THE MORAL VALUES OF QURAN................ The moral values of the community we live in are rather distorted. These moral principles which are the products of selfish passions and the greed of people, yield then to selfishness, arrogance, sarcasm, rudeness and cruelty. People believe that, in order to improve their living standards they have to cheat or deceive others. However, these are not the values that Allah (God) has determined for the human beings He created. The Qur’an orders people to be dignified, modest, trustworthy, kind, faithful, mature and responsive. The Qur’an even describes the way we should walk: Turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boast (Quran ,Chapter-Luqman, 31:18) On that account, duty of a believer is to apply these superior principles that Allah has decreed. Yet, today believers live in a miscreant community where these divine ethics have beendeserted. For that reason, they have to be extremely careful against the perpetrating effects of this perverted and primitive culture. They must continuously judge themselves within this community not to be affected by their degenerated culture, and to be able to apply the moral values of the Qur’an. This brochure has been prepared to help believers not to forget the basic teachings of the Qur’an, which they should always keep in mind. In the following pages, these moral principles and prayers that are likely to be forgotten by the believers will be examined in the light of related verses of the Qur’an. 1 . Just Estimation of Allah The Qur’an informs us of the true attributes of Allah: “Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne does extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).” ((Quran ,Chapter-Baqara, 2:255) “Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them; the decree continues to descend among them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all things in (His) knowledge.” (Quran ,Chapter--Talaq, 65:12) However, most people not perceiving Allah as He is described in the above verses, cannot comprehend His eternal power and greatness. They believe in superstitions that they have made up themselves, and think that Allah is somewhere far off in the universe, and rarely interferes in “earthly matters”. The limited understanding of these people is mentioned in the Qur’an, in (Quran ,Chapter-Hajj, 22:74. “No just estimate have they made of Allah: for Allah is He Who is strong and able to Carry out His Will.” Having a thorough grasp of the extent of Allah’s power is the first link in the chain of belief. True believers leave behind them the distorted vision of Allah prevailing in their community, and deny these perverted beliefs by saying: “There were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against Allah.” (Quran ,Chapter--Jinn, 72:4) The faithful believe in Allah in the way the Qur’an describes. They examine the signs of Allah in both external and internal worlds, and thus begin to understand the great art and power of Allah. But if the believers happen to overlook Allah and fail to ponder deeply on Him and on His Creation, they may start to be influenced by immoral beliefs particularly at times of difficulty. Allah mentions this as a potential risk in the verse of (Quran ,Chapter--Imran, 3:154, about the believers who gave up during the war, and “who were anxious on their own account, thought wrongly of Allah, the thought of ignorance.” A believer would never like to make such a mistake, therefore he should free his heart from everything that appertains to the beliefs of the ignorant, and accept this real faith with all his heart in the way the Qur’an describes. 2. Fearing Allah as much as One Can........ To fear Allah is the beginning of all. The more one fears Allah, the more superior does one become in the presence of Allah. The Qur’an gives the examples of the prophets, with whom the believers can compare themselves so that they may understand that they really can increase their fear of Allah. Allah wants people to fear Him to the greatest possible extent. Various ways of showing reverence for the Almighty can be found, for example; spending in Allah’s way, doing good deeds, taking the prophet as an example, obeying him, being attentive to the rules of Allah etc. “So fear Allah as much as you can; listen and obey and spend in charity for the benefit of your own soul. Those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, are the ones that achieve prosperity.” (Quran ,Chapter--Taghabun, 64:16) “O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.” (Quran ,Chapter--Imran, 3:102) 3 . Destiny................. Nothing in the universe is accidental. As it is stated in the Qur’an: “He regulates all affairs” (Quran ,Chapter--Ra’d, 13:2) . In another verse it is said: “Not a leaf falls but with His knowledge.” ((Quran ,Chapter-Anam, 6:59). It is Allah Who creates and directs all the events; how they will begin and how they will end. It is again Allah Who determines every movement of every star in the universe, every state of every living thing on Earth, the way one will live, what one will say, what one will encounter, as expressed in the verses: “Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation)” (Quran ,Chapter-Qamar, 54:49) “No misfortune befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees, before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.