God's Grace, Prophet's Gatherings, Persevering in Confinement
Issue 322 » April 15, 2005 - Rabi-al-Awwal 6, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Baqara
(The Cow)
The Quran refutes the doctrine that certain consequences necessarily follow from sins and that man must in all cases bear them. In fact this is one of the most misleading doctrines to have been invented by Human imagination. If it were true it would mean that a sinner would never have the opportunity to have his repentance accepted. It is a mechanistic view of reward and punishment and thus prevents and discourages the sinner from trying to improve. The Quran, on the contrary, tells man that reward for good actions and punishment for bad ones rests entirely with God. The reward that one receives for good act is not the natural consequence of those acts; it is rather due to the grace and benevolence of God and it is entirely up to Him to reward one or not. Likewise, punishment for evil deeds is not a natural and unalterable consequence of man's acts. God has full authority to punish man for his sin as well as to pardon him. God's grace and mercy, however, are interrelated with His wisdom. Since he is wise, He does not use His power arbitrarily. Hence, whenever God rewards a man for his good acts, He does so because the good was done with purity of intention and for the sake of pleasing God. And if God refuses to accept an act of apparent goodness, He does so because that act had merely the form or appearance of goodness, and was not motivated by the desire to please God. In the same way God punishes man for those sins which he commits with rebellious boldness, and which whet his appetite for more rather than lead him to repentance. Similarly, in His mercy God pardons those sins which are followed by genuine repentance and readiness on the part of the sinner to reform himself. There is no need for the criminal to despair of God's grace and mercy, no matter how great a criminal he is. Nor is there any reason for even the most rabid disbeliever to despair, provided he recognizes his error, repents of his disobedience and is ready to replace his former disobedience with obedience. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| His Gatherings All gatherings in which Allah is forgotten and only matters of worldly interest, or pleasure, are mentioned are in effect gatherings of decay. Whenever a Muslim finds himself in a gathering where the major subject of concern is the life of this world (even if there is some mention of the next world as well), he should remember the following teaching of the Prophet, upon him be peace:
Because socializing might have the effect of stirring up rivalry in worldly affairs, or ostentatiousness, or even arrogance; and because it might tend to occupy the minds of people with trivialities; and because it might make relationships which were better not made - for these reasons - as reported on the authority of Ibn Umar:
In this way the Prophet used to call an end to his meetings. Thus no one who attended would return to his home without having been immersed in the mercy of Allah! Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Persevering in a Confinement One does not protect oneself from one's enemy by concealing from him, and by hiding from oneself, one's defects. On the contrary, it is appropriate to be completely aware and clear about one's own shortcomings. Those who consider the West as an enemy feel that any criticism directed at Muslims is a kind of dishonest compromise especially if it is enunciated in the presence of Westerners. Keen to appear "unwavering", they forget themselves. Yet, to elaborate a critical denunciation in no way means making an "alliance" with the West. It is before anything else remaining faithful to the Message of Islam which, above all, imposes justice and equity. It seems clear that we are opposed to the economic and strategic policies of the West, and this does not mean that the West, in itself, is the enemy. There exist a great number of intellectuals, journalists and researchers who have a genuine concern for understanding and who need to hear, read and refer to an honest and well-thought-out discourse and bring to the fore, without complacency, the gaps and betrayals in the Muslim universe. This, unless we want to persevere in a confinement that neither the Quran nor the Sunna have prescribed. Source: |
