Thursday, September 5, 2019

What It Means - Day 171

"And among mankind some worship God upon a brink; if good befalls him, he is content thereby, but if a trial befalls him, he is turned over upon his face, losing this world the Hereafter. That is the manifest loss."
Quran 22:11

Here is a passage drawn from al-Hajj, not surprisingly rendered as "The Pilgrimage," which is the 22nd surah. I'm pretty certain this is the first time I've drawn anything out of this surah. Doubtless all religions have similar passages or sayings to this warning against only remembering your god when things have taken a turn for the worse. I think I'm so concerned about this that I seemingly never "ask" God for anything during prayer. Mainly it ends up being a litany of thanks, as I tend to view prayer as a time for personal reflection and meditation, and devoting time to appreciating what I have. Plus, as my great friend Dave points out, God is not an ATM. Not only should God exist solely to wait around in case you need anything, but also the notion than an omniscient God took Her/His/Their eye of the ball and had to be reminded what's happening. I think you remember God all the time because, at least to me, you worship God when you're kind to those around you, so if you're doing that on a consistent basis you're already remembering and worshiping God.


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