By Sultan Shahin, Founding Editor, New Age Islam
28 Aug 2018
Dear Naseer Saheb, I am
bringing our discussion to a separate thread as it has gone beyond the scope of
the earlier article where we started our conversation.
You consider Mutazillah “atheists of their time”
who were “more
wedded to philosophy than to the Quran.” Also, you
think that Asharis have “through their misinterpretations of otherwise very
clear Muhkamat verses, made Islam an unjust and immoral religion, only because they
imagine Allah to be like themselves."
But if you study their literature you will find
that the mainspring of thinking of both these groups, indeed all Islamic
scholars of all schools of thought was Quran and except in the case of
Mutazillah, Hadith. All of them may have violently disagreed with one another,
even thrown each other in prison and got one another lashed, but they were all
very sincere seekers of the Truth of Islam. The proof of their sincerely lies
in the fact that not one of them recanted, despite facing extreme persecution
by the Khulafa of their times. And the source of their thinking was Quran alone
in the case of Mutazillah and Hadith and Seerah too in the case of others.
Apart from Zahiris and Hanbalis, all of them had studied Greek philosophy, but
their primary faith was in Islam and Islamic scriptures.
Mutazallah view of God’s Rationality and Justice
and encouragement to reasoning emanate from the following and similar verses in
the Holy Quran:
Surely the worst of beasts in God's sight are those
that are deaf and dumb and do not reason. (8:22)
Qur'an explains its
verses to a “tribe, nation or community
(qawm) who thinks" and chastises "those
who do not use their reason" (see for instance, al-Baqara 2:164; al-Ma'idah
5:58; al-Ra'd 13:4; al-Nahl 16:12).
And He lays abomination upon those who do not
reason. (10:100)
(2:164) (To guide) those
who use their reason (to this Truth) there are many Signs in the structure
of the heavens and the earth, in the constant alternation of night and day, in
the vessels which speed across the sea carrying goods that are of profit to people,
in the water which Allah sends down from the sky and thereby quickens the earth
after it was dead, and disperse over it all manner of animals, and in the
changing courses of the winds and the clouds pressed into service between
heaven and earth.162
“A book We
have sent down to thee, blessed, that men possessed of mind may ponder its
signs end so remember.” (38:29)
“That thou mayest bring forth your people from the
darkness into the light ... “ (14:5)
Justice:
“And We sent down with them the Book and the
Balance so that men might uphold justice ... “(57:25)
“We have not sent thee, save as a mercy unto all
beings. “(21:107)
“A Book We have sent down to thee that thou mayest
bring forth mankind from the darkness into the light... “ (14:1)
It is incumbent upon Allah to show you the right
way. (16:9)
---
Hanbali-Ashari-Maturidi view of God as Omnipotent,
Whimsical, Arbitrary, Wilful, Despotic, not limited by canons of Justice and
rationality emanate from the following and similar verses of the Holy Quran (as
well as many Ahadith, specially mutawatir ahadith, considered totally authentic
and akin to revelation by most Muslims). I am not quoting Hadith here but apart
from Quran, it was a large number of Hadith narrations that solidified their
view:
“Allah does what he wills.” (14:27)
(Allah is) the Doer of what He
wills.7 (85:16)
“He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, He punishes whom He
pleaseth.” (2: 284)
“He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He
wills. And to Allah belongs the dominions of the heavens and the earth and
whatever is in between them and to Him is the final destination,” (5: 18)
“He punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He
wills, and Allah is over all things competent.” (5: 40)
---
“In their hearts is a sickness, and God has
increased that sickness ...” (2:10)
“God has set a seal on their hearts and on their
hearing, and on their eyes is a covering ... “(2:7)
“We lay veils upon their hearts lest they
understand it ..”. (6:25)
“So does God seal the hearts of the unbelievers.”
(7:101)
“God is the Protector of the believers; He brings
them forth from the darkness into the light. And the unbelievers --their
protectors are taghut, that bring them forth from the light into the darkness
...”(2:257)
---
“So,
whosoever Allah wants to Guide, He expands his breast to Islam and whoever
He wants to misguide, He makes his breast tight and constricted as though
he were climbing into the sky.” (Quran 6: 125).
Also, “If
Allah so willed, he could make you all one people. But he leaves straying
whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases and you shall certainly be
called to account for all your actions.” Quran (16: 93).