“ (Quran ,Chapter-Hadid, 57:22) The believers should be aware of this great reality,and in consequence, should never act ignorantly as those who deny it. Having understood that life is just “following destiny”, they never become disappointed or feel afraid of anything. They become confident and firm as the Prophet Muhammad, who told his companion, “Be not sad, surely Allah is with us.” (Quran ,Chapter-Tawba, 9:40) when the latter was apprehensive about being found in the cave by the idolaters who wanted to kill them. 4.. Putting Trust in Allah ........... Since Allah is the only decision-maker, every happening is in favor of the believers: everything has been planned for the benefit of religion and for the believers life in the hereafter. Believers can refer to their past experience to see that there is a good for them at the end of every event. For that reason, believers put their entire trust in Allah. He is the one and only Protector. What a believer should do is to behave as Allah wants him to: fulfilling his responsibilities but depending on Allah for the outcomes. The following verses express this mystery, which is unknown to unbelievers. “... for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out. And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. Verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion.” (Quran ,Chapter-Talaq, 65:2-3) “Say: ‘Nothing will happen to us except what Allah hasdecreed for us: He is our Protector: and in Allah let the believers put their trust.’” (Quran ,Chapter-Tawba, 9:51) What the believers should say to the unbelievers is also stated in the Qur’an: “And why should we not put our trust in Allah while He indeed has guided us our ways. And we shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us, and in Allah (alone) let those who trust, put their trust. (Quran ,Chapter-Ibrahim, 14:12) In another verse, it is said: “If Allah helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you? And in Allah (alone) let believers put their trust.” (Quran ,Chapter--Imran, 3:160) 5 . Pondering .......... In the Qur’an, it is stated that the unbeliever is one who neither recognizes nor appreciates the signs of Allah. The distinguishing mark of a believer is his ability to see those signs and proofs. He knows that these are not created in vain, and can realize the power and great art of Allah everywhere and find ways to revere Him. He is one of those men of sense, who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! not for naught have You created (all) this! Glory be to You! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire. ” ((Quran ,Chapter-l-Imran, 3:191) At various points in the Qur’an, expressions like, “will you not take heed?”, “...there is a sign for thinking men,” lay stress on the importance of pondering upon the signs of Allah. Allah has created an endless list of subjects for reflection. Everything we see and sense in the heavens and on the earth and in between is indeed a manifestation of Allah’s creativity and, as such should be food for thought. One of the verses gives the example of these divine blessing of Allah: “With it He produces for you corn, olives, date palms, grapes and every kind of fruit: verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought. ” (Quran ,Chapter--Nahl, 16:11) Let us think for a moment of one of the above mentioned items: the date palm. The tree, as is well known, grows up from a seed out of the earth. From this tiny seed (a seed is not even 1 cubic centimetre in size), arises an enormous wooden mass of 4-5 metres long and hundreds of kilograms in weight. The only thing that the seed can use while constituting this great mass is the earth in which it is buried. How can a seed know how to form a tree? How can it reason to decompose the necessary substances in the soil to create wood? How can it predict the required shape and structure? This last question is especially important, because it is not an ordinary wooden piece that emerges from the seed. It is a complex living organism with roots for assimilating substances from the earth, with veins and with branches that are perfectly organized. A human being has difficulty in drawing even a picture of a tree, while on the contrary a simple seed can produce such an extremely complex object by merely using the substances in the soil. This observation concludes that a seed is extremelyintelligent and wise, even more so than we are. Or to be more precise, there is an amazing intelligence in what a seed does. But what is the source of that intelligence? How can it be possible for a seed to have such intelligence and memory? No