"Only they are believers whose hearts quake with fear when God is mentioned, and when His signs are recited unto them, they increase them in faith, and they trust in their Lord, who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them. It is they who truly are believers."
Quran 8:2-4
Today's post is drawn from the beginning of the 8th surah, al-Anfal, here rendered as "The Spoils." I think I chose this one because I think it speaks to the good and bad of scripture, or at least the perception that one might get from reading scripture (in this case the Quran, but maybe this is true of all scripture). True believers are defined, partially, as those "who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them," which speaks to the classic Quranic emphasis on both faith and good works. You are given certain gifts from God, and you should use those gifts to help those less fortunate than you. Earlier today I was scouting around Facebook and an old colleague of mine from the Atlanta days launched a well-written denunciation of Trump, pointing out that if you are supporting him simply because of perceived economic prosperity (which is over-rated and unsustainable) then at least be honest enough to admit that the President is a horrible person; essentially, don't be a hypocrite. I was amazed/disheartened not simply by the number of folks who kicked back against my friend's valid points, but pointed out that if they were doing OK financially then that's all the matters because it just comes back to us individually. When did we so completely lose our sense of our role in a community, and what we owe to the other members of that community. While I should definitely give more, one of the things that I love about Islam is the emphasis on giving aid. At the same time you have language in her that speaks to "hearts [that] quake with fear when God is mentioned." What I read that as is a discussion of awe, more than fear, but all too often we fall back on fear when describing God. We should always be in awe of the divine, but if we do things out of fear then what kind of god are we worshiping? Being in awe of the majesty of the divine moment is one thing, but being afraid of God is something else altogether.
Quran 8:2-4
Today's post is drawn from the beginning of the 8th surah, al-Anfal, here rendered as "The Spoils." I think I chose this one because I think it speaks to the good and bad of scripture, or at least the perception that one might get from reading scripture (in this case the Quran, but maybe this is true of all scripture). True believers are defined, partially, as those "who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them," which speaks to the classic Quranic emphasis on both faith and good works. You are given certain gifts from God, and you should use those gifts to help those less fortunate than you. Earlier today I was scouting around Facebook and an old colleague of mine from the Atlanta days launched a well-written denunciation of Trump, pointing out that if you are supporting him simply because of perceived economic prosperity (which is over-rated and unsustainable) then at least be honest enough to admit that the President is a horrible person; essentially, don't be a hypocrite. I was amazed/disheartened not simply by the number of folks who kicked back against my friend's valid points, but pointed out that if they were doing OK financially then that's all the matters because it just comes back to us individually. When did we so completely lose our sense of our role in a community, and what we owe to the other members of that community. While I should definitely give more, one of the things that I love about Islam is the emphasis on giving aid. At the same time you have language in her that speaks to "hearts [that] quake with fear when God is mentioned." What I read that as is a discussion of awe, more than fear, but all too often we fall back on fear when describing God. We should always be in awe of the divine, but if we do things out of fear then what kind of god are we worshiping? Being in awe of the majesty of the divine moment is one thing, but being afraid of God is something else altogether.
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