---
Imam Ghazali sums up the Islamic theology of
consensus (Hanbali, Ashari, Maturidi, etc. minus Mutazalah), in these words: He
puts the following in the mouth of God:
“These to Bliss, and I care not; And these to the
Fire, and I care not.”
It’s this supposed indifference and arbitrariness
of God that Ibn-e-Rushd countered in his famous “Incoherence of the
Incoherence” that was a line-by-line refutation of Imam Ghazali’s “Incoherence
of the Philosophers.” But all of Ibn-e-Rushd’s books were burnt down in supposedly
liberal Muslim Spain and he had to go into exile. His books survived only
because they had already been translated in European languages. As a result,
Europe got its renaissance and Muslim world pushed itself into a darkness from
which it is still to emerge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous
comments from the earlier thread:
By Sultan Shahin - 8/26/2018 12:33:51 PM
·
Dear Naseer Saheb, you have said: "They (Islamic Scholars) have through their misinterpretations of
otherwise very clear Muhkamat verses, made Islam an unjust and immoral
religion, only because they imagine Allah to be like themselves."
This is how Mutazilla scholars would have, must have, responded to the
now-dominant Asharite doctrine of God being Omnipotent and Omniscient, Free to
implement His Will, not necessarily Just or Moral, as we humans understand
these attributes. Their view was that the condition of Justice imposed on
God is a limitation on God’s power and questioned His Omnipotence. He not
only guides but also misguides people and then rewards and punishes them for
their behaviour.
[“So, whosoever Allah wants to Guide, He expands his breast to
Islam and whoever He wants to misguide, He makes his breast tight and
constricted as though he were climbing into the sky.” (Quran 6: 125).]
Also, “If Allah so willed, he could make you all one people. But
he leaves straying whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases and you shall
certainly be called to account for all your actions.” Quran (16: 93).
This cannot be considered just or rational by any human canon of
morality and rationality. However, it is not for us mortals, Asharites said,
following the Jabariyya before them, to apply our sense of morality or justice
or rationality on God. His Omnipotence is not to be limited by human canons of
morality or rationality or Justice. After all, God is al-Jabbar, the
Compeller. (Quran 59: 23). His power is absolute. He wills and it happens.
So, it’s
wrong to say that Jabariyya or Ashariya present God as a whimsical power-lord “only
because they imagine Allah to be like themselves.” This is not correct. As
the Qadariyya or later Mutazallah position of human free will was based on
Quran, so was the Qadariyya and Ashariyya position of total predetermination
based on Quran, and in both cases, as you rightly point out, its Muhkamat
(clear) verses, not on Mustashbihat (allegorical) that buttress their
positions. Of course, Ashariyya and even Maturidi positions are also based on a
plethora of Ahadith, in addition to Quran. But Qadriyyah and Mutazillah
positions are based entirely on Quran.
By Sultan Shahin - 8/26/2018 12:33:51 PM
By Sultan Shahin - 8/26/2018 12:33:51 PM
------------------------------------------------
By Naseer
Ahmed - 8/27/2018
11:10:54 AM
: “…. the
essential "Zaat" of Allah, is strangely misunderstood by even the
scholars, philosophers and the Sufis, and their understanding contradicts
Muhkamat verses.” (This sentence has been slightly edited to remove confusion,
as it has been taken from another thread. -- Editor)
Allah manifests His attributes through His creation as well as through
His revelations. What the Quran and other Scriptures mostly contain is
knowledge that is unavailable to man in foresight and could have only come
through Divine revelations but which can be easily understood in hindsight.
Science is knowledge that man can gain through foresight and most of it is left
to man to unravel. The Quran merely points out to the natural phenomena that
sustain life as God’s handiwork.
The Mutazilla scholars did not distinguish between these two sources of
knowledge, and took up a position, like the philosophers whom they admired,
that all morality or the Deen can come from human reason alone. They were the
atheists of their times and a bad influence which is why the reaction to them
was strong. Perhaps, they were only reacting to the Asharite doctrine, but they
took the wrong approach and were therefore easily neutralized by a single Imam
Ghazali, who did a very good job of defeating them comprehensively.
