We always hear or repeat this statement, "our goal is to please
God alone," or "we are only seeking God alone." However, since
we're not immune from Satan and his desperate urge of claiming
us, most of us fall into idol worship in one way or another
and seeking or pleasing God alone sometimes becomes only a
simple lip service.
[7:16] He said, "Since You have
willed that I go astray,* I
will skulk for them on Your straight
path.
[7:17] "I will come to them from
before them, and from behind
them, and from their right, and
from their left, and You
will find that most of them are
unappreciative."
Seeking the ways and means towards God is the ONLY
approach for earning His approval. Following God's words is
the ONLY valid proof that we're truly seeking His pleasure.
[5:35] O you who believe, you shall
reverence
GOD and
seek the ways and means to
Him,
and strive
in His cause, that you may succeed.
The ways and means to God alone are not detailed any where
except in the Quran, the word of God. Those who seek the
ways and means to please God alone, follow His Truth and His
commands with no compromise or hesitation and exhort others
to do the same.
[103:2] The human being is utterly
lost.
[103:3] Except those who
believe and lead a righteous life, and exhort one another to
uphold the truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast.
[13:20] They are the ones who fulfill
their pledge to GOD, and do not violate the covenant.
[13:21] They join what GOD
has commanded to be joined, reverence their Lord, and fear
the dreadful reckoning.
[13:22] They steadfastly
persevere in seeking their Lord,
observe the
Contact Prayers (Salat),
spend from our provisions to them secretly and
publicly, and counter evil
with good. These have deserved the best
abode.
[13:23] They enter the gardens of
Eden, together with the righteous among their parents, their
spouses, and their children. The angels will enter in to
them from every door.
[13:24] "Peace be upon you, because
you steadfastly persevered. What a joyous destiny."
Following any other commands rather than God's commands in
the Quran will make us lose God's love and pleasure and
certainly face the consequences of that.
[2:26] ....He misleads many thereby,
and guides many thereby. But He never misleads
thereby except the wicked,
[2:27] who violate GOD's
covenant after pledging to uphold it,
sever what GOD has commanded to be joined,
and commit evil. These are
the losers.
Believe For Your Own Good
[39:7] 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.
[17:15] Whoever is guided, is guided
for his own good, and whoever goes astray does so
to his own detriment. No sinner will bear the
sins of anyone else. We never punish without first sending a
messenger.
We are so vulnerable to lose focus and seek other than God.
It can happen easily throughout our daily lives. We always
have to implore God and seek refuge in Him from Satan who
has an endless list of idols. He introduces those idols to
us constantly and adorns them in our eyes. Those who are
sincere, will find their only recourse is in choosing and
following the light of the Quran. Those who get tricked and
start to somehow like the glamor and the illusion of the
Satanic idols are definitely the lost ones. The Quran
reminds us with these disastrous idols. The Following are
just a few:
- The most popular ones are the dead saints, Imams,
prophets, or messengers. Over the years, multitudes of
humans have been utterly mislead by idolizing them.
The Dead Prophets and Saints
[16:20] As for the idols they set up
beside GOD, they do not create anything; they themselves
were created.
The Prophets and the
Saints Are Dead
[25:58] You shall put your trust in
the One who is Alive - the One who never dies - and praise
Him and glorify Him. He is fully Cognizant of His creatures'
sins.
- Personal opinions are very destructive to our souls if we
continue idolizing them.
[30:29] Indeed, the
transgressors have followed their own opinions, without
knowledge. Who then can guide those who have
been sent astray by GOD? No one can ever help them.
- Our emotions towards certain people or material things in
our lives lead sometimes to idol worship. Our personal
wishes to please these people or to keep up with the
material gains of this life should never come in the way of
striving to apply and live by the word of God.
[9:24] Proclaim: "If your
parents, your
children, your
siblings, your
spouses, your
family, the money
you have earned, a business you worry about, and the homes
you cherish are more beloved to you than GOD and His
messenger,** and the striving in His cause, then just wait
until GOD brings His judgment." GOD does not guide the
wicked people.
Obeying our loved ones or taking them as allies if they
don't follow the truth from God, is deviation from the
straight path and is not in any way pleasing to God.
[9:23] O you who believe,
do not
ally yourselves even with your
parents and your siblings,
if they prefer
disbelieving over believing.
Those among you who
ally themselves with them are transgressing.
[58:22] You will not find
people who believe in GOD and the Last Day befriending those
who oppose GOD and His messenger, even if they were their
parents, or their children, or their siblings, or their
tribe. For
these, He decrees faith into their hearts, and
supports them with inspiration from Him, and admits them
into gardens with flowing streams wherein they abide
forever. GOD is pleased with them, and they are
pleased with Him. These are the party of GOD. Most
assuredly, GOD's party are the winners.
- Seeking support or unity with those who are having no
problem compromising or discrediting the infallible word of
God, or seeking dignity with them is hypocritical and will
lead to the loss of our souls.
[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.
[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.
- Concealment of the truth in exchange for any kind of
material gain is cheating our souls and will not result
in pleasing God. This kind of gain is nothing but an
illusion. If the gain, is peace, it's imaginary and
temporary peace. If the gain is unity, it's a Satanic
unity. If the gain is material things, this will be
still a very cheap price for loosing our souls. Twisting
or hiding the truth with our own hands and tongues is a
very tricky but successful tool of the devil.
[2:79] Therefore, woe to those
who distort the scripture
with their own hands,
then say, "This is what GOD has revealed,"
seeking a cheap
material gain. Woe to them for such
distortion, and woe to them for their illicit gains.
[2:174]
Those who conceal GOD's
revelations in the scripture, in exchange for a
cheap material gain,
eat but fire into their bellies. GOD will not
speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He
purify them. They have incurred a painful retribution.
[2:159]
Those who conceal our
revelations and guidance,
after proclaiming them
for the people in the scripture, are
condemned by GOD; they are condemned by all the
condemners.
- Any fear we experience, while we're striving for the
truth, is from Satan to weaken our will and divert our
efforts of pleasing God alone. He makes us slide back,
doubt our stands, hesitate, compromise, fear others
and seek their approval and pleasure instead of God.
Fear: The Devil's Tool
[3:175]
It is the devil's
system to instill fear into his subjects.
Do not fear them and fear Me instead, if you are
believers.
The result of fearing other than God is that we really lose
what we have achieved - God's love, dignity, His
blessings, and His support. We're not immune, as believers,
from such loss.
[7:169] Subsequent to them,
He substituted new
generations who inherited the scripture.
But they opted for the worldly life instead, saying, "We
will be forgiven." But then they continued to opt for the
materials of this world. Did they not
make a covenant to uphold the scripture, and not to say
about GOD except the truth? Did they not study the
scripture? Certainly, the abode of the
Hereafter is far better for those who maintain
righteousness. Do you not understand?
- Caring to satisfy our bleeding egos rather than God blocks
our minds and eyesight from what God has permitted or
prohibited. We lose the common sense and the logic of the
Quran to promote our own insanity, non sense, or
transgressions.
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.
God willing, we all defeat Satan and his idols on a
daily basis in order to be able to see, pursue, and
follow the ultimate truth in the Quran. This is
the ONLY mean of pleasing God alone.
[27:19] ....
"My Lord, direct me to
be appreciative of the blessings You have bestowed upon
me and my parents, and to do the righteous works that
please You. Admit me by Your mercy into the company of
Your righteous servants."
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless you.
