mentioned in Sura Baqara ?It may be that you ignore what is actually good for you and want what is actually evil. Allah knows and you know not? - (don?t depend upon your own knowledge of good and evil. Go by Allah?s knowledge) - (2/216).
The most difficult time in a clash of material and permanent values is when it involves losing one?s life. This is termed as Jihaad (or Qitaal). On such an occasion, the Quran asks the convinced to readily offer life because ?That is good for you if you (really know? (9/41). Men cannot sometime see the truth because material benefits are readily achievable and the Good takes a while in materializing. Such men are hasty (17/11).Self assessment A clash between physical interests and those of the personality is the time for one to not only test oneself of one?s conviction but also to spur oneself on the path of Ad-Deen. This is termed as iblaa by the Quran. The ultimate testing time comes with potential death during such clashes (21/35; 67/2). This is why the Quran wants one to always exclusively adhere to Ad-deen. A complete negation of permanent vales, therefore, is more destructive because of a complete lack of knowledge of real good and evil.
Summary Good and Evil are results of Man?s actions alone. If he employs his capabilities to deal with Nature in accordance with Permanent Values, Good results. Otherwise, Evil is produced. Nature?s Law of Deeds decides on Man?s success and failure to the last iota (99/8-9; also 2/110; 2/215; 27/89; 28/80; 73/20). Allah has NOT pre-decided success (good) or failure (evil) for Man. What He has pre-determined is the Law both for the physical and the personal aspects (in this life as well as in the hereafter).