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Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray, goes
but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another" burden. Moreover.
We would never chastise [any community for the wrong they may do] ere We have sent an apostle [to
them]. (Surah 17, Verse 15)
- If you choose the right path it is for your own good and if you dont it is your own loss
- No one is going to bear the burden of another
- You are responsible for yourself so pay attention to your own human qualities
- Every when you are helping others, it is for your own good
Analysis of the verse: It started from one topic and ended with another
- We will never chastise any community until we have sent an apostle to them
- If the apostle or the messenger has not arrived, people are not responsible for religion
o We mentioned earlier that some people have never heard the clear message so they
are not deniers
o Their rejection of Islam is not because they are denying the message
o Rather they are upset with the certain false claims about the religion
o If an apostle has not been sent to a community, the community is not responsible
It does not mean that they will not be responsible for killing, etc
Killing, lying, etc is about going against your own reality
The Prophet is not sent to tell you not to kill
The Prophet was sent to establish your relationship with the eternal life
You have to see yourself as a creature that belongs to the Absolute Being, who promises, that we
will be kept in existence forever.
We are within the infinite so this whole idea of how old are you technically does not make sense.
- You have lived in this worldly life for x years
- But as far as your existence is concerned, there is no time limit because my existence belongs
to Him
- It does not matter in which form, as a foetus, a baby,an old man or in the grave because my
existence belongs to the eternal one
- He sustains existence and He is the self-sustaining One.
When we say we belong to God and we will return to Him, it means that our existence never
disappears.
We have to define the Prophet as an instructor teaching me how to connect myself to the creator.
- If a community has not been introduced to the Prophet, the community is not responsible for
attaching themselves to God
- They will only be responsible for their innate impulses (being pro-justice, not telling lies, etc)
This is extremely important because it shows me how and on which grounds I should introduce Gods
religion to these people
Islam prohibits alcohol but there are many organization that are trying to stop people from drinking
or taking drugs
- What is the difference?
- You must see your existence in terms of the eternal creator and you have to see yourself
accordingly and you have to present God s religion at that level.
How do you respond to an atheist who asks: Why do we need a Prophet?
- The need for the Prophet is a common need for human beings as far as our human
expectations are concerned
- People who say that they are atheist are actually against organized religion
- They may not want to name God and they name certain mysterious beings
o We have to acknowledge that there are exceptions who make contrary claims
o In general, peoples understanding of atheism is to be without religion
They do not deny God but they do not want to identify themselves with
certain religious institutions for several different reasons
- But they believe in God
- We are human beings, we speak and we understand
- As God created this universe, and endowed me with the potentiality to reason and
communicate with the universe, there must be meaning in it
- In order to teach me this meaning, the message must come to me at a level that I
understand (through a human representation)
o If someone says: I want to receive the message of God
o All they have to do is to listen to the messengers
o Similar to how we go to school to learn even if we have the textbooks
If my creator does not speak to me and does reveal the message in a way that I understand it will be
a contradiction to my human quality.
This is why we need the messengers.
- The problem is that people who present religion, do it in a way that is not within the way or
the purpose of the teaching of the Quran
- We have to be clear that when we present the message of God, we have to do it in a way
that is appropriate to the message of God (to introduce me to my creator so that I can use all
my human qualities to be in touch with my creator)
This universe is wonderful, it must have a creator, designer so I believe in God a rational equation
- The Quran not only uses a priori statements
- It also uses a posteriori statements
- When we eat, we realize that He is taking care of me.
While I am eating, if I dont pay attention to it, I will not experience that my God is treating me well.
- Just by telling people to say bismillah is no use
- You have to experience bismillah
We have to experience this belief dimension of our lives this is what the Quran and the Prophet is
teaching us.
- Dont reduce the teachings to laws, jurisdictions, wars, etc
- Any powerful emperor can do the same thing
- The problem lies in our perception of religion
No prophet, no responsibility it is very powerful
- It means, we have to bring the Prophet into our lives
- We usually dont bring the Prophet into our lives except as an instructor of rituals
- It is easy because it does not need deep thinking and engagement
o We dont have to constantly be engaged and realize the constant awareness of Gods
presence in our lives
In the outside world, belief in the Prophethood and religion becomes abundant if we strictly use him
for rituals
- We should not make people feel that religion of God and the Prophet of God is redundant
- Look at what we are doing and see if we are presenting the Prophet as a way that disengages
people or in way that compels them to look for the Prophet
We send to every nation a Prophet or a messenger:
- I do not know what other peoples responsibility is but I should learn that I must present the
Prophet in a way that people feel the need for it
- If we leave them without the need for the Prophet, they will not feel the need for the
Prophet, and I have not fulfilled my mission
But every nation has its own Prophet because there is a different way of God test for different
people.
- Dont concern yourself with that
- Know your purpose and do what you have to do
- Stop worrying about other people