Obedient Angel
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Join date : 2011-04-30
Posts : 2448
 | Subject: Salvation in Islam  Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:29 am | |
| [39:67]
They do not esteem God as He should be esteemed. And the entire earth will be in His grasp on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glory be to Him! And exalted be He above what they associate!
[39:68]
And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth will swoon, except whomever God wills. Then it will be blown again, and behold, they will rise up, looking on.
[39:69]
And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, and the Book shall be set in place, and the prophets and witnesses will be brought. And judgement will be made between them with truth, and they will not be wronged.
[39:70]
And every soul will be paid in full for what it did, and He is best aware of what they do.
[39:71]
And those who disbelieve will be driven to Hell in troops until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say to them, ‘Did there not come to you [any] messengers from among yourselves, reciting to you the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the encounter of this day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes, indeed; but the word of chastisement against the disbelievers has been fulfilled’.
[39:72]
It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein. For evil [indeed] is the abode of the arrogant!’
[39:73]
And those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in troops, until, when they reach it, and its gates are opened and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be to you! You are good! So enter it to abide [therein]’.
[39:74]
And they will say: ‘Praise be to God, Who has fulfilled His promise to us, and has made us inherit the land that we may settle in Paradise wherever we wish’. So how excellent is the reward of those who worked [hard]!
[39:75]
And you will see the angels encircling all round the Throne, glorifying with praise of their Lord, and judgement will be made between them with truth, and it will be said, ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds!’
For a Muslim, the purpose of life is to live in a way that is pleasing to Allah. In so doing, one achieves goodness in everything in this world and one hopes to end in Paradise. However, part of our being human is also that we sin. Sometime we sin without deliberation and intention, but sometimes we knowingly and deliberately sin and do wrong to others.
Allah has granted intellect to human beings. As human beings we are responsible, but we do also make mistakes and we are constantly in need of forgiveness. The more intellect a person has the more he/she is responsible. When the intellect is missing, the responsibility is also not there. The insane are not responsible because they have lost the intellectual capacity. Little children are not held responsible because their intellect has not yet developed.
It is believed that at puberty, an account of each person's deeds is opened, and this will be used at the Day of Judgment to determine his eternal fate. Each person has two angels on his right and left. The one on the right records good deeds and the one on the left records bad deeds.
[50:16]
And verily We created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.
[50:17]
when the two receiving angels receive (every human act to record it), seated (one) on the right and (one) on the left.
[50:18]
He does not utter a word but that there is beside him a watcher, [who is] ready.
If one intends to do a bad deed but does not, it is not recorded. If it is done, it is recorded as one deed. If one intends to do a good deed, but he does not, still the intention is recorded asone good deed. If the intention is fulfilled, it is recorded as ten good deeds. Every breath is recorded on the Record of Deeds of every person and each of us will get their Record on the Day of Judgment:
[99:1]
When earth is shaken with its [final] quake,
[99:2]
and the earth brings forth its burdens,
[99:3]
and Man says, ‘What is wrong with it?’
[99:4]
On that day it shall relate its chronicles,
[99:5]
for its Lord will have inspired it.
[99:6]
On that day mankind shall issue forth in separate groups to be shown their deeds.
[99:7]
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good shall see it,
[99:8]
and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.
[18:48]
And they shall be presented before your Lord in ranks: 'Verily you have come to Us just as We created you the first time; rather you claimed that We would not appoint for you a tryst'.
[18:49]
And the Book shall be set in place. And you will see the guilty apprehensive of what is in it, and they will say: 'O woe to us! What is it with this Book that it leaves out neither small nor great, but [instead it] has counted it?' And they shall find all that they did present. And your Lord does not wrong anyone.
The one who has been given his Book of deeds in his right hand says,
'Go ahead! Read my Book of Deeds.
Certainly, I knew my reckoning would come to pass.'
[Literally, 'that I would face my reckoning']
So, he lives in bliss,
In a lofty Garden.
As for him who has been given his Book of Deeds in his left hand, he says,
'I wish I didn't receive my Book of Deeds.
And I [wish I] didn't know my reckoning!
I wish *it were the end of everything!
[* This either refers to his moment of death before, or that moment, that is a wish to die then and that that would be the end without reckoning.]
My wealth has not availed me!
My authority has gone! [69:19-29]
Allah knows our human nature and that part of it is that we are bound to err. It is said, “to err is human and to forgive is divine." Both parts of this statement are very true, but we should always strive to gain Allah{SWT}'s forgiveness and not persist in error and sinning:
"And those who, when they commit an immoral act or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness of their sins - and who forgives sins except Allah? And those who do not persist in what they did while they know [it was wrong]" [3: 135].
We are called to race with one another in seeking Allah's forgiveness:
[57:21]
Vie with one another for forgiveness from your Lord and a garden the breadth of which is as the breadth of the heaven and the earth, prepared for those who believe in God and His messengers. That is the bounty of God, which He gives to whomever He will, and God is [dispenser] of tremendous bounty.
The only sin that cannot be forgiven if one dies without repenting is disbelief and shirk (associating others with Allah). Disbelief in Allah forestalls all deeds no matter how good they are:
[18:103]
Say: 'Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers in [regard to] their works?
[18:104]
Those whose effort goes astray in the life of this world, while they reckon that they are doing good work.
[18:105]
Those are they who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord and the encounter with Him'. So their works have failed, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall not assign any weight to them.
The door of mercy is always open for everyone unless one repents only when death comes to him and knows he was among those led astray because at the moment of death one sees and realizes his eternal fate:
[50:19]
And the agony of death arrives with the truth. That is what you used to shun.
[50:20]
And the Trumpet will be blown. That is the Day of the Promised Threat.
[50:21]
And every soul will come, accompanied by a driver, and a witness:
[50:22]
‘Verily, you were oblivious of this: So [now] We have removed from you your covering, and so your sight on this day is acute’.
OR
Those who witness the end of times when the final major signs of the Day of Judgment start appearing. Then, the door of mercy will be closed because those who want to repent then did not do so except upon witnessing the horrors of these days.
[4:17]
The repentance that God accepts is only of those who do evil in ignorance; then repent shortly thereafter; God will relent to those. And God is ever Knowing, Wise.
[4:18]
Repentance is not for those who do evil deeds until, when death approaches one of them, he says, 'Indeed now I repent'; neither for those who die disbelieving. Those - We have prepared for them a painful chastisement.
How Can One Attain Salvation?
In Islam the concept of original sin does not exist. The idea that man fell out of God's favour on account of Adam's sin and that an atonement was needed to reconcile Man to God is not supported in Islam. Adam sinned and was expelled out of heaven, but Allah forgave him when he repented. Man is sinful and Allah knows it as Man is different from angels. Angels are bound to obey. This is their nature. They cannot sin. Part of Man's nature, on the other hand, is that he can sin and blessed are those who are in constant jihad with themselves to abstain from sinning. Unless man were sinful by nature, there would have been no merit for the righteous since they would not have been righteous by virtue of their striving to be good. That is why a good man in the eyes of Allah is better than an angel because the former struggles to subdue him-/herself to please Allah while the latter are bound to obey.
A man is born and his Record of Deeds is a tabula rasa. His deeds are then recorded and according to this his relation with Allah is determined.
"I am as My supplicant thinks I am.
I am with him when he makes mention of Me.
If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself;
and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it .
And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length.
And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
None is responsible for the sins of another nor can be punished instead.
[35:18]
And no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another [sinful soul]. And should one burdened heavily call for its burden to be borne, nothing of it will be borne, even if [he] be a relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord in secret and observe the prayer. For whoever purifies himself is purifying himself only for [the sake of] his own soul. And to God is the [end of the] journeying.
[6:164]
Say: 'Shall I seek any other than God for a lord, when He is the Lord of all things?' Every soul earns only against itself; and no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord shall you return, and He will inform you of that over which you differed.
[17:15]
Whoever is guided, is guided only to [the good of] his own soul, and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to its [his soul’s] detriment. No burdened soul shall bear the burden of another. And We never chastise until We have sent a messenger.
This is an important issue. Allah sends Messengers to warn people to be fair and so that people do not have any argument against Him, "i.e. say "Oh we did not know". For instance, Allah says to People of the Book:
[5:19]
O People of the Scripture, there has verily come to you Our Messenger, making clear to you, after an interval between the messengers; lest you should say: 'There has not come to us any bearer of good tidings nor any warner'. Indeed, there has come to you a bearer of good tidings and a warner. God has power over all things.
The Qur'an teaches the necessity of both faith and good works for salvation:
[18:30]
Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds - indeed We do not leave the reward of those of good deeds to go to waste.
[18:31]
Those, for them there shall be Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow.
[41:30]
Truly those who say,‘Our Lord is God!’ and then remain upright, the angels descend upon them, [saying to them], ‘Do not fear, nor grieve, and rejoice in the good tidings of the paradise which you were promised.
[41:31]
We are your friends in the life of this world, and in the Hereafter, and therein you will have whatever your souls desire, and therein you will have whatever you request,
[41:32]
as a hospitality from One Forgiving, Merciful’.
[41:33]
And who speaks better [words] than him who summons [others] to God, and acts righteously and says,‘Indeed I am one of those whosubmit [to God]’?
[41:34]
And they are not equal, the good deed and the evil deed. Repel with that which is better then, behold, he between whom and you there was enmity will be as though he were a dear friend.
[41:35]
But none is granted it, except those who are steadfast; and none is granted it except one [deserving] of a great reward.
[41:36]
And if some temptation from Satan should provoke you, then seek refuge in God. Truly He is the Hearer, the Knower.
What we need to attain salvation is to repent and this involves conditions:
1. Abstinence from going on with the sin.
2. Contrition
3. Determination not to do the same sin again
4. Setting things right if this can be done. If the sin is related to other's rights, we must try to
make it up for them.
Sometimes, a penance is needed, and this is done by the sinner himself. It can be in the form of fasting, or feeding the poor, or freeing a slave (in the past), etc.
We can benefit the dead by doing some good deeds on their behalf, but we cannot bear their sins.
Allah does not and will not inflict undue punishment on any person. His mercy is unlimited and His love is infinite. We must try our best to please Allah, but no matter what we do, still we can never be as perfect as we should to be worthy of Paradise. We will enter it by Allah's mercy, even the Prophet, pbuh.
Allah is the most Forgiving. There are many names of Allah given in the Qur’an. Some of these names are related to His mercy and forgiveness. Some of these names are: (http://www.islamawareness.net/Salvation/forgiveness.html)
Al-Ghafoor
The most Forgiving. This name occurs in the Qur’an more than seventy times. There are other names from the same root, such as Ghafir and Ghaffar. The meaning of the “ghafara” is to cover, to hide and from it comes the meaning “to excuse”, “to pardon”, “to remit” and “to forgive”. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala does all these things. In the Qur’an, it is mentioned that Allah does not forgive the Shirk (without repentance) but He may forgive every other sin for whomsoever He wills. (al-Nisa’ 4:116) We must turn to Allah to seek His forgiveness.
Al-’Afuw
This has another aspect of forgiveness. This name occurs in the Qur’an five times. Literally the word ‘Afw means “to release” “to heal”, “to restore”, “to remit”. Thus in relation to Allah it means “to release us from the burden of punishment due to our sins and mistakes”, “to restore our honor after we have dishonored ourselves by committing sins and making mistakes.” Sometimes in the Qur’an both names: ‘Afuw and Ghafoor come together.
Al-Tawwab
The Acceptor of repentance. This name of Allah is mentioned in the Qur’an about 11 times. Allah accepts the repentance of those who sincerely repent and turn to him. The word “tawwab” gives the sense of “oft-returning” which means that Allah again and again accepts the repentance. We make sins and mistakes then we repent, He accepts our repentance. Then again we commit sins and make mistakes and when we repent, He again very kindly accept us and gives us another chance.
Al-Haleem
The Clement. This name is mentioned fifteen times in the Qur’an. This means that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is not quick to judgment. He gives time. He forebears and is patient to see His servant to return to Him.
Al-Rahman and al-Rahim
The most Merciful and Compassionate. These names are the most frequent in the Qur’an. Al-Rahman is mentioned 57 times and al-Raheem is mentioned 115 times. Al-Rahman indicates that Allah{SWT}’s mercy is abundant and plenty and al-Raheem indicates that this is always the case with Allah{SWT}. He is full of love and mercy and He is ever Merciful.
When Allah created the earth, He wrote on His throne 'My Mercy prevails over My wrath'.
The Prophet, pbuh, also said, "Allah has divided mercy into 100 parts, and He retained with Him 99 parts, and sent down to earth 1 part. Through this one part creatures deal with one another with compassion, so much so that an animal lifts its hoof over its young lest it should hurt it." (Al-Bukhari)
Angels in heaven too ask forgiveness for those on earth:
[40:7]
Those who bear the Throne and those around it glorify with praise of their Lord, and they believe in Him, and they ask forgiveness for those who believe: ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in [Your] mercy and knowledge. So forgive those who repent and follow Your way and shield them from the chastisement of Hell-fire.
Allah assures us that He is the Merciful and he waits with open arms for the sinner to repent. You find this in the Qur'an, Hadiths Qudsi and haiths of the Prophet, pbuh:
Qur'anic Ayat:
"Say, 'O My supplicants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of God. Indeed God forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He Who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." [39: 53]
" Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin" [4: 48].
Qudsi Hadiths:
"When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath."
"O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. "
There are many others, but these ones suffice to illustrate the issue. | |
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