Never despairing of God's mercy in hardship, drawn from Joseph, Jacob, Job, Abraham, Zechariah, Mary, and Moses and his teacher in the Quran. A second article answers claimed contradictions in the Quran: that no soul carries another's sins, obeying the messenger versus worshiping God alone, and how creation in two plus four days equals six days.
We all have ups and downs
in our lives. While it’s up, we are happy. When it’s down,
we might not be happy but we should never ever despair of God’s
mercy. It helps to remember that anything that happens is already recorded.
Therefore, we shall not grieve over anything we miss, nor be proud of
anything God has bestowed upon us (57:23, 24).
Let’s seek lessons from the Quran, and begin with Joseph, since
in Joseph and his brother there are lessons for the seekers (12:7).
Joseph had experienced all kinds of things in his life such as being
the subject of jealousy (, 8, 9, 77), being thrown into the abyss
of the well (), being treated as merchandise (, 20), suffering
from women’s schemes (, 50), different kinds of accusations
such as adultery and theft (12:25, 77), prison
(12:33), being far from his family for years (12:84), and continuous accusations
from his own brothers (12:77).
In spite of all these, he never ever despaired God’s mercy. Consequently,
God made it up to him and gave him a prominent position (12:54, 55), and
kingship (12:101).
Meanwhile, Jacob, Joseph’s father, although he was grieving, he
never despaired of God’s grace until God brought his children back
to him (12:83, 87, 94-96).
When the devil had afflicted Job with hardship, pain, and adversity
God rescued him, relieved adversity which had befallen him, and restored
his family for him, even twice as much (21:83, 84) (38:41-43). And God
was proud of Job.
When Abraham was to be thrown in the fire, he did not despair. Then God
interfered and the fire became cool and safe for Abraham (21:69; 15:56).
Zechariah, similar to Abraham, kept imploring God without ever despairing
till God granted him an heir (19:3-7).
While giving birth to Jesus, Mary was so ashamed that she wished for
her death: “I wish I were dead before this happened, and completely
forgotten” (19:23). Note how hard it must have been for Mary. Then,
the newborn messenger, Jesus, tells her to not grieve, but to think about
the positive things that God has provided for her (19:24-26).
I want you not me to bear my sin and your sin, then
you end up with the dwellers of hell, such is the requital for the
transgressors. (5:29)
They will be held responsible for their sins on
the day of resurrection all of them, in addition to sins of all
those whom they misled by their ignorance. What a miserable load.
(16:25)
Those who disbelieved said to those who believed,
“If you follow our way, we will be responsible for your sins.”
Not true; they cannot bear any of their sins. They are liars. In
fact they will carry their own sins in addition to loads of other
people’s sins for which they were responsible … (29:12-13)
No soul can carry the sins of another soul. If a
soul that is loaded with sins, implores another to bear part of
its load, no other soul can carry any part of it, even if they were
related … (35:18)
No sinner will bear the sins of anyone else... (17:15).
A casual reader of the Quran may conclude from these verses that
there seems to be some discrepancies in the way the verses relate.
But there are no contradictions whatsoever. The point made in the
verses is this: We are absolutely responsible for only our own sins,
which are incurred by our direct acts. Others cannot transfer their
sins to us, in order to have theirs erased or even reduced. Nor
can we inherit sins from our relatives or the ancestors. It is explained
beautifully in 35:18 that even if we
were related, we cannot carry part of
their sins. But we may incur the sins of people if we cause them
to be misled.
O you who believe, you shall obey God and you shall
obey the messenger, and those in charge among you. If you dispute
in any matter, you shall refer it to God and the messenger, if you
believe in God and the Last Day. This is better for you and provides
you with the best solution. (4:59).
Anyone who disobeys God and His messenger will abide
in the fire of hell forever. (72:23)
Did they not know that any one who opposes God and
His messenger has incurred the fire of hell forever! This is the
worst humiliation. (9:63)
Never would a human being whom God blessed with the
scripture and prophethood say to the people, “Idolize me beside
God.” Instead, (he would say), “Devote yourselves absolutely
to your Lord alone according to the scripture you preach and the
teaching you learn. (3:79)
Nor would he command you to idolize the angels and
the prophets as lords. Would he exhort you to disbelieve after becoming
submitters? (3:80)
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. (30:30)
You shall submit to Him,
reverence Him, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and - whatever
you do - do not ever fall into idol worship. (30:31)
A careful and objective student of the Quran would have no problem
in reconciling the verses cited above. There are numerous other
verses like these in the Quran, where God told us to obey Him and
obey the messenger. In fact when it comes to the act of worship
and devotion, God told us it should be exclusively to Him Alone.
He specifically issued the following order through prophet Muhammad
in the Quran:
The places of worship belong to God; do not call
on anyone else beside God. (72:18)
Obeying the messenger, therefore means upholding the message or
carrying out the orders the messenger was sent with, the messenger
being an instrument God used for His message. But does God need
a partner such as Muhammad, Jesus, Mary or some saints, in order
to be commemorated and worshipped? Never!
