Stairway to shame or dignity

 
 
 
[10:25]  GOD invites to the abode of peace, and guides whoever wills (to be guided) in a straight path.
     Heaven and Hell are Eternal
[10:26]  For the righteous, the reward will be multiplied manifold. Their faces will never experience any deprivation or shame. These are the dwellers of Paradise; they abide therein forever.
[10:27]  As for those who earned sins, their requital is equivalent to their sin. Humiliation is their lot, and no one beside GOD can protect them. Their faces will seem overwhelmed by masses of dark night. They will be the dwellers of Hell; they abide therein forever.
 
Shame and humiliation versus pride and dignity are states that we encounter in our daily lives. We tend to analyze certain situations, categorizing them as humiliating or dignifying based on our limited shortsighted human standards. Vanities such as wealth, health or power or lake of any of them are sometimes misleading factors in this regard. The Quranic perspective on the other hand provides us with a perfect scale in order to accurately distinguish and define the path of divine dignity and the trigger of real humiliation.
 
A student of the Quran can conclude that when we love God the most (2:165) and support Him alone, God's love, victory, and support truly become ours in this life and in the Hereafter. Trusting God and believing in this divine law dictates a true sense of beauty, peace, clarity, and  dignity to our lives irrespective of our surroundings and how they might be perceived by the ignorant ones:
 
[47:7]  O you who believe, if you support GOD, He will support you, and strengthen your foothold.
 
[3:160]  If GOD supports you, none can defeat you. And if He abandons you, who else can support you? In GOD the believers shall trust.
 
[24:52]  Those who obey GOD and His messenger, and reverence GOD and observe Him, these are the triumphant ones.
 
      The Ultimate Winners
[28:83]  We reserve the abode of the Hereafter for those who do not seek exaltation on earth, nor corruption. The ultimate victory belongs to the righteous.
 
[14:27]  GOD strengthens those who believe with the proven word, in this life and in the Hereafter. And GOD sends the transgressors astray. Everything is in accordance with GOD's will.
 
This beauty, peace and dignity can be continued, eternally, if we choose to hold fast to the rope of God, and uphold His word truthfully and unconditionally all the way until we leave the earth as righteous believers:
 
     The Righteous Do Not Really Die*
[8:24]  O you who believe, you shall respond to GOD and to the messenger when he invites you to what gives you life.* You should know that GOD is closer to you than your heart, and that before Him you will be summoned.
 
     They Go Straight to Paradise
[16:32]  The angels terminate their lives in a state of righteousness, saying, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise (now) as a reward for your works."*
 
[56:91]  peace is the lot of those on the right.
 
On the other hand, the real humiliation in this life is when we don't heed the guidance. We push our souls on a stairway to eternal shame if we choose to be blind and miss the straight path of God or hypocritically seek a path in between by partial obedience of God's laws:
 
     A Common Occurrence
[22:8]  Among the people there is the one who argues about GOD without knowledge, and without guidance, and without an enlightening scripture.
[22:9]  Arrogantly he strives to divert the people from the path of GOD. He thus incurs humiliation in this life, and we commit him on the Day of Resurrection to the agony of burning.
 
[34:5]  As for those who constantly challenge our revelations, they have incurred a retribution of painful humiliation.
 
[4:13]  These are GOD's laws. Those who obey GOD and His messenger, He will admit them into gardens with flowing streams, wherein they abide forever. This is the greatest triumph.
[4:14]  As for the one who disobeys GOD and His messenger, and transgresses His laws, He will admit him into Hell, wherein he abides forever. He has incurred a shameful retribution.
 
     Retribution for Opposing God and His Messenger
[9:63]  Did they not know that anyone who opposes GOD and His messenger has incurred the fire of Hell forever? This is the worst humiliation.
 
[31:6]  Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of GOD without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution.
 
 
[15:90]  We will deal with the dividers.
[15:91]  They accept the Quran only partially.
[15:92]  By your Lord, we will question them all,
[15:93]  about everything they have done.
[15:94]  Therefore, carry out the orders given to you, and disregard the idol worshipers.
 
[2:85].... Do you believe in part of the scripture and disbelieve in part? What should be the retribution for those among you who do this, except humiliation in this life, and a far worse retribution on the Day of Resurrection? GOD is never unaware of anything you do.
 
Fear, the well-known tool of the devil, weakens our will to apply the word of God. If not defeated by knowledge and strong faith, fear certainly intimidates us to adopt a compromising path of shame and humiliation. True believers have no interest in leaning towards the mainstream or pleasing their friends and allies when it's time to choose and apply Quranic principles. They only move forward on the straight path seeking the true dignity as defined and granted by God:
 
[63:8]  They say, "If we go back to the city, the powerful therein will evict the weak (and we will be victimized)." (They should know that) all dignity belongs to GOD and His messenger, and the believers. However, the hypocrites do not know.
 
[20:45]  They said, "Our Lord, we fear lest he may attack us, or transgress."
[20:46]  He said, "Do not be afraid, for I will be with you, listening and watching.
 
[4:138]  Inform the hypocrites that they have incurred painful retribution.
[4:139]  They are the ones who ally themselves with disbelievers instead of believers. Are they seeking dignity with them? All dignity belongs with GOD alone.
 
We are on the right path of true peace and dignity when we side with God, and we are utterly humiliated when we persistently ignore the word of God. Either state stays with us eternally depending on our choice we make on earth. It is God and only God who grants us the real dignity or the real humiliation.
 
        All Dignity Belongs With God
[35:10]  Anyone seeking dignity should know that to GOD belongs all dignity. To Him ascends the good words, and He exalts the righteous works. As for those who scheme evil works, they incur severe retribution; the scheming of such people is destined to fail.
 
[3:26]  Say, "Our god: possessor of all sovereignty. You grant sovereignty to whomever You choose, You remove sovereignty from whomever You choose. You grant dignity to whomever You choose, and commit to humiliation whomever You choose. In Your hand are all provisions. You are Omnipotent.
 
 
Peaceful Friday, salaam and May God bless you.

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