Did God Become Man? (part : God Becomes One Man, Men Become God, Why?

 

Crystal Mosque, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

God Becomes One Man

Christian belief in God’s incarnation has its origins in the beliefs of the ancient Greeks.  The very terms used to describe God becoming Man exist in the Gospel of John 1:1 & 14, “In the beginning there was the Word (logos) and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  Then the author of John goes on to say, “...And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth...”  Although the Greek term logos is translated as “word,” there is no single English term equivalent to it.  Its importance lies in its use as a technical term in Greek metaphysical thought from the sixth century B.C., until the third century C.E., and in its appropriation by both Jewish and Christian thinkers.  It first appeared in the expressions of Heraclites (540-480 B.C.) as the motivating principle of the universe, but was, by Aristotle’s time, supplanted by the immaterial power nous and made the material power.  Logos reappeared in the system of the Stoics who termed their principle of teleology both logos and God.  Philo (d. 50 C.E.), a Jewish Alexandrian philosopher, identified the creative word of the Old Testament with the logos of the Stoics.  The logos thus became a transcendent principle, as the means by which God expresses Himself in the world.  But logos also had a redemptive function; it was the means to a higher spiritual nature.  In the Gospel of John, the logos are both creative and redemptive; the latter aspect is given greater emphasis than the former.[1]

This belief required a reason, for which the concept of original sin and divine sacrifice were invented.  It was claimed that due to the sin of Adam, which accumulated down the generations until it became so great that no human sacrifice could remove it, a divine sacrifice was needed.  Consequently, God had a human son, who was God, Himself, incarnate.  God’s son later died on a cross as a sacrifice for all humankind to God, Himself.  The son, who is God, Himself, was later resurrected and currently sits on the right side of God’s throne waiting to judge humankind at the end of this world.  So for Christians, also one-fifth of humankind, God became a man at one and only one point in the history of this world, and belief in His incarnation is essential for salvation.

Men Become God

From the perspective of Jesus’ humanity, the Christian belief that he is God could be perceived as elevating a single human being to the status of Godhood.  There is, however, another body of beliefs among many of the followers of Islam, which, like Hinduism and Buddhism, offer human beings the opportunity to become God.

The origin of their beliefs can be found in mysticism whose roots are in ancient Greek mystery religions.  Mysticism is defined as an experience of union with God and the belief that man’s main goal in life lies in seeking that union.  The Greek philosopher Plato proposed this concept in his writings, particularly in his Symposium.  In it he describes how the human soul can climb the spiritual ladder until it finally becomes one again with God.[2]  The basis of this belief is the teaching that human beings are, in fact, parts of God that have become trapped in this material world.  The physical body cloaks the human soul.  Consequently, the soul in their view is divine.  The trapped part of God in this world must free itself from the material world and reunite with God.

There arose among Muslim people, a sect, which promoted this very same idea.  Its followers are traditionally called “Sufis” and their system of beliefs is called “Sufism”.  This term is usually translated into English as “mysticism” or “Islamic mysticism.”  It is based on the same concept as that of the Greek mystics – that the human soul is divine and that the way that it becomes reunited with God is through certain spiritual exercises.  Various groups of Sufis evolved into cults called “Tareeqahs” (ways or paths).  Each cult was named after its actual or supposed founder, and each had its own set of special spiritual exercises which members had to strictly adhere to.  Most taught that after the followers performed the prescribed spiritual, emotional and physical exercises, they would become one with God.  This oneness was given the Arabic title fanaa, meaning “dissolution”[3]  or wusool, meaning “arrival.”  The concept of “unity with God” was rejected by mainstream Muslim scholars but was embraced by the masses.  In the tenth century, a Sufi devotee, al-Hallaaj (858-922), publicly announced that he was God and wrote poems and a book called Kitaab at-Tawaseen to that effect.  In it he wrote, “If you do not recognize God, at least recognize his sign; I am the ultimate absolute truth because through the truth I am eternal truth.  My friends and teachers are Iblees[4], and Pharaoh.  Iblees was threatened by the Hellfire, yet he did not acknowledge anything between himself and God, and although I am killed and crucified, though my hands and feet are cut off, I do not recant.”[5]

Ibn ‘Arabee (d. 1240) took the unity with God belief a step further by claiming that only God exists.  He wrote the following in one of his works, “Glory be to He, who made all things appear while being their essence.”[6]  And in another he wrote, “He is the essence of whatever appears, and He is the essence of what is hidden while He appears.  The one who sees Him is none other than Him and no one is hidden from Him because He appears to Himself while being hidden.”[7]  His concept is called Wahdatul-wujood (unity of existence) and became popular in the Sufi circles throughout the Muslim world.

