We as a species are only half-baked.  We’re mostly animal, and only partly rational, only partly godlike.  And yet, once we become aware of the possibility of achieving godliness–i.e., to become like ancients imagined their gods were like, which in fact we have moved a long way towards over the past 500 years, then we realize, instinctually, that our noblest goal now becomes to continue on this journey – to eventually make ourselves like gods.  This, in essence, is the job of the medical profession (creating ideal bodies–i.e., making us immortal), and of the liberal arts professoriate (creating an ideal society, and an ideal political system, making us omniscient regarding the nature of society) and the psychological profession (creating ideal, strong, rational, healthy minds), of the science profession (making us omniscient regarding the nature of the universe) and of the engineering profession (making us omnipotent).  As a society, in other words, we already have our best minds dedicated to this task, which I call, in a phrase borrowed from Michelangelo and other renaissance thinkers,  ’making men like gods.’  In this post I would just like to detail, to make manifest, and to articulate, exactly what our task is, that we are already performing, and also to ask why we are doing this, even though it is something that we all participate in every day, and the nature of the human mind is that we are still 90% animal, i.e.,  most of us do things without self-awareness, most of the time (this being a function of the fact that, though some of us have become self-aware, most of the species still lags behind, most of the time). So in this light you can think of the history of the human species like this:

We evolved for a few hundred million years from blue green algae, through apeishness, through to becoming neanderthals, and finally, about 100,000 B.C., homo sapiens–meaning, that at that point, our brains were essentially about as big as they are today.

The problem is–we became self-aware.  The terminator people are playing on this thought, which is something that most of us have realized, even if we don’t consciously dwell on it very often.  Animals don’t lament their fates, because they don’t know any better.  They just wake up, find that they have been born, and in their very limited way.

But in a way, God screwed up.  When we became self-aware, we slowly came to the realization that all was not right with the world–the ancients thought of this life as a place of battle, and possible glory, but essentially one of hardship, sorrow, and lament.  One need only read “the wanderer” and ”the seafarer” to get this sense, or else the Orpheus legend in its various forms, to get a sense of how pagan europeans viewed this world and the next. 

The earliest humans did not have gods per se, but we get a sense that they probably worshipped the forces of nature.  Slowly, these evolved into actual gods:  i.e., anthropomorphizations of these natural forces.  They gave their gods human bodies, and they gave them names.  This was by about 8000 B.C., in the places where agriculture first began.  On the fringes of ‘civilization’ the older ways prevailed for longer.  Then, about 1500 B.C., the egyptians toyed with monotheism, and some still believe that the Jews learned their monotheism there.  At any rate, they invented monotheism, and later, some jewish heretics (aka christians) modified the religion to allow all roman citizens (gentiles) into the religion.  And then another person influenced by judeochristianity founded islam, and spread monotheism even further, so that still to this day, almost half of the world population professes to be monotheistic.  

The reason why monotheism was so popular, was that it promised, for the first time, a salvation for all people (not just kings, like with most pagan religions) – a happiness in the next life which was supposedly even better than this life – and this made sense for most people, since their lives generally sucked (and perhaps 1/3 of them were slaves, in most societies, excepting that of western europe after the year 1000 – when most were serfs or at least peasants anyway, which was slightly better). 

Interestingly for our present purposes, the hebrew scripture (also used by christians and muslims) begins with the garden of eden, which contains a parable of mankind waking up from ignorance – i.e., becoming self-aware, in the exact way that the cyberdine systems machines in the terminator movies are supposed to have done.  They realized that they had just been doing – acting– more or less like animals, more or less like automatons, but not having any idea that they were doing what they were doing – i.e., they lacked the capacity for introspection, for self-awareness, for self-criticism, for doing what theorists today call “being meta.”  They could step outside themselves, imaginatively, and see what their society was, and theorize about what it meant, etc.  This is the first step towards taking control of one’s environment.  It is prerequesite.  When adam and eve ate the apple:  they realized they were naked – i.e., they gained a sense of morality, of intellection, and a knowledge of good and evil – they realized, in short, the existence of the platonic ideals:  truth, beauty, justice, etc.  And according to the book of genesis, this meant that they now had access to the same knowledge as god:  to the mind of god itself.  They could, in essence, equal god in terms of the quality of their thought (if not the quantity).

If we relinquish the eden myth, however, and concentrate on historical fact:  on the fact of evolution, and the fact of our eventually becoming self aware, we see that biology has left us with a number of serious limitations.  Since there is no god, or at least, no micro-managing god of the type which the monotheists would like to believe in (and believe me, i wish there was any reason to do so), this means that once we became self aware, then it became possible for us to really begin to take over where nature had left off.

I’ve already written about this a bit in other posts, so i won’t detail it here, but we actually didn’t ‘wake up’ as a species, fully, until about the 1880s, when nietzsche finally dispensed with the notion of god.  Of course, many people still refuse to open their eyes (because this is very scary), but most of the critical-thinking-capable populace has for over a hundred years realized that, darwin and freud and einstein are right, about the nature of biology, the nature of the mind, and the nature of the universe, respectively.  And nietzsche is therefore right about the nature of morality – to a degree (though he was mostly a nutcase – but he did get the fact that sine god, there is no absolute backing for morality – though i have argued elsewhere that this shouldn’t stop us from embracing a human-anchored absolutism–).

So, we’ve only had about a hundred years, then to begin formulating, clearly, and with no interference from the notion that god was guiding things, which caused people to balk, a sense of what we should do, now that we have woken up as a species.  I’ve also talked about this somewhat in my post “what are our goals as a species,” but here I want to point out quite specifically what a mess biology has left us with, and from there point out the obvious challenges that we as a species now face, if we want to improve ourselves and make ourselves into our potential ideal.

1)  Mortality.  This is obvious.  For evolving species, it makes perfect sense to have individuals mate, and then die, to leave room for the next generation to improve the gene pool, and presumably, the adaptability of the species.  Once you become self-aware, however, this is brutal.  The only thing is:  if we didn’t have mortality, then we would seldom evolve as a species in terms of thought.  One nice thing about European republican thought is that is has evolved, every generation tending to improve on the next in some way or another.  If people didn’t die, then this would happen much slower.  I do think, however, that we have reached a stage of culture where we could produce a pretty ideal world with the ideas that are just now emerging in terms of equality.  So, this means that even the moral imperative towards mortality is now no longer compelling, so much.  And besides, even if we ‘fixed’ mortality, people would still die, and could still have kids.  You’d just have to wait.  Which is no big deal, since you’d have a while to life, and plenty of things to do.

2)  Procreation– men, due to the prescriptions of evolution, and the fact that he who mates most wins, in an ape-like tribal situation, naturally want to spew their goo, as they say, far too often for civilized society — thus the profusion of porn; most dudes i know tend to relieve themselves on a daily basis.  Ultimately, we’d want guys’ sex drives to at least be on a par with that of women–it would make domestic tranquility that much greater, for one thing, if the guy wasn’t always bugging the girl, and the girl not always having to come up with excuses and or give in to far more demands than she would like.  Arguably, this one factoid, is a major cause of disharmony in society as a whole.   

3)  Disease– clearly, we have to address this, before we can address the mortality issue.  Again, disease is fine and dandy in a dog-eat-dog world of nature, where life is cheap, and disease helps to weed out the weak, to make room for the strong, but again, it’s brutal, and has no place in civilized society.  I am talking here of infectious disease, which is essentially micro life forms preying on others.  But when some of the said life forms are sentient beings, with the intellectual capacities of angels (see Pico – in my “our journey” page), it’s time for us to take charge, as medical science is now doing in earnest, and to kick those little bastards’ butts. 

4)  Memory – our memories work in a far too limited, far too impressionistic way, for the most part, to be of much use.  Ultimately, we’ll want to come up with ways to recall information better, in a more informed way.  Some of us can do that, and i suppose that that’s what we’d want the species to be like.  Some people, i’ve heard, can remember too much – all the time, without being able to suppress it.  That’s clearly not good either.  But it’s within the bounds of biology for us to create, for the majority of us, a much better system than we have now. 

5)  Dichotomies in looks.  Most of us are not that good looking, but some are beautiful, and these people are documented as having much easier and happier and generally more successful lives, because of it.  We should ultimately address this looks-gap, in the same way as we should address the IQ gap.  Clearly, we don’t want us all to look alike – but it would be far more democratic if we had a society where everyone could feel as though they were actually attractive, however one may choose to interpret this (which I do not think is futile, since almost everyone can agree that some people are beautiful, while others are ugly – so, yes, I believe that beauty is not entirely relative, but is based on some fundamental human norms, which are hardwired into the same DNA which makes us all ‘humans.’)

6)  Dichotomies in intelligence.  I’ve already detailed this in previous posts, but it’s here for completeness.  

7)  Emotions.  For the most part, men get angry too often, and people are too psychologically unbalanced.  Biology has left us with a situation where too many people are prone to depression, and, in general, happiness is too difficult to come by.  If we are talking about genetically engineering (and/or, hopefully just gradually working towards these types of goals) the species, then we should also put on our wish list a strong sense of reason for most people (i.e., having a high IQ), but also an emotional stability, which is capable of great feeling, and sensibility, but also capable of being happy and contented, and appreciating the small and great things of life, with the best possible attitude.

8)  Susceptability to mental illness.  Abuse of children, especially sexual abuse, causes many lives to be ruined.  Clearly, the first thing to do is to stop abuse, which we as a society are slowly working towards.  But ultimately we’d like to steer our minds away from the hangups that we can so easily get hung up on, as a result of the fact that our minds are essentially very primitive.  Psychologists who look for the root of mental illness are in essence doing just this:  they are working, ultimately, to solve the problems of weakness in our mental structures which nature has bequeathed to us – due to the fact that we, as a species, are half baked. 

The sooner we realize what our goals are, and rationally sit down and take stock of where we have been left, when we suddenly woke up and realized that mother nature had abandoned us here, sitting on a bench in a bus stop, with only one suitcase and very little money, the sooner we can figure out which bus we should take, and where our best prospects lie.  Nashville, New York, or LA?

We love Humanity

The chain of tragedy is the most advance democracy is based on symbolism of war, hate and fear by celebrating crucifixion of hope. We American are consider to be the world leader with only fear of bombs and money not love and humanity. It is time for all world leaders with knowledge of investigation, studies and discoveries to examine their sympathetic nervous system to confirm that they are still human being.The unlimited power on humanity with technology of mass distraction cannot be useful to find small information of the round holy dance of nature, The last eclipse on Moon was in 2008 and the last eclipse of Sun will change ecological system of balance and chemistry of nature . it is time to educate our self about environment and realty of life.

The only way available for us to capture the essence of reality and to uncover the secrets of the world which is hiding in nature and fealty. Human faith can relay lead to the goal of grasping an objective reality by mean of knowledge and experiences once confused democracy is ready to give up material pleasure for mental health. The world problem that preoccupies people thoughts today is hate and fear each other which is deeply rooted in the distant time of human history. It has driven your forefathers into a long and nonsense struggle in the ideological and political fields and in the religious and culture barriers without investigating true human nature. Thus March 2008 came and gone and the crusade of crucifying is continues. Knowledge is the key to establish system of life, universe and the nature by debating or denying it for best democracy. The state of denial that is contributing pain in the chain of humanity is whenever some one tries to show whiteness of nature is not white enough to prove it.

The system of killing innocent human being for piece of land is not philosophically based on Abraham’s monotheistic faith. The only hope that is keeping saint human faith alive is the sound of ghunagroo from the angles of life who are sanding gust of smiles on innocent children. The battle will continue with no weapons other then our personal power with only one purpose that one day we will understand the reason of stars and time clock of eclipses.

