Paradise and how to earn it through reverence in the contact prayer, obligatory charity, inviting to God without self promotion, repentance and steadfastness, drawn from Quranic verses. A second essay explains that this life is a test in prosperity and adversity, citing the tested prophets. Also defines who a Submitter is, introduces ICS, and notes the 1998 conference is still being planned.
How many of us or how often do we think ahead
of the Hereafter, and what we should do to earn our place in Paradise? Verse
25:75 in the Quran says: “These are the ones who attain Paradise
in return for their steadfastness, they are received therein with joyous
greetings and peace.” The next verse continues with “Eternally
they abide therein; what a beautiful destiny; what a beautiful abode.”
So now, how do we attain this goal? Which of us will be the fortunate ones
who will be granted the Garden of Bliss, an everlasting reward?
God has blessed us by giving us several ways and reminders about this in
His Quran. For example, Verses tell us that “Paradise
will be offered to the righteous readily. This is what was promised to every
repenter, steadfast.” But God also cautions us in that “This
is difficult indeed but not so for the reverent, who
believe that they will meet
their Lord, that to Him they ultimately return.”
So let us work towards achieving this goal. Submit to God and devote
our worship to HIM alone, and not set up any idols beside Him. Follow
His guidance, invite to it, strengthen our faith, commemorate the name
of our Lord day and night, race towards forgiveness, obey the commandments,
spread God’s message by inviting to the path of God, steadfastly
persevere, work towards righteousness, believe in the Hereafter, be appreciative
and fully repent to Him are among the numerous ways we can achieve this.
If we had to stop and reflect upon how we would seriously employ each
one of these ways into our lives, we would realize that we have a lot
of work ahead. And this life is too short to risk otherwise.
How beautifully the Quran opens with Sura 1, “The Key” with
its seven structured verses therein. Then Verses 2:2-5 say that “This
scripture is infallible;
a beacon for the righteous;
who believe in the unseen, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and
from our provisions to them, they give to charity, and they believe in
what was revealed to you, and in what was revealed before you, and with
regard to the hereafter, they are absolutely certain. These are guided
by their Lord; these are the winners.”
We should reflect on Verse 19:76:
“God augments the guidance of those who choose to
be guided, for the good deeds are eternally rewarded by your Lord, and
bring far better returns.” We must repent, kill our egos, and accept
God’s guidance through His revelations.
So, the one who reads the Quran, child or adult, whether in Arabic or
any other language, has to accept the Quran as God’s divine Law
and HIS Absolute Authority. How merciful of God to send down His guidance
and commandments to help us.
Page 2
What A Beautiful Destiny
But yet we often find ourselves faltering with basic commandments.
We read earlier that we must be reverent. We must be especially
reverent during our daily Contact Prayers. As believers we do observe
our five daily Contact Prayers. But how reverent are we about them
and during them? How well do we understand what we are saying and
how well do we uphold those words in our daily lives? These few
moments out of the 24 hours God has given us are a very special
opportunity for us to drop everything and make very special Contact
with HIM, reciting His beautiful gift, the Key, repeatedly acknowledging
that HE is indeed the Great Lord of the Universe!
What about the Obligatory Charity (Zakat)? To give from what God
has given us, which we have only because HE gave it to us in the
first place. Of course we will give! Praise God for the fact that
we are in a position to give Zakat! But giving could be the easy
part. How efficient are we in expediting the calculation and distribution
on “the day of harvest?”
We must spread God’s message by inviting to the Path of God.
Verse 3:104 says “Let there
be a community of you who invite to what is good, advocate righteousness
and forbid evil. These are the winners.” Verse 41:33
says “Who can utter better words than one who invites
to God, works righteousness and says, I am one of the Submitters.”
We must remember that we are commanded to spread the word of God.
The command is not to spread the word that we are knowledgeable
about the word of God. A person worthy of saying “I am one
of the submitters” should spend his time directing people
to be kind, humble worshipers of God and to pray for guidance to
understand the Quran; not spend his time directing people to himself
or his understanding of the Quran, disguising it under calls to
follow Quran alone!
God constantly reminds us that HE is with those who repent and
steadfastly persevere. In time of adversity, resort to patience,
be steadfast in obeying HIS commandments, remain guided, forbid
evil, steadfastly commemorate God, and advocate one another to be
righteous. We must fully repent, which is important, because we
know God does redeem after one has repented sincerely and completely.
“As for those who repent, reform and proclaim, I redeem
them. I am the redeemer, Most Merciful.” (2:160)
Righteous and Righteousness
Verses 26:89-90 state that “Only those who come to God
with their whole heart (will be saved). Paradise will be presented
to the righteous.”
Verses 50:31-35 tell us that “Paradise will be offered
to the righteous, readily. This is what was promised to every repenter,
steadfast. They reverenced the Most Gracious, in their privacy and
came wholeheartedly. Enter it in Peace; this is the day of Eternity.
They get anything they wish therein and we have even more.”
Verse 2:201 is the prayer of believers: “Our Lord grant
us righteousness in this world and righteousness in the Hereafter,
and spare us the retribution of Hell.”
Continuously, God reminds us to be appreciative. Verse 2:152 says
“You shall remember ME, that I may remember you, and be
thankful to ME, do not be unappreciative.”
Lastly, God has given us examples of many words we must pray to
hear on “the Day of reckoning”. Among the words that
I look forward to hear, if my Lord wills, are in Verses 89:27-30:
“As for you, O content soul, return to your Lord, pleased
and pleasing. Welcome into My servants. Welcome into My Paradise.”
Mashallah. May God guide us and forgive us. Praise be to God, Lord
of the Universe.
Hena Rahimtulla
Mumbai, India
Page 3
This Life is a Test
Do you expect to enter Paradise without
being tested like those before you?