Why?

What led ancient people to have the belief that the God became man or that God and man were one and the same?  The fundamental reason was their inability to understand or accept the concept of God creating this world from nothingness.  They perceived God to be like themselves, creating from what already exists.  Humans create things by manipulating existing things into other states, shapes and forms having different functions.  For example, a wooden table was once a tree in a forest, and its nails and screws were once iron ore in rocks underneath the earth.  Humans cut down the tree and shaped its wood into a tabletop and legs; they dug up the iron ore, melted it and poured in into moulds to produce nails and screws.  Then they assembled the pieces to create a table for a variety of uses.  Similarly, the plastic chairs people now sit on were once liquid oil, stored deep in the bowels of the earth.  One cannot imagine sitting on oil the way people sit on chairs.  However, through the human ability to manipulate the chemical components of oil, plastic is produced and chairs are made for humans to sit on.  This is the essence of human activity; humans already merely modify and transform what already exists.  They do not create the trees or produce the oil.  When they discuss oil production, they really mean oil extraction.  The oil was created millions of years before by geological processes; then humans extracted it from the earth and refined it.  They also did not create the trees.  Even if they planted them, they did not create the seeds that they planted.

Consequently, human, in their ignorance of God, often conceive of God as being just like them.  For example, in the Old Testament, it is written, “God created man after his own image; in the image of God he created Man.”  For Hindus, Purusa is the creator God, Brahma, in human form, and just as humans create by manipulating the existing world around them, then the creator god must do likewise.

According to Hindu philosophy, Purusa is a giant offspring of Brahma, having a thousand heads and a thousand eyes.  From him arose Viraaj, his feminine counterpart and mate in the creation process.  The divine Purusa is also the sacrificial offering (vv. 6-10) and from his dismembered body arose the four traditional social castes (varnas).[8]  Perusa Hymn states that Brahmins were Purusa’s mouth; Ksatriyas (noblemen), his arms; Vaishyas, his thighs; and Shoodras, his feet.[9]  The Hindus’ inability to conceive of God creating this world from nothing, led them to the concept of God creating the world from himself and its people from His body parts.

Human ability to understand ideas and concepts is limited and finite.  Human beings cannot grasp and understand the infinite.  The belief, which God taught Adam, was that God created this world from nothing.  When He wanted something to exist, He merely said, “Be!”  and His command brought into existence those things that did not previously exist.  This world and its contents were not created from Himself.  In fact, the concept of God creating the world from Himself reduces God to the level of His creatures, who merely create something from something else.  Those who held and continue to hold this belief are unable to grasp the uniqueness of God.  He is Uniquely One and there is nothing like Him.  If He had created the world from Himself, he would be like His creatures.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, p. 314.

[2]Colliers Encyclopedia, vol. 17, p. 114.

[3]Ihyaa ‘Uloom ad-Deen, vol. 4, p. 212.

[4]The proper name of Satan according to Muslim belief.

[5]Idea of Personality, p. 32.

[6]Al-Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah, vol. 2, p. 604.

[7]Fusoos al-Hikam, vol.1, p. 77.

[8]Dictionary of World Religions, p. 587.

[9]The New Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 20, p. 552.

Islamic Inheritance and Wills : Islamic Wills

 

Islam is much more than a religion; it is a way of life.  Islam is guidance from God that directs us through life, and God willing into the next life.  It is for this reason that God also guides us through the process of death and dying.  Death will come to each and every one of us; however there are things we can do to make our passing easier for those we leave behind.  One of those things is to make sure we leave an Islamically sound will.  Islam has placed great emphasis on both the laws of inheritance and making a will, thus there is compelling evidence that every sane adult Muslim should have a will.

“It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequeath not to let two nights pass without writing a will.”[1]

“A man may do good deeds for seventy years but if he acts unjustly when he leaves his last testament, the wickedness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the Fire.  If, (on the other hand), a man acts wickedly for seventy years but is just in his last will and testament, the goodness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the Garden.”[2]

The Islamic will, in Arabic, al wasiyah is a set of instructions that come into effect after a person’s death.  The will is acted upon after the payment of funeral expenses and any outstanding debts. 

“…of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt.…” (Quran 4:12)

Islamic law allows a person to bequeath up to 1/3 (one third) of his or her estate to whomever he or she wishes, providing the beneficiaries are not from amongst those who will benefit from the remaining 2/3 (two thirds).  Those who are entitled to the final two thirds of the estate are set out in chapter 4 of the Quran.  When one of Prophet Muhammad’s close companions suffered from a severe illness he asked how much of his vast wealth he should bequeath as a gift because he only had one daughter who qualified to be an inheritor under Islamic law.  The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, stated one third and said, “It is better to leave them rich rather than poor and destitute”.[3]

A person should take his obligations seriously and think about who could benefit from his or her bequests.  It is an opportunity to perhaps help a poor relative who would not otherwise qualify for a share or even to leave something to a person of another faith, because they cannot inherit from the other two thirds of the estate.

“The followers of two different religions may not inherit from each other.’[4]

Nowadays there are many qualified people that can help one write a will that fulfils all of the Islamic obligations.   In fact the Islamic laws of inheritance have been praised and copied by many individuals and law firms, and academics in the West.  Consider this statement by a leading British university Professor Almaric Rumsey from Kings College in London, England:

“The Muslim law of inheritance comprises beyond question the most refined and elaborate set of rules for the devolution of property that is known to the western world.”

When an estate is divided according to this divine system of law that is outlined in the Quranic text and in the traditions of the Prophet, it would be highly rewarding in the sigh tof God. Besides this, there are a number of compelling reasons why a person should make an Islamically acceptable will.  Firstly it gives a person peace of mind to know that their wishes will be carried out after their death.  It helps resolve or avoid completely the unnecessary disputes that sometimes occur after a person’s death.

A will also makes financial sense.  If a person dies without a will it is called having died intestate and this means the wealth will be distributed according to the laws of the country in which the person lived.  This may or may not be in an Islamic fashion depending upon where in the world the deceased person resided.  Consider the situation, God forbid, where a married couple dies leaving young children, if there is no will, and thus no guardians appointed, the courts have an overwhelming say in where those children are placed.  No will means that such children’s lives, both now and in the hereafter could be in peril, should guardianship be given to someone not Islamically suitable.

An Islamic will gives a person the opportunity to help those less fortunate.  He or she can assure that the charities they supported in their life are not neglected at their time of death.  A will helps not only the beneficiaries, but can help the deceased person too who may wish to set up provision for an ongoing charity, an action that continues to be rewarded even after death.  In accordance with the principle that one third of a person’s estate may be distributed as he or she wishes the prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said, “God was being generous to you when He allowed you to give one-third of your wealth (in charity) when you die, to increase your good deeds.”[5]

“When a man dies his actions come to an end except for three: an ongoing charity; knowledge that benefits others or pious offspring who pray for him”.[6]

As with any legal document an Islamic will must be witnessed.  A person making a will should choose his witnesses carefully, remembering that a person who inherits is not able to be a witness.  If he or she does so they will not be able to inherit.  The ideal situation would be to choose two trustworthy Muslim men to witness the signing of the will.  However if this is not possible, then two non-Muslim men may be taken as witnesses. 

In most cases it is possible to make an Islamic will that is legally acceptable in almost any part of the world.  Islamic wills have been praised for their thoroughness and the fact that they are almost never considered uncertain.

In the following article we will look more closely at the verses in Quran that set out the laws of inheritance.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Saheeh Al-Bukhari

[2]Iman Ahmad, Ibn Majar

[3]Saheeh Al-Bukhari

[4]Abu Dawood

[5]Ibn Majah

[6]Ibid.

“Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you…”

 "Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you, until you come to the graves. Nay, but you will come to know!" (Quran 102:1-3)

Twenty years ago, I wrote an article which I gave the title "The Age of Reduction". It was published in the book Islamic Views on Contemporary Issues. Now I find the need to talk about "The Age of Increase".

There is no contradiction between these two descriptions of our age. They are two sides of the same coin – a coin we could give the name "wretchedness".
We live in the Age of Reduction with respect to the human being, but it is the Age of Increase with respect to material things.

The reduction we see is in the human spirit. It is in our feelings, our sensitivities, our very humanness. This is while we revel in the excess of material things, go to dizzying heights in building our cities, and rush forward in technological progress. Nevertheless, people are not happy. Human happiness continues to diminish.

We are losing ourselves. We are becoming more and more superficial. Our spirits are shallow. We have lost the richness of our inner sensibilities. We rush towards the material world and our experience becomes inseparable from it, moving, expanding, growing. However, our faith, our inner meaning, and our moral sensibilities are lost on the wayside.

There is an increasing abundance of services, consumer goods, essentials, and amusements. We have more choices of entertainment than ever before. There is more wealth, and more things to buy. Science and technology are advancing at an increasing rate. So why is it that people feel more and more wretched? What have we lost of life’s beauty?

We are becoming closed in by material things more and more every day. We are becoming less social as a consequence, more distant from family and friends, from our spouses and our children. We are even becoming strangers to our own selves. We are slowly blocking ourselves off from each other with invisible walls.
Even the voices that are raised here and there seem to get caught in their throats so that no one really hears them.

This blockade of material things has deluged us. It is difficult for anyone to stand in its way. It moves forward relentlessly and irresistibly. We have put ourselves into a difficult situation from which we cannot extract ourselves.

I am reminded of a play of the French playwright Eugène Ionesco where the protagonist finds himself blocked in by things, which encroach upon him more and more every day, until the protagonist is cut off from everything around him. He is expelled from the world. Even his screams can barely be heard by anyone. Things do not merely posses the ability to exclude the person, but even his ability to speak out, like in a dream or a nightmare where one cannot make an utterance.

I am also reminded of what Leopold Weiss writes in The Road to Mecca about his experiences as a Western man living the incessant and feverish quest for material increase. He reproaches his people for their depression and wretchedness. He writes:

One day -- it was in September 1926 -- Elsa and I found ourselves travelling in the Berlin subway. It was an upper class compartment. My eye fell casually on a well-dressed man opposite me, apparently a well-to-do businessman, with a beautiful briefcase on his knees and a large diamond ring on his hand. I thought idly how well the portly figure of this man fitted into the picture of prosperity which one encountered everywhere in Central Europe in those days: a prosperity the more prominent as it has come after years of inflation, when all economic life had been topsy-turvy and shabbiness of appearance the rule. Most of the people were now well dressed and well fed, and the man opposite me was therefore no exception. But when I looked at his face, I did not seem to be looking at a happy face. He appeared to be worried: and not merely worried but acutely unhappy, with eyes staring vacantly ahead and the corners of his mouth drawn in as if in pain -- but not in bodily pain. Not wanting to be rude, I turned my eyes away and saw next to him a lady of some elegance. She also had a strangely unhappy expression on her face, as if contemplating or experiencing something that caused her pain; nevertheless, her mouth was fixed in the stiff semblance of a smile which, I was certain, must have been habitual. And then I began to look around at all the other faces in the compartment -- faces belonging without exception to well-dressed, well-fed people; and in almost every one of them I could discern an expression of hidden suffering, so hidden that the owner of the face seemed to be quite unaware of it.

This was indeed strange. I had never before seen so many unhappy faces around me; or was it perhaps that I had never before looked for what was now so loudly speaking in them? The impression was so strong that I mentioned it to Elsa; and she too began to look around her with the careful eyes of a painter accustomed to study human features. Then she turned to me, astonished, and said: "You are right. They all look as though they were suffering torments of hell... I wonder, do they know themselves what is going on in them?"

I knew that they did not -- for otherwise they could not go on wasting their lives as they did, without any faith in binding truths, without any goal beyond the desire to raise their own "standard of living," without any hopes other than having more material amenities, more gadgets, and perhaps more power...

