August 5, 2006

The Mansions of the Stars

I have been rather irritated by the Israelis, the Bush administration, and their various lapdogs over the past few weeks (for the obvious reason). Frequently, when I'm in this state of mind, I'll pick up the Qur'an and read randomly from it.

Sometimes, when I do this random reading, I get the feeling that the Qur'an knows what I need to read, whether it's to supply an answer to a question or to soothe an emotion. Last night, I came across the following passage. Insha'allah, it applies to those Israelis, Americans and others who support the Israeli killing of innocents:

"Woe to the makers of the pit (of fire), Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel: Behold! they sat over against the (fire), And they witnessed (all) that they were doing against the Believers. And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!- Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is Witness to all things. Those who persecute (or draw into temptation) the Believers, men and women, and do not turn in repentance, will have the Penalty of Hell: They will have the Penalty of the Burning Fire." (85:4-10)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The world is filled with religious nuts who think that each particular sect or religion has the right answer. Lost in their writings is science which gives us answers to most things in this world rather than someone's thoughts of thousands of years ago when little was known.

I was raised a religious person, but find that religion is the main source of conflict in this world and the killing of inncoent people.

I don't seek any help from religion for answers to my problems, only meditation and the thought that I would rather have a friend than an enemy.

JDsg said...

I can appreciate your response; I once thought like you. There's a beauty to science, even when it's wrong and in its most confused state, when there are competing theories and people are trying to decide which one is correct, which is the truth? But, you know, science, for all its goodness and beauty, is merely a tool. You wrote, "Lost in their writings is science which gives us answers to most things in this world rather than someone's thoughts of thousands of years ago when little was known.' And that's true, but I would also add, the answers science gives us aren't the answers we need to know how we should live in this world. Science tells us how the world, the solar system, the universe is, and that's great. Science can even lead us a little bit to understanding the various signs of Allah (swt), who placed a handful in the Qur'an like breadcrumbs to follow, leading to a blossoming in science in Muslim lands (which, centuries later, helped to kick-start the Renaissance). And that's been for the benefit of all mankind over time.

But science largely doesn't teach morality and how we should live in relationship with our Creator, nor do we expect it to. I appreciate the fact that you think "...that religion is the main source of conflict in this world and the killing of inncoent people." (My previous post dealt with the sin of the latter.) But there's more to life than simply meditating and hoping you've gotten the right answer. While men need compasses to navigate around the earth, they also need moral compasses to help them navigate around their lives. I'm hoping that one day, insha'allah, you'll come to understand that.

Salaam.