Forgiveness as strength of character and a path to inner peace opens this issue, followed by a reflection on knowing God, spreading His message with wisdom, and the contact prayer as remembrance. Further pieces explain why God alone is worthy of worship, warn of idol worship as the unforgivable sin, and describe Paradise as a place of peace.
The Quran talks about and emphasizes forgiveness in a strong manner in many verses. In fact, a verse dealing with the First Commandment states:
LĂŁ ElĂŁha EllĂŁ AllĂŁh:
You shall know that: "There is no other god beside God," and ask forgiveness of your sins and the sins of all believing men and women. God is fully aware of your decisions and your ultimate destiny. ( 47:19)
Forgiveness can liberate an individual from resentment and promote inner peace. We need to let go of grudges and thereby find a more positive outlook on life. Some people even say that when you forgive others, you forgive yourself because of the understanding that all human beings make mistakes: You are the best community ever raised among the people: you advocate righteousness and forbid evil, and you believe in God. If the followers of the scripture believed, it would be better for them. Some of them do believe, but the majority of them are wicked. ( 3:110)
God also tells us: Resorting to patience and forgiveness reflects a true strength of character. ( )
Forgiveness demonstrates strength. It has been said that a weak person cannot forgive.
Forgiveness with kindness, compassion and mercy are key attributes of our Almighty Creator. He is the Most Merciful. He has given us this final chance to ask for forgiveness and to redeem our souls: The higher ranks come from Him, as well as forgiveness and mercy. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful. ( 4:96)
You shall implore God for forgiveness. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful. ( 4:106)
Some people bring out the best in you and show you kindness and compassion, while some bring out the worst in you. Since God is in control of everything, perhaps He placed them in your life to teach you patience and forgiveness and how not to treat others as they have treated you.
I need to keep learning through all stages of my life. I want to become a peaceful person. Forgiveness can rid me of negativity, jealousy, and sorrow. If I don't forgive someone, then I am carrying a grudge and giving that person too much importance in my life.
I become trapped in ego, pride and hate. It has become a disease. On the other hand, when I forgive someone, God allows me to unload that burden from my back. God blesses me: Did we not cool your temper? And we unloaded your load (of sins). One that burdened your back. We exalted you to an honorable position. With pain there is gain. Indeed, with pain there is gain. Whenever possible you shall strive. Seeking only your Lord. ( 94:1 -8)
So, I need to be forgiving and always pray for God to forgive me: At dawn, they prayed for forgiveness. ( 51:18)
Say, "My Lord, shower us with forgiveness and mercy. Of all the merciful ones, You are the Most Merciful." ( 23:118)
You shall glorify and praise your Lord, and implore Him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer. ( 110:3)
Lisa
This is an excerpt from Lifting the Veil: Women's Rights, the Quran and Islam by Lisa Spray. God willing, this powerful book will soon be available through Amazon.
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The Purpose of our Existence
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I remember, back in the 1960s, lying in bed as a child, eyes closed, reaching into the quiet darkness of my mind—trying to see the face of God. I'm not even sure where I got that idea. Maybe it was a verse we read or a song we sang in vacation Bible school. But I was drawn to it. There was a longing in me I couldn't explain. A pull toward something holy. I didn't know the scriptures yet, but my heart already knew what Psalm 27:8 would one day reveal: 'When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'' And Psalm 105:4: 'Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.' I recall closing my eyes so tight that little images would appear in the darkness of my mind and open up to vast worlds of swirling lines of light and I would try to imagine being in the presence of God, and I would talk to God, begging Him to let me in and see Him. I would do this every night lying in bed before falling off to sleep.
That longing I felt as a child—reaching into the darkness, trying to see the face of God—was the beginning of something deeper: the desire to know God. Not just to believe in Him, but to truly know Him. To understand His will, His mercy, His purpose for us.
But knowing God is not like solving a thousand-piece puzzle or mastering a difficult subject. It's more like staring into the heavens with a heart full of questions. It's going to take time. As human beings it is quite obvious that the more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know. This brings us to a deeper question—not just what we know, but how we've been taught to know. And who has shaped that knowledge.
I have been a submitter for 34 years, and as I seek to understand how to deliver God's message,
I have learned that the objective, from a psychological perspective, is to reverse the ideas and concepts that have been programmed into the minds of people by the religious statements and church doctrines that have caused them to adopt a belief system that has resulted in their loss of contact with what is real, factual, historical, and spiritual.