Unfortunately, the pendulum swung to the other extreme. If only the
Mutazilla had confined their reasoning to prove the Asharite wrong by the
explicit Quranic verses, we would have had the right balance, but they were
more wedded to philosophy than to the Quran.
Most of what we see of Islamic scholarship is by people from Iran or
Uzbekistan and from people from other faiths who had accepted Islam. The
influence of other faith systems and cultures is immense. All the six books of
Ahadith are by scholars from these two regions and all the six scholars are
contemporaries - strange coincidence?
The way forward is to question the wrong understanding of the scholars
and not question the Quran itself. The Mutazilla, the rationalists, the
atheists, the self-certified progressives and moderates will deservedly get
ignored because they are not seen as Muslim in the first place. The Quran
and Islam are only for the believers and those who approach it with humility
and not for those who consider the Book a 7th century anachronism as the people
of the Prophet's time did calling it a Book containing "tales of the
ancient". Allah allows such people to go astray.
By Naseer Ahmed - 8/27/2018 11:10:54 AM
----
·
Shahin Saheb,
what you say underlies the problem with
Islamic scholars of every school. They lack the scholarship for a
systematic study of the Quran and jump to wrong conclusions based on a
misunderstanding of a couple of verses. Allah’s attributes of Omnipotence and
Justice are misunderstood even by the likes of Imam Ghazali. While Allah says
emphatically that He never changes his ways, they think that such an attribute
compromises His attribute of omnipotence! They therefore imagine a whimsical,
immoral God much like what you find in Greek literature. There is nothing
whimsical about what God does and if Allah chooses to be bound by His own word
and by His own ways and laws, that is what it is and that is anything but
whimsical. If Allah has decreed a universe with a precise cause for every
event, nothing can take place without an appropriate cause. Whatever Allah does
follow His unchanging laws, and these are laws of cause and effect which He
explains in His Book for those who are willing to listen.
The Quran Describes Three Types Of Persons:
1. The
Believer: A person who lives a life based on truth and chooses all that is
good and noble is attuned to recognize and accept the truth and recognize
falsehood and reject it. He is not arrogant and will therefore accept good from
whatever source it comes and support it. He is a person who strives actively on
the path of truth. The characteristics of a believer are described in the
following verses:
(2:2) This
is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah;(3)
Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We
have provided for them;(4) And who believe in the Revelation sent to you, and
sent before your time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the
Hereafter.(5) They are on (true) guidance, from their Lord, and it is these who
will prosper.
Charity is
one of the noblest virtues as it combines sacrifice with empathy and caring for
others and is the foremost among the various practices that form part of the
golden rule. The moral way of living enunciated in the revelations provides
proof that this can come only from the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe
and from none else. Belief in the Unseen God who is the author of the divine
moral code and belief in the Hereafter in which God’s justice finds perfection
by design of God, is therefore easy for such people. The assurance in their
hearts of the Hereafter, is what makes it easy for the believers to live a
moral life in accordance with the way of living enunciated in the scriptures
since they hope for the major portion of their rewards in the hereafter and not
in this world. This is what makes it easy for them to sacrifice self-interest
for truth, justice and for the well-being of all life on this earth without
expecting returns in this life. They are people who are patient in the face of
adversity and practice self-restraint. Such people progress on the path of
guidance.
(16:30) To the righteous (when) it is said, "What is it that your Lord has
revealed?" they say, "All that is good." To those who do good,
there is good in this world, and the Home of the Hereafter is even better and
excellent indeed is the Home of the righteous.
With all
their hopes resting with God, they care very little for the vicissitudes of
this life. The believer is a faith neutral term in the Quran and is any person
who believes in one God, the Hereafter and practices righteousness.
(2:62) Those
who believe (in the Qur´an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and
the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and
work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be
no fear, nor shall they grieve.
2. The
Hypocrite: The hypocrite is a weakling straddling both belief and
disbelief. He is trying to maximize his gains. He wants to be on the winning
side always. He is not arrogant and therefore sees the truth in flashes but
since truth is not what interests him but his self-interest, he is immediately
blinded by the very brilliance of the light and is left in the darkness as if
he was blind. The characteristics of a hypocrite are described in the following
verses:
(2:8) Of
the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last
Day;" but they do not (really) believe. (9) Fain would they deceive Allah
and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realise (it) not!
(10) In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And
grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves).