When we returned home, I happened to glance at my desk on which lay open a copy of the Koran I had been reading earlier. Mechanically, I picked the book up to put it away, but just as I was about to close it, my eye fell on the open page before me, and I read:

You are obsessed by greed for more and more
Until you go down to your graves.
Nay, but you will come to know!
Nay, but you will come to know!
Nay, if you but knew it with the knowledge of certainty,
You would indeed see the hell you are in.
In time, indeed, you shall see it with the eye of certainty:
And on that day you will be asked what you have done with the boon of life.

For a moment I was speechless. I think the book shook in my hands. Then I handed it to Elsa. "Read this. Is it not an answer to what we saw in the subway?"

It was an answer: an answer so decisive that all doubt was suddenly at an end. I knew now, beyond any doubt, that it was a God-inspired book I was holding in my hand: for although it had been placed before man over thirteen centuries ago, it clearly anticipated something that could have become true only in this complicated, mechanized, phantom-ridden age of ours.

At all times people had known greed: but at no time before this had greed outgrown a mere eagerness to acquire things and become an obsession that blurred the sight of everything else: an irresistible craving to get, to do, to contrive more and more -- more today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today: a demon riding on the necks of men and whipping their hearts forward toward goals that tauntingly glitter in the distance but dissolve into contemptible nothingness as soon as they are reached, always holding out the promise of new goals ahead -- goals still more brilliant, more tempting as long as they lie on the horizon, and bound to wither into further nothingness as soon as they come within grasp: and that hunger, that insatiable hunger for ever new goals gnawing at man's soul: Nay, if you but knew it you would see the hell you are in...

This, I saw, was not the mere human wisdom of a man of a distant past in distant Arabia. However wise he may have been, such a man could not by himself have foreseen the torment so peculiar to this twentieth century. Out of the Koran spoke a voice greater than the voice of Muhammad...

Leopold Weiss had read Surah al-Takathur and embraced Islam. We can read above his translation of this chapter of the Quran the way he understood it at that time. His "You are obsessed by greed for more and more" captures much of the essence of the meaning of the verse "Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you."

He articulates the problem when people put a premium on outward appearances and give little value to inner worth, when they prefer worldly success over success in the Hereafter, when they place greater stake in personal interests than they do on ethical conduct, and when they focus their lives on material acquisition over the development of their inner selves.

What happiness have we achieved in this deluge of material excess? How can we recapture our own souls? We know more about the physical aspects of our lives than ever before in history. However, the inner dimensions of our lives have fallen to a disgraceful state. - islamreligion.com

How Islam Deals with Sadness and Worry : Trust

 

As we move into the new century, those of us privileged to live above the poverty line are faced with a unique set of challenges.  We have food enough to eat, shelter from the elements and most of us can even afford life’s little luxuries.  Physically we have all that we need, but spiritually and emotionally, we are bereft.  Our minds are filled with sadness and worry.  Stress and anxiety mount.  As we gather possessions, we wonder why we are not happy.  As we embark on yet another holiday we feel alone and desperate.

A life that is far removed from God is a sad life indeed.  No matter how much money we accumulate, or how grand our house is, if God is not the centre of our lives then happiness will elude us forever.  True happiness can only be found when we at least attempt to fulfil our purpose in life.  Human beings exist to worship God.  God wants us to be happy, in this life and in the Hereafter and He has given us the key to real happiness.  It is not a secret or a mystery.  It is not an enigma or a puzzle, it is Islam.

“And I (God) created not the jinn and humankind except that they should worship Me.” (Quran 51:56)

The religion of Islam explains clearly our purpose in life and gives us guidelines to follow to make our search for happiness easier.  The Quran and the authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, are our guide books for a life completely devoid of sadness and worry.  This however does not mean that we will not be tried and tested because God states very clearly in Quran that He will test us.  Our lives will be filled with situations that require us to reach out for God and depend upon Him.  God promises us that He will reward those who are patient, He asks us to be grateful to Him, and He tells us that He loves those who put their trust in Him.

“...put your trust in God, certainly, God loves those who put their trust in Him.”  (Quran 3:159)

“The believers are only those who, when God is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Quran) are recited unto them, they increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord Alone.”  (Quran 8:2)

Life is filled with triumphs and tribulations.  Sometimes it is a roller coaster ride.  One day our faith is high and sweet, the next it has plummeted and we feel sad and worried.  The way to even out our journey is to trust that God knows what is best for us.  Even when seemingly bad things happen, there is a purpose and wisdom behind them.  Sometimes the purpose is known only to God, sometimes it is obvious.

