Those who believe (in the Quran) and {also} those who follow {in earnest and NOT for show but in TRUTH} the Jewish (scriptures) and the Christians {who had to have some scripture to read} and the Sabians {and} any who believe in ALLAH and the Last Day and work righteousness shall have their reward with their LORD {and} on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. Quran (2:62)
In order to do this, people of any mentioned above faith must have a time for reflection and a time to refresh the soul from their scriptures. Most scriptures show some fault and can also be interpreted incorrectly. The Quran in the Arabic form, however, is pure but how one interprets it is another matter.
Concentrating on the Christian dilemma, one can see that Quran (2:62) should be approached with a deep understanding. Such an understanding reflects the ‘soul-character’ of the individual and on the ability to handle the so-called records of one’s faith which presents a contact point between thinking and believing.
One set of variables that the Quran covers is ‘do Christians learn in a vacuum’? If they have access to some records like a book, can they actually learn from it and understand the importance of the message? Quran (2:62) and other verses in the Quran lead the reader to believe that truth can resonate in the person’s heart by reading and getting some understanding of scripture, if ALLAH WILLS.
The problem with that, but in reality there is no problem, is that what scripture or records did/do the Christians have that can give a spiritual tug in the right direction?
Very early Christianity had little cohesiveness as to the types of accurate records and certainly not much given to the general public as small as it was. Then latter around the middle of the second century they got themselves a fairly good but incomplete Cannon but who was there amongst the general population to read it as it remained in the hands of the church hierarchy?
Finally, it took the printing press discovered by Gutenberg (1454 CE) to popularize the New Testament. However, the New Testament still remained out of the hands of the common man for quite some time due to illiteracy rates and fears from the hierarchy of the church towards giving the public a free-for-all interpretation.
So, how are the Christians able to resonate towards a more mature understanding of the spiritual essence of their scriptures without getting right down to the so-called nitty-gritty? They can’t if they have no reliable records but that would go against Quran (2:62).
Barring a Divine Miracle, the populous is left with ‘Good Works’ as in Homilies and philosophical imagery propagated by the Church intelligencia. This has a tendency of breaking down the New Testament into the practical and the theoretical.
The practical or behavioral based lessons can be applied with a ‘good heart’ but the theoretical ‘fluff’ can turn out to be simple hogwash based on nothing but fanciful thinking (a corrupt philosophy or approach to what is believed or stressed to be important). For example, the concept of the Trinity as presented from of old featuring 3 gods as one but only really having one god but in three phases!
In order to maximize the philosophy taught by Jesus (pbh) the person has to, in the modern sense, have an actual Book in order to learn by. He also must have a certain demeanor (soul temperament) to build ‘good works’ for the benefit of his soul and of course he must be able to read said Scripture and interpret correctly what he is reading.
All this implies is that the so-called New Testament must have inside of it more than just a few kernels of truth. But it, like any Holy Book, must be watered and practiced in order for it to propagate goodness! Failure to do this means the ‘records’ HAVE NOT FAILED BUT THAT THE PERSON HAS FAILED!
Additionally, that means that there is a soundness to the New Testament. However, for those who declare themselves to be Christian, they should not ignore the message sent to them. The trouble with most humans is that ignorance remains bliss and that some sort of ‘mediator’ should argue in front of a god (as in tall tales that were once told by the ‘ancients’) so that magically we can be forgiven for our ‘slackness’.
All this means is that there must be quite a benefit from reading one’s Holy Book as well as quite a danger if one happens to go off the rails. And by understanding this, one can understand, in part, the saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbh):
O Turner of the hearts, keep my heart FIRM on YOUR RELIGION (Deen) (WAY)! (Tirmidhi)
Ya Muqallib Al-Qulouub, Thabbit Qalbee Ala Deenik.
In other words, for the Quran to hold true in its statement (2:62), the New Testament, taking out the obvious forgeries, which do not impede the goodness in the heart of individuals, does indeed tell the true story but if only one can read it without interference from false ‘church led propaganda’ or Evangelical trumpeting.
So, the real fault in any religion will come from the misinterpretation and misappropriationof religious knowledge. Hence, the dramatic fails of the Crusades and ISIS and those other villains who seek to sow discord amongst the flock by ‘devils’ in human form.
So, what side does the individual land on?