(11) When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth," they
say: "Why, we only Want to make peace!" (12) Of a surety, they are
the ones who make mischief, but they realise (it) not. (13) When it is said to
them: "Believe as the others believe:" They say: "Shall we believe
as the fools believe?" Nay, of a surety they are the fools, but they do
not know.
These people
are able to see the truth momentarily but do not follow the truth and are
therefore false to themselves. Each time they see the truth and suppress it,
such behaviour becomes stronger and the cognitive dissonance weaker until they
reach a stage when the truth no longer bothers them and they become as it were
deaf and blind to it. The following verses describe the same:
(2:14) When
they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe;" but when they
are alone with their evil ones, they say: "We are really with you: We
(were) only jesting." (15) Allah will throw back their mockery on them,
and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (To
and fro). (16) These are they who have bartered Guidance for error: But their
traffic is profitless, and they have lost true direction, (17) Their similitude
is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, Allah took
away their light and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. (18)
Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path).
3. Those
Who Reject Faith Or The Kafir: The kafir is a person who has chosen to be
selfish and self-centred and convinced himself that the ends of a life on this
earth are to maximize his gains and pleasures adopting whatever means appear
appropriate. Truth, justice, kindness matter to him not in their absolute sense
but only to the extent these can serve his purpose on this earth. He is
arrogant and envious of others. He wants power, money and all the good things
in life to lord over. He will therefore reject any message that invites him to
what is moral. The rejection is of the messenger out of envy and arrogance and
of the message as it is the opposite of what he is inclined to. He will
actively resist both the messenger and the message and by his behaviour become
so confirmed in his rejection that he becomes totally deaf and blind to the
message. They are described in the following verses:
(17:94) What kept men back from belief when Guidance came to them, was nothing
but this: they said, "Has Allah sent a man (like us) to be (His)
Messenger?"
Arrogance
and envy of others is what makes people reject guidance in the first place.
(14:3) Those
who love the life of this world more than the Hereafter, who hinder (men) from
the Path of Allah and seek therein something crooked: they are astray by a long
distance.
(16:22) Your Allah is one Allah: as to those who believe not in the Hereafter,
their hearts refuse to know, and they are arrogant.
A person who
seeks immediate gratification loves the life of this world and to such a
person, promises in the Hereafter are too distant, uncertain and probably
appear as false. The fact that that he has gained much in this life through
immoral means and the fact that he sees that any change in his present ways
would cause an immediate loss in power and wealth is what prevents him from
seeing the truth. His arrogance is also self-gratification through
self-aggrandizement.
Surah 102
(1) The mutual rivalry for
piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious
things),
(2) Until ye visit the graves.
(3) But nay, ye soon shall
know (the reality).
(4) Again, ye soon shall know!
(5) Nay, were ye to know with
certainty of mind, (ye would beware!)
(6) Ye shall certainly see
Hell-Fire!
(7) Again, ye shall see it
with certainty of sight!
(8) Then, shall ye be
questioned that Day about the joy (ye indulged in!).
(2:6) As
to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do
not warn them; they will not believe.(7) Allah has set a seal on their hearts
and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they
(incur).
When Allah
says that Allah sets a seal on the hearts of the sinners, the reference is to
the natural law of Allah, whereby a person who is arrogant and dismissive of
others on account of his arrogance, and is only interested in immediate
gratification, is selfish, self-centred, and shuts out the voice of reason and
truth, loses the ability to perceive anything except what is immediately
gratifying so that it were as if ‘a seal is set upon his heart'. It is
not Allah who wrongs them, but they wrong themselves by what they choose for
themselves (3:117, 9:70)
6:12 It
is they who have lost their own souls, that will not believe.
(6:108) Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of
spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each
people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall
then tell them the truth of all that they did.
They have by
their choice, lost all their potential for nobility that man is endowed with,
by wilfully inclining towards evil and rejecting what is good. Such people will
never believe and they will be happy in their disbelief considering the
believers to be fools and themselves to be smart.
The word
kafir is a faith neutral term in the Quran. A kafir could be a Muslim, Christian,
Jew, polytheist or a person professing any other faith. Muhammad Marmaduke
Pickthall says: “In the Qur’an I find two meanings (of a Kafir), which become
one the moment that we try to realize the divine standpoint. The Kafir in the
first place, is not the follower of any religion. He is the opponent of Allah’s
benevolent will and purpose for mankind - therefore the disbeliever in the
truth of all religions, the disbeliever in all Scriptures as of divine
revelation, the disbeliever to the point of active opposition in all the
Prophets (pbut) whom the Muslims are bidden to regard, without distinction, as
messengers of Allah.
Understanding God’s Laws of Human Behaviour
The Role of Cognitive Dissonance
Philosopher
Alfred North Whitehead said in his 1925 book, Science and the Modern World: “It
is easy enough to find a [self-consistent] theory . . . , provided that you are
content to disregard half your evidence. The moral temper required for the
pursuit of truth, includes an unflinching determination to take the whole
evidence into account.”
There are
many people who show an unflinching determination to disregard half of the
relevant evidence!
In
Psychology this is called cognitive bias where we pay attention only to facts
that support our prejudices. Uncomfortable evidence that contradicts our theory
causes what is called cognitive dissonance. An honest way of dealing with
cognitive dissonance is to revise our opinion/theory taking the full facts of
the case into consideration. Dishonest ways are by way of discounting,
falsifying, or by ignoring altogether the evidence that does not suit our
purpose.
Not everyone
feels cognitive dissonance to the same degree. People with a higher need for
consistency and certainty in their lives usually feel the effects of cognitive
dissonance more than those who have a lesser need for such consistency. People
who have not trained themselves to deal honestly with cognitive dissonance
become habitual liars and feel nothing. It is about these people that the Quran
says:
(2:16) These
are they who have bartered Guidance for error: But their traffic is profitless,
and they have lost true direction,(17) Their similitude is that of a man who
kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, Allah took away their light and
left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. (18) Deaf, dumb, and blind,
they will not return (to the correct path).
People who
have learnt to suppress cognitive dissonance will rarely change their stand on
any issue no matter even if they are proved wrong. This is so since their stand
is not based on an objective analysis and the truth in any case is unimportant
to such people. The only deity they worship is self-interest. Pride and
arrogance prevent such people from changing their stand even if proved wrong. The
Quran says about such people:
(6:109) They swear their strongest oaths by Allah, that if a (special) sign came
to them, by it they would believe. Say: "Certainly (all) signs are in the
power of Allah: but what will make you realise that (even) if (special) signs
came, they will not believe."?
(110) We
(too) shall turn to (confusion) their hearts and their eyes, even as they
refused to believe in this in the first instance: We shall leave them in their
trespasses, to wander in distraction.
What made
them refuse to believe in the first instance will continue to dominate their
thinking and they will not believe no matter what signs are sent. This is
because, through wilful rejection of the truth on all previous occasions, they
have perverted their thinking progressively and completely and they are too far
gone astray.
(111) Even
if We did send to them angels, and the dead did speak to them, and We gathered
together all things before their very eyes, they are not the ones to believe,
unless it is in Allah´s plan. But most of them ignore (the truth).
(112) Likewise
did We make for every Messenger an enemy,- evil ones among men and jinns,
inspiring each other with flowery discourses by way of deception. If your Lord
had so planned, they would not have done it: so leave them and their inventions
alone.
The laws of
human behaviour which help man progress on the path of guidance or goes astray,
are part of Allah’s plan and it is in Allah’s plan to allow full freedom and
autonomy to man to choose whatever path he may, after providing complete
guidance and making the truth clear from falsehood.
(113) To
such (deceit) let the hearts of those incline, who have no faith in the
hereafter: let them delight in it, and let them earn from it what they may.
(114) Say:
"Shall I seek for judge other than Allah? - when He it is Who has sent to
you the Book, explained in detail." They know full well, to whom We have
given the Book, that it has been sent down from your Lord in truth. Never be
then of those who doubt.
(115) The
word of your Lord does find its fulfilment in truth and in justice: None can
change His words: for He is the one who hears and knows everything.
The word
here refers to the laws of Allah which none can change and through which Allah
ensures justice.
(116) Were
you to follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead you away from
the way of Allah. They follow nothing but conjecture: they do nothing but lie.
(117) Your
Lord knows best who strays from His way: He knows best who they are that
receive His guidance.
The verse
refers to the characteristics of persons who strays from His way and those who
receive guidance.
