Remembrance of God
All of the various acts of worship contained in the
divine laws are designed to help humans remember God. It is natural for human
beings to sometimes forget even the most important things. Humans often become
so engrossed in fulfilling their material needs that they totally forget their
spiritual needs. Regular prayer is ordained to organize the day of the true
believer around the remembrance of God. It interweaves spiritual needs with
material needs on a daily basis. The regular daily need to eat, work and sleep
is linked to the daily need to renew man’s connection with God. With regard to
regular prayer, God states in the final revelation,
“Verily, I am God, there is no god beside Me, so worship Me
and establish regular prayer for My remembrance.” (Quran 20:14)
Regarding fasting, God stated in the Quran,
“O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it
was prescribed for those before you that you may become God-conscious.” (Quran
2:183)
The believers are encouraged to remember God as much as
possible. Although, moderation in all spheres of life, whether material or
spiritual, is generally encouraged in divine law, an exception is made
regarding the remembrance of God. It is virtually impossible to remember God
too much. Consequently, in the final revelation, God encourages the believers
to remember Him as often as possible:
“O believers! Remember God often.” (Quran 33:41)
Remembrance of God is stressed because sin is generally
committed when God is forgotten. The forces of evil operate most freely when
consciousness of God is lost. Consequently, the satanic forces seek to occupy
people’s minds with irrelevant thoughts and desires to make them forget God. Once
God is forgotten, people willingly join the corrupt elements. The final
revelation, addresses this phenomenon in as follows:
“Satan got the better of them and caused them to forget God. Those
are the party of Satan. Truly the party of Satan are the real losers.” (Quran
58:19)
God, through Divine law, has prohibited intoxicants and
gambling primarily because they cause human beings to forget God. The human
mind and body easily become addicted to drugs and games of chance. Once
addicted, mankind’s desire to continually be stimulated by them leads them into
all forms of corruption and violence among themselves. God says in the Quran:
“Satan’s plan is to incite enmity and hatred among you with
intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God and
regular prayer. Will you not then abstain?” (Quran 5:91)
Consequently, humankind need to remember God for their
own salvation and growth. All humans have times of weakness in which they
commit sins. If they have no means of remembering God, they sink deeper and
deeper into corruption with every sin. However, those who follow the divine
laws will be constantly reminded of God, which will give them a chance to
repent and correct themselves. The final revelation accurately describes this
process:
“Those who, having done something shameful or having wronged
their own souls, remember God and immediately ask forgiveness for their sins...”
(Quran 3:135)
The Religion of Islam
The most complete system of worship available to human
beings today is the system found in the religion of Islam. The very name ‘Islam’
means ‘submission to the will of God.’ Although it is commonly referred to as ‘the
third of the three monotheistic faiths,’ it is not a new religion at all. It
is the religion brought by all of the prophets of God for mankind. Islam was
the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. God addresses this issue in
the Quran with regard to Prophet Abraham, saying:
“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an
upright Muslim who did not worship others besides God.” (Quran 3:67)
Since there is only One God, and humankind are one
species, the religion which God has ordained for human beings is one. He did
not prescribe one religion for the Jews, another for Indians, yet another for
Europeans, etc. Human spiritual and social needs are uniform, and human nature
has not changed since the first man and woman were created. Consequently, no
other religion is acceptable to God besides Islam, as He clearly states in the
final revelation:
“Surely God’s religion is Islam…” (Quran 3:19)
“And whoever desires a religion besides Islam will not have it
accepted, and he will be among the losers in the hereafter.” (Quran 3:85)
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