We believe that one day God (Rab) will bless love of humanity to those who are unconscious of crucifixion of life in the name of war and terror on poor helpless people. The festival of life can be celebrated with wisdom of human faith knowledge once we realize that we are part of human family. Humanfealty advocates spiritual and moral principles on very high scales for the longest term in human history.

Human faith is Ajmal Mehdi and Adam Mehdi monotheistic faith of humanity and knows that God (Rab) is the creator and overseer of the universe at all the time and all matters. It is time to adopt true nature of humanity by educating innocent children in accordance with Divine affirmation of human faith. Blessing on Humanity from angels of Peace Ajmal Mahdi (Imam) and Adam Mahdi (Jesus Christ) the father and the son with Holy Spirit!

Saint Human Faith and Adam Mehdi ( Jesus Christ ) the father and son do not support culture of Atheism, Adulterer, Drinker’s, Smoker’s, Drug users , Money lover , Racist, Sexism, Assaulters, Murders, Thieves , Gamblers ,

IN GOD (Rab) WE TRUST WE HAVE FAITH IN HUMANITY (Rabi)

This is the sixth in a series of light-hearted signs for hypothetical American Unitarian Reform churches, created using an online image generator. I hope to show a range of attitudes and ideas all possible within the scope of AUR.

The sign for today’s notional church, Unity Christian, announces guest speakers from other faiths for Harvest Thursday, here called Thanksgiving Thursday to avoid confusion. Harvest Thursday is the only one of the Four Great Thursdays of American Unitarian Reform.

Significantly, the guest speakers are from Islam and Judaism, for whom Unitarian Christianity creates a continuity of true monotheism.

Brothers and Sisters, all of us know the story of Ibrahims sacrifice and we say that it was a test by Allah (taala). But do we really understand what Ibrahim went through ? Do we appreciate what it was like to be Ibrahim ? Can we grasp in thought what happened ? Why is it that we regard Ibrahim as the father of faith ? What was it that he achieved ?

Ibrahim (saw) is distinguished in the Quran with the title of khalil-ul-Allah (the intimate friend of Allah). In surat an-Nisa, Allah says :

He is also described in surat an-Nahl as a model :

Ibrahim was born among the star- and idol-worshipping people of Chaldea, in the home of Azar, his father, the idol-maker of the tribe. Ibrahim was among the kuffar, but not of them, like a spring of tawheed (monotheism) arising out of the swamp of shirk (polytheism). The Quran tells us in surat al-An`aam :

From the revolt in the house of Azar, his father, Ibrahim went on to challenge the polytheism of his people. Indeed Ibrahim is know as historys great idol- smasher, as the founder of monotheism and the crusher of ignorance.

There are numerous verses in the Quran which describe how Ibrahim argued against idol-worshippers, his rational arguments against sceptics and those who worshipped celestial bodies, how he deals with unbelievers, how he preaches to his people. For instance, in surat al-Baqara Allah says :

In another example in surat al-Anbiya :

As usual, when falsehood is defeated on intellectual grounds it resorts to plotting and oppression. The response of his people to his da`wa is given in surat al-Ankabut :

Ibrahim could have given up his message and his beliefs to save himself from the fire of Nimrod. But he chose martyrdom. He chose to die for Allahs message to live. He chose to step into the fire of ignorance and tyranny in order to save humanity from the fire of ignorance and tyranny. So he was cast into the fire.

But Allah had a different plan for Ibrahim and he was unhurt by the grace of Allah (taala) :

Allah also says :

His miracle did not refrain the idol-worshippers from continuing for very long years their plots, persecution, abuse, cruelty and isolation against Ibrahim but he remained uncompromising, unshakeable in his beliefs, patient in his suffering, gentle in his manners until he made his hijra (he migrated) to the lands of Aram nad Canaan.

He left the land of his fathers to become a stranger in the land of promise.

Brothers and Sisters, it was indeed a land of promise. A land where Ibrahim continued a lifetime of struggle, da`wa, movement, bearing alone the heavy responsibility of the mission of Tawheed (monotheism) in an age of darkness, oppression, prejudice and ignorance. Ibrahim did not have children. And through- out his century of prophethood and service of God, as Ibrahim grew older, his desire to have a son grew stronger. The Prophet Ibrahim desperately longed for a son but his wife Hajar was barren.

“O my Lord ! Grant me a righteous son !” (37:100) was his call to Allah.

Against every expectation, Allah fullfilled his promise of making Ibrahim the seed of a great line of Prophets, the root of the great universal religions.

Allah brought mercy to the agedness, loneliness, hopelessness and anguish of his trustworthy Messenger. For Ibrahim, Ismail was not just a son for a sonless father, he was the end of a life of waiting, the reward of a century of suffering, the fruit of his life, the hope after despair and the young boy of an old father.

Ismael being the promise of future generations was in some sense the whole world for Ibrahim.

So there was joy and rejoicing in Ibrahims house as Ismail was quickly growing under the sun of his fathers love.

But Allah decided that it was not to remain so.

Brothers and Sisters, Ibrahim was to be tried once more. Ibrahim had a vision in which he was commanded by Allah to slaughter his only son.

Brothers and Sisters, why should Ibrahim, whose entire life was devoted to prophethood, to Jihaad, to removing ignorance, to laying the foundations of tawheed be tried once again ?

Is it because man should not rest ?
Is it because man should not be deceived by 100 years of Jihad and victories ?
Is it because he should not think of himself without weakness ?
Is it for the fact that whatever we fix our eyes upon in this world will blind us ?
And finally, is it because the higher the spiritual height we reach, the greater is the danger of falling ?

Brothers and Sisters, it is not possible to convey in words what it must have meant for Ibrahim to be commanded by Allah (taala) to sacrifice his only son Ismail. The magnitude of the pain does not allow the imagination to enclose it. It inspires fear and trembling.

How can Ibrahim take his beloved son, the fruit of his life, the joy of his heart, the meaning of his living and staying, his Ismail, and hold him on the ground, put a knife to his throat and kill him ?

If it were only the slaughter of Ibrahim at the hand of Ismail, how easy ! But no ! The young Ismail must die and the old and aged Ibrahim must remain !

Ibrahim, the steel-like idol-smasher must have felt torn apart !

Within him, there must have been a war, the greatest jihad. Which war ? The war between God and Ismail ! The difficulty of choice !

Who should Ibrahim choose ?
Love of God or Love of self ?
Prophethood or Fatherhood ?
Loyalty to God or loyalty to family ?
Faith or Emotion ?
Truth or Reality ?
Consciousness or Instinct ?
Responsibility or Pleasure ?
Duty or Right ?
Tawheed (Monotheism) or Shirk (Polytheism) ?
Advancing or Remaining ?
To Become or To Be ?
And finally, God or Ismail ?
What should Ibrahim choose ?

Brothers and Sisters, Ibrahim did not choose immediately. He doubted and wavered under the crushing force of pain and anguish. Only after the third vision did he finally decide to carry out Allahs command. This is reflected in the hajj ritual of stoning the three idols representing Iblis who tempted Ibrahim to disobey Allah.

When a `truth enhances ones earthly life, most people become seekers of truth. But when a truth opposes life and leads to problems, loss and dangers the seekers of truth are few in number.

Iblis works wherever he finds traces of fear, weakness, doubt, despair, envy selfishness and even great affection towards someone or something. Iblis sometimes blows logical reasons, intellectual and religious justifications to achieve his ends.

For instance we may imagine that, under the powerful crush of his pain and distress, Ibrahim could have used many justifications. Perhaps the meaning of dhebh (slaughter) is just metaphorical and means kill your `ego. Perhaps `Ismail might be a general noun and not Ibrahims son. Perhaps “slaughter Ismail actually means “slaughter the love of Ismail. Ibrahim could have also tried many interpretations of his vision.

But Ibrahim, khalil-ul-Allah, the intimate friend of God, had faith in Allah and he knew that Allah (taala) demanded the sacrifice. Abrahams conscience would make a mockery of all these logical justifications and reasons.

Ibrahim chose the Love of God over the Love of self, Prophethood over Fatherhood, Loyalty to God over Loyalty to family, Truth over Reality, Consciousness over Instinct, Responsibility over Pleasure, Duty over Right, Tawheed over Shirk. He preferred Advancing to Remaining.

Ibrahim chose God and gave up Ismail.

Brothers and Sisters, in Mina, an amazing and frightening conversation between a father and a son took place.

Ibrahim said to Ismail :

What frightening words for a child to hear !

Ismail could have kept silent. He could have asked Ibrahim to refrain.

But Ismail had also faith. He submitted to Allahs will. Realising his fathers distress, Ismail gave him these comforting words :

Allah-u-Akbar ! Allah-u-Akbar ! Allah-u-Akbar !

Ibrahim had consulted his son who willingly offered himself to Allahs command. The choice of Ibrahim was sacrifice. That of Ismail was self-sacrifice : Martyrdom.

This gave Ibrahim strength. Ibrahim tied his heart to God, he took the Ismail of his life in one hand and the knife of his faith in the other and he walked until he reached the place of sacrifice. Ibrahim was suffering while believing and at every moment it was possible for him to retract and turn back. Yet he layed Ismail on the ground, putting his face away from him to give strength to his crushed soul and paralysed hand. And so he slaughtered Ismail. But, by Allahs grace, the knife did not cut.

Ibrahim received a sheep and was called by Allah :

Allah-u-Akbar ! Allah-u-Akbar ! Allah-u-Akbar !

Brothers and Sisters, Ibrahim gained everything and kept Ismail. This means that the God of Ibrahim is not thirsty for blood like the Inca gods or Hindu godesses were thirsty of blood.

It is the people, the servants of God who are hungry, and hungry of sheep meat.

And, symbolically, the only blood shed in this story is the blood of Iblis.

Brothers and Sisters, this means that from the very beginning God did not want Ismail to be slaughtered. He wanted Ibrahim to be the slaughterer of Ismail. When he became so, the slaughter became useless.

God, from the beginning, wanted Ismail to be the slaughter of God. And when it happened, his sacrifice became useless.

Mankind has needs but God has no needs. He is Self-Sufficient. Allah (ta`ala) in His Wisdom raised Ibrahim to the highest peak of sacrificing his Ismail without sacrificing Ismail. Allah (ta`ala) promoted Ismail to the highest peak of being the great sacrifice of God without bringing any harm to him.

This event is not about the torment and torture of mankind but about the perfection of humanity, the freedom from the prison of instinct and selfishness and about the elevation of spirit.

This momentous event also teaches us, through Ibrahim, that human life, Ismails, Ibrahims, everyones, acquires its meaning and value from God — The Source of Creation — and not from nature. It signifies that the good things in life, represented by Ismail, derive their value not from the mere fact that they exist and can be valued, enjoyed and delighted in, but from God, The Source of Creation Himself. Ibrahim was, in some sense, giving back Ismail to receive him again on the proper basis.

Brothers and Sisters, different people organise differently their loyalty to God, to the family and to the nation or the state. A secular mind owes and absolute duty to the nation (and the family) whereas a religious conscience owes absolute duty to God. For a secular mind Ibrahim was willing to murder Ismail but for a religious conscience he was willing to sacrifice Ismail. Ibrahim therefore instructs that we should owe absolute duty only to God and it is our relationship to God which ought to transcend and determine out relation to family/nation and not vice-versa.

Brothers and Sisters, there still is a lot to understand and discover about this momentous event. These are only a few possible meanings. Only a few, and just possible, because as Ibrahim taught us to be less complacent and more critical about having attained faith, we should be less complacent and more critical about having attained understanding.

Brothers and Sisters, the Ismail of Ibrahim was his son. But you, who is your Ismail ? what is it ?

Your degree ? Your reputation ? Your position ? Your money ? Your home ? Your car ? Your beloved ? Your family ? Your knowledge ? Your title ? Your dress ? Your fame ? Your soul ? Your spirituality ? Your Beauty ? Your strength ? Your career ?

How does one know ?

Well, you know this yourself. One can only give its signs to you.

Whatever is in your eyes which holds the place of Ismail in the eyes of Ibrahim !

Whatever weakens you on the way of faith !

Whatever stops you in your movement !

Whatever brings doubt to your responsibility !

Whatever has enchained your freedom !

Whatever leads you to compromise and justification !

That very thing which deafens your ears before the Message of Truth !

Whatever calls you to remain with yourself !

Whatever causes you to flee from your duty !

Whoever or Whatever keeps you behind in order to remain with her/him or it !

Brothers and Sisters, these are the signs of our Ismails. Let us search for them in ourselves and let us slaughter them to move towards Allah (taala). Brothers and Sisters, let us revolt against the heartless worshippers that we have become.

Source: Islam Channel

Taken from www.islaam.com

The Best Days of this World

The Virtues of the first 10 days of Dhul Hijja:

1. Ahadith of the Prophet (s):

قال النبي –صلى الله عليه وسلم-( مامن أيام العمل الصالح فيها أحب إلى الله من هذه الأيام قالوا يا رسول الله : ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله قال ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله إلا رجل خرج بنفسه وماله فلم يرجع من ذلك بشئ) رواه البخاري

The Prophet (s) said: “There are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than during these days. The Sahaba said: Oh Rasul Allah, not even jihad in the path of Allah? He (s) said: Not even jihad in the path of Allah except for the man who goes out in the path of Allah with his life and his wealth and returns with neither of them.”

وقال ( أفضل أيام الدنيا أيام العشر) رواه البزار وصححه الالبانى.

And he (s) said: “The best days of this world are these ten.”

2. Allah swears by these 10 days in the Qur’an:

قول الله تعالى: ((وَالْفَجْرِ، وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ)) سورة الفجر (1-2)، قال ابن كثير رحمه الله: المراد بها عشر ذي الحجة

Allah says: “By the dawn, and by the 10 nights” [Qur'an, 89:1-2]. Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: “This is the correct opinion.”

قال تعالى: ((وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ)) سورة الحج(28)، قال ابن عباس: أيام العشر

Allah says: “…and mention the name of Allah on appointed days…” [Qur'an, 22:28] Ibn ‘Abbas said these are the ten days.

3. These ten days are better than Ramadan:

قال المحققون من أهل العلم: أيام عشر ذي الحجة أفضل الأيام، وليالي العشر الأواخر من رمضان أفضل الليالي.

Most scholars adopt the opinion that these days are better than the last ten days of Ramadan. However, what holds the last ten days of Ramadan at a higher status is the Night of Power (Laylat ul-Qadr) which is equivalent to one thousand months (83.33 years).

تضاعف فيها الحسنات قال ابن عباس”: العمل فيهن بسبعمائة ضعف”

The rewards are multiplied in these days. Ibn ‘Abbas said: “(The reward for good) deeds are multiplied seven hundred times in these days.”

قال الاوزاعى: “بلغني أن العمل في أيام العشر كقدر غزوة في سبيل الله يصام نهارها ويحرس ليلها إلا أن يختص امرء بشهادة”

Al Awzaa’i said: I was informed that good deeds during the ten days are the equivalent (in reward) to a battle in the path of Allah, in which the day is spent in fasting and the night in safeguarding, except if one is bestowed with martyrdom.”

In Ramadan doing good deeds and struggling in worship, especially during the last ten nights, is easier than during these days for a few reasons. Firstly, the atmosphere of the month of Ramadan, whether culturally, spiritually, or traditionally, makes it easier to focus and strive. Secondly, the shayateen are chained. So, to get that drive and direction we had in Ramadan, is much harder when we have most likely fallen out of “Ramadan mode.” However, since the `ibada is more difficult, the reward is greater. So let’s keep this in mind and get ready to really work hard.

The Plan of Action for these 10 days:

1. Really feel this blessing and realize that it is an opportunity of a lifetime, because none of us know if we will witness these 10 days again.

كان خالد بن معدان يقول( إذا فتح لأحدكم باب للخير فليسرع فاءنه لا يدرى متى يغلق عنه

Khalid bin Mi’dan used to say: “If the door for good is opened for one of you, then rush (to take advantage) because you don’t know when it will close.”

2. Have high aspirations in your worship and use the examples of the ijtihad of the saliheen as motivation.

3. Take advantage of the opportunities to get the reward of hajj while being elsewhere.

قال-صلى الله عليه وسلم-( من صلى الفجر في جماعة ثم قعد يذكر الله حتى تطلع الشمس ثم صلى ركعتين كانت له كأجر حجة وعمرة تامة تامة تامة

The Prophet (s) said: “Whoever prays fajr in congregation and then sits in remembrance of Allah until the sun rises, then prays two rak’aat, he has the full reward of hajj and `umrah.”

4. Perfecting the fara`idh (obligatory actions):

Often times we become busy trying to do extra deeds, but neglect the fact that perhaps maybe what is obligatory upon us is not at the level it should be. There is no way for a person to become close to Allah other than through the obligatory actions, as is apparent in the famous hadith qudsi in which Allah says: “My servant does not become closer to me by anything more beloved to me than what I have obligated upon him.”

Reasonable Goals:

1. Khatm of Qur’an: equivalent to more than half a million hasanaat during these days. Let’s try to complete the recitation of the Qur’an during these days, ending by ‘Asr time on the day of ‘Arafah and spending from ‘Asr to Magrhib in du’aa.

2. Qiyam al-Layl:

Rasulallah (s) said: “Whoever stands in prayer, reciting 1,000 verses is written among the muqantareen.” A qintar is equal to 70,000 dinar. The recitation of the last two ajzaa` of the Qur’an is equivalent to 1,000 verses.

3. Extra Salah during the day: The Prophet (s) said: “There is not a Muslim who prays twelve raka’at per day, other than the obligatory prayers, except that a palace is built for him in paradise.”

4. Dhikr: The best form of worship to do in these ten days as apparent in the hadith:

Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said, “There is no day more honorable in Allah ’s sight and no acts more beloved therein to Allah than those in these ten days. So say tahlil (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah: La ilaha illAllah), takbir (Allah is the greatest: Allahu akbar) and tahmid (All praise is due to Allah: alhumdulillah) a lot.” [Ahmad, 7/224]

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best du`a’ is du`a’ on the day of `Arafah, and the best thing that I or the Prophets before me have said is ‘There is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner’ (La ilaha illa’llah, wahdahu la sharika lah)” [Muwatta, Malik].

7. Reviving the Sunnah of Takbir:

Ibn `Umar and Abu Hurairah (ra) used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, reciting takbeer, and the people would recite takbeer when they heard them.

8. Fasting:

The reward of fasting is great, so imagine how much that reward would be multiplied in these days. If one can’t fast all of the 9 days, then at least on the day of `Arafah as it is the greatest day.

Abu Qatadah reported that the Messenger of Allah (s) said, “Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah is an expiation for two years, the year preceding it and the year following it. Fasting the day of `Ashura is an expiation for the year preceding it.” [This is related by "the group," except for al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi]

The Prophet (s) said “There is no day that Allah will free people more than the day of `Arafah.”

`Ali (ra) used to advise people to say “Oh Allah free my neck from the fire” on the day of `Arafah.

9. Du`a’:

Especially on the day of `Arafah, but also at anytime. Keep in mind the times where du’aa is more likely to be accepted and ask during those times.

* The last third of the night
* Between the adhaan and iqaamah
* During the rain
* In sujood
* Friday
* While fasting

10. Sadaqa (charity):

Give sadaqa during these days, since the reward is multiplied tremendously.

11. Tawba (asking for forgiveness):

Continually renew repentance.

12. Establish ikhlas in `ibada.

13. Check and renew intentions at all times

The Day of `Eid

On the greatest day, remained focused as it is still part of the first 10 days which are the best days of the year! Try not to get too caught up in celebrating that you stop doing the worship that you were doing the first 9 days.

The day of ‘Eid: a day for visiting family and performing the sacrifice for one who is able.

By Zahra

Dava ( Medicine )

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Free.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Healthy.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Happy.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Clean.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Safe.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us Wise.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Atheist.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who have many Gods.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from Those Who are Adulterer.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Murders.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Drinkers.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Smokers.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Drug users.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Assaulters

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Money lover.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Racist.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Thieves.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who are Gamblers.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect poor.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect freedom.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect there parents.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect there teachers.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect there neighbors.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not respect Life (Nature).

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from those who do not have Moral values.

Ya Rab (GOD) keep us away from Those Who do not have family values.

IN GOD (Rab) WE TRUST WE HAVE FAITH IN HUMANITY (Rabi).

Materialistic stress for mental development of a child can produce an educated human with spiritual sense of awareness that child becomes humane.

One of the questions frequently surrounding monotheism is that of angels. Surveys indicate that even non-religious North Americans, by far, believe in angels. So, where do they come from? In a monotheistic context where God is considered omnipotent what role could angels possibly fill?

Angels appear in ancient religions in medias res. Going back to the earliest attested religion, that of the Sumerians, we find winged divine assistants called apkallu. In a polytheistic world, gods could always use a little help. These divine beings, portrayed with wings, are sometimes called “angels” by modern commentators, and they do serve some of the basic functions of an angel, such as doing errands.

Other ancient polytheistic religions knew of differing classes of deities; not all gods were created equal! There were primordial deities, often old and retiring, and there were active ruling deities who received their authority from the primordials but who in fact ruled by might. Below the ruling gods were skilled-labor gods and messengers. It is from this class of messenger gods that angels eventually evolved. We don’t know that messenger deities were portrayed with wings, but in ancient times wings indicated speed — uninterrupted movement — so you could do worse than have wings if you were a messenger. The English word “angel” derives from the Greek term indicating a messenger. Indeed, by the time we reach the Hebrew Bible angels are often indistinguishable from humans.

The problem is that when monotheism developed during the Exilic Period, the Israelites had already become quite accustomed to having angels around. Before prophets showed up angels were often the means of learning the divine will. If there is only one god, what do you do with this tier of messenger deities? Demote them to angels! They are still supernatural, but not as powerful as God.

Probably under the influence of Greek Hermes, angels regained their wings to become the winged humans we know so well today. It is a mistake, however, to call all winged humans from the ancient world “angels.” Angels are the result of the religious evolution from polytheism to monotheism, and their ancient predecessors were truly gods.

Remember when we used to be gods?

We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and Love .

Blessing on Humanity from Taliban of Peace Mehdi (Imam) and Adam (Jesus Christ) the father and the son with Holy Spirit!

We are Taliba-E-Elm ( Student of God’s Wisdom) because We believe life is a religious of God (Rab) of humanity (Rabi). The definition of humanity (Rabi) in our faith is the quality of being humane and respectful for life. The Divine Affirmations of human faith are the commandment of God (Rab) of Humanity (Rabi). The crime against the Divine laws is blasphemy and great disrespect for our God (Rab) of humanity (Rabi).

Human Faith is heavenly light of knowledge restriction on sacred light is eclipse on humanity and blasphemy.

1. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We believe all people are entitled to freedom, peace and justice. We will do all that we can to see these rights are promoted and protected in the current century.

2. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We believe any kind of negative discrimination such as racism, sexism and religious persecution are crimes against humanity. We cannot endorse sole progression of man from animal as it rejects spiritual evolution. We will respect all human kind.

3. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We believe in freedom of the press and object to media censorship. We believe we have the responsibility to stay informed and the right to have resources for this available without restrictions.

4. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We reject war, terrorism and arms build ups as they are plagues on mankind and the environment.

5. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We support and encourage efforts to preserve and protect the environment. Air and water pollution, unbridled harvesting of fossil fuels and loss of habitat need to be stopped. We are commit to do our part by recycling and curbing wasteful habits. We recognize our responsibility to future generations in this regard.

6. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We believe we must provide education worldwide in health and family planning. We must foster respect for life and accept responsibility for the offspring we create. Programs facilitating border less adoptions need to be encouraged.

7. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We believe everyone is entitled to a good quality of life including clean water and air, energy availability for home and commerce and a healthy diet. Every nation and its leaders must be accountable that these needs are met.

8. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We will respect all life including animal rights and insist on their protection and humane treatment in food preparation entertainment and sports.

9. We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and We are honest in all our dealings and we respect the dignity of others. We will instill these beliefs in our children in order to promote happiness and peace.

Saint Human Faith and Adam (Jesus Christ) the father and son are Taliba-E- Elm ( Student of God’s Wisdom) and do not support culture of

Atheism,

Adulterer,

Drinker’s,

Smoker’s,

Drug users ,

Money lover ,

Racist,

Sexism,

Assaulters,

Murders,

Thieves ,

Gamblers ,

IN GOD (Rab) WE TRUST WE HAVE FAITH IN HUMANITY (Rabi).

Materialistic stress for mental development of a child can produce an educated human with spiritual sense of awareness that child becomes humane.

We are Taliban ( Wishful) of Peace and love and Taliba-E- Elm ( Student of God’s Wisdom)

Abraham, the patriarch of the Judeo-Christian tradition, may have been a polytheist. We read that his father Terah was a polytheist (Joshua 24:2) and archeology suggests that Abraham came from a polytheistic culture at Ur. We can’t know what Abram believed when God first started speaking to him but that he had a pagan (and thus polytheistic) worldview seems probable. There is still the possibility that God chose Abram because Abram was a monotheistic believer in the midst of a pagan, idolatrous world. The point is that as God revealed Himself to Abram/Abraham, his idea of who God is became more and more accurate. For example, Abraham learned that God was faithful to his promises when Isaac was born. Abraham learned that God was just when he punished Sodom and Gomorrah. Ultimately all our mental concepts of who God is are lacking. However, if we really want to know who God is accurately, we need to look at Jesus for Christians believe that Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15)

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In this post, I briefly explore the historical connections between religion and state power and outline aspects of this relationship in the climate change ‘religion’ . This post was written in response to a recent article in the London Telegraph that indicated that a U.K. judge ruled that belief in anthropomorphic climate change was similar to a religious conviction for the purpose of workplace discrimination laws. Though I am not suggesting that belief in climate change is a religion in the fullest sense, the analogy is interesting.

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Polytheism and the development of the state in Ancient times

Early human history reveals that organized, centralized religions are intimately tied up with the development of state power and civilization. In Sumer, the earliest known human civilization, founded in Mesopotamia in the 4^th Millennium BC, surplus food production freed sections of the Sumerian population from a subsistence economy and allowed specialized roles unconnected with agriculture, such as pottery and trading, to develop and flourish. This is the basis of human civilization, the creation of wealth, and improving standards of living. Surplus food production also supported an  insitutionalized priestly caste, who like the ’shamanistic’ tribal leaders they evolved from, were divorced from the direct production of material goods, but took the leading role in developing the religion and culture of their society. The Sumerian priesthood were believed to be, and encouraged themselves to be seen as, the sole representatives of the gods. As the main drivers of ideology, the priests had an incredible power over the formation of the state, which, as in most ancient societies, became intriniscally linked to the religious classes. The priests were able to maintain this role – after all, they were  uniquely able to interpret the celestial signs as well as develop divine law through the continual refinement of religious mythology and tradition. The priests of Sumer were the religious leaders, lawmakers and the ‘culture industry’ of their time.

Throughout history, clerics have often had a symbiotic relationship with a secular ruling class. This is true even as early as the Sumerian civilization. As with many other civilizations throughout history, the idea of the divine monarch became a fixture of the Sumerian religious order. The priests promoted personality cults around their king as a literal god, and thus legitimized his use of ‘divinely’ sanctioned state violence to control the domestic population as well as expand the frontiers of the state in attempts to collect slaves and wealth. In return, the god-king’s enforcement of state-control allowed the priestly system, by now a vital organ of the state itself, to continue to operate. This collaborative model was also utilized in subsequent civilizations such as Babylon, Persia and Egypt. Indeed, these empires were the direct descendant of the system created in Sumer.

Monotheism and the development of the state in medieval times

Despite the obvious connections between religion and state power at  the very birth of human civilization, it is too straightforward to simply dismiss all religion as ‘the opiate of the masses.’ Religion is an important part of human life that clearly plays a central role outside of state affairs. On the other hand, religion, while not necessarily ABOUT social control, has clearly been used FOR social control – this is an uncontroversial statement that even the most fleeting glance at human history will confirm. Unlike the development of organized polytheism, which was from its inception, allied with state power, monotheism is interesting in that if placed in its developmental context as a revolt against polytheism, it is nothing less than the wholesale rejection of ‘man’s law’ (i.e. the false laws of the Oligarchs/Pharaohs/god-men who had spread social inequality and promoted illusory hierarchies.) ‘God’s’ law at least as presented by its primary sources (e.g. Gospels, Qur’an etc.) has a great revolutionary potential in that it promotes egalitarianism and emphasises social justice between classes and not only justice for the god-kings and organs of state.

Historically however, the Abrahamic religions have also been used by state actors for purely political purposes, which encouraged the religious and ruling classes back into symbiosis. In his book, ‘The Roots of Civilization’, Abdullah Ocalan observed that monotheistic religions, after being established via prophetic revelation, have always been followed by a counter-revolution from prevailing oligarchs in a post-prophetic stage. This is the case in the development of both Christianity and Islam. Emperor Constantine, for example, a member of the Sun-worshiping cult, Sol Invictus, adopted Christianity for Rome 300 years after Christ and codified Roman Catholic religious doctrine primarily as a tool to maintain an ethnically diverse empire. From this point on, religious doctrine was established and used to project power from the Vatican into the various Christian kingdoms. In Islam, the Umayyads, the ruling family of pre-Islamic Arabia were able to institute a secular hereditary monarchy after only three decades of religious rule by the Caliphs. Fast forward a few hundred years later and the politico-religious landscape of both the medieval Christian and Islamic has a resemblance of the Sumerian system – while not considered divine, the Kings and Sultans, the physical embodiment of the feudal state, were considered by clerics of their respective religion, to rule on behalf of God as the ‘Shadow of God’ on Earth. Clerical monotheism was not able to revolutionize the character of the state (rather the clerics were reincorporated back into it). They did, however, preside over the transformation of human society from a slave-based economy into feudalism, and on occassion, act as a semi-independent counter balance to the some of the excesses of secular power (they have also commited great horrors i.e. the Crusades).

The state of climate change religion

If belief in anthropomorphic climate change can be considered akin to a religion (and I repeat that I am not asserting that it is a religion in the fullest sense, just that some aspects are similar), then what is the relationship between the state and the anthropomorphic climate change ideology? Can any interesting analogies be made between the ascendancy of the ‘green religion’ and the historical merger of polytheistic and monotheistic religions with state power?

The priests of Sumer were representatives of the gods and interpreted the manifestation of celestial beings in the forces of nature. As an ideology, the green religion acts as the caretaker of the Earth and promotes the role of humans as the vicegerents of the Earth (interestingly this belief is common to the Sumerian religion as well as Christianity and Islam). The green religion has no ‘priests’; it has climate scientists to interpret and order ‘wild’ nature.  Bureaucrats representing international organizations such as the United Nations take these signs shape them into ideology and action. Through their entwinement with nation states, they are able to continually develop laws that influence the domestic policies of member nations.

Unlike what is commonly presented, the missionaries of the green religion (i.e. those largely responsible for its spread), are not the members of grass-roots environmentalist groups, but rather, the various mainstream media outlets that produce material as part of the ‘culture industry.’ The green religion was clearly spread by the corporate class. While, grass-roots environmentalist groups have certainly increased their prestige in recent years (largely because of the media attention), the seed of the religion was spread not by protests and activism over the last 30 years or so, but mostly through corporate media, via plasma screens and liquid crystal displays in the last 5.

The green religion affects people on a personal level in that it seeks to alter the practices, habits and attitudes of individual believers. It is political in that it seeks to change economic relationships between elements of society. But who do these economic relationships support? The three main carbon reduction initiatives being proposed by the green religion are:

1. Carbon Tax

2. Cap and Trade

3. Carbon Rationing

In the short to medium term before cleaner energy sources are developed and implemented (or the purported global warming apocalypse happens), all three initiatives, but particularly those that involve emissions trading (cap and trade, carbon rationing) mostly benefit  finance capital. Emissions trading means that wall-street speculators may parasitically feed off all efforts of industry by trading credits in a ‘commodity’ that has no productive value whatsoever. They will make a killing (pun intended) through out of control carbon speculation, including the use of new financial derivates. The result of this is that goods will be more expensive to produce and sell. For us in the serf-classes, this means that material goods will be more expensive to buy. This means much more than not getting an iPod for Christmas next year. Many third world and developing nations rely heavily on food imports from Western countries, particularly regarding grain imports. Increased food prices caused by carbon emissions trading means that one unfortunate effect of the green religion could be a devastated third-world, particularly if the additional plan to divert food crops to make biofuels is also enacted.

A central pillar of the green religion is the reduction of consumption through austerity. But who benefits by from these measures?

“….Ever since the end of the nineteenth century, the problem of what to do with the surplus of consumption goods has been latent in industrial society… From the moment when the machine first made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent for human inequality, had disappeared. If the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generations. And in fact, without being used for any such purpose, but by a sort of automatic process – by producing wealth which it was sometimes impossible not to distribute – the machine did raise the living standards of the average human being very greatly… But it was also clear that an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction – indeed, in some sense was the destruction – of a hierarchical society. In a world in which everyone worked short hours, had enough to eat, lived in a house with a bathroom and a refrigerator, and possessed a motor-car or even an aeroplane, the most obvious and perhaps the most important form of inequality would already have disappeared. If it once became general, wealth would confer no distinction. It was possible, no doubt, to imagine a society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries, should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a small privileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable. For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance…”
- George Orwell; Nineteen-Eighty-Four

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I believe that East Asians are inherently monotheistic although they operate within a pluralistic realm of religion.

I actually it is easier for East Asians to become followers of Christ than it is for a Westerner; my reasoning behind this is two-fold:

1. East Asians do not operate under a Greek philosophic thought process.
2. East Asians are readily spiritual.

East Asians (Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese) have an advantage in regards to reaching a monotheistic paradigm compared to Westerners because we do not operate under a Greek philosophic thought process. The Greek philosophic rational method has left Western thought paralysed dealing with the question of “Is there a God?” while the East Asian has no conception of causality or the scientific/rational method. For the East Asian, the question is not “Is there a God?” but rather the question is “Who is God?” and “Who is THE God?”.

Coming from a Confucian background, East Asians already presuppose that there is a God, a Creator or a Heavenly Ruler – however for East Asians, God is Deistic – He does not interfere in the work of humanity.

East Asians are spiritual people. Whether they are superstitious or religious, East Asians are predisposed to being spiritual. Again a lot of this comes from the Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist backgrounds of many East Asians.

However, for the Chinese, during the earliest recorded dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, archaeologists have discovered a very rich cultic practice that the common people and the royal family participated in. For the people of the Shang Dynasty, they worshipped Shang-ti (上帝 the Heavenly Lord or the Ultimate Lord) – a Creator being who resided in the heavens. However, the people also worshipped their ancestors who they believed interceded on behalf of them to Shang-ti.

I do not have a strong background in Korean or Japanese history, however Vietnamese people have also a tradition of worshiping the Sky (Thiên or Ông Trời) and also ancestral worship.

Monotheism is not a concept that is foreign to East Asians, the most difficult part for a Christian when sharing God with an East Asian, is that the East Asian needs to understand why God is important and who is this God.
East Asians are deistic – we are pragmatic in nature and culture and because of that, too often the concept of a personal God is very foreign to us; I believe East Asians are the perfect example of people who believe there is a God but He should stay in Heaven.

In our next entry we will discuss reconciling the idea of a personal God in an East Asian context.

Bismillaah

Author: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri

Praise be to Allaah.

The entire universe, in the way it is created and the way it is controlled, bears witness to the oneness of Allaah:

“Surely, His is the creation and commandment. Blessed is Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)!

[al-A’raaf 7:54 – interpretation of the meaning]

The creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, the different kinds of inanimate objects, plants and fruits, the creation of humans and animals… all of that indicates that the Almighty Creator is One with no partner or associate:

“That is Allaah, your Lord, the Creator of all things, Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). How then are you turning away (from Allaah, by worshipping others instead of Him)?[Ghaafir 40:62 – interpretation of the meaning]

The variety and greatness of these created things, the perfect way in which they are formed, the way in which they are maintained and controlled, all indicate that the Creator is One and that He does as He wills and rules and decides as He wants:

“Allaah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakeel (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian) over all things”

[al-Zumar 39:62 – interpretation of the meaning]

All of the above indicate that this universe has a Creator, that this dominion has a Sovereign, that behind these forms is One Who gives them shape:

“He is Allaah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names”

[al-Hashr 59:24 – interpretation of the meaning]

The soundness of the heavens and the earth, the order of the universe, the harmony among created things, all indicate that the Creator is One, with no partner or associate:

“Had there been therein (in the heavens and the earth) aalihah (gods) besides Allaah, then verily, both would have been ruined. Glorified be Allaah, the Lord of the Throne, (High is He) above all that (evil) they associate with Him!”[al-Anbiya’ 21:22 – interpretation of the meaning]

These great created things either created themselves – which is impossible – or man created himself then created them – which is also impossible:

“Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators?

Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm Belief”[al-Toor 52:35-36 – interpretation of the meaning]

Reason, Revelation and the original state of man (fitrah) all indicate that this universe has One Who brought into being, that these created things have a Creator Who is Ever-Living and Eternal, All-Knowing and All-Aware, Powerful and Almighty, Kind and Most Merciful. He has the Most Beautiful Names and Sublime Attributes and He knows all things. Nothing is beyond His control, and there is nothing like unto Him:

“And your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God — Allaah), Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

[al-Baqarah 2:163 – interpretation of the meaning]

The existence of Allaah is something that is there is no excuse for not knowing. It is the matter of common sense:

“Their Messengers said: What! Can there be a doubt about Allaah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth?”

[Ibraaheem 14:10 – interpretation of the meaning]

Allaah has created people with the natural instinct (fitrah) to affirm His Lordship and Oneness, but the shayaateen (devils) came to the sons of Adam and caused them to deviate from their religion. According to a hadeeth qudsi, “I created all My slaves as haneefs (monotheists), but the shayaateen (devils) came to them and made them deviate from their religion, and they forbade them that which I had permitted to them.” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 2865)

Among them are those who deny the existence of Allaah, and those who worship the Shaytaan, and those who worship man. And there are those who worship the dinar [money], or fire, or genital organs, or animals. And there are some who associate in worship with Him a stone from the earth or a star in the sky.

These things which are worshipped instead of Allaah, cannot create or provide; they cannot hear or see, or bring benefits or cause harm. So how can they worship them instead of Allaah?

“Are many different lords (gods) better or Allaah, the One, the Irresistible?”[Yoosuf 12:39 – interpretation of the meaning]

Allaah has condemned those who worship these idols which cannot hear, see or think:

“Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allaah are slaves like you. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful.

Have they feet wherewith they walk? Or have they hands wherewith they hold? Or have they eyes wherewith they see? Or have they ears wherewith they hear?”

[al-A’raaf 7:194-195 – interpretation of the meaning]

“Say (O Muhammad to mankind): ‘How do you worship besides Allaah something which has no power either to harm or benefit you? But it is Allaah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower”

[al-Maa'idah 5:76 – interpretation of the meaning]

How ignorant man is of his Lord Who created him and provides for him. How he rejects Him and forgets Him, and worships others instead of Him:

“Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind”

[al-Hajj 22:46 – interpretation of the meaning]

Glorified be Allaah far above that which they associate with Him. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds:

“Say (O Muhammad): Praise and thanks be to Allaah, and peace be on His slaves whom He has chosen (for His Message)! Is Allaah better, or (all) that you ascribe as partners (to Him)?” (Of course, Allaah is Better).

Is not He (better than your gods) Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you water (rain) from the sky, whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight? It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees. Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!

Is not He (better than your gods) Who has made the earth as a fixed abode, and has placed rivers in its midst, and has placed firm mountains therein, and has set a barrier between the two seas (of salt and sweet water)? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Nay, but most of them know not!

Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Little is that you remember!

Is not He (better than your gods) Who guides you in the darkness of the land and the sea, and Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain)? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? High Exalted be Allaah above all that they associate as partners (to Him)!

Is not He (better than your so-called gods) Who originates creation, and shall thereafter repeat it, and Who provides for you from heaven and earth? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Say: ‘Bring forth your proofs, if you are truthful’”

[al-Naml 27:59-64 – interpretation of the meaning]

From Usool al-Deen al-Islami by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri

553.  Modern Europe re-defines Christianity; (Nov. 5, 2009)

554.  Mono-idolatry (monolatry) or monotheism? (Nov. 6, 2009)

555.  The European Union (EU) describes Modern Europe; (Nov. 7, 2009)

556.  Learning paradigm for our survival; (Nov. 9, 2009)

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!!

Do you live a life of ministry?  Yes, you do.  We all live lives of ministry, beloved.  All that differs are the types of lives of ministry that we lead.

You see, brothers and sisters, you do not need to be called a priest, reverend, rabbi, pastor, ministor, or any other title in order to actively minister to others.  We all minister continually, whether we intend to or not. 

Beloved, ministering is done only in part through the words that we speak and/or write.  A very significant part of ministry that is rarely considered is the ministry that we spread with the manner in which we live our lives.

Some people live a life that ministers unto others a love and trust of money and material wealth.  Oftentimes, they refer to having/pursuing the “good life”.  In this ministry, the “good life” is defined by your level of financial and material wealth.  Those who champion this particular ministry see things as cars, houses, clothes, enhanced technological devices, financial investments, and currency as the main barometers of the success in one’s life.    People living this ministery do so continually, as there are always new and prestigious items being created.  Therefore, these people are constantly pursuing more and more material and financial wealth accumulation so that they can prove their ability to lead the “good life”.

Other people live ministeries of slothfulness and laziness.  These are people whose ministry shows us that they are content to put forth the least amount of effort possible in order to insure their ability to survive.  Some of the people that have adopted government welfare as their lifelong career actively lead this ministery.  The people that I am specifically speaking of are those that either shun the opportunity for employment, or that shun the opportunity to advance with their employer, because they do not want to compromise their welfare benefit status.  There are many people in unions that also actively champion this ministery.  Where unions were initially created to ensure fair treatment for employers, they morphed over the years and turned into an incredibly expensive and crippling element that tries to get as many extra benefits/pay as possible for those that belong to the union, while de-emphasizing the importance of individual performance. 

Other people live ministeries of domination.  People that belong to this group actively minister a message that evidences a “survival of the fittest” mentality.  Large congregations of this ministery can be found in prisons, gangs, and in any of a number of other groups and locations.  Additional participants in this group are totalitarian regimes, communist dictatorships, etc that repress peoples through brute force displaying a ministery message that those with the most and most dangerous weapons win.  Abusive spouses, rapists, child abusers, and other wicked groups of people spread similar messages of “might makes right” with the perverted ministries that they live.

Yet another group of people live lives of ministry that promote self.  A common denominator among those that participate in this ministery is that the first/primary consideration in any situation is a focus on enhancing themselves.  This includes people who are not hesitant to kill innocent, unborn babies in order to maintain their “right to choose”.  Also, people who are willing to re-write morality in order to feed their own selfish desires (i.e. homosexuality/gay marriage).  There are also larger organizations that take part in this ministry, such as some churches that have no issue creating man-made doctrine to supercede following God’s doctrine, in order to maintain their hold on power and influence over their congregations and others.  In short, this ministry’s main message is exhibited by people and organizations that satisfy their own desires before giving consideration to serving any others.

At the end of the day, beloved, there are too many different types of ministeries to list on this site.  However, we can create two super categories by boiling it all down to two catch all groups of people.  The first group would be those that don’t live a life of ministery that claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  This group include all those listed above as well as a great many other groups that we have neither the time nor the space to list individually on this site.  The bottom line is that all who live their lives in such a manner that does not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and that do not recognize Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God the Father would fit into this group.

The second group would be those that live their lives in a manner that evidences Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  People that belong to this group believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God the Father.  People in this group believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and they also believe that all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will similarly rise to everlasting life.  This is evidenced when a loved one passes.  While people that live this ministry will mourn and shed a tear for a loved one that has passed on, they are also filled with hope and joy at knowing that they will one day be reunited with their loved one.  People in this group live lives that actively display humility, peace, meekness, love, forgiveness, and faith.  People in this group do not fall apart as economies rise and fall, or as different world events unfold.  People in this group display their faith on a daily basis, in both good times and bad.  Why?  They do so as they attempt to live their lives patterned after the object of their ministry, which is the Lord.  The Lord not only told us how we should live;  He also showed us during His time on earth.  A true Christian lives their life in a manner that constantly seeks to serve the will of the Lord and glorify Him.  Even though people in this group occasionally slip up, they display the assurance of knowing that God knows their hearts, and they quickly get back on track in serving and glorifying Him.

So in closing, beloved, which life of ministry do you lead?  If you claim to be a Christian, is your claim evidenced in the manner in which you live your life?  Always remember that the manner in which you live you life ultimately transmits to others as the main ministry that you live.  Remember that we can always tell the kind of tree we are looking at based on the fruits that it brings forth.

If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior today, please join me in praying the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you conquered death and provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just sincerely prayed that prayer, then you are now a spiritually born-again child of the Lord God Almighty.  Welcome to the family!!!  We are blessed to have you join us, and you have made your heavenly Father exceedingly happy:-)  Your life has a much stronger foundation now that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  You will still face many problems in this world, but by the grace of God, you now have the means by which to overcome every single one of those problems:-)  In order to maintain and grow in your relationship with the Lord it is really important for you to get to know Him better.  Set aside a few minutes each day to study the Lord’s word (bible), communicate with Him continually via prayer, and seek fellowship with other Christians.  Your new life in Christ Jesus starts now, and you start with a spiritually clean slate.  Praise God!!!

Thank you all for joining us today.  I hope you will be able to join us again on Friday for our weekly prayer requests.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

Bismillaah

Author: Islamweb.net

Hajj, which is one of the pillars of Islam, is a great symbol of the actualisation of Tawheed in one’s worship, direction and aim. Allah says: “And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your Ilaah (God) is one Ilaah, so you must submit to Him alone (in Islam). And (O Muhammad!) give glad tidings to the Mukhbitin (those who obey Allah with humility and are humble from among the true believers of Islamic Monotheism).” (Al Hajj: 34).

Dear brothers, let us now study some illustrations that reveal the spirit of Hajj in the light of these points:

The Prophet entered into the state of Ihraam with At-Tawheed. Jaabir said, “And he started his Ihraam with At-Tawheed when he said:

“Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk, Labbayka Laa Shareeka Laka Labbayk. Innal-Hamda Wan-Ni’mata Laka Wal-Mulk, Laa Shareeka Lak”.

(Meaning: I respond to Your call, O Allah I respond to Your call. I respond to Your call, You have no partner. I respond to Your call. Indeed, the praise and grace are yours as well as sovereignty. You have no partner).

One must raise his voice with it for, the Prophet said, “The best Hajj is the one in which the voice is raised with Talbiyah and blood of sacrificial animals flow.” It is a Talbiyah of the one who feels that all acts of worship should compulsorily be directed to Allah alone and realises the danger of shirk and other destructive sins; a Talbiyah of the one who sacrifices to none but Allah, calls none but Allah and seeks relief from none except Allah. The pilgrim keeps on reciting this talbiyah until he casts the pebbles of Jamratul-’Aqabah.

It is authentically reported from the Prophet that during his Tawaaf he only touched the Yamanee Corner and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad. If the pilgrim however finds difficulty in touching them he should point to Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and say, “Allahu Akbar” once as he passes by it. As regards the Yamanee Corner, he should not point to it if he cannot touch it. This is done in order to come closer to Allah, and carry out His commandments. Allah says: “So let them worship the Lord of this House.” (Quraish: 3).

The Prophet also said, “Circumambulation of the House; running between Safaa and Marwa, and casting the pebbles is only ordained for establishment of the remembrance of Allah.” These rites were performed by the Prophet solely for the purpose of worshipping Allah, and not for the purpose of seeking blessings there from. That is why ‘Umar said when kissing Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, “By Allah! I know that you are only a stone. You neither benefit nor harm. If it were not that I saw the Prophet kissing you, I would not have kissed you.” (Bukhaari & Muslim).

Scholars have agreed that it is not permissible to touch or kiss other than what is reported in the Sunnah that the Prophet has touched or kissed. Al-Athram -a companion of Imaam Ahmad-said, “I saw that people of knowledge among the inhabitants of Madienah did not use to touch the Prophet’s grave, they would only stand at a corner and say their salaam to him.” Abdul-Hasan said, “Under Islamic Law, the touching and kissing of graves are regarded to be abominable innovations.” He further said, “The Khuraasaanie Jurists said, “Graves should not be rubbed, kissed or touched for that is the practice of Christians.” At-Tahaawie -a scholar from the followers of Imaam Abu Haneefah school- said, “Graves should not be touched nor kissed for that is the custom of the People of the Book.” In Islam, nothing is known to be touched except Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and the Yamanee Corner.

That there is no prosperity or success in this world except through following the path of Prophet, having faith and doing good deeds. It is in the light of this that he said, “Take from me your Hajj rites.” The eagerness of the Companions was embodied in this saying of Ibn Abbaas: “Do your Hajj as the Prophet did his, and do not say: This is Sunnah and this is compulsory.” One of the greatest aims of Hajj is to remember his guidance and to adhere to his path without negligence or exaggeration. The Prophet said, “Whoever performs a deed on which there is no order from us will have it rejected.”

To emphasise the importance of moderation and shunning of exaggeration and negligence in everything, Ibn Abbaas narrated that the Prophet told him to fetch him pebbles on the morning of ‘Aqabah (i.e. the tenth day of Thul-Hijjah) while he was on his camel. He said, “I fetched him seven throwing-pebbles. He started sorting them out in his fingers saying, ‘Throw ones like these.’ He then said, ‘O you people! Keep away from extremism in religion, for that which destroyed those who came before you was extremism in religion.’”

Dear brothers, let this great occasion be an avenue for self-examination. Let it be an opportunity for renewing ones allegiance to the book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet. Let it be a time when one shuns exaggerations and negligence in all sorts of worship. Let it also be known that Hajj should not be an occasion where one accuses his brother of abominable things without clear evidence.

Brothers in faith! Adhere to the guidance of the Leader of the Messengers, Mohammad son of Abdullah. Whoever follows his path shall prosper and achieve everlasting happiness. Further, only when this Ummah recognises the true guidance of its religion and the path of its Prophet in its true sense that it will attain glory and might. It was said, “Islam shall become a hard rock upon which the evangelical ships are crumbled as long as the pillars; Al-Qur’an, Friday Prayers and the Hajj gathering, remain firm.”

Fellow Muslims! Some highly important days have come upon us. They are the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. Allah swore by them as a token of their importance and merit and to stress the great reward of those who do righteous deeds in them. He says, “By the dawn! By the Ten Nights!” (I.e. the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah). (Al-Fajr: 1-2) The Prophet also said, “There are no days in which good deeds are more loved by Allah than these days.” Meaning the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. The Companions said, “Even jihad in the way of Allah?” He replied, “Even jihad in the way of Allah, with the exception of a man who goes out for jihad with his soul and his wealth, and does not return with either.” (Al-Bukhaari).

Good deeds, dear brothers, include righteous sayings, actions and behaviour. An important aspect of that is to visit Muslims wherever they may be, to feel concerned about their affairs, to alleviate their sufferings and to pray for them.

Brothers in Islam! It is recommended to do a lot of Tahleel (saying ‘La Ilaaha Illa Allaah’), Takbeer (saying ‘Allaahu Akbar’) and Tahmeed (saying ‘Al-Hamdu Lillaah’) in these days. Also, if anyone wants to make a sacrifice for ‘Eid, and it is already in the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah, he should not cut his hair or nails. The Prophet said, “When you see the moon of Thul-Hijjah let any one of you who intends to sacrifice an animal for ‘Eid not take anything from his hair or nails until he has made the sacrifice.” (Muslim).

This prohibition is only binding on those who want to sacrifice. As for those on whose behalf a sacrifice is to be made, they are not included in this prohibition. On this great occasion, we sincerely appeal to eminent Muslim personalities to recognise the enormous responsibilities they have to shoulder so that they can make use of these noble days to propagate Islam and spread the good virtues that Islam promotes in accordance with the commandments of Allah and respect to His limits and injunctions. We should always follow this method.

Bismillaah

From the obligatory and necessary aspects of the Faith is having love for Allah, love for His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), love for His believing slaves and love for what Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) love of faith and good deeds. This love of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) must take precedence over the love for children, wealth and souls. Allah says in the Qur’aan:

“Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwelling in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and striving hard and fighting in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are disobedient.”

(Quran 9:24)

Ibn Katheer explains this verse saying it means wait for what punishment in store for you. And such a warning only takes place when the deed is necessary obligatory or certain requirement.

Excellence of Loving Allah

Love for Allah and His Messenger above the love of everything else is one of the characteristics of Faith and a sign that he has tasted the sweetness of Faith, according to the saying of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam):

“There are three characteristics that if one possesses then, he has tasted the sweetness of Faith; that Allah and His Messenger is more beloved to him than anyone other than them, that he loves a person and he only love him for the sake of Allah, and that he hates to return to disbelief just as he hated to be thrown into the Fire.” [Bukharee and Muslim]

An Nawawi stated: “the meaning of ‘the sweetness of Faith’ is that the person gets pleasure out of obedience and bearing hardships and he prefers that over worldly desires.”

What is Loving Allah?

The love of the slave to His Lord and His Messenger is in their Obedience and avoiding their Disobedience. One who claims to love Allah and His Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), lacking to obey them and give precedence to their words over and above everybody else’s, is indeed a liar with respect to his claim of loving Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), since Faith has been denied for those who turn away from obeying Allah and His Messenger. He, the All-Just has declares them to be hypocrites and nonbelievers in His Book saying:

“They (hypocrite) say, “We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger and we obey, then a party of them turn away thereafter, such are not believers.”

Quran 24:47)

The Height of Love for Allah, the Exalted

Love of Allah has two levels: The Firsts level is a must for every Muslim to complete the obligatory aspect of Faith. It is to love Allah with a love that requires one to love what Allah has obligated upon him and to hate what Allah has forbidden for him: i.e. to perform the obligatory deeds and avoid forbidden deeds. To love His Messenger who conveyed from Him, His Commands and prohibitions and to be pleased with what he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) has conveyed from Allah of the religion and to accept that with pleasure and submission.

“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.”

Quran 4:65

Loving the Prophets and Messengers and those who follow them in good for the sake of Allah, since He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “Indeed, the firmest handhold from eeman is that you love for Allah and hate for Allah.” [Hasan - Ahmad (4/286)]

Therefore, a Muslim loves the Prophets, the righteous ones loved by Allah, the sincere followers of the prophets, the martyrs and the pious, since they carry out that which Allah loves, so he loves them for Allah and this is from the completion of his love for Allah since loving the beloved of the one that you love is from the completion of the love for the one that you love. Further, a Muslim hates the unbelievers, the hypocrites and the people of innovation and sin, since they do that which Allah hates so he hates them for Allah. Anyone lacking in any of these matters, is lacking the obligatory aspects of Faith.

Consequently, Loving Allah means to give precedence to what Allah loves and wants for a slave, over what the slave loves and wants for himself. He must love what Allah loves and hate what He hates, make alliances and opposition for His sake and follow the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). And this results to the completeness of his Faith.

The Second level of loving Allah is the level of the forerunners in good. This is where the love is raised to the loving whatever Allah loves of voluntary acts of obedience and disliking whatever Allah dislikes in the minutest aspects of disliked acts. It includes being pleased with whatever Allah decreed and foreordained of pain to the soul in the way of afflictions…

Causes that bring about Love for the Lord of the worlds

1. Recognizing the Bounties of Allah

The Bounties of Allah upon His slaves are so numerous, that it cannot be counted or enumerated, as Allah, the All Merciful says in the Final Revelation:

“If you count the blessings of Allah then you will never be able to count them.”

Quran 14:34

The heart holds love for the one, who acts good to him, or when he acquires something beneficial from him. This is a common phenomenon, which takes place in every human, so according to this observable fact, in order to love Allah one should know the Great Blessings and Bounties bestowed upon him by Lord, which will lead him to loving his Allah, the Exalted.

2. Knowledge about the Names and Attributes and Actions of Allah

Another phenomenon, which leads to love, are the attributes and actions, one may love the other being pleased by his excellent attributes or actions. So, by knowing Allah by His Exalted Names, Absolute Attributes and Righteous Actions is one of the ways that leads to His Love, since one who knows Allah loves Him. And one who knows Him obeys Him, and is honored by Him, and whomever Allah honors will have himself close to the Exalted and will consequently lead to the glad tidings.

3. Pondering over His Creation

Pondering over the Creations of Allah, the All Able, will lead one to the specific knowledge of the heavens and the earths and the all what He created, for all this will indicate His Greatness, Power, Majesty, Perfection, Eminence, Compassion, Mercy, Strength, Subjugation, and other of His beautiful Names and Attributes. One whose knowledge of Allah is strengthened, one’s love for Him is also strengthened as well the love of obeying Him. He will then experience the pleasure of worship, whether it is in prayer, remembrance or other forms of worship.

4. Acting towards Allah with Sincerity

To act towards Allah with sincerity and purity, while going against one’s desires is a cause of Allah to bless a slave and when the slave is blessed, he further loves his Lord.

5. Remembrance of Allah

One of the greatest causes that bring about one’s love for Allah is increasing one’s remembrance of Allah. Whenever a person loves something, he remembers him more often. And it is through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts find tranquility:

“Yes, verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find tranquility” (Soorah ar-R’ad Quran 13:28)

And in fact one of the signs of love for Allah is the constant remembrance of Allah by one’s heart and tongue.

6. Reciting the Qur’aan and pondering over its verse.

One of he causes that bring about Allah’s love for His Slaves is reciting the Qur’aan and pondering over its verses, in particular those verses that contain Allah’s Names, Attributes and Actions. Having fondness for His Actions will lead the slave to love Allah and Allah to love Him.

7. Remembering the Day when the believers will meet their Lord.

Another of the cause of love for Allah is remembering what has been mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah concerning the believers seeing their Lord in the Hereafter, visiting them and gathering them on the Day of Abundance.

Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned ten causes that result in Allah’s love for a slave and the slave’s love for His Lord.

1. First, reciting the Qur’aan while pondering over its meaning and what is meant by it.
2. Second, getting closer to Allah by performing voluntary deeds completing obligatory deeds. This is as in the Hadeeth al-Qudsi: “My slave continues to getting closer to Me by performing voluntary deeds until I love him.” [Saheeh Bukharee]
3. Third, continual remembrance of Allah under all circumstances, with one’s tongue, heart and actions.
4. Fourth, giving precedence to what He loves over what you love when you are overtaken by your desires.
5. Fifth, the heart being avid of Allah’s Names, Attributes and the heart roaming in that garden of knowledge
6. Sixth, observing Allah’s kindness, goodness and bounties, both open and hidden
7. Seventh, and this is the most wonderful: the heart becoming soft, subdued and meek before Allah
8. Eight, being alone with Allah during the time when the Lord descends during the last portion of the night while reading His Book and ending by asking for forgiveness and repenting.
9. Ninth, sitting with the beloved and sincere, benefiting from the most fruitful of their speech. And not to speak unless speaking is more beneficial and you know that it will improve your state and be beneficial to others.
10. Tenth, remaining away from every cause that comes between the heart and Allah.

These ten causes take the lovers to the station of true love and bring them to their Beloved. [Ibn al-Qayyim, Madaarij-us-Saalikeen, vol. 3, pp.17, 18]

Signs of Sincere Love

From the signs of sincere love for Allah ad His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) is adherence to obedience of Allah, Jihaad in His path, seeking the pleasure of the reproach one may face for his striving and following the way of His Messenger. Allah has said:

“O believers! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion, Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him, humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower”

Quran 5:54

And He says: “Say (O Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)): “If you truly love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.”

Quran 3:31

Allah has described those who love Him with five characters:

First,they are humble towards the believers. That is they are soft, compassionate, and merciful towards the believers. They ‘lower their wings’ to them in mercy and kindness. Allah says: “And be kind and humble to the believer who follow you”

Quran 26:215

Second,Allah describes them as harsh against disbelievers. The meaning of this is toughness and harshness to them. Allah says: “O Prophet! Strive hard against the disbeliever and the hypocrites, and be severe against them.”

Quran 66:9

This is related to the fact that those who love Allah must dislike His enemies. This is a necessary component of sincere love.

Third, they strive in the way of Allah. They strive against His enemies with their souls, hand, wealth and tongue. This is a part of the completeness of one’s enmity towards the enemies of Allah, which is a required component of love.

Fourth, they do not fear the reproach of anyone who may reproach them. That is, they strive to perform those acts that He is pleased with and they do not care if anyone reproaches them as long as they are doing a deed, which is pleasing to their Lord. The lover is occupied with what his Beloved loves and to him it is the same if he is reproached or praised by the people for his deeds.

Fifth, he follows the way of the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), obeys him, implements his commands and refrains form what he prohibited. Allah has associated love for Him with love for His Messenger in His Words:

“…are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)”

Quran 9:24

Consequently, the love of Allah cannot be sought except through following the path and obeying His Messenger and neither can one have complete Faith except by following His Messenger as He, the Exalted says:

“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.”

Quran 4:65

Bismillaah

La Ilaha Illa- llah Muhammadur Rasoolallah : There is no god or deity who deserves to be worshipped but Allah (alone) and Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger

The Conditions of La ilaha illa-llah Muhammadur Rasoolallah……….Part I

“I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger,” is not sufficient for salvation. In fact, the hypocrites used to make this statement quite often yet Allah describes them as liars and says that they shall abide in the lowest abyss of the Hell-fire. Realize that all of the Quran and Hadith complement each other and explain one another. To find the correct position on any one question, one must bring together all of the related verses and hadith and see what the true Islamic position is of that question. The same is true for the conditions of the shahadah (statement of belief that encompasses one into Islam). Study the verses of the Quran and the Hadith(traditions of  of the Prophet (peace be upon him)), we will find that the conditions of the shahadah are seven, eight or nine in number depending on how we look at them. It is important that all of us make sure that we are meeting these conditions in our own lives and in our own testimony of faith.

The Conditions of La ilaha illa-llah Muhammadur Rasoolallah……….Part II

The first of these conditions is knowledge. Allah says in the Quran,

1. “So know that there is no God save Allah, and ask forgiveness for your sin” (Quran, Muhammad 19).

Similarly, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever dies knowing that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah shall enter Paradise.” (Hadith Recorded by Muslim.)

“Save him who bears witness unto the truth knowingly” (Quran, al-Zukhruf 86).

The second condition of the shahadah is certainty (or al-yaqeen). This is the opposite of doubt and uncertainty. In Islam, in fact, any kind of doubt is equivalent to Kufr( a disbeliever) or disbelief. Our hearts must not be wavering in any way when we testify to the truth of, “There is none worthy of worship except Allah.”

2. “The (true) believers are those only who believe in Allah and His messenger and afterward doubt not, but strive with their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah. Such are the sincere” (Quran, al-Hujurat 15).

Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “No one meets Allah with the testimony that there is none worthy of worship but Allah and I am the Messenger of Allah, and he has no doubt about hat statement, except that he will enter Paradise.” (Hadith Recorded  by Muslim.)

“They alone seek leave of thee (not to participate in jihad) who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and whose hearts feel doubt, so in their doubt they waver” (Quran, al-Tauba 45).

Many scholars have stated that the diseases of the heart, or the doubt and suspicions that one allows into one’s heart, are more dangerous for a person’s faith than lusts and desires.

“It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah” (Quran, Fatir 28)

The Conditions of La ilaha illa-llah Muhammadur Rasoolallah……….Part III

The third condition of the shahadah is acceptance (or al-qabool).

3. “Do you believe in part of the book and reject part of it? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom” (Quran, al-Baqara 85).

The fourth condition of shahadah is submission and compliance (or al-inqiyad). This implies the actual physical enactment with our deeds of our shahadah. In fact, this is one of the main meanings of the word Islam itself, “the submission to the will and commands of Allah. This is what Allah commands in the Quran,

4.  ”Turn unto Him repentant, and surrender unto Him” (Quran, al-Zumar 54)  “Who is better in religion than he who surrenders his purpose to Allah while doing good” (Quran, al-Nisa 125).

“But nay, by your Lord, they will not truly believe until they make you [the Messenger of Allah] judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of which you decide, and submit with full submission” (Quran, al-Nisa 65)

The fifth condition is truthfulness, as opposed to hypocrisy and dishonesty. No one bears testimony to there being no one worth of worship save Allah, sincerely from his heart, except that Allah makes the Hell-fire forbidden for him.” (Hadith Recorded  by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

5.  ”And of mankind are some who say, ‘We believe in Allah and the Last Day,’ when they believe not. They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves, but they perceive not. In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increases their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie” (Quran, al-baqara 8-10).

The sixth condition is sincerity (or ikhlas).

6. “Worship Allah, making religion pure for him” (Quran, al-Zumar 2).

And Allah also says,

“And they are ordained nothing else than to serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by nature upright and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion” (Quran, al-Bayyinah 5).

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) added, “Allah has forbidden for the Hell-fire anyone who says, ‘There is no one worthy of worship except Allah,’ and say so desiring the face [and pleasure] of Allah.” (Hadith Recorded by Muslim).

The Conditions of La ilaha illa-llah Muhammadur Rasoolallah……….Part IV

The seventh condition is love.

7. “Yet of mankind are some who take unto themselves (objects of worship which they set as) rivals to Allah, loving them with a love like (that which is due to) Allah only. However, those who believe are stauncher in their love of Allah” (Quran, al-Baqara 165).

And elsewhere Allah says’

“Say: If your fathers, or your sons, or your brethren, or your wives, or your tribe, or the wealth you have acquired, or merchandise for which you fear that there will be no sale, or dwellings you desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah brings His command to pass. Allah guides not wrongdoing folk” (Quran, al-Tauba 24).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever has three characteristics has tasted the sweetness of faith. [The first of these] is that he loves Allah and His Messenger more than he loves anyone else…” (Hadith Recorded  by al-Bukhari and Muslim.).

The eighth condition of the shahadah is that the person who makes the shahadah must deny every other object of worship.

8. “And he who rejects false deities and believes in Allah has grasped a firm handhold which will never break” (Quran, al-Baqara 256).

Perhaps the Prophet (peace be upon him) made this point even clearer when he said, “Whoever says there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and denies whatever is worshipped besides Allah, then his wealth and blood are protected and his accounting will be with Allah.” (Hadith Recorded  by Muslim.)
The ninth condition of the shahadah is that the Muslim adheres to the shahadah until he dies. A man spends a long time doing the deeds of the people of Paradise and then he ends his deeds with the deeds of the people of the Hell-fire. And a man spends a long time doing the deeds of the people of the Hell-fire and then he ends his deeds with the deeds of the people of Paradise.” (Recorded by Muslim)

In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon) said there is a handspan between him and Paradise and then the book [preordainment] overtakes him and he does the actions of the people of Hell and he enters into it” (Hadith Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

9. “O believers, observe your duty to Allah with right observance, and die not save as Muslims [surrendering yourselves to Allah]” (Quran, ali-Imran 102).

Bismillaah,

The following is a list of ninety-nine names of Allah (God). And to Allah Belong the Most Beautiful names (Esma ul Husna or Asma ul Husna).  When supplicating or asking Allah for help in a particular manner it is liked by Allah for us to ask with the corresponding name that is possessed only by Allah. This is not obligatory however it is being respectful to Allah.  Allah is also only One God, these names belong to the same, One and only God.  I.E. If I am having an argument with a friend I might supplicate: Ya Salaam please put peace in between my heart and (So and so’s) heart.  I would ask for this in supplication three consecutive times.

Next we list some names from the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (saas):

The two lists above capture what al-Uthaimeen chose: eighty-one names from the book of Allaah Most High, and eighteen from the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas). Along with these names, there are other names which are compound. These include “Malik ul mulk” and “Dhil jalaali wal ikraam”. There are also other names found in the Sunnah.

Bismillaah

Based on an essay by Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab

Almighty God, Lord of the Glorious Throne, I pray that He may guide you in this world and the next; that He may always bless you; that He may make you one of those who recognize His bounty, who remain firm in face of adversity, and who repent and seek His forgiveness if they disobey or sin. These three characteristics are the indices of felicity and blessedness.

Know that pure worship and monotheism, which is the religion of Abraham, consists of worshipping God alone, of dedicating yourself sincerely to serving Him. God said: “I have not created jinn and men but to worship Me”.¹Tawhid). Just as there is no formal prayer without purity, and there is no purity with uncleanliness, so there is no worship of God while worshipping others along with Him (Arabic: Shirk). By associating others with Almighty God, man’s worship is spoilt, his deeds are vain and he is doomed to eternal Hellfire. If you are cognizant of all this, you will realize that your most important care should be to have all the knowledge pertinent thereto, that God may save you from Hell’s terrible abyss. Almighty God said: “God will not forgive any the association of anything with Him; but He will forgive any lesser offense to whomsoever He chooses”.² Such pertinent knowledge consists of four basic rules, elaborated in Almighty God’s Holy Book. Once you know that God has created you to serve Him, you will realize that there can be no service except with Pure Monotheism (Arabic:

First Rule:

The first rule is the knowledge that the unbelieving pagans whom the Prophet Muhammad, the peace and grace of God be upon him, opposed, did acknowledge that Almighty God – May He be glorified – is indeed the Creator, Provider and Maker of this world. However, this did not make them Muslims. Evidence therefor is in the verse: “Ask them: ‘Who sends down for you your provision from the sky and grows it out of the earth? Who hears your prayer and sees your condition? Who brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living? Who directs the course of the world?’ They will answer: ‘God.’ Answer: ‘Would you then not fulfill your duty to Him?’”³

Second Rule:

The second rule is to know that the unbelievers claim that they do not pray to their objects of worship and call on them except to the end that they may intercede on their behalf with God, as the verse said: “Those who worshipped others as patrons beside God, claiming that they did so only to come through their intercession nearer to Him, will receive the judgment of God in the matter they contend. God will not guide the ingrate, the liar”.⁴ Evidence regarding intercession is in the verse: “They serve beside God beings which can neither benefit nor harm, claiming, ‘These are our intercessors with God.’”⁵ There are two kinds of intercession, one illegitimate and the other legitimate. The former is that which is sought from sources other than God regarding matters where all the power lies in God alone. Evidence for this is-in the verse: “O men who believe, spend of that which We have provided for you before the Day when there will be neither sale nor purchase, neither favors nor intercession. The unbelievers are themselves unjust.”⁶ The legitimate intercession is that which is asked of Almighty God, where the intercessor receives his power from Him, and the interceded for is he whom God is pleased to accept as such for his word and deed. Almighty God said: “No one may intercede with God except by His permission”.⁷

Third Rule:

The third rule is the knowledge that the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace, appeared among people of many religious traditions. Some worshipped angels; others worshipped the prophets and saints of God; others worshipped trees and stones, sun and moon. All of these peoples were fought by him, as they must, relentlessly without distinction. Evidence therefor is in the following Quranic verses: “And fight them, that there may be no aberration in religion, and all religion belongs to Almighty God”.⁸ “Day and night, sun and moon, are His creation and sign. Do not worship the sun or the moon, but God, their Creator, if you seek the truth”.⁹“Almighty God does not command you to take the angels and prophets as Lords”.¹⁰ “And God said to Jesus, son of Mary: ‘Did you ask men to take you and your mother for objects of worship beside Almighty God?’ He answered: ‘Praise be to You, O God! How can I have asked that which is not mine to ask? If I did, You know it and all that is in my mind. I do not know what is in Your mind, O Transcendent, All- Knowing God! I have not conveyed to them except what You have commanded me to convey, namely, Worship and serve God, my and your only Lord. I was a witness for You in their midst. When You caused me to die, You took over the witnessing on them as well as on all else. If You punish them, they are Your creatures; and if You forgive them, You are the Mighty, the Wise”.¹¹ “Those unto whom they pray [i.e., the saints] themselves seek an avenue to their Lord’s mercy, compete in coming close to Almighty God, and fear His punishment. Punishment of your Lord is certainly to be shunned”.¹² “Have you considered al-Lat, al-’Uzza and the third one Manat?¹³ Are yours the males and His the females? Is this not ridiculous? All of them are but names which you have named, following the example of your ancestors. God gave no voucher for them. You follow but a guess and your own desires”.¹⁴

Fourth Rule:

The people who associate partners with Almighty God, in both belief and worship, in our own day are worse and hence more guilty than those of pre-Islamic times. For, the ancient ones used to only worship others besides God in prosperity and return to genuine faith in adversity, whereas the present day associationists are constant in their unbelief, regardless of prosperity or adversity. Evidence for this is in the Quranic verse: “And when they ride in barks [in stormy seas] they address their prayers to Almighty God in complete sincerity, but relapse into shirk (i.e. associating partners with Him) when they reach the shore”.¹⁵ May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon Muhammad, his Companions and all those who follow him until the Last Day.

Footnotes

¹ Quran 51:56

² Quran 4:47, 115. It should be mentioned that Almighty God will forgive those who have ascribed partners Him, or worshipped others along with Him, if they repent from doing it before they die

³ Quran 10:32

⁴ Quran 39:3

⁵ Quran 10:18

⁶ Quran 2:254

⁷ Quran 2:55

⁸ Quran 2:193

⁹ Quran 41:37

¹⁰ Quran 3:80

¹¹ Quran 5:116-118

¹² Quran 17:57

¹³ The names of false gods which were worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs

¹⁴ Quran 53:19-23

¹⁵ Quran 29:65

(End of the article by: Abd al- Wahhab)

Bismillaah

“He is Allaah, the One (and he is unique and by himself in His Oneness).  Allaah is As-Samad (The Self Sufficient Master whom all of the creation is in need of while He is not in need of anything).  He begets not nor was he begotten.  And there is no one equal or comparable to Him.”
Quran 112:1-4
“And all of the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allaah, so we call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny His Names.  They will be recognized for what they used to do.”
Quraan 7:180
“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All Hearer, All Seer.”
Quran 42:11
The method of our righteous predecessors, the companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and those who followed them, is to affirm all the Divine Names and Attributes of Allaah in a manner that suits His Majesty and Highness, without changing words from their true context and without resembling His Attributes with the attributes of His creatures.  They establish a general principle in this concern based on the saying of one of them: “Believe in them (i.e. Names and attributes) according to their apparent meaning.” There is a similar ruling the righteous predecessors have agreed upon which reads:
‘We believe in Allaah and what was revealed regarding Allaah (i.e. Names and attributes) according to what is exactly meant by Allaah, and we believe in His Messenger and what is narrated from him exactly as meant by the Messenger.’

Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said (in a long narration):“….As for the Fire (Hell), it will not be filled till Allaah puts His Leg over it whereupon it will say: ‘Qat! Qat! (i.e. enough)’. At that time it will be filled, and its different parts will come closer to each other ….”

This narration as well as similar ones about the Attributes of Allaah are accepted and affirmed by Ahlu Sunnah wal-Jamaa’h without asking how, resembling, or comparing.

Allaah Says (which means):

{…There is nothing like unto Him and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.}

Quran 42:11

Ahlu Sunnah wal-Jamaa’h do not try to distort or nullify such attributes, they just accept them as they are stated.  Ibn Abu ‘Izz, may Allaah have mercy on him, (a Hanafi scholar) said in his explanation of Tahawyyah “

Abu Haneefah said:

‘It is unacceptable that any person talks about the essence of Allaah, and Muslims should not say about Him except what He said about Himself.”

Imaam Maalik, may Allaah have mercy on him, said about Istiwaa’ (rising above the Throne):

‘Rising is linguistically understand, the manner in which it occurs is unknown, believing in it is obligatory and asking about it is an innovation.’

Abu ‘Ubayd Al-Qassem Ibn Salaam, may Allaah have mercy on him, said commenting on the narrations about the attributes of Allaah: ‘These narrations are a confirmed reality for us because they were reported from trustworthy people who reported them from trustworthy ones.

But if we are asked about their interpretation, we will say that we do not know any previous great scholars who interpreted them.  So, we do not interpret any of them.  We just believe in them and keep silent.’

We warn you against believing that Allaah resembles any of His creations.

Allaah Says (which means): {There is nothing like Him.}

Quran 42:11

We also warn him against thinking about the essence of Allaah, as doing so opens gates for satan to whisper and ways to induce people to sin and lead them astray.

One should know that the bounds of informing about Allaah are wider that His Names and Attributes, i.e. that we cannot name Allaah with a name or an attribute except with what Allaah has named Himself in His Book or that the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, named Him with. However, informing about Allaah does not necessarily have to be using something that is mentioned in His Book or in the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam. For example, one could inform (people) that Allaah exists and that He is known when he debates with the people who deny that Allaah exists, but one should not say that existing and being known are amongst the names or attributes of Allaah, so there is a difference between informing and naming.

This was taken from Islamweb.net and Tawheed First O Callers To Islaam By: Sheikh Al-Albaani and Foundations of the Sunnah By: Imaam Hanbal

Bismillaah

“Who provides you sustenance from the sky and the earth? Or Who is the Owner of the ears and the eyes? And Who brings forth the living from the dead and Who brings forth the dead from the living? And Who plans all matters?” So they will now say, “Allah”; therefore say, “Then why do you not fear?”

[Quran Sura 10:31]

For sure, no body in this universe fails to recognize the existence of Allah since all signs of this universe bear witness for Him.

Pieces of evidence that indicate His existence are of two kinds:

1- The Holy Qur’an: {Allâh bears witness that Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), and the angels, and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He is always) maintaining His creation in Justice. Lâ ilâh illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.} [Quraan 3:18]

2- Contemplating and thinking about His sign shown in the universe. He says: {Say: “Travel in the land and see how (Allâh) originated creation, and then Allâh will bring forth (resurrect) the creation of the Hereafter (i.e. resurrection after death). Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things.”} [Quraan 29:20]

{Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?} [Quraan 52:35] {Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm Belief.}
[Quraan 52: 36]

Allah, the Great and Almighty, addresses those who deny His existence:
Deniers! No doubt that you are existent and you cannot deny such a fact, and heavens and earth are existent. It is proved, from intellectual point of view, that there must be a founder for every thing in this universe, and this is known even to the shepherd in the desert who normally says: ‘Dung indicates existence of camels; traces show that somebody has been present; a sky with constellations and a ground with mountain passes: Don’t they give a proof to the existence of The All-Knowing and The Expert?
Then, deniers do not claim that they created themselves the earth and heavens. This means that Allah is the originator of all creation from nothing. He, the Exalted is the First and the last, The Everlasting and the Maker of everything, and The Only One who does what He wants.

[Produced by Islamweb.net]

“So Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah implies: A firm and definite belief that Almighty God alone is the Creator, the Master and Owner, and the Command is for none but Him.”

«”Say: He is Allah, The One and Only.
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.
He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And there is none like unto Him.”»

[Quran Sura 112]

“To Whom does the earth and all that is in it belong to, if you know?”

“Thereupon they will say, “To Allah”; proclaim, “Therefore why do you not ponder?”

“Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and the Lord of the Tremendous Throne?”

“Thereupon they will say, “Such greatness is only that of Allah”; say, “So why do you not fear?”

Say, “In Whose hand is the control over all things, and He provides refuge, and none can provide refuge against Him, if you know?”

Thereupon they will say, “Such greatness is only that of Allah”; say, “Then by what magic are you deceived?”

[Quran 23:84-89]

“But most people do not understand.”

Those who truly believe in the Lordship of Allaah will not call on other than Allaah, will not cry out to other than Allaah, will not make vows to other than Allaah, will not petition other than Allaah, will not slaughter animals in a name other than Allaah’s and will only rule by Allaah in themselves, their families and others.

May Allaah bless us all with the truth and guide us all to the straight path.