They were tested with hardship and adversity, and were shaken up,
until the messenger and those who believed with him said,
“Where is God’s victory?” God’s victory
is near (2:214)
After committing our original sin, that is, not making a firm stand
for God’s absolute authority, God has given us a chance to
redeem ourselves. We are in this world to denounce our sin and rejoin
God’s kingdom by accepting His absolute authority. But this
is not to be without us being tested in good times and in bad times.
We will be tested with adversity and hardship as well as with prosperity
and happiness. Many people protest when God puts them through difficult
conditions as a test. Obviously, these people do not know that we
(the human beings) are the ones who chose to go through these tests.
In addition, God alone knows which people are good and which ones
are bad. We understand from the Quran that the people have to be
tested in order to see if they are as good as they claim:
God is not to leave the believers as you are, without
distinguishing the bad from the good.... (3:179)
It is a human tendency that when we are rich, prosperous and healthy,
we go through a state of forgetfulness and negligence regarding
our responsibility towards God. We become proud of ourselves. We
think we are in control, invincible and nothing can touch us. We
forget who has bestowed His mercy upon us. God gives us an example
in the Quran:
We have tested them like we tested the owners of
the garden who swore that they will harvest it in the morning.
They were so absolutely
sure. A passing (storm) from your Lord passed by it while they were
asleep. By morning, it was barren. They called on each other in
the morning. “Let us harvest the crop.”
On their way, they confided to each other. That from
then on, none of them would be poor. They were so absolutely sure
of their harvest. But when they saw it, they said, “We were
so wrong!” (68:17-26)
When adversity touches us, we implore God sincerely. We devote
our prayer to Him alone, and implore Him at all times. But as soon
as He relieves our condition, we go on as if nothing happened and
as if we never asked for His help. Sometimes, we worship God conditionally.
If things go our way, we are content, but if we face a rough road,
adversity or hardship, we make an about-face (22:11).
We should remember God at all times, good or bad, during prosperous
times or during adversity. Everything is from God. Nothing will
happen to us without His knowledge and awareness. Therefore, we
should not say we will do this or that without remembering Him and
asking for His help (18:23-24).
Through the Quran, we learn that even prophets and messengers were
put to the test. Abraham was put to the test through certain commands
(2:124).
Joseph was put to the test by means
of the Egyptian governor’s wife (12:24). Jacob had to wait
for many years to rejoin his beloved son Joseph (Sura 12). Solomon
was tested with the vast
riches of this mundane life (38:34). In fact, we learn from the
Quran that every prophet or messenger was put to the test one way
or another. But, every one of them passed their test through steadfastness
and perseverance.
The believers and submitters will be tested for their belief and
steadfastness (2:124). The non-believers will be tested with adversity
or prosperity so they may take heed and return (7:168).
God alternates the days of victory and defeat among
the people. God thus distinguishes those who truly believe (3:140).
We should take refuge in God from Satan’s whispers and revere
Him alone. Our Lord is full of grace towards us. We should remember
Him at all times and ask for His forgiveness and mercy. In conclusion,
we should also remember that:
If anyone thinks that God cannot support him in this
life and in the Hereafter, let him turn completely to (his creator
in) heaven, and sever (his dependence on anyone else). He will then
see that this plan eliminates anything that bothers him. (22:15)
Dr. Massoud Hojjatie
1998 Conference
United International Submitters
We are still trying to finalize the
dates and the location of the conference. If you have any comments
or suggestions, please let us know as soon as possible. God bless
you.
Page 4
You May Already be a Submitter!
If you haven’t heard the word Submitter
and do not know what it means, check this out. You might have been a Submitter
all your life but have not realized you were one, God willing, until you
read this article.
Who is a Submitter?
A Submitter can be defined as a person who submits to the will of God.
The state of Submission, which can only take place between the person
and God Almighty, is considered to be the only acceptable form of worship
by God. Therefore, Submission is not just a name of a religion, rather
it describes one’s devotion to God alone. Submission is a religion
whereby one recognizes God’s absolute authority, and reaches a conviction
that God alone possesses all power; no other entity possesses any power
that is independent of Him. The natural result of such a realization is
to devote one’s life and one’s worship absolutely to God alone.
This is the First Commandment in all the scriptures, including the Old
Testament, the New Testament and the Final Testament (The Quran).
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is One God!
Therefore you shall adore the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 12:29-30, Quran 3:18)
How can we know if we might qualify to be called a Submitter? The minimum
criteria to be a Submitter are given in the following verses.
Surely, those who believe,
those who are Jewish, the Christians,
and the converts; anyone who
(1) believes in GOD, and
(2) believes in the Last Day, and
(3) leads a righteous life,
will receive their recompense from their Lord.
They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. (2:62, 5:69)
What is ICS?
ICS, the International Community of Submitters, is a group of like minded
individuals who have come together to worship God, and only God. We follow
the religion of Adam, Noah and Abraham. It was the religion of Moses and
Jesus and Muhammad. It was the religion of all of the prophets and messengers.
All of them were Submitters to God, and God alone.
To join to ICS, you do not need any membership, nor do you have to pay
any dues. If you are a Submitter, then you
are our brother or sister. Submitters are members of one family. They
are allies of one another. They help and support each other as God and
His angels help and support them. They are also united in one column when
striving in the cause of God.
The Submitters follow God’s revelations, and obey God’s commandments
as best they can. They follow the truth from their Lord, not the corrupted
religions and man-made doctrines. ICS believes that the Submission today
is like a precious jewel that is buried under piles upon piles of man-made
innovations. Our aim is to purge these innovations by upholding the Quran
alone, and present the jewel of true Submission to the world. If you want
to be part of the history in the making, you can join us in our cause.
God bless you.
No Compulsion in Religion
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About this work
Kind
Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson