managers

As a manager, you should allow your colleagues to flourish - provide guidance for them on what should be done and encourage them when they show that extra initiative even when it goes all balls up.
That is my view on a manager.. now i understand that my views and reality views may differ but, lets call a spade a spade and say that- if you want productive employees, them you should be able to put in place clear-cut structures that will imbibe in these employees, provide clear directions on how you want them to behave, allow them to use their natural strenghts and provide feedback behaviour and performance on an ongoing basis.

When i look at this as a compasiron to what is happening in my workplace then i know that we still have a long way to go yet before things get to normal. Generally i feel as if we just have manages who are more concerned with getting their paycheques at the end of the day than actually managing and bringing the best out of the people they are charged with.

Its no wonder that colleagues are offsick constantly.... There is no encouragement or even a culture of learning or openess.
A couple of things were set up- short termism- in my view because the main managers wanted things to perk up slightly for their records and everything was let to fly off the wayside..
How is that meant to motivate colleagues? Rather.. it will deflate their enthusiasm for the work when even the business cannot uphold the obligations it set the employees... bearing in mind that the obligations came in teh first instance from the managers of the business

• Succession planning that was put in place by the managers went haywire. The selection process was not dont fairly and openly and after about 1 month in operation and it was forgotten.Do you understand how it feels to raise ones hopes and dash it without the slightest incling for how they will feel and react?.
  
  
• No business accumen from the managers . The managers dont care where the business is going. In short,they dont know where it is heading. yet senior leaders are utilising them to tell the ordinary folk how the business is performing. The monthly service pack does not get circulated. If it does , it is only to a select few of priviledged colleagues, who have a way of worming the managers round their fingers... ( fair play to them, if you can get away with it, then by all means carry on) How do we expect colleagues to feel proud of the business they woryk for when they dont know jack what happens in the business? No info as to where th company is heading, no clue as to what direction we are facing. They cant explain why the business is taking a certain position. yet these are the leaders we breed and allow to flourish to guide other employees
  

People are our most important assets, but if we continue to let them be exposed to incompetent managers who virtually have no training/desire to manage people then the outcome for the company is what we are experiencing.

Consistent underperformance which in the end of things has ended up in closure of the busness unit.

I have to be homest i hate it here now, the management have made me sooooooooooooo fraustrated with how this place is run and i am now quite admant that i want to leave.

I guess in the face of all things you have to look at things on the scale of what u have an influence on, what you may be able to extert an influence on and what u cannot exert an influence on.
simple as that!!

Change the things you can, apply elbow grease to those u can influence and stop bothering on those u can do nada with.

Proof.. chapter 98

• Those who disbelieved among the people of the scripture, as well as the idol worshipers, insist on their ways, despite the proof given to them
  
• A messenger from GOD is reciting to them sacred instructions
  
• In them there are valuable teachings
  
• In fact, those who received the scripture did not dispute until the proof was given to them.
  All that was asked of them was to worship GOD, devoting the religion absolutely to Him alone, observe the contact prayers (Salat), and give the obligatory charity (Zakat). Such is the perfect religion.
  
• Those who disbelieved among the people of the scripture, and the idol worshipers, have incurred the fire of Gehenna forever. They are the worst creatures.
  
• Those who believed and led a righteous life are the best creatures
  
• Their reward at their Lord is the gardens of Eden with flowing streams, wherein they abide forever. GOD is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.
  
• Such is the reward for those who reverence their Lord.
  

Translation from http://www.submission.org/.

Today is Jumah(congregational prayer day)
I get excited on jumah days…. I was listening to this verse today and it struck me by its message.
So a couple of things that I have for questions

Proof: Which proof….
For me proof could be a couple of things….
1. Proof of one God worthy to be worshiped
2. Proof that the person bringing the message was true
3. Proof that the religions were all the sameProof of 19 miracle maybe…( if applied to this time)

Secondly I am asking what are the sacred instructions…
Could it be the teachings in the Quran, or maybe other verbal teachings?
These are the two things that jump at me initially…
Then when I look at the surah as a whole..
Then for me I get that :Somebody has brought proof to people, but some people did not accept it.


The iconic part of this surah for me is verse 5..This for me I can safely say is the principles of islam..

Worshiping God- devoting the religion to God alone - This here is crucial since i guess it means God alone... not God and prophet.. not God and messenger but God alone

Salat/mandatory Prayer which is the action of bowing and prostration to God - specified as certain times each day and
Zakat/mandatory Charity which is the charity given on the day of harvest, given to parents, orphans, poor and traveling alien as described in the Quran teachings

In fact I can safely assume (assuming is not good though) that through out the verses in the quran… this is what is asked of us all…

When I look at as a means of joining people/religions together… it is a wonderful thing -God, Prayer and Charity… as simple as that…

On another note...

I always seem to wonder about the scriptures and what to do when reading them…
Generally I tend not to take single verses in isolation but rather read the whole chapter and then try to get an understanding of the whole thing as it relates to me and my experiences.. (Suffice to add here that may God guide be to the best understanding).
From my own logic, I look at it that a whole chapter/surah is giving us a message and the theme of such chapter is in the verses ....I guess.
In isolation, a verse may be ammunition or defense for a variety of acts, it may serve as justification for culpability and action… but when taken as a part of something whole, the verse can be understood in terms of intent and awareness…

Something to think about for later i guess...

fats

prose and thoughts

LETTING PEOPLE INTERPRETE SCRIPTURE FOR ONE...

i feel it is laziness and roboticness whereby we expect someone to do the hard work of reasoning for one..interpretation differs.. with knowledge, wisdom and life experiences does one come to sence with certain words and statements.in this respect everyhuman being is different and individual with their own life experiences and inside thoughts...there may be pockets of similarity in thought processes with the final outcome different and likewise the final outcome may be the same but the thought process different..advancement of one persons soul is their ability to interprete and apply to their own life given the faculties and direction that the almighty has provided in all the scriptures...it is not one solution for everybody but rather the scripture is there as guideline and it is up to each person to then - given the parameters of conduct/behaviour/spiritual growth - decide how to implement it for their own life...all action is afterall individual not collective...so one sololution fits all may not be possiblewithin the parameters given...

FOCUS ON HADITHS INSTEAD OF QURAN

People go the prophet said the prophet said...
But were you there personally when the prophet said????

Besides...whose testimony is the greatest... the prophet mohammed/any prophet of God OR God...
Can i refer one to these verses...

7:169-70 yusuf Ali translation (the parenthesis are the translators own inference)

169: After them succeeded an (evil) generation: They inherited the Book, but they chose (for themselves) the vanities of this world, saying (for excuse): "(Everything) will be forgiven us." (Even so), if similar vanities came their way, they would (again) seize them. Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them, that they would not ascribe to God anything but the truth? and they study what is in the Book. But best for the righteous is the home in the Hereafter. Will ye not understand?

170:As to those who hold fast by the Book and establish regular prayer,- never shall We suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.

That was the people of then... the Torah was given to them they were asked to uphold it... not the additional man made laws they invented..
verse

19:12:(To his son came the command): "O Yahya! take hold of the Book with might": and We gave him Wisdom even as a youth,

This was to John(yahya) ... he too was asked to uphold the scripture(book)nothing else...

Verse 28:84-86
84:If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the extent) of their deeds.85:Verily He Who ordained the Qur'an for thee, will bring thee back to the Place of Return. Say: "My Lord knows best who it is that brings true guidance, and who is in manifest error."

86:And thou hadst not expected that the Book would be sent to thee except as a Mercy from thy Lord: Therefore lend not thou support in any way to those who reject (God's Message).

now this is to the community of Arabs who got the message direct from prophet mohammed.. it is from these people that mainstream islam has adopted much of its practices...some practices which do not comply to what God has decreed in the scripture... infact they add to it and remove from it to suit their whims..... Now...Is is the book and sunnah of Prophet mohammed that we are asked to uphold or is it the Book alone that we are asked to uphold...

If it is the Book and Sunnah.. why then are we not asked to uphold the sunnah of other prophets...Why then ?

If it is the book alone.. Is our God not one God...

should we follow the many hadiths/sunnah which intself contradicts itself because the authors and reporters cannot agree what they saw and recorded...
OR
should we follow one Book where by all muslims can agree that it is the word of God...

remember who's testiminy is the greatest... Gods.. for to God belongs all in the heavens and earth and He is in full control of all things...

tis the Quran we are asked to Uphold... nothing else but the Quran...

thats my view..

think about those laws that the hadiths give ... i saw/heard this person say "he heard this person" who heard this person say that he heard this person say that mohammed the messenger of God said that that that and that...

through reported speech one has to assimilate it, try to make sence of it and then via reporting to someone, will give the message in his/her own words. The original message intent is already lost. Then you do that again... sort of like chinese whispers...
By the time it gets to you it is about (10 to the power of 5) rate message..
think about it yourself.. does it make sense???..

Let me top it up wth surah 31/verse 1-7Yusuf Ali translation.. (the parenthesis are the translators own inference)
1:Alif Lam Mim
2:These are Verses of the Wise Book
3:A Guide and a Mercy to the Doers of Good,
4:Those who establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity, and have (in their hearts) the assurance of the Hereafter.
5:These are on (true) guidance from their Lord: and these are the ones who will prosper.
6:But there are, among men, those who purchase idle tales, without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of God and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a Humiliating Penalty.
7:When Our Signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns away in arrogance, as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in both his ears: announce to him a grievous Penalty.

Surah/chapter42 Verse 13
The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - the which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than God, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. God chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him)....

If we can all establish the word of God as bond... would unity not flourish... instead we stick to man made/man reported/ cultural practices that divides us all and make us enemies of one another...
honestly it makes me wonder...

Similarity is so striking

i was reading this chapter and the last verse struck my interest....

I seek refuge with thee O lord.. you are Seer, Hearer

Chapter 48 verse 29
Khalifa
Muhammad - the messenger of GOD - and those with him are harsh and stern against the disbelievers, but kind and compassionate amongst themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, as they seek GOD's blessings and approval. Their marks are on their faces, because of prostrating. This is the same example as in the Torah. Their example in the Gospel is like plants that grow taller and stronger, and please the farmers. He thus enrages the disbelievers. GOD promises those among them who believe, and lead a righteous life, forgiveness and a great recompense.
Yusuf Ali
Muhammad is the apostle of God; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from God and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at them. God has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward.
Pickthal
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) seest them bowing and falling prostrate (in worship), seeking bounty from Allah and (His) acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel - like as sown corn that sendeth forth its shoot and strengtheneth it and riseth firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers - that He may enrage the disbelievers with (the sight of) them. Allah hath promised, unto such of them as believe and do good works, forgiveness and immense reward.
Shakir
Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah, and those with him are firm of heart against the unbelievers, compassionate among themselves; you will see them bowing down, prostrating themselves, seeking grace from Allah and pleasure; their marks are in their faces because of the effect of prostration; that is their description in the Taurat and their description in the Injeel; like as seed-produce that puts forth its sprout, then strengthens it, so it becomes stout and stands firmly on its stem, delighting the sowers that He may enrage the unbelievers on account of them; Allah has promised those among them who believe and do good, forgiveness and a great reward.
Sher Ali
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers but tender among themselves. Thou seest them bowing and prostrating themselves in Prayer, seeking Allah's grace and pleasure. Their marks are upon their faces, being the traces of prostrations. This is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is like unto a seed-produce that sends forth its sprout, then makes it strong; it then becomes stout, and stands firm on its stem, delighting the sowers - That HE may cause the disbelievers to boil with rage at the sight of them. Allah has promised, unto those of them, who believe and do good works, forgiveness and a great reward.
"Progressive Muslims"
Muhammad is the messenger of God, and those who are with him are severe against the rejecters, but merciful between themselves. You see them yielding and submitting, they seek God's blessings and approval. Their distinction is in their faces, as a result of submitting. Such is their example in the Torah. And their example in the Injeel is like a plant which shoots out and becomes strong and thick and it stands straight on its stem, pleasing to the farmers that He may enrage the rejecters with them. God promises those among them who believe and do good works a forgiveness and a great reward.

the part that struck my interest was the part about prostration and the torah...

you see, when the 3 vs 5 times prayer issue began, i started to look into prayer practices of all religions and came upon the jews doing a 3 times daily prayer... but nonetheless, it was imprinted in my mind that the practice of prayer is not new because in the Quran... it was mentioned that moses was told to observe Salat, as was jesus as well....hmmmm

Anyhow, this time i looked and found a daily prayer called aleinu which i guess is done 3 times daily.
while reading though what i had found... i then read that the practice of prostrating during this prayer was something that was in practice yonder years but some sects within jdaism have discarded it... while some sects only prostrate during major festival prayers... that got me thinking so i googles aleinu and i found the prayer...

now i am sorry but i have to gush here at my amazement for this prrayer....
i was struck by its words... simple effective and praise for the most high.

so here it is


English translation
Transliteration
Hebrew
1
It is our duty to praise the Master of all,
Aleinu l'shabeach la'Adon hakol
עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל,
2
to acclaim the greatness of the One whoforms all creation,
latet gedulah l'yotzer b'reishit,
לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוֹצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית,
3
For God did not make us like the nations of other lands,
sh'lo asanu k'goyei ha'aratzot,
שֶׁלֹּא עָשָׂנוּ כְּגוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת,
4
and did not make us the same as other families of the Earth.
v'lo samanu k'mish'p'chot ha'adamah,
וְלֹא שָׂמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה.
5
God did not place us in the same situations as others,
shelo sam chel'qenu kahem,
שֶׁלֹּא שָׂם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם,
6
and our destiny is not the same as anyone else's.
v'goralenu k'khol hamonam.
.וְגוֹרָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמוֹנָם
Some congregations outside of Israel omit:
7
(For they bow to vanity and emptiness
(Sh'hem mish'tachavim l'hevel variq
(שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהֶבֶל וָרִיק,
8
and pray to a god which helps not.)
umit'pal'lim el el lo yoshia)
וּמִתְפַּלְּלִים אֶל אֵל לֹא יוֹשִׁיעַ.)
9
And we bend our knees, and bow down,and give thanks,
Va'anaḥnu qor`im, umishtaḥavim umodim,
וַאֲנַחְנוּ כֹּרעִים,
10
before the King, the King of Kings,
lif'nei Melekh, Mal'khei haM'lakhim,
לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים
11
the Holy One, Blessed is He.
haQadosh barukh Hu.
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
12
The One who spread out the heavens,and made the foundations of the Earth,
Shehu noteh shamayim, v'yosed aretz,
שֶׁהוּא נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיֹסֵד אָרֶץ,
13
and whose precious dwelling isin the heavens above,
umoshav y'qaro bashamayim mima'al,
וּמוֹשַׁב יְקָרוֹ בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל,
14
and whose powerful Presence isin the highest heights.
ushkhinat uzo begav'hei m'romim,
וּשְׁכִינַת עֻזּוֹ בְּגָבְהֵי מְרוֹמִים.
15
He is our God, there is none else.
Hu Eloheinu ein od,
הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאֵין עוֹד,
16
Our King is truth, and nothing else compares.
emet mal'kenu, efes zulato,
אֱמֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ אֶפֶס זוּלָתוֹ.
17
As it is written in Your Torah:
kakatuv baToratecha:
כַּכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה:
18
"And you shall know today,and take to heart,
v'yada'ta hayom,vahashevota el l'vavekha.
וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ,
19
that Adonai is the only God,
Ki Adonai, hu haElohim,
כִּי יי הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים
20
in the heavens above
bashamayim mi ma`al,
בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל
21
and on Earth below.There is no other."
v'al ha'aretz mitachat. Ein od.
וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת. אֵין עוֹד

hmmmm.so for me i was struck by a couple of words....
That Adonai is the only God in the heavens above and on earth below. there is no other....

Now..compared to where the Quran states La ilaha illalahu... there is no other god but God...

can you see the similarity...

in fact of you have read the quran.. you should see lods od similarities in this aleinu and what is in the Quran...
so back to this concept of One God.... it is one God, the same God that we all worship... cant we all see that? and it is about the worship of One God alone, as was before as is now as it should be now... all this practices of God plus messenger everytime.. is not concurrent with what is in the Quran... nor is it concurrent with what was in the earlier scriptures....

hmmm
anyhoe back to another point i was then again inspired to remember another part in the quran.. where specicically God was speaking to judaism...


I seek refuge with thee O Lord.. you provide inspiration and guide to the truth

chapter 62:6

Khalifa
Say, "O you who are Jewish, if you claim that you are GOD's chosen, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should long for death if you are truthful!"
Yusuf Ali
Say: "O ye that stand on Judaism! If ye think that ye are friends to God, to the exclusion of (other) men, then express your desire for Death, if ye are truthful!"
Pickthal
Say (O Muhammad): O ye who are Jews! If ye claim that ye are favoured of Allah apart from (all) mankind, then long for death if ye are truthful.
Shakir
Say: O you who are Jews, if you think that you are the favorites of Allah to the exclusion of other people, then invoke death If you are truthful.
Sher Ali
Say, `O ye who are Jews, if you claim that you are the friends of Allah to the exclusion of all other peoples, then wish for death, if, indeed, you are truthful.
"Progressive Muslims"
Say: "O you who are Jewish, if you claim that you are God's chosen, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should long for death if you are truthful!"

(Parenthesis are the translators own inference...)

Are you seeing the link.....

one other verse.

Khalifa
We have sent down the Torah, containing guidance and light. Ruling in accordance with it were the Jewish prophets, as well as the rabbis and the priests, as dictated to them in GOD's scripture, and as witnessed by them. Therefore, do not reverence human beings; you shall reverence Me instead. And do not trade away My revelations for a cheap price. Those who do not rule in accordance with GOD's revelations are the disbelievers.
Yusuf Ali
It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to God's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of God's book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers.
Pickthal
Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who surrendered (unto Allah) judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests (judged) by such of Allah's Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and thereunto were they witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are disbelievers.
Shakir
Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; with it the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judged (matters) for those who were Jews, and the masters of Divine knowledge and the doctors, because they were required to guard (part) of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereof; therefore fear not the people and fear Me, and do not take a small price for My communications; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers.
Sher Ali
Surely, WE sent down the Torah wherein was guidance and light. By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to US, judge for the Jews, as did the godly people and those learned in the Law, because they were required to preserve the Book of Allah, and because they were guardians over it. Therefore fear not men but fear ME; and barter not MY signs for a paltry price. And whoso judges not by that which Allah has sent down, these it is who are the disbelievers.
"Progressive Muslims"
We have sent down the Torah, in it is guidance and a light; the prophets who have surrendered judged with it for those who are Jews, as well as the rabbis, and the priests, for what they were entrusted of God's Scripture, and they were witness over. So do not fear the people but fear Me; and do not purchase with My revelations a cheap price. And whoever does not judge with what God Has sent down, then these are the rejecters.

Now tell me that you still want to be mentioning one of Gods messengers in your prayer to God and you still are praying to the messengers to interceed for you... despite of what is revealed in the Quran... that you still seek guidance from other than the quran and look to scholars and leaders to tell you about your religion despite that the Quran is clear in content and intention.

If you trust in God you will hold onto God alone..believe in God alone.. dedicate all Prayers to God alone... it is God that we should be singing his praises.. It is God that we should reverence.. it is to God direct that we should direct out prayers to, as it is God that knows us...that created us.. that knows our heart...

the position of any of Gods messengers with God,, they earned for themselves due to the fact that they obeyed their God and held onto their God alone despite of the incriminations they faced...

is there any sense in taking advantage of this.. when we have not earned or even come close to that level of reverence... is that why we choose to sing praises of the messengers... when we know they are dead and cannot respond to us... is that why we go to their graves and pray to their corpse.. when we know they are gone and cannot respond to us...

the human being is lazy....
i am a human being and i know....

while some muslims are here, singing mohammed mohammed mohammed only mohammed,,, to the dis-inclusion of other of Gods prophets....and we have the effontry to beguile ous christian brothers who go about singing jesus, jesus jesus.. to the detriment of other of Gods prophets..
Is it not the same thing...

granted one thinks that mohammed is the key to being saved by god, by associating patnership with God in the addition of mohammeds name to where Gods name is called upon and the other may think jesus is the key to being saved and that Jesus is god...

honestly some muslims are no better than the christians are no better than some jews who invented other laws above that which God revealed to them... infact this is a trait amongst all three...

remember this
alhamdullilahi lazi lam yatakiz waladan
wa lam yakun lahu sharikun fii mulk
wa lam yakun lahu waliyu minna dzullii

Praise be to God who has never begotten a son
nor does He have a partner in his kingship
nor does he need an ally out of weakness...

Never did i hear such interesting words....

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.

Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

Here is the rule to remember in the future, When anything tempts you to be bitter: not, ''This is a misfortune'' but ''To bear this worthily is good fortune.''


CC: marcus aurelius

Choose to be blind...

Fear God....
Be aware of God
Respect God
Observe God as He should be observed
Obey God
All these things to me mean the same thing

God is Compassionate,
Loving to his servants,
Most Kind to his people,
Merciful at the same time He is the Avenger.

Observe God and God only and be not in state of fear for any man...
For it is God that you have to report to for your actions
It is God that your reckoning lies with...not man

What you do, do it in sight of where you want to end up in the hereafter...
After all this life is nothing but mere illusions and play...

Leaders and followers...
Followers follow blindly their leaders... even though proof is there
Children follow their parents even though they can see different

We are in a state of robotic response
We have all been taught to obey man, obey parents,
Do not question... just do
We just do, till we end up robotic and placid
We just accept and we do not question..

Where is the free will, when you just do what is given to you without thinking and questioning
Where is the free choice when you just accept without reasoning?

We are a lazy species...

We do not want to think for ourselves
We do not want to see for ourselves
We do not want to reason with ourselves
We are happy to follow leaders
We are content to follow someone else's thoughts
We are joyous to copy someone else's behaviours

We are a lazy species....

What is wrong that we cannot reason for ourselves... Will it kill us?
What is wrong that we cannot speak our minds... Will it destroy us?

Collectiveness is selflessness.. Damn right it is
But at what cost?
At the cost of your soul...

The soul is individual...
It is not collective
Actions are individual
It is not collective

OK then

let us just keep on doing... no questions
Let us keep on copying... no reasoning
Let us keep on roboting... See where we all end up...

Throngs... my thoughts chapter 39

The other time I read this verse, I felt a connection and a stirring, and I was inspired by the verses and i posted the translations
Now a couple of days ago, I listened to this chapter, driving up to my village and again, it stirred in me and as such I feel compelled to put to words my thoughts and feelings…

As usual it is the verses which jump out at me that i comment on

Throngs
What first gets me about the assumed title is another chapter in the scripture called Triumph – Nasr, where in the verse reads:
I seek refuge in the Most Gracious…
When triumph comes from God and victory,
You will see all the people embracing Gods religion in THRONGS.
You shall glorify and praise your Lord and implore him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer.

Whenever I read Zumar, I think immediately of Nasr. I don’t know in some ways it just clicks, I guess it is the word “Throngs” which is the association between the two.

Verse 1-3
I guess this part is very clear in its statement and intent

- Scripture is revealed from God
- We should worship God devoting the religion to God alone
- We should not implore on anyone beside God


In retrospect, I personally can think of us people, who implore on Gods prophet, Mohammed, Jesus etc and to those who implore on other people such as saints and martyrs, in order that God may hear their prayer, or give accordance to their cause etc. All because they see these people/figures as those in higher steed with God.
It is a habit in all of us, where I feel we want something, but we can only do it through a middleman, probably because we can only relate with the middleman, rather than relate with the source of what we want.

Verse 4-6
This verse for me, will relate to those who claim that God has a son. The scripture seeks to clarify on that issue by letting us know and confirming that God does not have a son nor is He in need of one. He is God, the Supreme. He is the Almighty, the Forgiving.

Verse 7
"If you disbelieve, GOD does not need anyone. But He dislikes to see His servants make the wrong decision. If you decide to be appreciative, He is pleased for you. No soul bears the sins of any other soul. Ultimately, to your Lord is your return, then He will inform you of everything you had done. He is fully aware of the innermost thoughts"
I find this part amusing and incisive.
From this in can infer, disbelieving/believing is each persons choice to make, it is ultimately our responsibility; hence if we carry the sins of disbelief we do so for ourselves by ourselves. Whatever choice we make, outwardly or inwardly, God is aware thereof.

Verse 8
IT IS TRUE that when we seek blessings from God we implore, attend to our prayers, give charity and alms, and make sacrifice all fastidiously. Once we get what we seek, we let everything run to the wayside. Does this not inspire you and remind you of you?

Verse 9
-Meditation
-Prostrating at night
-Being aware of the hereafter
-Seeking the mercy of God.
These things I have noted are significant aspects of this verse.
Meditation: which I guess is reflecting on God and His attributes, His wonders and mercies towards us.
Prostration: which I guess, is the physical act of prostration to God. This is the ultimate symbol of submission and showing obeisance to the creator.
Being aware of the hereafter: this I guess is what we should all be doing, our every thought and action should be with regards to the hereafter, as this life is no more than an illusion, the true life/true existence is in the hereafter and as such, our actions here dictate where we will end up in the hereafter. God direct us and keep us in the straight path.
Seeking Gods mercy: which I guess is everlasting and what is needed to shield is from the trappings of this life as opposed to seeking bounty, wealth, position, children – all of which are the part of the temporary illusions and material distractions of this life – (don’t get me wrong they are not wholly bad all depends on how you view and use them)

From verse 10 onwards
This I feel is a message to us all, to remind us that the religion of God - whatever we want to call it - is about God alone.
It is about worshipping God alone, devoting the religion- all the practices, norms, behaviors that are and can be attributed to following a particular line of thought – to God alone. It is about God alone, just God…. no prophet/messenger/saint/holy man/scholar/deity/angel/whatever else you have
Being aware of the hereafter and what your position would be – laying foundations that will cement where you want to be- Remember the retribution of God is awesome, you really wouldn’t want that, I know that I don’t want that, God help me and redeem me, for my sins are many and I sincerely seek His forgiveness.
The real losers are those who loose their soul on the DOR

Verse 18 in particular I feel gives direction and guidance for us all: examining all words and following the best. This for me reiterates that we all have a choice as individuals to make; we can either follow what is being given to us by our parents/scholars/whoever else or choose to examine everything that has been given to us and then make a choice on what we want to believe.
It is not about blind guidance - believing that those in authority – parents/scholars/teachers/whoever else - are guided enough to guide you- it is about liberation, choosing for yourself amidst all that is out there and trust me there are many. God is the one who will inspire you and direct you to the truth.

God is the one who provides for us

Verse 23
What still gets me is how some people can say that they follow reported hadiths for clarity and guidance in religious practices over the Quran all in spite of the fact that the Quran is in itself clear in content and intent.

Question: did the any of Gods prophets/messengers ask us to follow their own ways/behaviours over Gods Laws/commands?

This verse for me clears any assumptions that anyone may have over following hadiths/sunna/whatever else you have over Gods scripture
“GOD has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up for GOD's message. Such is GOD's guidance; He bestows it upon whoever wills (to be guided). As for those sent astray by GOD, nothing can guide them.

If I may can I proceed down to Verse 29, which states:
“GOD cites the example of a man who deals with disputing partners (Hadith), compared to a man who deals with only one consistent source (Quran). Are they the same? Praise be to GOD; most of them do not know”

** The parentheses are the translators’ own inference

Verse 36
I ask you “ Is God not sufficient for us that we seek to implore and associate others with God”

Verse 38
I was thinking about this I think even before reading this part.
We all say God this, God that, Thank you God etc. When asked whom do you worship, those who believe in God say “God”. So why then don’t we worship God?
I guess it is because we all sideline the worship of God and only revisit it when we are in dire need of help. Which I know only too well myself.
Though we sort of acknowledge that God created us, we disregard worshipping him in favour of all the distractions and trappings that this world has in store for us. We become not bothered and do not affirm each day our gratitude and our devotion to God. But hopefully may God let us realize this before it becomes too late for us.


Verse 45
For the muslims friends who subscribe to “God+prophet” that I have spoken to when you go “God alone” they vehemently refuse to believe, likewise the Christians friends who subscribe to the notion of trinity. I find it very amusing, because I probably would have been the same ages ago myself. But I am thankful to God for letting me see past all the misgivings that some people in authority try to spoon-feed us and allowing me to the circumstances that led to me going “It is all about God alone”

Verse 46 onwards speaks for itself

For me i feel it is clear and Gw willing it will always be clear that worshipping God is about one God. God continue to guide us and provide us with inspiration from Him.

Duhh!! go figure....

A lot of peeps are sending wellwishing messages to me, all with more or less the same theme - wishing a prospeous new year and all that.
But what is is with these wishes..
A thought just crept to mind now,
lets say for instance a person who unbeknown to his friends has desires to kill 100 people.
Then he gets the messages, i am wishing you all your hearts desires and wants.. bla bla bla etc.
Now what if that wish comes true? what then?

We all know the heart is sometimes weak, filled with disease and desires of the flesh, not so?
So why wish on someone their hearts desires? How do you know if what they desire is Good..
( we all have to accept the comfirmity of generalised 10 commandments as the indicator for good and bad)
What if they desire harm for you, the person who is wishing them supposedly all these good things?

Now adays i am careful when people go i wish you this, that, that that as the same i am careful when i wish upon other people as well. Uncontrollable laughter!!
Cos i dont know what is good for them or bad for them as the case maybe, i just tend to ask and wish for them Gods guidance and protection....

Just an uncanny thought which just crossed my mind...

Adetutu needs a resolution.......

Resolutions are one a penny

The heart is there but the spirit is sometimes weak and cowardly.

Resolution are intentions yearly

Not seeing them through can make us weary

This year my Lord I ask so sincerely.

To see thee more clearly

Love thee more dearly

Follow thee more nearly

Day by Day

For with thee my Lord I find strenght

And in thee My Lord I discover truth

The truth which is out there

The truth which liberates all fears

For in truth, I can grow, I see and I know

For with your truth, my Lord, my spirit flows.

This year, Lord I hope I dont ask for much

For no wish is beyond your delicate touch

This year Lord I desire to serve thee

To worship, to see and to believe

Money and riches holds no weight with me

Money and riches may in fact strangle me

My heart desires You, all things which comes from thee

My soul desires truth so it can be free

Keep me bound to thy service Lord

Keep me bound in thy worship Lord

For I have no desire to let Go

No desire to go and depart myself from thee.

For all Praise is Yours, all Authority, Kingship and Glory is yours my Lord

In this life and in the hereafter, there is no other God but Thee

Be you Glorified, Most Gracious Lord

Yasin- Chapter 36 and memories

This was the first surah that I took any great interest in right from young.

I still remember the recitation of hand, all memorized able to recall: albeit with a few jolts.

I remember the tape version, how the reciter a one Alfa Hussain Mohammed would pronounce the words even with the Yoruba intonations, which was always evident with his work.

I remember as a child waking up from sleep and going to sit in the living room while my dad was performing his nightlong prayers. I remember the smell of incense burning in the background – in particular the long one packaged in the green and white box.

I remember my dad sitting on his prayer mat whilst I was cuddled up on the sofa both sitting in silence until I fell sleep. (Maybe this is where I got my love of sleeping on the sofa and living room; I cannot seem to shake this habit)

I was mesmerized by this surah for a long time. A lot to do with the clout and pageantry surrounding its mysticism. I remember some people said that the prophet Mohammed said that this was the heart of the quran – The powerful surah with the seven “mubins”.

Why this is of importance I don’t know and why the number is important I don’t know either.

Question: What is peoples fixation with the numbers 3, 6, 5, 7, 9, 11?

I remember the seven “mubins” very well: when my dad will get us all to sit and say prayers reciting the surah 7 times, with each “mubin” he will get us to recite 7 “Qursiyu”

Out of this fixation, I memorized this surah. Reciting it to give me a sense of achievement and accomplishment that Yes! I too can get it – whatever was out there with this surah will come to me too.

I would look at it and read it: Arabic only – whenever I looked at the translation it just washed over me – gobbledygook- just like when I pick up a physics book and read, I just read but I don’t know what I am reading. The translations just washed over me, I am reading but I am not getting, I am juts fixated with the mubins – as I have been mesmerized by everyone’s fixation with it.

It wasn’t until about 2-3 years ago with trying to find out about worshipping God that I looked at the translation of what I had been reading and it struck me…What exactly do people see in this surah?
When reading through the translation, what strikes me is the gloominess and advent of retribution for people who end up disbelieving. Which in a way is befitting because it means for those who cannot see God alone but for the partnering “God with his last prophet” that such people are just digging themselves deeper into the ground.

This surah talks about consequences and reminds of warnings of disbelieving, of DOJ, reminds us of the blessings from God…

Then I started to see chapter 36 in a different light. Whist the memorization has stuck in my head- albeit I may need a few jolts of verses to remember it- I no longer hold it awe or am I fixated by it.
I am now interested in surah Maryam, Furqan and Ibrahim. Firstly because the recitation by Abdul Sudais is one of the most beautiful melodious ones I have ever heard and also because I feel - in particular for Surah Maryam- that the gripe between major world religions are clarified for me in them. It embodies the crux of what we all argue about or have issues about.

Remember the part in the quran where it offers a logical agreement to us all
If I can recall, God help me with this “ that we should come to a logical agreement whereby we do not worship besides God any other.” Which for me is a fair cop out whereby we agree to disagree. If we say we worship God, then lets leave all the minor differences out of the way and focus on this one God who we say is the creator of all things.

Anyway I digress again……

For translations see : http://www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php, enter the chapter number and compare up to six translations side by side. my preffered translations are khalifas and progressive muslims

Chapter 35 Al-Fateer

Verse 1
“Alhamdullilahi”
The starting of the verse with the phrase “Praise be to God” for me is important for me because I regard this statement as the essence of worship to the Creator. The creator who is the initiator of everything

Verse 2
Simple fact - what God wills be done, nothing can alter Gods plans/decisions be it in earth or in the heavens

Verse 3
“O People” – I guess this refers to every human being… asking us to remember Gods blessings upon us. Also again states “There is no other God beside Him”…How could we deviate.
The deviate part I can take to imply
Deviate from before practices of worshiping God
Deviate from God alone
Deviate from the book of God etc

Verse 4
I guess this verse is speaking to the messenger - reaffirming that God is in control, whether we believe what the messenger has brought forward from God or not.
The messenger has brought forward the scripture of God, from God to serve as a guide for us to redeem ourselves before the Day of Ressurrection/Judgment. This is my own view
Infact when I think of it again a là what we have going on at the moment regarding “God Plus ” for me it defies belief that the messenger(s) himself/themselves would testify “God plus messenger” because
It don’t make sense
It don’t follow the principles of what has been revealed previously
It still don’t make sense to me

Verse 5
Reminds us about our priorities… This life is but a mere illusion. As a matter of fact I have to remind myself of that daily.

Verse 6
I chuckled when I read this part but it is true though. Enemy is enemy and they are best avoided and best treated with animosity because really in times of war and everything, your enemies want to kill you and finish you off n’est pas? So fight is fight. It is a fight for survival in the hereafter The Devil is enemy because the devil seeks to repel from the path of God. Plain and simple


Verse 8
I still insist that this is the worse state to be in… “Misguided belief”.. God don’t visit such a fate on me and may He guide me to the straight path.

Verse 11
Interesting points raised here. The theme for me reinforces that nothing happens except for the will of God. Nothing comes into being or leaves existence except for as how God wants it to be

Verse 12
I smiled when I read this part – Salt water/Fresh water… Indeed we should b grateful

Verse 13-14
Slight chuckle at the part where I read “ if you call them they cannot hear you, even if they can hear you they cannae respond to you and on the DOR/DOJ thy will disown you”
Gba o! All these supplications to prophets, saints and whatever else… whatisgoingon there? Praying for prophet and family members and whatever else. How on earth do you know if the family members were guided, if for instance lets say for argument sake that the messenger/prophet was guided, how d I know if his family was? Hmmm
Tell me, how do I know what is in their heart that I can be praying for them? Hmmm,
When my time can be better-spent thinking about my God and praising my God hmmm
Lol. Sometimes I am mad….

Verse 15
I agree, yes! We are all in need of God

Verse 18
No transfer of sins. What you earn you earn! That entire one where some people may think that “Jesus died for our sins” I don’t get that after reading this verse.

From Verse 19 onwards
It is either on or the other, no in-between I guess. Blind and Seer, Darkness and Light, Coolness of shade and Heat of the sun. This brings to mind anther part the this scripture where I think it goes ” there is no compulsion in religion, the right way is now distinct from the wrong” and another one which I think goes “ righteousness is not about beating around the bush”

Verse 22
God causes whomever wills to hear…You cannot make hearers out o those in the graves.
We all have to make the initial choice/will I guess to want to be closer to God and ask God for the rest, for Him to direct us to the right path.
When you are dead, that’s it! That is your own part /story played out. Whatever you have earned you have earned, no going back once you are dead, no chance to overturn, no chance to repeat. God guide us right and keep us as righteous believers and grant us a good position on the DOJ.

Verse 25
I singled this part out.. “ Messengers have been with clear proofs, the psalms and the enlightening scripture”

Verse 27
I smiled at the description of words and colour

Verse 29
Investment: Recite the book of God, Prayer, and from Gods provisions to us we spend.

Verse 31
This verse for me again is pinnacle foundation of what we should uphold.
“What is revealed in this scripture is the truth consummating all previous scripture”
I get from reading the Quran that this is what we should uphold. This is what the messenger has brought forward from God and advocates that we read and uphold the teachings therein. So how can we start to deviate and practice from other things not sanctioned by God? Or even His messengers for that matter?

For translations go to http://www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php eterchapter number and compare different translations

Praise be to God, the Eternal Most Gracious.This is what has caught my interest initially while reading this verse.

chapter 2 my thoughts

baqrah!!

Vs 1-5
Scripture infallible, a beacon or the righteous . The righteous are the peeps who believe in the unseen ( which to me, may mean God and his wonders), peeps who perform salat and give to charity, believe in revelations previous and this revelation ( to me means Quran) and are certain of teh hereafter

Vs 6-20
Talks to me about disbelivers: peeps who say they believe but dont really believe: for me this is a bad scenario person to be in....

Vs 21-22
Worship only your Lord - Creator of All

Vs 30 onwards
Starts to talk belief in one God and about the reation of Adam and what people call the "concept of original sin"- Adams expulsion from heaven. how God redeemed Adam by giving him specific words... (this for me re-inforces the notion of God inspiring one with words)

Vs 37
this one is important to me because ti says Adam recieved from his Lord words of redemption... This could be the "rabanna zalamna anfusana wa in lam taghfirlana,... etc which is found in surah 7:23

Vs 40
Children of Isreal and their convenant with God ... Belief in One God, Do not confound truth with falsehood.. Observe Salat and zakat and bow down with those who bow down, Do not exhort others to be righteous while forgetting yourself... seek help through steadfastness and Salat.. ( from here i can confirm that all aspects of what peeps call 5 pillars of islam are already established in times of children of isreal: moses time... as it is said in Quran elsewhere ( will try find you verse) re these things have been established in times of Abraham as well... so salat is not new, it has been practiced from times ago...as was Zakat...

Vs 48 onwards
starts to talk about the DOJ- the day when no soul can avail another. there is no intercession ( i.e no one begging for you or interceeding for you), no ransome allowed and no help
Talks about Pharoah and how the COI were saved from him.
The summoning of Moses for 40 nights (30 and then additional 10) and what happened i.e the peeps worshiping of the calf - God redeemed the people even after that incident...talked about the provisions from God and how this was not enuff for teh COI, talks about upholding the convenant made with God i.e sign was raised mount sinai above them - Uphold what they were given and remember its content that they be saved - what happened when some peeps desecrated the sabbath day and what happened about the heifer which God asked the people to sacrifice and how the people shifted and shifted until they were convinced...
*Strong Theme - Do not kill
*Believe but not yet believing - distorting scripture....

Vs 83 onwards
The convenant with the Children of Isreal: Worship God only.. Honour Parents, Regard relatives, orphans and poor, treat people amicably, Shall observe Salat and Zakat, Shall not shed blood, shall not evict each other from their/your homes. ( this is clear in context and i think somethimes this is what peeps refer to as the 10 commandments)
Also talks about teh scripture given to Moses, Jesus;s miracles and confirms that God supported jesus with holy spirit.. ( for me this links judaism, christianity and islam as One entity) What happened when messengers went with things that the people didnt like - rejecting messengers and killing them...
Also Confirmation of Quran scripture with other scriptures: (moses scriptuire. Abrahams scripture, Davids, Jesus... these were all i think who quran state had scriptures)
How we prophesise ( i guess with scriptures) but when prophecy happens we fail to recognise it and how some people choose to believe in some scripture and disregard the others...
Talks about the prophet of God and the angels and scriptures
Mentions Solomon and his empire - sorcery/witchcraft was occuring then... Warning !!!...do not practice witchcraft cos if you do you will not have share in hereafter

Vs 111 onwards
How people think that they know who goes to paradise ( for me this means Judge not.. cos only God knows who is and who is not saved.. no one know future, so all these people who we think for sure they are going to end up in paradise, we dont knwo do we,, cos only God knows that)
Oneness of God
Reinstates for COI - remember my favours which I (God) bestowed upon you and that I (God) blessed you more than any nation
Abraham and the Kaaba - no one really knows wether abraham was jewish/christiam or muslim.. all we know is that he worshipped One God - submitted to the Lord of the universe... it tells us to follow the religion of Abraham... monotheism.. ( this part for me is where i can make the distinction that all these additions that we see in islam today i.e addition of Prophet to God is a fabrication.. because in the time of Abraham, there was no mohammed.. and salat was already established... and it is this same salat that we are trying to perfom today... In Abrahams time, is was all about God as i should be now as well... nothing has changed... we should follow monotheism.. worshipping One God only... so all this you have to be muslim/christian/jew before u see the kingdom of God is bullshit...)

Vs 136
States it here : Make no distinction btw messengers : which for me means all messengers are messangers of God,, i sould not make a disctinction btw anyone of them... so Mohammed is to jesus as is to Moses as is to Abraham.. all the same... canne uphold one more in favour of the other..

Vs 139 onwards
very Good statement made here " Do not argue with us about God, He is my Lord and your Lord.. the essence for me here is God is one God, so all the debates btw religion is pointless really...
Reinforces that God is one God which for me is a follow up on Verse 140... No one can really say if our prophets.messengers were definately of christians/jews/muslims mainstream religions because the truth is that we dont know..
For me this means which ever you subscribe to doesnt matter ... the most important thing is belief in ONE God - we all share the same prophets/messengers, yet we are all different from each other and despise each other...what we now have as defined mainstream religion is now how it was then... nor do i think how it should be now because i believe worshipping God is very simple, not the complication that Man has made for himself... once you start to seperate God from man made inventions the simplicity then becomes clear i feel...

Vs 143
For me this stalks about the direction of prayer... i think going by hazy memory that it used to be towards jerusalem then God changed it towards mecca... I remember when my friend used to ask me that "if God was everywhere.. omnipresent/omnipotent, then why do muslims have to face one direction to pray"...
my answer to this was to link it to the bible story about Saul.. which is also in the Quran... God told them on their way somewhere not to stop by a certain river to drink and this act initself was a test from God... but some people drank from the river... This was Gods way of distinguishng those who would readily follow or those who would not follow Gods words... so similar to direction if salat... it is a test from God to see those who would readily ober God and those who would not.. " change of Kiblah to distinguish " who would readily follow the messenger from those who would turn back on their heels"

Vs146
Says that "those who recieve scripture knows that this ( meaning this Quran scripture) is the truth and recognise it as such"

Vs 147
Reinforces... thsi is the truth from your Lord... do not doubt it... Reiterates for me that God is the only source of truth... no doubting.. From this alone i made my confirmation that it is Quran alone and nothig else... God has explained to me all i need to knwo and to be aware of.. everything else i may question may God inspire me to and Only to Him would i look to seeking answers and solutions...

Vs 148
We each all choose our own paths.. righteousness is the desired path..... from what i am getting here

Vs 149 -150
Prayer direction... towards sacred masjid,, masjid-il-Haram... stipulation that this is the truth from God

Vs 152
Remember God so that God remembers you and be appreciative... simple i guess.. be thankful for every mercies... seen and unseen

Vs 153
Seek help through steadfastness and salat... God is with those who steadfastky preservere... help from anything-- through steadfastnass... i guess this to mean patience, perseverance and holding onto God only,,

Vs 158 onwards
HAJJ.. rites for hajj... safa and marwa,,, walking the distance btw the two

Vs 163
Reiterates again... One God!!! "Your God is one God, There is no God but He, Most Gracious, Most merciful.... Clear and simple,,,t his is the theme of the Quran for me.. its is always lailaha illa llahu... pure and simple... nothing else other than one God... so where these additions of our own world comes from i beg to wonder...no where in Quran will you find the declaration of Oness of God couple with declaration of messanger...because rememer from earlier. do not make distinction btw messengers... The Quran is clear wo why i feel we are doing something else??? go figure...

Vs 165
"Yet some peeps set uo idold to rival God and love them as if they are God"... Important statement here... Which is true when we look at the devotion that we people have to saints/prophets/leaders,, more than the devotion that we give to God... This is represantative of what what is happening here and now ...we will rise to arms when our leaders our insulted but everyday people insult god but we do nothing about it... so who are we really worshipping... is it God.. or is it them leaders, who are we reallly loving... is it God or is it them leaders/saints/prophets

Vs 164
Those who were followed will disown those who followed them,- for me it is already warning us...why bother following someone else... Direction and guidance comes from God only.... apply this to christians and jesus/saints, muslims and mohammed/malims ... why seek guidance and help from mortals, when God is omnipotent???

Vs 168-169
so not follow satan

Vs 170
People seem comfy to follow what their parents show them... *role of parent very serious indeed* but they dont want to follow what God has revealed for them in the Quran...how do we know that our parents have the right guidance and wisdom to direct us in the path of God??? what if they are not guided in themselves... always remember what we see on the outside is never indicative of what is on inside... they may pray 5 times or 3 times daily they may be feverent during prayer, that does not give them licence to direct or guide... as only god directs and guides in His path...
You can apply this to mean... if parents told you to kill yourself knowing that it is wrong to do so... would you??? it also follows application for me in the sense of following malims/scholars etc.. what if they dont understand.. God is the best guide from God and God has given us the Quran,,,

Vs 173
food restriction...Animals that die of themselves, blood, meat of pigs, animals dedicated to other than God are our only prohibitions...

Vs 177
Righteousmess is belief in God, thelast day, The angels, the scripture and the prophets... Giving money to relatives, orphans, needy, the travelling alien, beggers, to free the slaves, Observing prayer, giving Zaka, righteous peeps are those who keep their word, steadfastly preservere in face of persecution, hardship and war...

Vs 178
LAW: equivalenve is the key for dealing with everything.. LAW for dealing with murder... the free fo rfree, slave for slave ets...

Vs 180
LAW: when death approaches, you must write a will

Vs 183
Fasting is decreed for us

Vs 184
rules regarding fasting... only on specified days, if ill or travelling we can substitute equal number of days.. for those who can fast but with great difficulty, they can substitute by feeding one poor person for each day of breaking fast... however it stresses fasting is the best for you...`

Vs185
Fast in month of ramadan ( also month Quran was revealed)

Vs186
People shall respond to God and believe in god in order to be guided

Vs187
LAW: fasting rules

Vs188
LAW: shall not take each others money illicitly... no bribing of people nin order to deprive others of their rights

Vs 189
I like it where is says" righteousness is attained by upholding the commandments and by being straightforwrd" observe God that we may succeed

Vs 190
LAW: We may fight in the cause of God against those who attack us... but we should not aggress... i.e fighting only as a form of defence... so we cannot strike first

Vs 191
LAW: We may kill those who wage war against us or evist themwhence they evicted us... oppression is worse than murder... clear guidelines here...

Vs 193
We may fight to eliminate oppression and to worship God freely. It also iterates... do not aggress!!! Aggression is only permitted against the aggressors

Vs 194
During sacred months aggression may be met by an equivalent response...

Vs 195
LAW: you shall spend in the cause of God, you shall be charitable and not throw ourselves with our hands into destruction... for me means spend wisely not lavishly or foolishly...

Vs 196
LAW: Observe complete rites of Hajj and Umrah for god...mentions what to do if we cant... Question here for me is how does one send an offering???

Vs 197-207
LAW: Hajj shall be observed in specified months

Vs 208
Embrace total submission

Vs 211
Children of Isreal... who are they???

Vs 212
Stay strong.. that is the message therein for me... The believers will be victors on the DOJ... May God include me with the believers and righteous and spare me the retribution of Hell.. God willing

Vs 213
For me this verse links back to one community.. One God. Same prophets i.e Abraham, isaac etc... it says here it was those who recieved the scripture that rejected any new scriptures despite the proofs...

Vs 214
Test for everyone.. Test so grave that people started to ask... where is Gods victory... must have been tough times...

Vs 215
RULES FOR CHARITY : to parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, the travelling alien... I think travelling alien is someone not from your own part of the world who is new to your neighbourhood

Vs 216
God only knows!!! Link this with when i say that i only ask for what i want what is present for me... i dont know the future and dont know wether what i am asking for is good for me or not... only God knows future and what is best for me... sometimes i may ask for that which is not good for me but only God knows and i know that god will not give me that which is bad for me... so if i dont get what i ask for, then maybe it is a good thing...

Vs 217
RULES FOR FIGHTING IN SACRED MONTHS

Vs 219-220
RULES on INTOXICANTS and GAMBLING.. causes more harm than good... WHAT TO GIVE TO CHARITY... the excess ORPHANS... bring them up as best righeous person is the best that we can do/// if we mix their property with opurs then we treat them as members of our family

Vs 221
RULES ON MARRIAGE... marry only believing men and women... they must be believers in God.. it makes no conditions that they be jewish/christian/mislims,,, just says "beliving" just believing

Vs 222
RULES ON MENSTRUATION...no intercourse during menstruation that is all it says... nothing like women cant pray on menstruation or cant touch quran or cant go into mosque... all thiese things which are man made... Quran is very clear....

Vs 224
Do not use Gods name in vain... or to attain credibility or appear righteous

Vs 225
What is important is innermost intention... that is what counts i guess

Vs 226-233
RULES ON DIVORCE... if you intend to divorce, wait 4 months to see if u change your mind,, if you do then fine and if u dont... proceed with it

Vs 234-237
RULES ON WIDOWS.. wait 4 months and 10 days before being open to offers from other men

Vs 238
SALAT: Consistently observe salst, especially middle prayer... Salst Wusta, devote yourself totally to God

Vs 239
RULES CONCERNING PRAYER... you may pray while walking.riding if under unusal circumstances.. Once safe commemorate God as he taught you what you did not know... i take it means when u arrive at destination commemorate God... it doesnt say what is unusual so i guess it is individual citcumstances... we each have to decide for ourselves

Vs 240
WIDOWS: make a will to support wives for a year as long as they remain in the same household

Vs 241
DIVORCEES... you shall provide for them as well

Vs 246-251
SAUL... evnts surrounding Saul and how the people at first didnt like him being king.,.. may be worthwile to read the bible story surrounding saul and because it says similar thing as well

Vs 249
test for saul and his troops... drinking at stream... similar to test for changing Qiblah

Vs 252
States that this revelation (Quran) is truthful... sort of confirms other scriptures

Vs 253
Talks about messengers and some of their differences in terms of how they related with Goid.. Also mentions Jesus - SON OF MARY and the holyspirit... also re-iterates that we were" one community" until the proof came to followers and then they disputed and all defacted

Vs 254
LAW: give to charity

Vs 255
Ayat Kursiyu... Only One God who is aware of all things, the Eternal, The Ever living God. He knows past and future and only by His will do things occur

Vs 256
Each person must make a choice... worshipping God is not by force... choose right over wrong

Vs 258-261
God in all his wonders is Omnipotent and is the Creator

Vs 262-276
RULES ON CHARITY: charity in the cause of God... should not be followed by insuly/harm... kind words/comapssion is better than charity followed by insult... charity in the cause of God not to show off

Vs 277
traits for righteousness... belive and lead righteous life, Salst, Zakat

Vs 278
LAW: No unsury at all in whatever form

Vs 280
RULES ON DEBT AND PAYMENT

Vs 282-283
RULES ON LOANS

Vs 285
Attributes of believers: Belief in God, Angels. Scriptures, Messengers- also states again make no distinction among any of Gods messengers And yes!! I am digging at those of our community who do....

Vs 286
God never burdens a soul beyond its means

For translations go to http://www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php enter chapter numnber and compare up to six different transltions

Alhamdullilahi...
these are my views on this suran... May God in His mercy continue to guide us and inspire us, lead us and keep us in the straight path

chapter 3 my thoughts

At first, the chapter stuck me out as being interesting: Al-Imran.
Some people say the translation is: Amramites
So a couple of questions rose from me first of being who are the Amramites?
Google results says that they are descendants of the Amram people; who had the charge of the tabernacle, guarding the arc, table, candlesticks i.e. the treasures of the house of Yahweh – see numbers 3:27, Chronicles 26:23,22.

Verse 1
Letters Alif, Lam, Mim – Similar as in Baqrah and other Rum, Luqman etc

Verse 2
Statement of fact – There is no God except He – The Living, the Eternal. Which is for me the creed of our religion- oneness of God.

Verse 3-4
Confirmation that this scripture – Quran – is from God and also says that the scripture confirms all other scriptures – “and He sent down the Torah and Gospel and before that God sent the statute book”. Interesting that the torah and gospel
Question: What is the Statute Book?

Verse 6
God is the one who shapes in the womb as he wills – statement of fact for me.. There is no other God beside Him, The Almighty, Most wise.
All through the scripture is this theme, “La ilaha illa lahu”.. That is all it says, continually and re-affirmingly. Adding the attributes of the Most High to it… never any messenger or prophet.

Verse 7
In this scripture – Quran- there are straightforward verses and also states that they “ constitute the essence of the scripture”. So I guess straightforward verses are clear and concise in terms of intent and meaning.
In this scripture – Quran- There are multiple meaning/allegorical verses which says “those who harbour doubts in their hearts will pursue the multiple meaning verses to create confusion and to extricate a certain meaning” So to me, I guess that there are multiple meaning verses and they can mean more than one thing… “ No one knows the true meaning except God and those well founded in knowledge” God is the foundation of knowledge, which I wholly accept as a fact for me.

They say, “We believe in this, all of it comes from our Lord” So I guess again that this is the best approach to take as quran is a guiding scripture from God. Everything in is if from God, the most High. There is nothing like you accept one part while leaving another part of it… You cannot say that the quran is not complete because it is. I feel you cannot accept part of it and accept the reported hadiths (which in so many ways contradicts the quran severally) as the other part to Gods guidance (this is me digging at the hadithers!!)

“Everything comes from God” whatever meaning you arrive at or whatever meaning makes sense to you, God is the one who will guide you to the true meaning, as long as you seek it in sincerity, I feel you should do what you think is best for you as long as you remember the essence – God is one God – worship God alone. God is the only one that guides to the truth and may He guide us to the correct meaning, by His will.

Verse 14
Materials of this world are women, children, money, home wealth etc.
I remember when I was feeling very low and depressed and when I read this verse I felt a bit better because this for me re-inforces that marriage/children is not paramount to salvation neither is having children. As long as I live righteously and wholly believe in my creator and worship Him alone then all is well, Gw. Besides the best for me is at my Gods side and that is what I am after. “ The far better abode that is reserved at God”
However way I look at it, it is the best thing for me and Adetutu definitely knows that the right way is always the best way for her. No half measures about it.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I am not advocating celibacy and “monkism” or “nunnerism” because I don’t believe in that. I am enjoined to settle down as that is better for me (which I agree), but if perchance I cannot find the right person to settle with, I shall resort to patience and as best as I can as remain righteous Gw, my lord will provide for me as he knows what I am after what is best for me,

Verse 17
Qualities that are good to have being steadfast, humble, submitting, charitable, meditators at dawn

Verse 18
Statement of Fact again – There is only One God, The Almighty, Most Wise. This is the essence and declaration of faith.

Verse 19
Only religion approved by God is submission. Interesting because I guess this is what all messengers of God have been advocating. Submission to God’s will, to His laws.
It also goes to say that the people who received the scriptures (which may be the torah, gospel, statute book, quran) are the very ones who dispute this fact despite the knowledge they have received.

Verse 23
I like this verse: Some who were given the scripture and how they are invited to uphold this scripture and apply it to their lives – but some turn away in aversion.
Is this not what is happening? When we say Quran alone, they say that is nonsense; they say that it is the hadiths that they will follow. Well, go on follow hadiths now and see where that will end you. I don’t understand us, where God alone is not enough for people that they resort to getting guidance from other than God and His scriptures… God direct me to the straight path by his will.

Verse 24 (added 12/05/09)
I am after great lenght remembering what my malims used to tell us when we has quran lessons. in particular when i was re-reading this part it then dawned on me. What i remember was malim saying that for some people, on the DOJ, they will be punished for whatever sins they done bla bla bla i.e be thrown into hell but after a while, the prophet mohammed will then interceed for them and God will take them out of hell and into paradise. Or the other one that said on DOJ all humans will be grouped into lines of people and the rest is hazy but memory brings up 44 lines and like dat only one line of the 44 will go to paradise or only 44 lines will go to paradise or sumthing? go figure..

Verse 28
Believers never ally themselves with disbelievers instead of believers – So I guess it is a case of show me your friends and I will tell you who you are – Support believers over disbelievers.

Verse 30
Statement again – “Reverence God alone” I singled it out again after reading the verse. "God alerts you that you shall reverence Him alone" 12/05/09

Verse 32
Statement – “You shall obey God and the messenger” Whenever I see this I go, ok I understand what God is asking me to do. Obey Him and obey his messenger. I guess this is the part where most of us have tick with. Obey messenger does not mean copy his habits, his mannerisms and his action. We obey instructions, which is invariably the instructions of the Almighty and as such we are obeying the Almighty.

So what are the messengers asking us to do? They are relating Gods scriptures to us asking us to uphold them and to obey the commandments therein. This takes me to another part in the Quran where I think it says something like “ never would a messenger of God ask you to idolize him instead of God” See 3:79.

I feel what the messengers are asking us to do is to worship god and obey His laws. Obeying the messenger is obeying Gods laws, commandments and upholding Gods scriptures.

This also brings to mind the palava of the “hadiths” which people have collated as the sayings of one particular prophet. First why not collate sayings of the other messengers and prophets. At least we al agree that we have more than one messenger? Nest pas?
Then again these sayings are many and numerous each in itself contradicting themselves and also contradicting the Quran. Reported and post-reported speeches purporting to be that of the messengers, his habits and mannerisms…
I am quite sure, if there was one that said the messenger used to spank his wife’s butt after sex, quite a lot of us will do the same as well. In any case what do I know?
I only believe, that I cannot accept anything without verifying it for myself, and for me my Lord is my inspiration so anything anyone brings, if there is good in it, my Lord guide me to it, if not my lord will keep me away from it.

Verse 33
It translates for me that God has chosen Adam, Noah, Abraham and the family of Amram (as the lineage of messengers to the people)

See article “Hebrew manuscript of the Middle Ages” by Collette Sirat.

Verse 34
These above people belong in the same progeny i.e. they all come from the same genetic line

Verse 35-50
Wife of Amram dedicating her baby to god. This I guess starts the story of Mary, mother of Jesus. So Amram was Mary’s father. Also touches in Jesus and how he came to being which is partly Mary’s story
Also story of Zachariah who begat John – what happened and how God answered his prayers.

Verse 43.
This is of particular interest to me because of the part where I read: “submit to God and prostrate and bow down” this confirms that the process of salat/worship through prostration and bowing down is not a new phenomenon that was given to Mohammed. It was already established as I have read in the Quran and was practiced by Abraham, Moses.

Verse 51
Jesus said “Godi s my Lord and your Lord. you shall Worship Him (God) alone, this is the right path” is that not wonderful? So where did our brethrens start claiming that he is their saviour? Man and his account of history has a lot to play in all this misconception and we all have a lot to answer for ourselves. If only we can open our eyes, gw God will enlightenus that He alone is worthy of Praise and worship. It is not worship and praise of God via any Prophet/messenger but rather worship and praise of God via direct contact..
This part is also a good example for my explanations of verse 32. The messenger issued an instruction “ worship God alone” and as such we are to obey.

Verse 52-55
Story of the disciples of Jesus and some more on Jesus.

Verse 60
Statement – “This is the truth from your Lord, do not harbour any doubts”. Self-explanatory

Verse 61 12/05/09
is anyone willing to invoke such a curse on themselves.. lesson here is tolreance.. its is not about argueing that mine is the right way even though it may be, it is about asking God to enlighten us all and to guide us all to his path. for me, all dem hardline fanatics- my way or the highway- it is commendable but what if your way that you are porporting is the wrong way? and the highway is the right way? what then? makes one think. Rather surah 109:6 explains it beautifully when it says " To you is your religion and to to me is my religion" We are all racing to get Gods acceptance and to gain entry to paradise.. God is the only one who knows those who are on right path and those who serve Him.. I guess we all hope that We are included within Gods mercy and attain paradise.. At least i hope that.. what about you?.. remember God knows while we dont know..

Verse 62
Statement of fact – that the narration is one of the truth, also statement that there is no god except God.

Verse 64
This verse for me is about focusing on similarities and engaging in a mutual and logical agreement. We are all the same community and the only way we can get along is by conjoining similarities and sticking to that. Even within our purported sects… it is still the way we can be indivisible.
- Come to a logical agreement that we will worship God alone and never set up idols besides God nor set up any human beings as Lord beside God. - Think about this statement and reflect how it epitomizes what is happening in our world today.

Verse 65-67
We argue about the status of Gods messengers (this is what I feel is one of the driving wedges in our coming together) but interestingly we all share them together. Lets look at Abraham; we all share him in our 3 main religions done we? But can anyone of us say for sure that he is a Jew, Christian or Muslim? Can we? No we can’t!
So I can take it by my understanding that this verse says that we should not argue because the scriptures were revealed after him (though I read somewhere in quran where it mentions that Abraham was given a scripture as well - need to find more info if I can abut this) Why argue and make conjecture about what we don’t know?
All we know was that Abraham was a messenger of God, a prophet. So from this I can gather that being labeled Muslim, Jew/Christian isn’t the important thing. What is important is that like Abraham we all serve and worship one God, the Almighty Most Wise. “Abraham was never an idol worshipper.”

Verse 68
“People most worthy of Abraham are those who followed him” so for me this means the best example has been set by Abraham, who worshipped God alone. “ And this prophet”
This part I feel related to Mohammed himself, as he was a staunch worshipper of One God. All these additions we see today were done after Mohammed, not while he was alive.

Verse 73
Religion is not by compulsion! If they tell you to follow their religion before they believe – best reply is “ true guidance is Gods guidance”, Only God bestows His grace and guidance as He wills. It is not for me to say that I am guided or for you to say you are guided. Only God guides. May he guide us to the right path by His will.

Verse 79
This verse for me sums up all the factions/fractions/divisions/alliances that we have in all the worldly religions of today. “ Never would a prophet/messenger of God say to his people to idolize him instead of God. Instead he would say to devote yourself to God alone according to the scriptures you preach and the teachings you learn”
Let us be clear people, what we see today, is idolizing prophets and messengers and saints and whatever else we have. Because that is what it is. If the messengers themselves have advocated that we “devote ourselves to God alone according to the scriptures we preach and teachings we learn” where on earth did we start devoting ourselves to God according to the hadiths, where did we start letting human beings dictating how we serve god ad how we worship God, where did we start inventing laws and rules which clearly contradicts what is in the quran, where did we start dividing ourselves into sects and factions? Wo jare, this life Na wah!

Verse 80
Also says “ Nor would he command you to idolize the angels and prophets as Lords” So where did we get these habits from?

Verse 81
Messenger to come to confirm all existing scriptures

Verse 84
Belief in God and all His scriptures – mentions Abraham, Ishmael. Isaac, Jacob, the patriarch – what was given to Moses and Jesus: which I guess is the statute book, torah and Gospel – “ We make no distinctions among any of them, to God alone we are submitters” let us start thinking… for those of us who value some of our prophets above the others, for some of us who value some scripture above others?

Verse 92
I guess means you cannot attain righteousness till you sincerely give to charity from the possessions you love – important thing here

Verse 93
All food used to be lawful until Israel imposed certain prohibitions on themselves before the torah revealed.

Verse 95
You shall follow Abraham’s religion- worshipping one God- he was never an idolater. He was a monotheist.

Verse 97
Observe Hajj when you can afford it

Verse 100
Some people who received scripture, if you believe them, they will revert you to disbelief – for me I think that when you rely on people to form your belief, you end up being led astray- besides who is more apt to guide other than our creator?

Verse 101
This is in addition to the above, it goes on to say “ whoever holds onto God will be guided in the right path” – so can’t we all agree to stick by that, hold onto God alone, focus on our similarity – Quran and stick to that alone, let God inspire us and direct us to his path?

Verse 102
Statement – “Observe God as he should be observed” - and “do not die except as submitters” self-explanatory. Brings to mind what someone said Re: DOJ - what we are doing in this life is building up our souls for the DOJ when God and final truth is established. Should you loose your soul on that day then you have nothing and are left with nothing.

Verse 103
Statement - Hold onto God and do not be divided – his verse for me means even if we dispute on thins maybe out of interpretation or understanding, the best resolve is to hold onto God, because he is the only constant thing in our lives and reality. Besides with this as the only similarity amongst our differences we stand to become united.

Verse 108
Revelations in the quran truthful – I guess that is easy to understand and apply. “God does not wish hardship upon people” – I can take this part to mean – following God’s words, observing God as he should be observed, holding onto God is very simple.
(Simple but complicated for some of us because it is hard to grasp how easy it is to actually worship God because we have been doctrined into believing the most ridiculous complexities about God and about worship that actually grasping the simplicity of what the God asks us to do in Quran is almost a big task were in actual fact it is not.)
We are the ones who complicate the whole worship thing by adding to Gods words, when we should not be doing that… for example look at the ablution thing, in the Quran ablution is all about wash face, arms, wipe head and wash feet. But today its is wash hands three times, wash mouth three times, put water in nose, wash face, wash right arm three times, wash left arm three times, wipe head, wash ears, wash feet. Now tell me who ordered all these additional steps for us?? They will say the prophet? But how can the prophet go against God? Obviously that is impossible, because the prophet was ordered to uphold the same scriptures that were revealed to him as we are asked to do the same??
Na wah O!!
Advocate righteousness, forbid evil and believe in God.

Verse 110
From this verse I find it poignant that it doesn’t specify which community and which group of the followers of the scripture. It just says followers of the scripture – which to me looks at our community as a collective- So we all guilty peeps, no need to point fingers which most Muslims do by pointing at Christians and Jews and others.

Verse 112
Question for me here: Gods covenant, could it be referring to the one in Verse 81

Verse 113
Recite Gods revelations – Quran – through the night and fall prostrate – Good thing to do

Verse 118-120
RULE: don’t befriend those who wish you harm/want to see you suffer. It is plain simple advice, why dance butt naked in front of blazing fire?

Verse 125
Even at war, if your numbers are down, God will support you with His help. In a way this verse strengthens and reaffirms that God will be with those on the right, He will provide them with His support and help.
I remember a programme I watched about someone almost “vetoing” these extremist suicide bombers because according to my memory he says, “ we want to retaliate in kind and because their opponents weaponry is far superior to theirs, suicide seems the way to go” See how the evil are exposing themselves slowly…
BullShit!!! If you believe and you are in the right, you do not have to resort to petty tricks and wrong assumptions. You should resort to patience and trust in God. Even if you were one person fighting Gods support far outweighs your enemy by a million to one.
Verse 130
LAW: Shall not take usury. Observe God that you may succeed.

Let me pause here and talk about something that popped into my head. You know what I find interesting, Jews don’t accept Christianity but you see Christianity builds up on the old testament stuff which is what I think Judaism uphold.
Interesting thing for me is that Christianity doesn’t accept Islam but Islam builds up on Christianity stuff as well as Judaism stuff. It is sort of like with each revelation, the community doesn’t want to let go of what they feel is theirs and what they feel they have had and accept anything new. Interesting concept n’est pas?

Verse 132
Obey God and the messenger that you may attain mercy

Verse 133
Race towards forgiveness from your Lord and towards paradise

Verse 134-136
GOOD TRAITS: Give to charity in good and difficult times, try to suppress anger and pardon people, ask forgiveness for sins and don’t persist in sinning knowingly

Verse 139
You shall not waiver nor grieve. The believers are the ultimate victors. This verse strengthens my heart

Verse 142
Each one will be tested

Verse 145
No one dies except when his time is up. There is nothing like accidental death or mistake death. You go when you are meant to go.

Verse 175
It is the devils system to instill fear into his subject. Don’t fear the devil but fear God instead as He is the CREATOR. The devil has no real power only GOD has power for he is the LORD OF THE UNIVERSE.
I find this verse interesting because when we look at today’s systems, of converting and charming people into any religion, they do it with fear. Hell fire and brimstone fear which chills to the bone. But Gods system is simple, whether you do or you don’t do.
It is not coersion or by force, it is a conscious choice that one has to re-affirm each day and every night.

Verse 186
You will be tested. But perseverance and maintaining righteousness will prove the test of ones faith.

Verse 200
LAW: Shall be steadfast, shall persevere, shall be united and shall observe God

For translations go to http://www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php enter chapter number and compare up to six diff translations

Praise be to the Lord of the Universe.