Arrogance and Rejection of Belief
(7:146) Those who behave arrogantly on the earth in defiance of right - them
will I turn away from My signs: Even if they see all the signs, they will not
believe in them; and if they see the way of right conduct, they will not adopt
it as the way; but if they see the way of error, that is the way they will
adopt. For they have rejected our signs, and failed to take warning from them.
Arrogance to
the extent that a person does not care for what is right is defiance of God.
Such people will not believe in God or turn to what is right.
Whom Does God Guide?
(8:23) If
Allah had found in them any good. He would indeed have made them listen: (As it
is), if He had made them listen, they would but have turned back and declined
(Faith).
It is the
natural law of God that all those in whom is some good will incline towards His
message and if God did make those in whom there is no good listen, they would
still soon revert to their disbelief.
(10:32) Such is Allah, your real Cherisher and Sustainer: apart from truth, what
(remains) but error? How then are ye turned away? (33) Thus is the word of your
Lord proved true against those who rebel: Verily they will not believe.
The
distinction between truth and falsehood is clear and anyone who turns away from
the truth is clearly a rebel. The law of Allah (Allah’s word) is that a person
who turns away from the truth in rebellion, will not believe.
Can A Person Living The Life Of Error And Falsehood
Change Himself?
A person has
to first accept that there is a problem and make a moral choice to change and
seek God’s help. He must realize that refusing to learn to deal honestly with
cognitive dissonance in its most basic form, is a lie to oneself and
self-deception. Matz and his colleagues (2008) found that people who were
extraverted were less likely to feel the negative impact of cognitive
dissonance and were also less likely to change their mind. Introverts, on the
other hand, deal more honestly with cognitive dissonance. This is hardly
surprising since introverts are concerned with self-image and telling a lie to
one self is more difficult and the extraverts are more concerned with what others
say about them. The cronies, side-kicks and sycophants of the extraverts are
there to heap praise on them whatever they say or do. If there are people who
confront them with their lie and embarrass them, they will be conveniently
categorized as belonging to the `enemy party’ and drowned with more lies. These
people will never change if they have people who support them in their lie.
Politicians therefore are some of the most adept liars and practitioners of
systematic deceit and the most shameless among all the liars.
Self-awareness
and a desire to change is the key to changing oneself. You know when you are
disregarding information that contradicts your stand on any issue. As Socrates
said “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Develop self-awareness which is
the first step to change.
If there is
a conflict between what you desire and what you consider right, then
consciously choose what is right. Learn to admit past mistakes, apologize for
these and learn to move forward. The congenital liars when confronted with
evidence that proves them wrong label the evidence ‘deceptive’. To them the
uncomfortable truth is deception and their own comfortable lies are the truth.
People who
talk about morals speak about the ‘conscience’ or the inner voice which is
nothing but the cognitive dissonance that we experience when our action does
not match what we consider to be right. This is not anything that we are born
with but the values that we imbibe. To develop such a conscience, read the
Quran to know right from wrong.
Can Prayer Help?
Prayer is a
form of self-priming and is most effective in changing one’s behaviour. Belief
in God helps but it should work even without such belief if the prayer is
changed to a daily resolution or pledge.
This prayer
(of the Prophet) is part of my daily morning prayers:
O Allah!
Purge my heart of hypocrisy,
My conduct
from dissimulation,
My tongue
from falsehood,
And my eyes
from treachery,
For You
indeed know the treacherous glance of the eyes
And that
which the heart conceals.
The Quran
describes the laws of human behaviour but puts the same across as what God
does. This is so since these are nothing but the unchanging laws of God which
work inexorably in the most consistent and unchanging fashion. People take this
literally and say that if God is allowing people to go astray or sealing up
their hearts, or causing them to become “deaf, dumb and blind”, how can they be
blamed? This is again more of self-deception and inability to take
responsibility for the moral choices they themselves make or for the path that
they have chosen even though God constantly reminds them that:
(4:120) Satan makes them promises, and creates in them false desires; but
satan´s promises are nothing but deception.
(35:5) O
men! Certainly the promise of Allah is true. Let not then this present life
deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah. (6) Verily
Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his
adherents that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire.
By Naseer Ahmed - 8/27/2018 3:13:07 AM
Source of the earlier discussion: http://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/quranic-method-of-cognition-of-realities/d/116187
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