Say, “In whose hand is all sovereignty over
all things, and He is the only one who can provide help, but needs
no help, if you know?” (23:88)
If you disbelieve, God does not need anyone. But
He dislikes to see His servants make the wrong decision. If you
decide to be appreciative, He is pleased for you. No soul bears
the sins of any other soul… (39:7)
Page 3
Therefore, you shall devote your worship absolutely
to God ALONE, even if the disbelievers dislike it. (40:14)
This is to say that those who worship God Alone follow only the
instructions and teaching from one consistent source, the Quran
Alone.
God cites the example of a man who deals with disputing
partners (Hadith), compared to a man who deals with only one consistent
source (Quran). Are they the same? Praise be to God; most of them
do not know. (39:29)
Your Lord is the one God, who created the heavens
and the earth in six days,* then assumed all authority... (7:54)
He is the One who created the heavens and the earth
in six days… (11:7)
He is the One who created the heavens and the earth,
and everything between them, in six days, then assumed all authority….
(25:59)
Say, “You disbelieve in the One who created
the earth in two days, and you set up idols to rank with Him, though
He is Lord of the universe.” He placed on it stabilizers (mountains),
made it productive, and He calculated its provisions in four
days, to satisfy the needs of all its inhabitants. Then He turned
to the sky, when it was still gas, and said to it, and to the earth,
“Come into existence, willingly or unwillingly.” They
said, “We come willingly.”
Thus, He completed the
seven universes in two days, and set up the laws for every
universe.
And we adorned the lowest universe with lamps, and placed guards
around it. Such is the design of the Almighty, the Omniscient. (41:9-12)
Repeatedly, Quran maintained its consistency that the heavens and
the earth were created in six days. It was only when God willed
to break it down for us as to how He did it, that we see in 41:9-12
that the earth together with the seven universes were created in
two days. Then it took an additional four
days to calculate the provisions for all the creatures
on earth. This is to teach us that there is life only on the planet
earth.
There is not a creature on earth whose provision
is not guaranteed by God. And He knows its course and its final
destiny. All are recorded in a profound record. (11:6)
It takes divine control for the insincere not to appreciate the
awesome wisdom in the Quran.
We thus control the minds of the guilty. Consequently
they cannot believe in him. This has been the system since the past
generations. (15:12-13).
Quite interestingly too, the people who wrote to claim that they
have found contradictions in the Quran, could not do the simple
kindergarten type of arithmetic to save themselves from the shame
of exposing their ignorance and arrogance. All they had to do was
to add 2 + 4 = 6 noting that the 4 days calculations
of provisions by the angels for all the creatures on earth was part
of the process of creation (re: 41:9-12).
It should be no surprise to us that
these same people are members of those who believe that God created
the earth in six days but got tired and took a rest on the seventh
day (Sunday). In response to this nonsense, the Most Gracious answers:
We have created the heavens and the earth, and everything
between
them in six days, and no fatigue touched us. (50:38)
But we know from the Quran that not all people try to discredit
or distort God’s words. There are those who take heed and
reflect on God’s revelations:
They are not all the same; among the followers of
the scripture, there are those who are righteous. They recite God's
revelations through the night, and they fall prostrate. They believe
in God and the Last Day, they advocate righteousness and forbid
evil, and they hasten to do righteous works. These are the righteous.
(3:113-114)
Sheyhu Adam
Page 4
DO NOT DESPAIR OF GOD’S MERCY
Sometimes we may get into difficult conditions just to learn that God
is enough - if only we could trust in Him! Thus, when we don’t know
what to do anymore, we should implore God for help (22:15). We will see
that God will interfere in a divine manner and He will either rescue us,
or strengthen us to bear it (27:62, 63).
The best opportunity when we are in hardship is to know who our true
friends are. Furthermore, hardship does bring out our true qualities,
whether positive or negative. That’s part of the test God designed
for us (29:2).
Let’s not forget the valuable lessons from Moses and his teacher
(18:60-82). We learn from their story that there is a good reason behind
everything that happens. But we do not have enough knowledge to explain
why things happen the way they do. We are able to rise above our limitation
by trusting God because God knows why things happen the way they do, and
God will work goodness for those who put their trust in Him (3:159).
Bad things happen. The point is HOW do we
deal with things that happen for us. The Quran does not say that whatever
happens is good, but maybe God wills something good to come out of it
(65:1). When we put ourselves in the hands of God, we will see that everything
will work out for our good.
We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those
who love Him... (Romans 8:28).
When something bad happens to us, we better think that this may be an
opportunity to see things in a more profound way in life.
God’s mercy is always there; we should never doubt God, but always
trust God.
We should not say “why has this happened to us, or why me!”
Instead, we should say,”what do I need to learn from this”?
Or, we may ask God to help us see the good thing that comes out of it.
And remember that the more we thank God, the more He gives us (14:7).
Know also that nothing will happen to us unless we are able to handle
it, because God never burdens a soul beyond its means (2:286).
Finally, we should remember God’s admonition
in the Quran that, “None despairs of his Lord’s
mercy, except the strayers.” (15:56).
Laleh
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