When truth is buried beneath centuries of doctrine, uncovering even one lie threatens the entire structure. That's why institutions often resist truth—not because they don't know it, but because they fear what it will unravel.
So, what is Knowing God?
This is the paradox of seeking God. The closer we get, the more we realize how vast He is. How infinite. How beyond comprehension. And yet… He invites us to know Him. To seek Him. To worship Him. Not because we can't grasp His entirety, but because He has placed within us the capacity to recognize His signs, to feel His mercy, and to align ourselves with His will.
This is the beginning of true submission: not claiming to know everything, but humbling ourselves before the One who does. The One who created knowledge itself. The One who speaks to us through His book, the Quran: [ 2:2] This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous.
How to Spread God's Message
[ 16:125] You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who are the guided ones.
True worship begins not when we perform our Contact Prayers, but when we orient EVERYTHING—our knowledge, our intention, and our actions — toward GOD!
Each of us is a brick—not in isolation, but in divine formation of a wall.
When we align our intention with truth, we don't just stand firm—we shine with light. And on the Day when all veils are lifted, our light will testify, flowing to our right, illuminating the path we chose: the path of worshipping God Alone.
God gives us a powerful reminder: Satan is your most ardent enemy! He lies; he whispers; he deceives; he makes false promises; and he is relentless. Satan injects spiritual interference raining down from all directions.
[ 7:17] '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.'
If Satan surrounds us with interference, then let us surround ourselves with remembrance. If he comes from every direction, then let our light shine in every direction. The Contact Prayer thus is not just ritual—it's resistance. It's how the soul realigns itself when distractions pour from all directions. When Satan lurks on the straight path, remembrance pulls us back to center. Salat isn't our obligation—it's our oxygen. And its purpose is exactly what God declares: remembrance.
The Contact Prayers (Salat)
[ 29:45] You shall recite what is revealed to you of the scripture, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), for the Contact Prayers prohibit evil and vice. But the remembrance of GOD (through Salat) is the most important objective. GOD knows everything you do.
[ 30:30] Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
Submission to God isn't just a religion — it's a recalibration of the natural instinct placed into our souls by GOD.
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The Purpose of our Existence
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Prayer and remembrance help us reconnect with that original state, peeling back layers of forgetfulness and conditioning.
Before the beginning, there was no ticking clock. No galaxies spinning. No atoms dancing. There was only God. We were chosen before time. Called before the cosmos was created. Worship is not a response to existence — it is the reason for it.
Before the beginning, there was only God — not 'a god', not 'one of many' — but the One. The Absolute. The Eternal. The One whose Oneness is beyond number, beyond division, beyond time.
[ 21:21] Have they found gods on earth who can create? [ 21:22] If there were in them (the heavens and the earth) other gods beside GOD, there would have been chaos. Glory be to GOD; the Lord with absolute authority. He is high above their claims.
Worship isn't just devotion—it's alignment with the one unopposed source of truth, power, and love.
So what about that child back in the 60's who was seeking God's face at night. It was instinct placed in my soul by God. It was God guiding me to Him, MashaAllah. And it was my response. That longing has never left me. Even now, only God guides me. It's why I return to my Contact Prayers—five times, every day. Because seeking His face… is more than prayer. It's not ritual. It's not routine. It's alignment. It's unity, It's remembrance. It's our soul saying: we hear and we obey. I know where I belong. I know where I want to go. May God forgive all the submitters and save a place for all of us in Paradise.
And my only purpose in life, all of us, our only purpose in this life, is to worship God alone.
Jerry
Worthy of Worship (WOW)
New Year's is the time many people make resolutions for the coming year. It's a promise to do better, like give up smoking, eat healthier, exercise more regularly. But rarely do these resolutions focus on worshiping God more.
[ 7:51] Those who do not take their religion seriously, and are totally preoccupied with this worldly life, we forget them on that day, because they forgot that day, and because they spurned our revelations.
What does that mean? Spurn means to reject something with disdain or contempt. It means to push away or refuse to accept something or someone. In this case, it is God's words, His guidance, His mercy. People don't try to do more righteous works; they completely reject God's revelations. They often look for someone or something else to worship.
As submitters, we know that only God is worthy of worship. WOW! Worthy of Worship. Worthy means having worth or value. It means one is deserving of respect, admiration and support. Worship means to honor or show reverence, particularly to a divine being.
People worship a variety of things depending on their religious beliefs. They may worship their ancestors, spirits, the angels, the saints, or worldly things like money and power. But idol worship of any kind is a dangerous thing. It's the devil's tool to turn us away from God. What does God say about idol worship? He calls it the unforgivable sin.
