"That is because their messengers brought them clear proofs, at which they said, 'Shall a human being guide us?' So they disbelieved and turned away; yet God is beyond need. And God is Self-Sufficient, Praised."
Quran 64:6
This passage, drawn from the 64th surah, al-Taghabun, here rendered as "Mutual Dispossession." It starts off with a theme that is common in the Quran, the notion that the Prophet's critics attacked his teachings because how could a mortal man speak for God. It then transitions into a concept that is both "duh" and complicated: "yet God is beyond need. And God is Self-Sufficient, Praised." God is, well, God, and so it would make perfect sense that, as such, God would be self-sufficient. In this commentary Nasr adds, "That God is Self-Sufficient could indicate that God has no need of them or no need for them to believe in Him; thus He did not compel them to believe in Him despite His ability to do so." In this case Nasr is referencing the non-believers, but it would naturally relate to the believers as well. If God doesn't need anything from us then what would we ever do to impress God? Talk about a tough challenge in the office Secret Santa drawing: what do you get someone who has everything? If God is self-sufficient and doesn't need anything then how would you ever "impress" God and earn salvation? Obviously, it's a question that transcends Islam, and gives us an insight into how the Calvinists settled on predestination (another complex concept). However, after saying that, I do think God needs something from us, and it's not ritualistic and external that is related to the demands of religion, but rather something more organic and internal that that is related to faith: kindness. If God is good then we as humans were created because the good by nature share their goodness, and so if we were created in an act of goodness then what God wants from us is to simply share that goodness. Everything else is commentary.
Quran 64:6
This passage, drawn from the 64th surah, al-Taghabun, here rendered as "Mutual Dispossession." It starts off with a theme that is common in the Quran, the notion that the Prophet's critics attacked his teachings because how could a mortal man speak for God. It then transitions into a concept that is both "duh" and complicated: "yet God is beyond need. And God is Self-Sufficient, Praised." God is, well, God, and so it would make perfect sense that, as such, God would be self-sufficient. In this commentary Nasr adds, "That God is Self-Sufficient could indicate that God has no need of them or no need for them to believe in Him; thus He did not compel them to believe in Him despite His ability to do so." In this case Nasr is referencing the non-believers, but it would naturally relate to the believers as well. If God doesn't need anything from us then what would we ever do to impress God? Talk about a tough challenge in the office Secret Santa drawing: what do you get someone who has everything? If God is self-sufficient and doesn't need anything then how would you ever "impress" God and earn salvation? Obviously, it's a question that transcends Islam, and gives us an insight into how the Calvinists settled on predestination (another complex concept). However, after saying that, I do think God needs something from us, and it's not ritualistic and external that is related to the demands of religion, but rather something more organic and internal that that is related to faith: kindness. If God is good then we as humans were created because the good by nature share their goodness, and so if we were created in an act of goodness then what God wants from us is to simply share that goodness. Everything else is commentary.
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