Message #2559

[Zainab_M]

Thought it would be a great idea if we chose Verses and discussed our thoughts on it for a while, then move to a new Verse/s.

I will start off, inshallah.

"It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing." (2:177) Al-Baqra


Very good idea brother.  I would look at this verse as a brief yet very comprehensive description of righteousness in the sight of the Almighty Allah.  Ritualistic and heedless worship with minimal or no awakening of one's conscience with its implementation in one's life is not piety, no matter how regularly and impressively it maybe performed.  In the sight of God this is only a facade, an act with outward correctness, being quite empty from within.  Righteousness and genuine piety is acquired by constructing the Faith and all the good deeds that must follow Faith by carefully reflecting and understanding the existence of God, our purpose of life on earth and the truth about the Hereafter.  This brings us to a topic we discussed recently, that is, adhering to righteousness for the sake of Allah.  The thought and understanding of the Almighty Allah gets us close to Him.  He recognizes our efforts to seek guidance and grants us more guidance.  This enhances our enlightenment.  Thus, we learn to improve our conduct and love humanity.  We establish a link between our love for God and love for humanity, because if we hadn't understood God, we might not have been able to realize with as much clarity the importance of compassion towards others.  The thought and love of God strengthens and stabilizes our moral pledge that we need to implement in our practical lives with our fellow human beings, and all living beings.  With such an awakening, our worship and beliefs as per the dictates of the Almighty Allah will never be symbolic but will have a clear-cut meaning for ourselves, subsequently helping us to be rational and not hasty, just and not bias, sympathetic and not brutal. 

Also, fear of God must not be confused with the usual worldly fear humans experience of one another.  Undoubtedly, the warnings in the Noble Quraan are meant to bring fear of the Power of Allah into the hearts of the evil doers.  Yet, if a sinful person turns towards God seeking His guidance, and God decides to bestow guidance to that person, that same fear which made him reflect about God changes into an infinite and indestructible expanse of love & trust in his heart for his Creator. 

And only Allah knows best.

Salaam Alaikum and peace ..