Consequently, when we realise that there is no power or strength except from God, we can begin to relax. Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, once reminded one of his young companions that God was all-powerful and nothing happens without His permission. 

"Young man, uphold the commands of God, and He will protect you in this life and in the next. Uphold the commands of God and He will help you.  When you ask for anything, ask it from God, and if you seek help, seek help from God.  Know that if people were to unite to do you some benefit, they could benefit you only what God has recorded for you, and if they were to unite to do you some harm, they could harm you only with what God has recorded for you.  The pens are withdrawn and the pages are dry.”[1]

When we are mindful of the fact that God has control over all things and that He ultimately wants us to live forever in Paradise, we can begin to leave our sadness and worry behind.  God loves us, and wants what is best for us.  God has given us clear guidance and He is the Most Merciful, and the Most Forgiving.  If things do not go according to our plan, if we do not see the benefits of the challenges we face in life it can become very difficult not to despair and fall prey to stress and anxiety.  At this point, we must learn to trust God.

“If God helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you?  And in God (Alone) let believers put their trust.” (Quran 3:160)

“Say: "He is my Lord!  None has the right to be worshipped but He!  In Him is my trust, and to Him will be my return with repentance.” (Quran 13:30)

“And we shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt..., and in God (Alone) let those who trust, put their trust.” (Quran 14:12)

As believers, our trust in God must be constant, in all situations, good, bad, easy, or difficult.  Whatever happens in this world happens by the permission of God.  He provides sustenance and He is able to withdraw it.  He is the master of life and death.  God determines whether we are rich or poor and whether we are healthy or ill. We thank God for granting us the ability to strive and to go out and acquire that which is good for us. Whatever our circumstances may be we need to thank and praise God for them.  If need be we must bear our difficulties with patience and above all we must love and trust God.  When life becomes dark and difficult we must love God more; when we are overcome by sadness and worry we must trust God more.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Ahmad & at-Tirmidhi

Conversations in Paradise and Hell : And I shall never hereafter be angry with you

 

Internal dialogues

When the matter has been decided, and the people of the Hellfire have been lead away, and the people of Paradise have entered the garden, each group of people will talk amongst themselves.  Their lives in the world are not forgotten and for both groups there is an eternity in which to look back and analyse why - why am I suffering, or why am I entitled to this luxury?  The matter has been decided, the short time that was spent in the life of this world is over and life everlasting has begun.

He (God) will say: “What number of years did you stay on earth.  They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day.  Ask of those who keep account.” He (God) will say: “You stayed not but a little, if you had only known! (Quran 23:112-114)

We know that the dwellers of both Paradise and Hell will turn to each other questioning, however what will they say to themselves, how will they feel, bereft, alone and forsaken?  God tells us that they will sigh, in fear, in frustration.  It is hard for us to imagine but we do know that they appear to give up hope.   

“As for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire, sighing in a high and low tone.” (Quran 11:106)

“…and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell).  Wherein they will abide forever, and they will find neither a protector, nor a helper.  On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: “Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger “.  (Quran 33:64-66)

When the people of the Hellfire ponder about why those whom they followed in this world are not able to help them in their suffering, in it is a lesson for us to learn.  In the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we are able to read and see with our mind’s eye just what our own situation could potentially be.

What a contrast and a delight it will be for those who are entered into Paradise.  They will have the extreme pleasure of seeing God, this is something that will be denied to the people of the Hellfire.  “Surely they will be veiled from seeing their lord that day”.  (Quran 83:15)

The People of Paradise and the Dwellers of the Hellfire Conversing with Family Members

There are not many verses of Quran or traditions from Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, that show us conversations taking place between people in their eternal abodes with their family members.   There is however evidence to show that they will indeed remember their lives in this world and think about their family members. 

“And they will approach one another, inquiring of each other.  They will say, “Aforetime we were afraid with our families [of the punishment of God], but God has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire. Verily, we used to invoke Him (Alone) before.  Verily, He is the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.” (Quran 52:25-28)

Conversations between God and the Dwellers of the Hellfire

The conversations that we find between God and the people of the Hellfire are not numerous.  We more easily find verses from Quran where they, the dwellers of the Hellfire converse amongst themselves or with the angels who guard the gates of Hell.  However there is one conversation that is striking and it should be clear in our minds, so that we protect ourselves from ever hearing these awful words. The dwellers of Hell will say:

“Our Lord! Bring us out of this.  If ever we return (to evil), then we would indeed be wrongdoers.”

