[50:16]
We created
the human, and
we know what he
whispers to himself. We are closer to
him than his jugular vein.
[12:53] "I do not claim innocence
for myself. The self is an advocate of vice,
except for those who have attained mercy from my Lord.
My Lord is Forgiver, Most Merciful."
It is important to learn our traits from the Quran as
detailed for us by our Creator. Understanding our nature
and flaws helps us recognize our mistakes and improve
our own qualities.
God has perfected our creation, granted us the best
physical design (95:4), the hearing, the eyesight and
the brain (16:78). However, studying the characteristics
of our human nature leaves no doubt that we are far from
perfect. In fact, striving to please God alone is never
easy because of our weak and deficient human nature. The
result of every battle with Satan is either losing by
giving up to our flaws and imperfections, or positively
strengthening our qualities and fixing our works.
From the very beginning of our creation, we failed to
make up our minds! The human hesitance was clearly
demonstrated in high society when we questioned God's
absolute authority. After we bore witness that God is
the only Lord and Master (7:172), we took back our
shahadah, wavered, and failed to keep a firm stand. So
we came down here for a second chance, and yet we
continue to doubt and change our stands despite our
natural instinct of knowing God:
We Are Born With Instinctive Knowledge
About God*
[7:172]
Recall that your Lord
summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear
witness for themselves: "Am
I not your Lord?" They all said, "Yes.
We bear witness." Thus, you cannot say on the
Day of Resurrection, "We were not aware of this."
Humans Fail to Make a
Firm Stand*
[20:115] We tested Adam in the
past, but he forgot,
and we found him indecisive.
[6:2] He is the One who created
you from mud, then predetermined your life span, a life
span that is known only to Him. Yet, you
continue to doubt.
[41:54] Indeed, they are
doubtful about meeting their Lord. He is fully
aware of all things.
Human
Fickleness
[39:49]
If the human is touched by adversity,
he implores us,
but
as soon as
we bestow a blessing upon him, he says, "I
attained this because of my cleverness!" Indeed,
this is only a test, but most of them do not know.
[41:51]
When we bless the
human being,
he turns away,
and drifts farther
and farther away, and
when
he suffers any affliction, he implores loudly.
By nature, we are weak and rebellious creatures.
Thus, Satan's invitations are readily accepted
by most of us. He is going to claim the majority
of us. The majority of humans are wicked
disbelievers, and the majority of believers are
destined to Hell because of committing idol
worship.
[4:28] GOD wishes to
lighten your burden, for the human
being is created weak.
[17:83]
When we
bless the human being,
he
becomes preoccupied and heedless.
But when adversity strikes him,
he turns despondent.
Rebellious
Humans
[10:21]
When we bestow mercy upon the
people, after adversity had afflicted them,
they immediately scheme against our
revelations!
Say, "GOD's scheming is far more
effective. For our messengers are recording
everything you scheme."
[42:48] If they turn
away, we did not send you as their guardian.
Your sole mission is delivering the message.
When we shower the human beings with
mercy, they become proud, and when adversity
afflicts them, as a consequence of their own
deeds, the human beings turn into
disbelievers.
[25:29] "He has
led me away from the message after it
came to me. Indeed, the devil
lets down his human victims."
[2:36] But
the devil duped them, and caused their
eviction therefrom. We said, "Go
down as enemies of one another. On Earth
shall be your habitation and provision for
awhile."
The Majority of People Do Not
Believe
[12:103]
Most people, no matter what
you do, will not believe.
The
Majority of Believers Destined for Hell
[12:106]
The majority of those who
believe in GOD do not do so
without committing idol worship.
[17:89] We have cited
for the people in this Quran all kinds of
examples, but most people insist
upon disbelieving.
[6:116] If
you obey the majority of people on earth,
they will
divert you from the path of GOD.
They follow only conjecture; they
only guess.
Because we are that receptive to Satan,
we get intimidated easily by him. We are
attracted, by nature, to the materials
of this world. When we loose our
guidance, we become even more attached
to the vanities of this life. God, then,
augments our aversion and we plunge
deeper and deeper into the illusion of
Satan.
*20:115
When
Satan challenged God's absolute
authority (38:69),
you and
I did not make a firm stand against
Satan. God is giving us a
chance, on this earth, to redeem
ourselves by denouncing Satan and
upholding God's absolute authority
(Appendix 7).
Shortsightedness
[2:212]
This worldly life is adorned
in the eyes of the disbelievers,
and they ridicule those who believe.
However, the righteous will be far
above them on the Day of
Resurrection. GOD blesses whomever
He wills, without limits.
Different
Priorities
[3:14]
Adorned for the people are
the worldly pleasures,
such as the women, having
children, piles upon piles of gold
and silver, trained horses,
livestock, and crops. These are the
materials of this world. A far
better abode is reserved at GOD.
[71:24] "They misled
many. Therefore, let the wicked
plunge deeper into loss."
The human is egoistic, arrogant and
argumentative. These are the
most disastrous traits
that we all should strive hard to be rid
of. True believers are able to overcome
their ego on earth so they won't be among
the arrogant ones in the Hereafter. We
should never forget that Satan
was debased to earth once he expressed his
arrogance.
The Test
Begins
[7:12] He said, "What
prevented you from prostrating when I ordered
you?" He said, "I am better than he; You
created me from fire, and created him from mud."
[7:13] He said, "Therefore,
you must go down, for you are not to be arrogant
here. Get out; you are
debased."
[21:19] To Him belongs
everyone in the heavens and the earth,
and those at Him are never too arrogant to
worship Him, nor do they ever waver.
Egotistic Defiance: A
Human Trait
[14:9] Have you not heard
about those before you - the people of Noah, `Aad,
Thamoud, and others who came after them and
known only to GOD?
Their
messengers went to them with clear proofs,
but they treated them with contempt
and said, "We disbelieve in
what you are sent with. We are skeptical about
your message; full of doubt."
Kill Your Ego*
[2:54] Recall that Moses
said to his people, "O my people, you have
wronged your souls by worshiping the calf. You
must repent to your Creator. You shall
kill your egos.
This is
better for you in the sight of your Creator."
He did redeem you. He is the Redeemer, Most
Merciful.
*2:54 It is the ego that led to Satan's
fall. It is the ego that caused our exile to
this world, and it is the ego that is keeping
most of us from redemption to God's Kingdom.
The Prophets of Israel
[2:87] We gave Moses the
scripture, and subsequent to him we sent other
messengers, and we gave Jesus, son of Mary,
profound miracles and supported him with the
Holy Spirit. Is it not a fact that every
time a messenger went to you with anything you
disliked, your ego caused you to be arrogant?
Some of them you rejected, and some of them you
killed.
The Ego as a god
[25:43]
Have
you seen the one whose god is his own ego?
Will you be his advocate?
[25:60] When
they are told, "Fall prostrate before the
Most Gracious," they say,
"What is the Most Gracious?
Shall we prostrate before what you
advocate?" Thus, it only augments
their aversion.
Disbelievers Refuse
to Accept the Completeness of the Quran
[18:54] We
have cited in this Quran every kind
of example,
but
the human being is the most
argumentative creature.
The human is anxious, impatient,
shortsighted and ignorant. Unfortunately,
our ego contributes a lot to our ignorance.
Once we surrender to our egos and follow
other than God, we loose our guidance hence
the value of our knowledge and eloquence. We
behave like the ignorant ones.
[70:19] Indeed, the human
being is anxious.
[21:37] The human being
is impatient by nature. I will inevitably show
you My signs; do not be in such a hurry.
[75:5] But the human
being tends to believe only what he sees in front of
him.
[17:11]
The human being
often prays for something that may hurt him, thinking
that he is praying for something good.
The human being is impatient.
A Consequence of Their Own Decision
[6:111] Even if we sent down
the angels to them; even if the dead spoke to them;
even if we summoned every miracle before them; they
cannot believe unless GOD wills it. Indeed,
most of them are ignorant.
[45:23]
Have you noted
the one whose god is his ego?
Consequently, GOD sends him
astray, despite his knowledge, seals his hearing
and his mind, and places a veil on his eyes. Who
then can guide him, after such a decision by
GOD? Would you not take heed?
The human is unappreciative and transgressing by
nature. When we choose Satan, he adorns evil in our
eyes and makes us think we are righteous.
[22:66] He is the One who
granted you life, then He puts you to death, then He
brings you back to life. Surely, the human
being is unappreciative.
[32:9] He shaped him and blew
into him from His spirit. And He gave you the
hearing, the
eyesight, and
the brains;
rarely are you thankful.
[40:61] GOD is the One who
designed the night so you can rest in it, and the day
lighted. GOD bestows many blessings upon the people,
but most people are not thankful.
[14:34] And He gives you all
kinds of things that you implore Him for. If you count
GOD's blessings, you can never encompass them.
Indeed, the
human being is transgressing, unappreciative.
[16:63] By GOD, we have sent
(messengers) to communities before you, but
the devil adorned their works in their eyes.
Consequently, he is now their lord, and they
have incurred a painful retribution.
Examine Yourself
[18:103] Say, "Shall I tell you
who the worst losers
are?
[18:104] "They are the ones whose
works in this life are totally astray,
but they think
that they are doing good."
[35:8] Note the one whose evil
work is adorned in his eyes,
until he thinks
that it is righteous. GOD thus sends astray
whoever wills (to go astray), and He guides whoever
wills (to be guided). Therefore, do not grieve over
them. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.
When God blesses the human with His provisions,
he transgresses and becomes stingy and greedy.
[74:14]
I made
everything easy for him.
[74:15] Yet, he
is greedy for more.
[70:21] If
blessed by wealth, stingy.
[17:100]
Proclaim, "If you possessed my Lord's treasures
of mercy, you would have withheld them, fearing
that you might exhaust them. The human being is
stingy."
[96:6]
Indeed, the human transgresses.
[96:7] When
he becomes rich.
The above traits/facts are our human imperfections.
Quran educates us about all these flaws and
weaknesses. It's our obligation as submitters and
believers in the Quran to work hard and transform
all the negative in us, by God's will and grace,
into positive. The road map is very clear and fully
detailed. Nothing that we need for our redemption is
left out of this Quran (6:38, 6:115). The
striving to upgrade the above traits up to the
righteous standards defined in the Quran, is
all that we are here for. No doubt, the upgrading
path is the difficult one.
[90:4]
We created the
human being to work hard
(to redeem himself).
[90:5] Does he think that no
one will ever call him to account?
[90:6] He boasts, "I spent so
much money!"
[90:7] Does he think that no
one sees him?
[90:8] Did we not give him
two eyes?
[90:9] A tongue and two lips?
[90:10] Did we not
show him
the two paths?
[90:11]
He should choose the difficult path.
[90:12] Which one is
the difficult path?
[90:13] The
freeing of
slaves.
[90:14]
Feeding, during the
time of hardship.
[90:15] Orphans who are
related. [90:16] Or the poor who is in need.
[90:17] And being one of
those who believe,
and exhorting one another to be
steadfast,
and exhorting one another to
be kind.
[90:18]
These have deserved
happiness.
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.