doubt, this question has a single answer: the seed is created by being endowed with the ability to form a tree, that is, it is programmed so in advance. Every seed on earth is encompassed by Allah and grows within His knowledge. In one of the verses it is stated: “With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knows but He. He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear.” (Quran ,Chapter-Anam, 6:59) It is Allah who creates the seed and causes it to spring forth as a new plant. In another verse it is said: “It is Allah Who causes the seed-grain and the date-stone to split and sprout. He causes the living to issue from the dead, and He is the one to cause the dead to issue from the living. That is Allah: then how are you deluded away from the truth?” (Quran ,Chapter--An‘am, 6:95) The seed is merely one of the numerous signs that Allah has created in the universe. If men begin to think not only with their minds but also with their hearts, and ask of themselves, the questions “why” and “how”, they will be able to understand that all of the universe is the proof of the existence and power of Allah. 6... Being Careful.......... As we stated at the beginning, Allah created the universe to show the signs of His Creation. However, the unbelievers cannot understand this fact since they do not have the ability to “see” this divine purpose. As the Qur’an expresses it: “They have eyes with which they do not see.” (Quran ,Chapter--Araf, 7:179). With their materialistic vision, they do not have the wisdom and comprehension to grasp this important reality. Believers are quite different from this “blind” category, because they realise and accept that the whole universe is created by Allah with a certain aim and wisdom. This belief is the first step of faith. As faith and wisdom increase in parallel with each other, they will begin to be able to identify every detail of Allah’s Creation. In the Islamic tradition, progress in faith is in three steps: ilm-el yakin (being informed), ayn-el yakin(seeing), and Hakk-el yakin (experiencing). An example of rain is given to explain these steps. There are three stages in acknowledging that it rains. In the first stage (ilm-el yakin), while someone sits in his home, with his windows shut, somebody coming from outside tells him that it rains, and he believes him. The second stage, ayn-el yakin is the stage of eye-witnessing. The person goes to the window, opens the curtain and sees that it rains. In the stage of Hakk-el yakin, he opens the door, goes out of the house, and there he is; in the rain. Being careful is a prayer in action to proceed from the stage of ilm-el yakin to the stage of ayn-el yakin and even more. Seeing the signs of Allah and not being “blind” like the unbelievers, require a high degree of concentration. In the Quran, the believers are called to observe and notice the signs of Allah around them and this is only possible by being careful: “See you the seed that you sow in the ground?Is it you that cause it to grow, or are We the Cause?” (Quran ,Chapter-Waqia, 56:63-64) “See you the water which you drink? Do ye bring it down (in rain) from the cloud or do We?” ((Quran ,Chapter--Waqia, 56:68-69) And Allah states in another verse that the blind could not be held equal to the seeing and asks Will you then consider not? (Quran ,Chapter-Anam, 6:50) One should train oneself to recognize the signs of Allah and should always keep them in mind. Otherwise, the mind will start to wander, jumping from one topic to another, wasting time in thinking about useless things. This is a kind of unconsciousness; you cannot control your mind when you lose your concentration in Allah. You cannot focus on a subject. Indeed, you cannot conceive the truth behind events, nor can you ever have the competence to affect the course they take. On the contrary, your mind is directed by stray happenings. You are “bewildered” all the time, which is not the attribute of the believer, but of the unbeliever. “... if anyone assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped and thrown him into afar-distant place.” (Quran ,Chapter--Hajj, 22: 31) Believers, on the other hand, are the ones who direct their minds better to perceive Allah, and who try in better ways to serve His religion. They free their minds from any vain thoughts, and whenever they become aware of the appeal of Satan, they rescue themselves, just as is described in the Qur’an; “Verily, those who are the pious, when an evil thought comes to them from Satan, they remember Allah, and (indeed) they then see (aright(Quran ,Chapter--A’raf, 7:201) Therefore, the believers should be careful to keep their minds free of useless thoughts, and never lose the thread of what is happening around them, they should always be on their guard. Discover many realities through Pondering in Quran.......... And Qurans Universal Unique Message , for the Guidance for All Mankind................
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 08:14:16 +0000