He (God) will say: “Remain you in it, in a state of humiliation! And do not speak to Me!” (Quran 23:107-108)

Conversations between God and the People of Paradise

In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we find a very touching and delightful conversation between God, and the last person to exit from the torment of Hellfire by the mercy of God.  The man is invited to enter Paradise and so he will go to it and think that Paradise is full.  The man returns to God and says “My Lord, I found Paradise full,” and God will reply, “Go and enter Paradise for there you have something ten times better than the world and everything in it”.  Prophet Muhammad said, “That is the one who is lowest in status of the people of Paradise”.[1]

Another man will be asked by God if he has everything he wants and he will reply to his Lord saying “Yes, but I like to grow things.”  So he will go and plant his seeds, and within the blinking of an eye they will grow, ripen, be harvested and piled up like mountains.[2]

We will finish our three part series with a very beautiful saying in the hope that each and every one who reads or hears this beautiful conversation will, at the end of their lives and the beginning of their Hereafter, be a part of this conversation.

God will say to the people of Paradise: “O People of Paradise! They will respond: “Here we are, Our Lord, and all the good is in Your Hands.” God will say: “Are you satisfied?  They will answer: “Why shouldn’t we be satisfied when You have bestowed on us what You have not bestowed on any of Your other creation.” He will say “Shall I not bestow upon you something even better than that?  They will say: “O Our Lord! What could be better than that?  God will say: “I bestow upon you My pleasure and I shall never hereafter be angry with you.”[3]

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Saheeh Al-Bukhari

[2]Saheeh Al-Bukhari

[3]Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim

Human Rights and Justice in Islam

 

Islam provides many human rights for the individual.  The following are some of these human rights that Islam protects.

The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred, whether a person is Muslim or not.  Islam also protects honor.  So, in Islam, insulting others or making fun of them is not allowed.  The Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said: "Truly your blood, your property, and your honor are inviolable."[1]

Racism is not allowed in Islam, for the Quran speaks of human equality in the following terms:

"O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and have made you into nations and tribes for you to know one another.  Truly, the noblest of you with God is the most pious.[2]  Truly, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (Quran 49:13)

Islam rejects certain individuals or nations being favored because of their wealth, power, or race.  God created human beings as equals who are to be distinguished from each other only on the basis of their faith and piety.  The Prophet Muhammad said: "O people!  Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one.  An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person,[3]  except in piety."[4]

One of the major problems facing mankind today is racism.  The developed world can send a man to the moon but cannot stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man.  Ever since the days of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam has provided a vivid example of how racism can be ended.  The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah shows the real Islamic brotherhood of all races and nations, when about two million Muslims from all over the world come to Makkah to perform the pilgrimage.

Islam is a religion of justice.  God has said:

"Truly God commands you to give back trusts to those to whom they are due, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice...." (Quran 4:58)

And He has said:

"...And act justly.  Truly, God loves those who are just." (Quran 49:9)

We should even be just with those who we hate, as God has said:

"...And let not the hatred of others make you avoid justice.  Be just: that is nearer to piety...." (Quran 5:8)

The Prophet Muhammad said: "People, beware of injustice,[5]  for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment."[6]

And those who have not gotten their rights (i.e. what they have a just claim to) in this life will receive them on the Day of Judgment, as the Prophet said: "On the Day of Judgment, rights will be given to those to whom they are due (and wrongs will be redressed)..."[7]-

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #1739, and Mosnad Ahmad, #2037.

[2]A pious person is a believer who abstains from all kinds of sins, performs all good deeds that God commands us to do, and fears and loves God.

[3]The colors mentioned in this Prophetic saying are examples. The meaning is that in Islam no one is better than another because of his color, whether it is white, black, red, or any other color.

[4]Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #22978.

[5]i.e. oppressing others, acting unjustly, or doing wrong to others.

[6]Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #5798, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2447.

[7]Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2582, and Mosnad Ahmad, #7163.