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[33:72] We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.*
Footnote: *33:72 The animals, trees, stars, etc. took advantage of this most gracious offer.
But our egos caused us to reject this generous offer and believe somehow that we could come back to God on our own. We didn’t calculate the strength of Satan’s power over us. We should have paid attention. He made his threat very clear.
[7:16-7] He said, "Since You have willed that I go astray, I will skulk for them on Your straight path. I will come to them from before them, and from behind them, and from their right, and from their left, and You will find that most of them are unappreciative."
History needs to be studied, so we can, hopefully, learn from mistakes and do better in the future. We humans don’t do a very good job of that. The Quran is full of lessons, but we see again and again that communities make the same mistakes, even though they are aware of previous communities and their failures. We have before us “the most important event in the history of the human race.” God has spelled it out for us. It’s up to us to learn from that event, and stop committing the same offense. Every time we place anything or anyone beside God, we are behaving exactly as we did during the Great Feud. We must reverence God, worship God alone, keep Him foremost in our thoughts and deeds, and kill our ego, which is our worst enemy and Satan’s best tool. Only this way can we realize God’s mercy:
[15:39-49] He [Satan] said, "My Lord, since You have willed that I go astray, I will surely entice them on earth; I will send them all astray. Except those among Your worshipers
who are devoted absolutely to You alone." He said, "This is a law that is inviolable. You have no power over My servants. You only have power over the strayers who follow you. And Hell awaits them all. It will have seven gates. Each gate will get a specific share of them." As for the righteous, they will enjoy gardens and springs. Enter therein, peaceful and secure. We remove all jealousy from their hearts. Like one family, they will be on adjacent furnishings. Never will they suffer any fatigue therein; never will they be evicted therefrom. Inform My servants that I am the Forgiver, Most Merciful.
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Praise God and Peace Be Upon You.
I am SO delighted to find a like-minded teaching of Islam. I converted from Christianity because Islam resonated with my heart and my mental sensibility. I was then confronted with “what-kind” of Muslim I am. I answered that I believe the Quran is the written Word of God and do not follow any other “off-the-record” references such as Hadith.
I am also pleased to hear you refer to God instead of insisting on saying Allah. I believe that most of the Muslim community’s reluctance to say God instead of Allah impedes understanding of the religion in America. So many times I hear, “Muslims don’t worship God, they worship Allah.” For this reason, whenever I speak to someone of a different religion, I say God. After all, Allah is simply Arabic for God.
Yours Truly,
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[17:110] Say, “Call Him GOD, or call Him Most Gracious; whichever name you use, to Him belongs the best names.” ...
Letter from a Reader
Dear Masjid Tucson,
Am so happy Allah allowed you to send me the Submitters Perspective Feb 2013. I thought after you sent me the "Quran", that was it. Thank you. As you know am in Prison and I understand that us prison Muslims have bad reps. I don't want to be a prison Muslim. I just want to be a striving Muslim. I wrote so many Masjids. Barely any have written back and none wrote twice. I would like to know more about your Masjid. I need help changing my behavior and Islam is the help I want. I pray Allah allows me to parole and remain a Muslim. Islam means so much to me.
I have a question when I make Salat (Contact) is it proper to praise "Our Holy Prophet" (SAW) and if I am not supposed to, what do I say in its place. Dr. Rashad Khalifa's teachings are very clear and deep. But the part referring to praising "Our Holy Prophet" SAW being invalid, I don't understand and I really want to. Am 31 years old. I'll be 40 soon 9 years is not long. So I look at it like I got 9 yrs to get my deen correct and uncorrupt. Inshallah you can help.
Peace and Thank you.
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Editorial Reply: We must remember that our prayers must be devoted to God Alone. We should never mention anything or anyone other than God in our Contact Prayers (72:18, 20:14, 6:162). Muhammad would not have mentioned himself when praying to God, nor would he have asked his followers to mention him. We are making contact with our Creator, and we have no other god besides God.
[72:18] The places of worship belong to GOD; do not call on anyone else beside GOD.
[20:14] "I am GOD; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.