The Unforgivable Sin
[ 4:116] GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray.
[ 16:73] Yet, they worship beside GOD what possesses no provisions for them in the heavens, nor on earth, nor can provide them with anything.
And He reminds us that on the Day of Resurrection, idols will not only not help anyone, but they will disown those who idolized them. [ 16:86] And when those who committed idol worship see their idols, they will say, "Our Lord, these are the idols we had set up beside You." The idols will then confront them and say, "You are liars."
Appendix 27 asks the question: Who is your God? And the answer is "Your God is whoever or whatever occupies your mind most of the time." It can be anything that takes our focus off of God, like our job, money, or family. That becomes our idol. We need to bring our focus back to God alone. And He tells us in the Quran why He is the only one worthy of worship.
God Alone Worthy of Worship
[ 6:46] Say, "What if GOD took away your hearing and your eyesight, and sealed your minds; which god, other than GOD, can restore these for you?" Note how we explain the revelations, and note how they still deviate!
[ 27:60] Who is the One who created the heavens and the earth? Who is the One who sends down to you from the sky water, whereby we produce gardens full of beauty―you could not possibly manufacture its trees? Is it another god with GOD? Indeed, they are people who have deviated.
[ 27:61] Who is the One who made the earth habitable, caused rivers to run through it, placed on it mountains, and created a barrier between the two waters? Is it another god with GOD? Indeed, most of them do not know.
[ 27:62] Who is the One who rescues those who become desperate and call upon Him, relieves adversity, and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is it another god with GOD? Rarely do you take heed.
[ 27:63] Who is the One who guides you in the darkness of land and sea? Who is the One who sends the winds with good news, signaling His mercy? Is it another god with GOD? Most exalted is GOD, above having any partner.
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Worthy of Worship (WOW)
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[ 27:64] Who is the One who initiates the creation, then repeats it? Who is the One who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Is it another god with GOD? Say, "Show me your proof, if you are truthful."
[ 30:40] GOD is the One who created you. He is the One who provides for you. He is the One who puts you to death. He is the One who resurrects you. Can any of your idols do any of these things? Be He glorified. He is much too exalted to have any partners.
[ 31:29] Do you not realize that GOD merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night, and that He has committed the sun and the moon in your service, each running in its orbit for a specific life span, and that GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do?
[ 35:15] O people, you are the ones who need GOD, while GOD is in no need for anyone, the Most Praiseworthy.
Every time we say "Wow" about anything we see or hear, we can think, "Yes, God alone is WOW, Worthy of Worship." A beautiful sunset is Wow. A newborn baby is Wow. A snowcapped mountain is Wow. And all these things are gifts from God, so God is truly WOW!
May we always remember that God ALONE is Worthy of Worship. WOW!
Taareq
Paradise
In heaven, there will be no nonsense uttered, no bickering, only peace. The greeting we are commanded to give in this life is "Peace." That's how we should live this life. Offering peace freely to others and accepting it from whomever offers it.
God not only knows our past, present and future, but to Him all of it belongs. The believing, the repenting and the reforming: God forgives our sins of the past, the present, the future. He is the Most High, none equals Him.
The human being is forgetful, but God does not forget.
God created us out of nothing. All creation—the seen and the unseen—is amazing.
All will be gathered on the Day of
Judgment. Everything in this life—the believing in God, the believing in the Hereafter, the absolute devotion, steadfastly persevering in worshipping God alone, the repenting, the reforming, working righteousness, or doing none of these—will determine the weight of your soul, heavy or light, able to stand in the presence of God or not. On that Day, it will be the humiliation of the transgressors who deserve the burning or the rescuing of the righteous.
[ 39:73] Those who reverenced their Lord will be led to Paradise in throngs. When they get to it, and its gates are opened, its guards will say, "Peace be upon you; you have won. Therefore, you abide herein forever."
[ 39:74] They will say, "Praise be to GOD, who fulfilled His promise to us, and made us inherit the earth, enjoying Paradise as we please." What a beautiful recompense for the workers!
[ 39:75] You will see the angels floating around the throne, glorifying and praising their Lord. After the equitable judgment is issued to all, it will be proclaimed: "Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe."
Praise be to God, Lord of the universe!
Linda
Happy New Year
Happy new year dear readers. May God bless us with a soul-nourishing year.
To read the Quran online or download an app or learn more on Submission, please visit:Â https://www.masjidtucson.org/
About this work
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Newsletter
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson