If you love God, follow the Guide, and God will love you
“Say: ‘If you love God, follow me, [and] God will love you...’ ” (Koran 3:31)
When we look at the verse above, we recognize that it is different from what we generally think; that when we love our creator, He loves us back. Yet, this verse suggests that to say “I love God” by itself is not enough to receive God's love back. There's a condition, it posits: “follow me (the guide/the messenger).” But, why do we need to follow a guide?
My life is not transformed when I claim that I love God
When we look at our lives as people who claim to love God, we see that we are generally not transformed by this love. We don’t feel that we receive the love back. Our lives can still be miserable, our thoughts distracted, and our feelings hurt. We cannot comprehend many things happening in our lives and in the universe, and we become angry at the One behind all this. In summary, there is something missing with our claim.
The verse states that we won’t be able to feel the love of our creator in our daily life, except when we follow the guide. In fact, this love becomes a curse for us. Things, people, and moments that we love depart from us, leaving us with pain. We see things we don’t understand in the universe, and we become angry at the God we claim to love.
The verse starts by saying: “If you love God...” and pushes us to ponder that we are given the ability to love the creator of all good and brings us to this crucial point: “We witness that God creates everything with love, why don’t we feel it?” The answer is in the verse: “Follow me.” We are aware that we have freedom to choose many things in my life and my thoughts. So, in order to feel the love and close the loop, that is to recognize the meaning of my life and everything around us, we need to use our free will to follow the teachings of the guide on the meaning of the creation of the universe.
The verse above declares that loving the creator is not enough to receive and feel the divine love in every part of our lives. It pushes us to look for a guide. But what kind of guide do we need to follow, and why?
The beauty I witness necessitates an appointed guide
Here is the fast answer: We see that there is beauty everywhere in the universe, and this necessitates guides appointed by the creator. But why?
Let’s give an example to understand this necessity. Now, think of any meaningful piece of technology, like a laptop for instance. Thousands of engineers are working constantly to design it for specific purposes. Every activity of designing the laptop is specifically for it to be used. Now, would it make sense to spend millions of dollars to design and manufacture a laptop and then sell it to be used as a coffee tray? Or even destroy it after it is manufactured? If that was the case, wouldn’t you conclude that these engineers have no wisdom at all? Why would they spend all this time and money to manufacture such a high-tech tool and then not use any of its functionalities? This won’t make any sense.
Now, let’s look at everything in the universe. There is magnificent well-ordered manifestation of art, from atoms to galaxies. Science is a proof that there is an undeniable order, since all what we do in science is trying to discover this order and show it in formulas. Formulas show that nothing is haphazard; it is ordered. Even things we don’t like such as bacteria function orderly. This order shows that there must be someone who puts these in order.
In fact, we witness not only a perfect order, but an artistic beauty. Every creature is not only designed to do a specific job, but it is complexly artfully adorned. This artistry shows that whoever forms everything in the universe wills to adorn them. It further shows me that these perfect adornments and arts must come from the love of the one forming them. Thus, He must love what He is doing.
Using the same thought process we used in the laptop example, would it make sense that the maker of the universe to adorn and create everything with such magnificent design and artistry and then not inform us what it means and what its purpose is? Then, the creator would be not wise at all, which is contrary to what I witness in the universe. Everything is being designed and sustained in a perfect manner pointing to the fact that their Maker is indeed absolutely wise. So, there has to be an explanation from Him regarding what He means by this magnificent artistry surrounding us.
An explanation is especially necessary for us; human beings. We are not only conscious of our existence, but we are also conscious of the existence everything around us, from atoms to galaxies. We are connected to everything in the universe. Not only that, but we are created in such a way that we love the beauty we witness in creation. We are created in such a way that we are able to ask the very questions I am writing about now.
Would it make sense that our maker would create us with the ability to see and inquire about the beauty around us, yet not provide an explanation? No. The engineers would design a laptop to be able to do calculations, but not tell any user about it. So, why did they design it in the first place? Are they insane? No. Then, the same illogic is not possible about the creator of this miraculously ordered universe.
When we reach this conclusion, we can cry out that there must be a guide appointed by the creator, i.e. a manual by Him for all this to make sense. This is the result of our witnessing.
The guide closes the loop
The engineers close the loop between the engineers and the users by preparing sophisticated manuals and online tutorials (prepared by appointed guides who have mastered the manual.) As a result of this, the users become happy and thankful of using that particular laptop. More importantly, the sophisticated design of the laptop is an important indication that there are users who will use all its functions. Maybe not every user will use all of them, but the fact that these functions exist is a proof that there are “super users” who utilize all these functions. These “super users” are the best guides and trainers that the laptop producer would appoint to train others. They are the ones who directly communicate with the engineers and understand the wisdom of each function of the laptop.
The same way, the fashioner of this universe closes the loop between Him and us (his conscious creation) by sending a clear manual and exemplary human guides that live and explain the manual. In fact, the very fact that there is this perfect order and art in the universe is an indication that there must be conscious creatures that understand and appreciate all this art. These human beings reflect deeply on every art of the creator, admire it, get excited by it, thank the Creator for it, know the wisdom of its creation, and love the one behind it all. Wouldn’t they be the best guides for all other conscious beings? As a result of following the way of these “super users” that are appointed by the creator to explain the wisdom of everything in creation, other conscious creatures start to make sense of everything in this universe and of how to use their feelings, like the love of beauty. They recognize that the guides must be connected to the creator and His creation and explain us its meanings.
Going back to the example, although we say we love to use the laptop, we may not even be aware that it is a laptop and think that it is a coffee tray. We become angry at using it as a coffee tray, since it is heavy and bulky, and not the best tool to use to serve coffee. So, our love of it is not sufficient to receive the benefits from the laptop. Only when we learn from the guides we recognize the purposes of the laptop. We start to admire it more and we recognize the necessity of learning from the guides. And then we start receiving our love back from it.
This is similar to closing my eyes and thinking that the room and everything in it is dark, but when we open our eyes, everything that we thought to be in darkness turns out to be lively and bright. The guide reminds us that we are “users” too, and tells us how great it is to use the laptop. Similarly, when we use our free will to open our eyes, we realize the beauty of life and recognize that the one who gave us this life loves us. We receive the love back.
We need to look for the guides who comprehensively respond to the creator’s artistry by conscious reflection, admiration, thankfulness, and who explain to us with certainty that all this art that we witness must be fashioned by the absolute artist who is capable of doing so. Only when we use our free will to follow these guides, we start to feel the love of the artist and we recognize the meaning of this life. We start to feel the love, since we start to understand how to use our love of beauty and how to make sense of everything in life.
Like the laptop user who becomes ecstatic when he discovers how to use the laptop other than as a coffee tray, we become delighted at every insight we gain from these “super users.” And we recognize the significant importance of the verse above, which urges us to look for the guides appointed by the one who has created this universe full of art and meaning.
I cannot but thank my creator for guiding me to find Him through this verse. My next journey would be to look for these appointed guides and their specific attributes.
With Peace,
Omar
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Assalamu alaikum, Dear br. Omar,
Al-hamdu lillah, today i was able to read this beautiful piece of study. Your language is quite fluent, you can try to do more writings about the points you get from the Risales. InshaAllah i would like to receive more. You can send this and the following ones, inshaAllah, to popular magazines for publication. I do not know any particular ones but you may know some.
This article made me reflect on the matter further:
1- Our love of the Creator needs a little bit more explanations. What does "We love God" mean for us in practical life?
I feel that a special emphasis needs to be put on this point: When we are happy to have or to own something that we try not to lose, that means we are pleased with them. If we realize and admit that they are given to us, consequently, we love the One who provided us with the things that we are pleased with. That is love of God. If we say, we love, say, our power of sight or our reasoning ability, we do not want to lose them, then, it means we love the One Who gave them to us. Love can be summarized with this kind of expressions, "I do not want to lose my life," or, for example, "the ecological balance should not be disturbed." We may or may not attribute them to a Creator, but these expressions of feelings include in themselves the love of the giver. If someone attribute them to God, this person is a lover of God, if another person attributes them to nature, then, this one is lover of nature etc. But the one who attribute the existence to nature cannot really love the nature because, by definition, nature is not a conscious being.
"We start to admire it more and we recognize the necessity of learning from the guides. And then we start receiving our love back from it."
2- When i read this sentence, i felt the need for an explanation how we start receiving our love back from it. But then the following sentence explained it. And this is a perfect explanation of the process.
"we realize the beauty of life and recognize that the one who gave us this life loves us. We receive the love back."
Yes, when we realize that the one who gave us these things that we are happy with, must love us. He is giving them to us in order to make us feel happy because of His love for us. There is no other reason for us to explain why this conscious and deliberate preparation of this beautiful, enjoyable existence should take place if it was not a willful choice of the Creator to make us realize that He loves us.
When we realize that He loves us, this realization of His love itself is the sign that He loves us. Even if we do not realize that He loves us, He still loves His creation, but our ignorance of His love deprives us of His love, because even He loves us but we do not realize that He loves us. Consequently, we remain without entertaining His love for us; we live a miserable, meaningless, purposeless life. We punish ourselves with being an orphan in this world waiting to perish away and become compost.
3- When we use the things we love according to the purpose in their creation, then, we understand that the Giver must be happy with us because He gave them to us for a purpose and the purpose has been fulfilled. This is the point we need to be sure whether we are using the gifts given to us in the way that they are meant to be used. How can we be sure of this appropriate usage of the gifts? Then, the verse, as you explained in the article, tells us that we should follow the ones who use them in the most appropriate way to their purpose of creation (super users, in your article).
Of course, these "super users" must be trained by the Creator and appointed as official trainers; the name given to them by the Creator is "Messengers". "Say, then, follow me.." explains that we should follow the ones who use these gifts in the most appropriate way to their creation. They are the prophets and we can recognize them by being the best examples "uswah al-hasanah" in using the existence in the way that they can be best utilized for the purpose of the creation.
4- Those people who see that the existence is accidental, nature happens to be by itself without any volitional choice or will behind it, should not really talk about love at all, because there is not deliberate choice and purpose behind the existence. Their claim to love nature is really baseless. Human consciousness cannot be satisfied with accidental love. For example, if a person finds a piece of paper accidentally thrown on the street with a statement on it "I love you", this person does not get really excited. But, the same person receives the same piece of paper deliberately sent by a conscious being whom s/he too loves, to his/her address, then the person pays attention to it and get really excited about it.
Conclusion: Those people who love God must always be happy because of the realization that their Creator Loves them. And, since the Creator is eternal, then they are loved by an Eternal lover. There have no fear or sorrow for their future because their Creator is their Eternal Lover; He would not leave them lonely in their existence. He will be with them forever. On the other hand, those who do not recognize the Creator, can never be really happy; their claim of happiness is temporary and baseless, their conscious realizes it. They can feel no hope for their future, because nature has no will and it is not conscious at all. By denying the reality they torture themselves.
These are my reflections after being inspired by your article. Thank you very much for exciting my thoughts about this delicate matter, which is the foundation of belief in the "Messengership".
Waiting for your other articles reflecting your thoughts, inshaAllah.
May Allah be pleased with you and with your family.
Fi amanillah,
ali
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ever Present God in the Torah, Bible and Qur'an
HOLISTIC SPIRITUALITY
Q- Ra’d, 13: 39 “With God is [the mother of the Book] the source of all revelation.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 115 “And God’s is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.”
T- Psalms, 24: 1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
T- Psalms, 103: 22 “Bless the Lord, all created things, everywhere in His dominion.”
Q- Hujurat, 49: 13 “O human beings! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
T- Malachi, 2: 10 “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”
Q- Imran, 3: 64 “Say: “O people of the Book! Come unto that tenet which WE AND YOU HOLD IN COMMON: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God.” And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.”
T- Micah, 6: 8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Q- Baqara, 2; 43 “Be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and bow down in prayer with all who thus bow down.”
T- Isaiah, 44: 24 “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the birth: I am the Lord who made all things, BY MYSELF I stretched out the heaven, alone I fashioned the earth.”
T- Job, 10: 8 “Your (God’s) hands shaped me and fashioned me; and will You at once turn and destroy me?”
Q- Ikhlas, 112: 1-4 “ Say: “He is the One God: “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being. “He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.”
NT- Acts, 17: 24 “The God who created the world and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.”
NT- Acts, 17: 25 “It is not because he lacks anything that He accepts service at our hands, for He is Himself the universal giver of life and breath - indeed of everything.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 156 “Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return.”
NT- Acts, 17: 28 “For in Him we live and move, in Him we exist.”
T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 21-23 “...her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit , she (the mother) said to them: ‘You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being. THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO DESIGNED the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in His Mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put His laws above every thought of self.”
T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 28 “I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that GOD DID NOT CREATE THEM FROM WHAT ALREADY EXISTED AND THAT A HUMAN BEING COMES INTO EXISTENCE IN THE SAME WAY.”
Q- Al-Buruj, 85: 13-16 “Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth ANEW. And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love, in sublime almightiness enthroned, A SOVEREIGN DOER OF WHATEVER HE WILLS.”
T- Wisdom of Solomon, 11: 24-26 “For all existing things are dear to You and You hate nothing that You have created - why else would You have made it? HOW COULD ANYTHING HAVE CONTINUED IN EXISTENCE, HAD IT NOT BEEN YOUR WILL? HOW COULD IT HAVE ENDURED UNLESS CALLED INTO BEING BY YOU? You spare all things because they are Yours.”
T- Psalms, 103: 5 “He (God) satisfies me with all good in the prime of life, and my youth is renewed like an eagle’s. He revealed His way to Moses, His mighty deeds to the Israelites. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, long-suffering and ever faithful.”
T- Psalms, 103, 19 “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, His kingly power over the whole world.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 255 “GOD - there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth... His throne overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And he alone is truly exalted, tremendous.”
T- Psalms, 121: 4 “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
T- Psalms, 148: 1-13 “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars; praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for by His command they were created; He established them for ever and ever by his ordinance which will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and ocean depths; fire and hail, snow and ice, gales of wind that obey His voice; all mountains and hills; all fruit trees and cedars; wild animals and all the cattle, creeping creatures and winged birds.
Let kings and all commoners, princes and rulers over the whole earth, youths and girls, old and young together, let them praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name is high above all others, and his majesty above earth and heaven.”
Q- 1: 1-6 “In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace: All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, Lord of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us the straight way.”
T- Psalms, 5: 8 “Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness...”
T- Psalms, 25; 5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Q- Hud, 11: 56 “Behold, I have placed my trust in God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer.”
T- Psalms, 25: 1 “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.”
T- Exod. 34: 6 “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
Q- Ar-Rahman, 55: 29 “On Him depend all creatures [for their existence as well as sustaining of their existence] in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.”
T- Genesis, 2: 19 “So, FROM THE EARTH HE FORMED all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the man...”
NT- Matthew, 4: 10 “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Q- Yasin, 36: 82-83 “His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” - and it is. Limitless, then, in His glory is He in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things; and unto Him you all will be brought back!”
NT- Luke, 4: 8 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’
Q- Yusuf, 12: 67 “Judgment rests with none but God. In Him have I placed my trust: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in Him alone.”
NT- Deut, 1: 15 “… judgment belongs to God…”
Q- An’am 6: 102-103 “Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care. No human vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all human vision: for He alone is unfathomable, all-aware.”
T- Deut., 6: 4-5 “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is One, the Lord alone. Love the Lord with your all heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Q- Ghafir, 40: 7 “O our Sustainer! You embrace all things within [Your] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Your path,”
T- Deut., 6: 13 “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 124 “And [remember this:] when his Lord tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: “Behold, I shall make you a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “And [will You make leaders] of my offspring as well?”
T- Genesis, 18: 19 “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
Q- An’am, 6: 161-162 “Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was not one of the politheists. Say: Truly, my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for God, Lord of all the worlds.”
NT- Luke, 1: 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Q- Mary, 19: 20 “Said she [Mary]: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? - for, never have I been a loose woman!”
Q- Taha, 20: 41 “And I have prepared you for Myself.”
T- Genesis, 1: 26 “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.”
T- Numbers, 24: 6-7 “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 25 “But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before, “for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).”
Selections from the Qur’an
Q- Ma’idah, 5: 69 “For, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
Q- Baqara, 2: 136 “Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 152 “But as for those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them- unto them, in time, will He grant their re¬wards [in full]. And God is indeed much-forgiving, Merciful.”
Q- Ankabut, 29: 46 “And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing and say: “We believe in that which has been be¬stowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: or our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves.”
Jesus in the Qur’an
Q- Imran, 3: 45 “Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 158 “But God took him up unto Himself. God is ever Mighty, Wise.”
Q- Imran, 3: 55 “When God said: O Jesus! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing you of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein you used to differ.”
Conclusion: Similarities between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible:
• Both claim to be inspired by God.
• Both began as oral recitation in Semitic languages.
• Both claim that God is “One” and “the Only”. “Ekhad” in Hebrew, “Ahad’ in Arabic.
• Both of them over the years were written down by Scholars, and codified and translated into myriad languages.
• Both emphasizes that God is loving and compassionate and will reward human beings with Gardens in which streams flow.
Q- Ra’d, 13: 39 “With God is [the mother of the Book] the source of all revelation.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 115 “And God’s is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.”
T- Psalms, 24: 1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
T- Psalms, 103: 22 “Bless the Lord, all created things, everywhere in His dominion.”
Q- Hujurat, 49: 13 “O human beings! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
T- Malachi, 2: 10 “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”
Q- Imran, 3: 64 “Say: “O people of the Book! Come unto that tenet which WE AND YOU HOLD IN COMMON: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God.” And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.”
T- Micah, 6: 8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Q- Baqara, 2; 43 “Be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and bow down in prayer with all who thus bow down.”
T- Isaiah, 44: 24 “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the birth: I am the Lord who made all things, BY MYSELF I stretched out the heaven, alone I fashioned the earth.”
T- Job, 10: 8 “Your (God’s) hands shaped me and fashioned me; and will You at once turn and destroy me?”
Q- Ikhlas, 112: 1-4 “ Say: “He is the One God: “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being. “He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.”
NT- Acts, 17: 24 “The God who created the world and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.”
NT- Acts, 17: 25 “It is not because he lacks anything that He accepts service at our hands, for He is Himself the universal giver of life and breath - indeed of everything.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 156 “Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return.”
NT- Acts, 17: 28 “For in Him we live and move, in Him we exist.”
T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 21-23 “...her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit , she (the mother) said to them: ‘You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being. THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO DESIGNED the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in His Mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put His laws above every thought of self.”
T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 28 “I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that GOD DID NOT CREATE THEM FROM WHAT ALREADY EXISTED AND THAT A HUMAN BEING COMES INTO EXISTENCE IN THE SAME WAY.”
Q- Al-Buruj, 85: 13-16 “Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth ANEW. And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love, in sublime almightiness enthroned, A SOVEREIGN DOER OF WHATEVER HE WILLS.”
T- Wisdom of Solomon, 11: 24-26 “For all existing things are dear to You and You hate nothing that You have created - why else would You have made it? HOW COULD ANYTHING HAVE CONTINUED IN EXISTENCE, HAD IT NOT BEEN YOUR WILL? HOW COULD IT HAVE ENDURED UNLESS CALLED INTO BEING BY YOU? You spare all things because they are Yours.”
T- Psalms, 103: 5 “He (God) satisfies me with all good in the prime of life, and my youth is renewed like an eagle’s. He revealed His way to Moses, His mighty deeds to the Israelites. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, long-suffering and ever faithful.”
T- Psalms, 103, 19 “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, His kingly power over the whole world.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 255 “GOD - there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth... His throne overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And he alone is truly exalted, tremendous.”
T- Psalms, 121: 4 “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
T- Psalms, 148: 1-13 “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars; praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for by His command they were created; He established them for ever and ever by his ordinance which will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and ocean depths; fire and hail, snow and ice, gales of wind that obey His voice; all mountains and hills; all fruit trees and cedars; wild animals and all the cattle, creeping creatures and winged birds.
Let kings and all commoners, princes and rulers over the whole earth, youths and girls, old and young together, let them praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name is high above all others, and his majesty above earth and heaven.”
Q- 1: 1-6 “In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace: All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, Lord of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us the straight way.”
T- Psalms, 5: 8 “Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness...”
T- Psalms, 25; 5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Q- Hud, 11: 56 “Behold, I have placed my trust in God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer.”
T- Psalms, 25: 1 “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.”
T- Exod. 34: 6 “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
Q- Ar-Rahman, 55: 29 “On Him depend all creatures [for their existence as well as sustaining of their existence] in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.”
T- Genesis, 2: 19 “So, FROM THE EARTH HE FORMED all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the man...”
NT- Matthew, 4: 10 “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Q- Yasin, 36: 82-83 “His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” - and it is. Limitless, then, in His glory is He in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things; and unto Him you all will be brought back!”
NT- Luke, 4: 8 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’
Q- Yusuf, 12: 67 “Judgment rests with none but God. In Him have I placed my trust: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in Him alone.”
NT- Deut, 1: 15 “… judgment belongs to God…”
Q- An’am 6: 102-103 “Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care. No human vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all human vision: for He alone is unfathomable, all-aware.”
T- Deut., 6: 4-5 “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is One, the Lord alone. Love the Lord with your all heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Q- Ghafir, 40: 7 “O our Sustainer! You embrace all things within [Your] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Your path,”
T- Deut., 6: 13 “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 124 “And [remember this:] when his Lord tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: “Behold, I shall make you a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “And [will You make leaders] of my offspring as well?”
T- Genesis, 18: 19 “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
Q- An’am, 6: 161-162 “Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was not one of the politheists. Say: Truly, my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for God, Lord of all the worlds.”
NT- Luke, 1: 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Q- Mary, 19: 20 “Said she [Mary]: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? - for, never have I been a loose woman!”
Q- Taha, 20: 41 “And I have prepared you for Myself.”
T- Genesis, 1: 26 “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.”
T- Numbers, 24: 6-7 “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water.”
Q- Baqara, 2: 25 “But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before, “for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).”
Selections from the Qur’an
Q- Ma’idah, 5: 69 “For, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
Q- Baqara, 2: 136 “Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 152 “But as for those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them- unto them, in time, will He grant their re¬wards [in full]. And God is indeed much-forgiving, Merciful.”
Q- Ankabut, 29: 46 “And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing and say: “We believe in that which has been be¬stowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: or our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves.”
Jesus in the Qur’an
Q- Imran, 3: 45 “Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 158 “But God took him up unto Himself. God is ever Mighty, Wise.”
Q- Imran, 3: 55 “When God said: O Jesus! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing you of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein you used to differ.”
Conclusion: Similarities between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible:
• Both claim to be inspired by God.
• Both began as oral recitation in Semitic languages.
• Both claim that God is “One” and “the Only”. “Ekhad” in Hebrew, “Ahad’ in Arabic.
• Both of them over the years were written down by Scholars, and codified and translated into myriad languages.
• Both emphasizes that God is loving and compassionate and will reward human beings with Gardens in which streams flow.
Holistic Spirituality- Self Test
HOLISTIC SPIRITUALITY
Self Check
You will find below verses taken from the Torah, the New Testament and the Qur’an. Please guess which source they have been taken from.
Write “T” if you think the verse is taken from the Torah, “NT” from the New Testament and “Q” from the Qur’an.
The answer key is provided at the end. Challenge yourself not to look at it until you finish.
1- “With God is [the mother of the Book] the source of all revelation.”
2- “And God’s is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.”
3- “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
4- “Bless the Lord, all created things, everywhere in His dominion.”
5- “O human beings! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
6- “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”
7- “Say: “O people of the Book! Come unto that tenet which WE AND YOU HOLD IN COMMON: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God.” And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.”
8- “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
9- “Be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and bow down in prayer with all who thus bow down.”
10- “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the birth: I am the Lord who made all things, BY MYSELF I stretched out the heaven, alone I fashioned the earth.”
11- “Your (God’s) hands shaped me and fashioned me; and will You at once turn and destroy me?”
12- “ Say: “He is the One God: “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being. “He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.”
13- “The God who created the world and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.”
14 “It is not because he lacks anything that He accepts service at our hands, for He is Himself the universal giver of life and breath - indeed of everything.”
15- “Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return.”
16- “For in Him we live and move, in Him we exist.”
17- “...her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit , she (the mother) said to them: ‘You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being. THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO DESIGNED the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in His Mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put His laws above every thought of self.”
18- “I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that GOD DID NOT CREATE THEM FROM WHAT ALREADY EXISTED AND THAT A HUMAN BEING COMES INTO EXISTENCE IN THE SAME WAY.”
19- “Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth ANEW. And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love, in sublime almightiness enthroned, A SOVEREIGN DOER OF WHATEVER HE WILLS.”
20- “For all existing things are dear to You and You hate nothing that You have created - why else would You have made it? HOW COULD ANYTHING HAVE CONTINUED IN EXISTENCE, HAD IT NOT BEEN YOUR WILL? HOW COULD IT HAVE ENDURED UNLESS CALLED INTO BEING BY YOU? You spare all things because they are Yours.”
21- “He (God) satisfies me with all good in the prime of life, and my youth is renewed like an eagle’s. He revealed His way to Moses, His mighty deeds to the Israelites. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, long-suffering and ever faithful.”
22- “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, His kingly power over the whole world.”
23- “GOD - there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth... His throne overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And he alone is truly exalted, tremendous.”
24- “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
25- “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars; praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for by His command they were created; He established them for ever and ever by his ordinance which will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and ocean depths; fire and hail, snow and ice, gales of wind that obey His voice; all mountains and hills; all fruit trees and cedars; wild animals and all the cattle, creeping creatures and winged birds.
Let kings and all commoners, princes and rulers over the whole earth, youths and girls, old and young together, let them praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name is high above all others, and his majesty above earth and heaven.”
26- “In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace: All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, Lord of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us the straight way.”
27- “Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness...”
28- “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
29- “Behold, I have placed my trust in God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer.”
30- “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.”
31- “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
32- “On Him depend all creatures [for their existence as well as sustaining of their existence] in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.”
33- “So, FROM THE EARTH HE FORMED all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the man...”
34- “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
35- “His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” - and it is. Limitless, then, in His glory is He in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things; and unto Him you all will be brought back!”
36- “……….. answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
37- “Judgment rests with none but God. In Him have I placed my trust: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in Him alone.”
38- “… judgment belongs to God…”
39- “Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care. No human vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all human vision: for He alone is unfathomable, all-aware.”
40- “Hear, O ………..; The Lord our God, the Lord is One, the Lord alone. Love the Lord with your all heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
41- “O our Sustainer! You embrace all things within [Your] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Your path,”
42- “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
43- “And [remember this:] when his Lord tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: “Behold, I shall make you a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “And [will You make leaders] of my offspring as well?”
44- “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
45- “Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was not one of the polytheists. Say: Truly, my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for God, Lord of all the worlds.”
46- “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
47- “Said she [Mary]: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? - for, never have I been a loose woman!”
48- “And I have prepared you for Myself.”
49- “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.”
50- “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water.”
51- “But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before, “for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).”
The Answer Key
1- Q- Ra’d, 13: 39 2- Q- Baqara, 2: 115 3- T- Psalms, 24: 1
4- T- Psalms, 103: 22 5- Q- Hujurat, 49: 13 6- T- Malachi, 2: 10
7- Q- Imran, 3: 64 8- T- Micah, 6: 8 9- Q- Baqara, 2; 43
10- T- Isaiah, 44: 24 11- T- Job, 10: 8 12- Q- Ikhlas, 112: 1-4
13- NT- Acts, 17: 24 14- NT- Acts, 17: 25 15- Q- Baqara, 2: 156
16- NT- Acts, 17: 28 17- T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 21-23 18- T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 28
19- Q- Buruj, 85: 13-16 20- T- Wisdom of Sol., 11: 24-26 21- T- Psalms, 103: 5
22- T- Psalms, 103, 19 23- Q- Baqara, 2: 255 24- T- Psalms, 121: 4
25- T- Psalms, 148: 1-13 26- Q- 1: 1-6 27- T- Psalms, 5: 8
28- T- Psalms, 25: 5 29- Q- Hud, 11: 56 30- T- Psalms, 25: 1
31- T- Exod. 34: 6 32- Q- Rahman, 55: 29 33- T- Genesis, 2: 19
34- NT- Matthew, 4: 10 35- Q- Yasin, 36: 82-83 36- NT- Luke, 4: 8
37- Q- Yusuf, 12: 67 38- NT- Deut, 1: 15 39- Q- An’am 6: 102-103
40- T- Deut., 6: 4-5 41- Q- Ghafir, 40: 7 42- T- Deut., 6: 13
43- Q- Baqara, 2: 124 44- T- Genesis, 18: 19 45- Q- An’am, 6: 161-162
46- NT- Luke, 1: 34 47- Q- Mary, 19: 20 48- Q- Taha, 20: 41
49- T- Genesis, 1: 26 50- T- Numbers, 24: 6-7 51- Q- Baqara, 2: 25
Selections from the Qur’an
Q- Ma’idah, 5: 69 “For, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
Q- Baqara, 2: 136 “Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 152 “But as for those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them- unto them, in time, will He grant their re¬wards [in full]. And God is indeed much-forgiving, Merciful.”
Q- Ankabut, 29: 46 “And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing and say: “We believe in that which has been be¬stowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: or our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves.”
Jesus in the Qur’an
Q- Imran, 3: 45 “Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 158 “But God took him up unto Himself. God is ever Mighty, Wise.”
Q- Imran, 3: 55 “When God said: O Jesus! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing you of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein you used to differ.”
Conclusion: Similarities between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible:
Both claim to be inspired by God.
Both began as oral recitation in Semitic languages.
Both claim that God is “One” and “the Only”. “Ekhad” in Hebrew, “Ahad’ in Arabic.
Both of them over the years were written down by Scholars, and codified and translated into myriad languages.
Both emphasizes that God is loving and compassionate and will reward human beings with Gardens in which streams flow.
Self Check
You will find below verses taken from the Torah, the New Testament and the Qur’an. Please guess which source they have been taken from.
Write “T” if you think the verse is taken from the Torah, “NT” from the New Testament and “Q” from the Qur’an.
The answer key is provided at the end. Challenge yourself not to look at it until you finish.
1- “With God is [the mother of the Book] the source of all revelation.”
2- “And God’s is the east and the west: and wherever you turn, there is God’s countenance. Behold, God is infinite, all-knowing.”
3- “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
4- “Bless the Lord, all created things, everywhere in His dominion.”
5- “O human beings! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
6- “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”
7- “Say: “O people of the Book! Come unto that tenet which WE AND YOU HOLD IN COMMON: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall not ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, and that we shall not take human beings for our lords beside God.” And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him.”
8- “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
9- “Be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and bow down in prayer with all who thus bow down.”
10- “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the birth: I am the Lord who made all things, BY MYSELF I stretched out the heaven, alone I fashioned the earth.”
11- “Your (God’s) hands shaped me and fashioned me; and will You at once turn and destroy me?”
12- “ Say: “He is the One God: “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being. “He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.”
13- “The God who created the world and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.”
14 “It is not because he lacks anything that He accepts service at our hands, for He is Himself the universal giver of life and breath - indeed of everything.”
15- “Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return.”
16- “For in Him we live and move, in Him we exist.”
17- “...her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit , she (the mother) said to them: ‘You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being. THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO DESIGNED the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in His Mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put His laws above every thought of self.”
18- “I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that GOD DID NOT CREATE THEM FROM WHAT ALREADY EXISTED AND THAT A HUMAN BEING COMES INTO EXISTENCE IN THE SAME WAY.”
19- “Behold, it is He who creates [man] in the first instance, and He [it is who] will bring him forth ANEW. And He alone is truly-forgiving, all-embracing in His love, in sublime almightiness enthroned, A SOVEREIGN DOER OF WHATEVER HE WILLS.”
20- “For all existing things are dear to You and You hate nothing that You have created - why else would You have made it? HOW COULD ANYTHING HAVE CONTINUED IN EXISTENCE, HAD IT NOT BEEN YOUR WILL? HOW COULD IT HAVE ENDURED UNLESS CALLED INTO BEING BY YOU? You spare all things because they are Yours.”
21- “He (God) satisfies me with all good in the prime of life, and my youth is renewed like an eagle’s. He revealed His way to Moses, His mighty deeds to the Israelites. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, long-suffering and ever faithful.”
22- “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, His kingly power over the whole world.”
23- “GOD - there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth... His throne overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And he alone is truly exalted, tremendous.”
24- “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
25- “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars; praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for by His command they were created; He established them for ever and ever by his ordinance which will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and ocean depths; fire and hail, snow and ice, gales of wind that obey His voice; all mountains and hills; all fruit trees and cedars; wild animals and all the cattle, creeping creatures and winged birds.
Let kings and all commoners, princes and rulers over the whole earth, youths and girls, old and young together, let them praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name is high above all others, and his majesty above earth and heaven.”
26- “In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace: All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, Lord of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us the straight way.”
27- “Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness...”
28- “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
29- “Behold, I have placed my trust in God, [who is] my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer.”
30- “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.”
31- “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
32- “On Him depend all creatures [for their existence as well as sustaining of their existence] in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.”
33- “So, FROM THE EARTH HE FORMED all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and brought them to the man...”
34- “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
35- “His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, “Be” - and it is. Limitless, then, in His glory is He in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things; and unto Him you all will be brought back!”
36- “……….. answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
37- “Judgment rests with none but God. In Him have I placed my trust: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in Him alone.”
38- “… judgment belongs to God…”
39- “Such is God, your Sustainer: there is no deity save Him, the Creator of everything: worship, then, Him alone -for it is He who has everything in His care. No human vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all human vision: for He alone is unfathomable, all-aware.”
40- “Hear, O ………..; The Lord our God, the Lord is One, the Lord alone. Love the Lord with your all heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
41- “O our Sustainer! You embrace all things within [Your] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Your path,”
42- “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
43- “And [remember this:] when his Lord tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: “Behold, I shall make you a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “And [will You make leaders] of my offspring as well?”
44- “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
45- “Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was not one of the polytheists. Say: Truly, my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for God, Lord of all the worlds.”
46- “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
47- “Said she [Mary]: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? - for, never have I been a loose woman!”
48- “And I have prepared you for Myself.”
49- “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.”
50- “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water.”
51- “But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before, “for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).”
The Answer Key
1- Q- Ra’d, 13: 39 2- Q- Baqara, 2: 115 3- T- Psalms, 24: 1
4- T- Psalms, 103: 22 5- Q- Hujurat, 49: 13 6- T- Malachi, 2: 10
7- Q- Imran, 3: 64 8- T- Micah, 6: 8 9- Q- Baqara, 2; 43
10- T- Isaiah, 44: 24 11- T- Job, 10: 8 12- Q- Ikhlas, 112: 1-4
13- NT- Acts, 17: 24 14- NT- Acts, 17: 25 15- Q- Baqara, 2: 156
16- NT- Acts, 17: 28 17- T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 21-23 18- T- 2 Maccabees, 7: 28
19- Q- Buruj, 85: 13-16 20- T- Wisdom of Sol., 11: 24-26 21- T- Psalms, 103: 5
22- T- Psalms, 103, 19 23- Q- Baqara, 2: 255 24- T- Psalms, 121: 4
25- T- Psalms, 148: 1-13 26- Q- 1: 1-6 27- T- Psalms, 5: 8
28- T- Psalms, 25: 5 29- Q- Hud, 11: 56 30- T- Psalms, 25: 1
31- T- Exod. 34: 6 32- Q- Rahman, 55: 29 33- T- Genesis, 2: 19
34- NT- Matthew, 4: 10 35- Q- Yasin, 36: 82-83 36- NT- Luke, 4: 8
37- Q- Yusuf, 12: 67 38- NT- Deut, 1: 15 39- Q- An’am 6: 102-103
40- T- Deut., 6: 4-5 41- Q- Ghafir, 40: 7 42- T- Deut., 6: 13
43- Q- Baqara, 2: 124 44- T- Genesis, 18: 19 45- Q- An’am, 6: 161-162
46- NT- Luke, 1: 34 47- Q- Mary, 19: 20 48- Q- Taha, 20: 41
49- T- Genesis, 1: 26 50- T- Numbers, 24: 6-7 51- Q- Baqara, 2: 25
Selections from the Qur’an
Q- Ma’idah, 5: 69 “For, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
Q- Baqara, 2: 136 “Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them. And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 152 “But as for those who believe in God and His apostles and make no distinction between any of them- unto them, in time, will He grant their re¬wards [in full]. And God is indeed much-forgiving, Merciful.”
Q- Ankabut, 29: 46 “And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing and say: “We believe in that which has been be¬stowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: or our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves.”
Jesus in the Qur’an
Q- Imran, 3: 45 “Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God.”
Q- Nisa, 4: 158 “But God took him up unto Himself. God is ever Mighty, Wise.”
Q- Imran, 3: 55 “When God said: O Jesus! I am gathering you and causing you to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing you of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein you used to differ.”
Conclusion: Similarities between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible:
Both claim to be inspired by God.
Both began as oral recitation in Semitic languages.
Both claim that God is “One” and “the Only”. “Ekhad” in Hebrew, “Ahad’ in Arabic.
Both of them over the years were written down by Scholars, and codified and translated into myriad languages.
Both emphasizes that God is loving and compassionate and will reward human beings with Gardens in which streams flow.
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