Abdullah b. Amr b. al-‘As reported that ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) as saying:
Verily, the hearts of all the sons of Adam are between the two fingers out of the fingers of the Compassionate LORD as one heart. HE turns that to any (direction) HE likes {for HE is THE ONE WHO is in control}. Then ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) said: 0 ALLAH, the Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to YOUR obedience. (Muslim)
Therefore, the individual lands on the necessity of going back to asking GOD for HIS help in delivering understanding and protection from falling into ignorance as opposed to putting his ‘full’ trust in simple inaction or making the topic of religion taboo or something that should be put on the shelf (as in a book) and mostly forgotten or even in magnetic personalities who pounce around a ‘stage’ as if they were some type of chosen court jester making a sales pitch.
So Scripture can be likened to the muscles of the body. Like the muscles in the body, if they are not used, then they will become atrophied. And if they are misused, they will become grotesque (like many televangelists). But if they are used correctly, they will optimize human bodily control.
By now, we should be in a familiar position to understand the concept found in a hadith that declares that 99 out of 100 or 999 out of a thousand are supposed to be shunted off to the Hell-Fire due to our negligence and ALLAH’s WRATH which has no equal.
Thanks to the foresight of our CREATOR LORD, HE instituted the policy which declares that HIS MERCY OUTWEIGHS HIS WRATH and making the human Muhammad (pbh) that spirit of gentleness that will give a hope to the souls who were not perfect in all of their ways.
And WE have not sent you, (O Muhammad), except as a Mercy to the worlds. Quran (21:107)
Abu Huraira reported ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) having said:
By HIM in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, ALLAH would sweep you out of existence and HE would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from ALLAH {which is a form of praise by itself}, and HE would have pardoned them. (Muslim)
Abu Huraira reported:
Some (cooked) meat was brought to ALLAH’s Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, “I will be the Chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? ALLAH will gather all the human beings of early generations as well as later generations on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, ‘Don’t you see to what state you have reached? Won’t you look for someone who can intercede for you with your LORD’. Some people will say to some others, ‘Go to Adam.’ So they will go to Adam and say to him. ‘You are the father of mankind; ALLAH created you with HIS Own Hand, and breathed into you of HIS Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in? Don’t you see what condition we have reached?’ Adam will say, ‘Today my LORD has become angry as HE has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. HE forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed HIM. Adam will say, “Myself! Myself! Myself!” (I am preoccupied with my own problems). Go to someone else; go to Noah.’ So they will go to Noah and say (to him), ‘O Noah! You are the first (of ALLAH’s Messengers) to the people {a collective nation} of the earth, and ALLAH has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in?’ He will say. ‘Today my LORD has become angry as HE has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Noah will say, “Myself! Myself! Myself!” Go to someone else; go to Abraham.’ They will go to Abraham and say, ‘O Abraham! You are ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) and HIS Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in?’ He will say to them, ‘My LORD has today become angry as HE has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the hadith) ‘Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.’ The people will then go to Moses and say, ‘O Moses! You are ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) and ALLAH gave you superiority above the others with this message and with HIS Direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in?’ Moses will say, ‘My LORD has today become angry as HE has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.’ So they will go to Jesus and say, ‘O Jesus! You are ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) and HIS Word which HE sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by HIM, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in?’ Jesus will say. ‘My LORD has today become angry as HE has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, ‘Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.’ So they will come to me and say, ‘O Muhammad! You are ALLAH’s Messenger (pbh) and the last of the prophets, and ALLAH forgave you your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your LORD. Don’t you see in what state we are in?” The Prophet (pbh) added, “Then I will go beneath ALLAH’s Throne and fall in prostration before my LORD. And then ALLAH will guide me to such praises and glorification to HIM as HE has never guided anybody else before me. Then it will be said, ‘O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede and it (your intercession) will be accepted.’ So I will raise my head and Say, ‘My followers {believers in me and my Message}, O my LORD! My followers, O my LORD’. It will be said, ‘O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people.” The Prophet (pbh) further said, “By HIM in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham). (Bukhari)
And this hadith further ties in of course with the knowledge given in the Quran (all will believe in Jesus before his death – Quran 4:159), Book of Revelation, Book of Hebrews, Acts, Deuteronomy, Isaiah Chapter 42, Gospel of John and certain parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls along with certain hadith materials declaring the community of believers in the Messianic kingdom that will be set up, upon the return of Jesus (pbh) as has been covered in my other writings.
Proving once again that GOD is ONE and the religion is ONE coming from the ONE BROTHERHOOD of PROPHETS and ending up with a ONE BODY OF BELIEVERS who were tried and tested but above all depended on TRUTH to be VICTORIOUS! One can’t get more of a ‘oneness’ than that!
Not my truth; not your truth but THE TRUTH!
Pray for true guidance!
