Friday, 15 May 2015

Sincerity in Faith

                                 “And they were not enjoined aught but
                                   that they should worship God, sincere
                                   in their (commitment to) Religion to                                             
                                  Him, turning away from all that is false,
                                  And that they should be constant in
                                  prayer, and that they should pay the
                                  purifying alms (zakat), for this is the
                                  upright Religion”
                                                        (Qur’an, 98:5)

“Deen” in Arabic can mean “Religion” or “Creed”, but it can also mean “the commitment of a person to a religion”.
God asks mankind to perform their duty (the terminology used in the Qur’an says “ibadah”, which means “devotion”) (2:21; 51:56).

Every creation of God has its duty or obligation which cannot be denied, except Mankind and Jinn who have the option to obey or disobey, for which they get their due reward in the hereafter, good or bad:
“Have you not seen that to God prostrate (= perform its duty) all whoever is in the heavens and whoever in the earth, and the sun and the moon, and the stars and the mountains, and the trees and the animals, as well as many of mankind? And for many (of human beings) the chastisement has become due. And he whom God abases, there is none to give him honor. Indeed God does whatever He will” (22:18).

For these two kinds of creation, Mankind and Jinn, which have the option to obey or disobey God, there is guidance, a criterion to measure their deeds. And this is the “Deen” (= the Religion), which was revealed to all Messengers of God. Each human being has a commitment with God to do the best possible in performing his/her duty. A part of mankind’s devotion to God is to stimulate and motivate this commitment, by using his/her intellect, reason and insight to be able to discover some “mysteries” and subdue forces of nature, which are given to him/her by God: “Are you not aware that God has made subservient to you all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and has lavished upon you His blessings, both outward and inward? “ (31:20).

If we dig deeper into that guidance of God for Mankind, we will find out that most of those ordinances are moral codes to guide people on how to manage their interactions in personal, familial, social, economic and political matters:
“We have verily sent our messengers with clear signs, and We revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance, so that mankind may uphold justice..” (57:25).  

Beside many indications on how God is favoring them with the most important material sources, which enable them to increase their skills to make tools and anything that can enrich their mode of life, God has mentioned specifically the iron: “.. And We sent down Iron, wherein is great might and (many) uses for mankind, and so that God might mark out those who would stand up for Him and His messengers, even though He (Himself) is beyond the reach of human perception. Verily, God is Powerful, Almighty” (57:25).

“Iron is biologically significant, because it is a component of hemoglobin, a red oxygen-carrying pigment of the red blood cells of vertebrates; iron compounds are important in nutrition; one cause of anemia is iron deficiency. Iron is an abundant element in the universe; it is found in many stars, including the sun. Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s crust, which it constitutes about 5% by weight. Iron forms such compounds as oxides, hydroxides, halides, acetates, carbonates, sulfides, nitrates, sulfates, and a number of complex ions” (www.encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com).

This indicates that for a Muslim, to be devout to God by only performing prescribed ritual activities is not enough, he/she should rather also be active in different domains, which can be profitable for the society and help develop human civilization: “All shall have degrees according to what they have done. Your Lord is not heedless of what they do” (6:132).

All good initiatives and words, provided they are used within the lawful sphere and done by the believers for God’s sake, could bring them glory in this worldly life and in the life to come: “Whoever desires glory (should know that) all glory belongs to God. To Him ascends good words; and as for righteous action, He exalts it; but those who plot evil, their plotting shall come to nothing” (35:10).        



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