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However, if we continuously reject God’s signs and idolize and/or worship our egos or anything else, it will be more difficult to return.
Take for example a person who prays to the “Sun” and his prayers are answered. It is not the Sun that answered his prayers but God who allowed the prayer to be answered. God created the circumstances for it to take place and it is in accordance with the Godly plan. One would think this is quite obvious but it may not be to the dedicated Sun worshipper. Similarly, we know prayers are not answered by Muhammad, Ali, Jesus or the saints, but by God.
Jesus never asked his followers to worship him. Instead the Quran says: [5:116] GOD will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Make me and my mother idols beside GOD?' “He will say, "Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts. You know all the secrets. When he performed acts of worship was he worshipping himself? No, he worshipped God alone. This is the basic standard preserved in the Quran. [1:5] You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.
If you ask idol worshippers why they bow down before a created idol, they consistently reply that they are not worshipping the stone but the god that is represented within it. They need the stone for a focal point just like new age meditations which say you have to concentrate on a dot. If this explanation is accepted, then the logic of idolatry is justified. However, we should know better. God Himself tells us that no visions can encompass Him. Be He glorified, He is much too High. We have been blessed with brains that can reason about concepts (including God’s existence) without seeing them. We can see proofs and signs about God’s existence and greatness all around us (41:53, 74:30-35) without seeing God Himself. We can and must worship God Alone without idols.
God says in the Quran: [12:40] “You do not worship beside Him except innovations that you have made up, you and your parents. GOD has never authorized such idols. All ruling belongs to GOD, and He has ruled that you shall not worship except Him. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
The worship of anything other than God is the root of idol worship and this is the only unforgivable sin if maintained until death. God forbid, if we die in a state of idolatry (and over 40) we have sealed our fate in the Hereafter. [4:48] GOD does not forgive idolatry, but He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who sets up idols beside GOD, has forged a horrendous offense.
[4:116] GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray.
Since the outcome of any false religion is grave, the true religion of God must be collectively understandable and attainable and not restricted to any people, place and time. There cannot be conditions like baptism, acceptance of any person as a Savior, etc. for a believer to enter Paradise. Within the fundamental code of Submission (Islam) and its description (complete surrender to the Will of God) lies the source of Islam’s universality.
Unity of All Submitters
[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
Submission: The Only Religion
[2:112] Indeed, those who submit themselves absolutely to GOD alone, while leading a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
[29:24] The only response from his people was their saying, "Kill him, or burn him." But GOD saved him from the fire. This should provide lessons for people who believe.
God Almighty tells us of the persecution incurred by one of His righteous servants (Abraham), from his own people; they condemned him to a burning fire. This brings to mind another instance where the people were considered deserving of hell.
[2:30] Recall that your Lord said to the angels, "I am placing a representative (a temporary god) on Earth." They said, "Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we sing Your praises, glorify You, and uphold Your absolute authority?" He said, "I know what you do not know."
In other words, these people all deserve Hell. Throw them into the fire!
It’s striking that whether it’s in heaven or on earth, the ONLY ONE who consistently has good for us is God. In fact, the ONLY ONE who is constantly rooting for us is GOD; giving us chance after chance, in this world, notwithstanding what the angels said. God willed we have a another chance, and it didn’t matter if the suggestion came from an angel or any other entity, He still is giving us another chance. From the two earlier judgments of, “send them to fire,” we learn that:
1. People are mean, God is Most Merciful, and entities from both the heavens and the earth may have condemned us to hell. ALL EXCEPT for the Almighty.
[29:25-7] He said, "You worship beside GOD powerless idols due to peer pressure, just to preserve some friendship among you in this worldly life. But then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will disown one another, and curse one another. Your destiny is Hell, wherein you cannot help one another."
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