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But most people are unable to listen, or refuse to listen, or simply are too caught up in this worldly life to pay any attention.
[10:101] Say, "Look at all the signs in the heavens and the earth." All the proofs and all the warnings can never help people who decided to disbelieve.
[18:56] We only send the messengers as simply deliverers of good news, as well as warners. Those who disbelieve argue with falsehood to defeat the truth, and they take My proofs and warnings in vain.
[46:3] We did not create the heavens and the earth, and everything between them except for a specific purpose, and for a finite interim. Those who disbelieve are totally oblivious to the warnings given to them.
[54:1-5] The Hour has come closer, and the moon has split. Then they saw a miracle; but they turned away and said, "Old magic." They disbelieved, followed their opinions, and adhered to their old traditions. Sufficient warnings have been delivered to alert them. Great wisdom; but all the warnings have been in vain.
We are striving to be submitters, truly devoting our worship to God alone. We understand the consequences of ignoring the warnings. It’s not the danger of falling off a cliff or being sucked up into a tornado or getting caught in a blizzard. This is a warning for our soul, our eternal life in the Hereafter. If a person fails to take heed and do the things they have to do to grow their soul, then they are choosing to turn away from God. And the magnitude of that decision is staggering.
[54:21] How terrible was My retribution after the warnings!
God has given us so many proofs and so many warnings. We need to pray that He will make us take heed. [54:4-5] Sufficient warnings have been delivered to alert them. Great wisdom; but all the warnings have been in vain.
[54:15-7] We have set it up as a lesson. Does any of you wish to learn? How terrible was My retribution after the warnings! We made the Quran easy to learn. Does any of you wish to learn?
The religious practices instituted by God are blessings from God. They constitute the essential nourishment required for the growth and development of our souls. They are for our own good. Failure to feed the soul through the prescribed religious rites leads to spiritual starvation and eventual loss of the soul (7:9). The Contact Prayers (Salat) are the primary source of nourishment. The word, Salat is derived from the root word “Sila” which means to contact or connect. The Contact Prayers that we practice today to wipe out our sins as well as to nourish our souls (2:3, 11:114) have been handed down to us from the past.
Why are specific words used in the Contact Prayers? There are many good reasons including universal comprehension. Let us discuss a few other reasons. For example, what happens in our everyday family life? When a child asks for something, the parent teaches the child to say “Please.” Thus, the parent teaches the child what he must say to correctly ask for what he wants. And when the child repeats those words, he is rewarded by the parent. A similar thing happened in Paradise when Adam and Eve were duped by Satan and they transgressed God’s order. Afterwards, Adam and Eve deeply repented to God and earnestly asked His forgiveness for their sins:
[7:23] They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged our souls, and unless You forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be losers.”
Then God gave to Adam and Eve specific “words,” and sent them down to the earth to give them a chance to be redeemed for their sins. They used those words and God redeemed them.
[2:37] Then, Adam received from his Lord words whereby He redeemed him. He is the Redeemer, Most Merciful.
According to the above verses Adam’s redemption process in plain English involves the following steps:
Step 1: Adam and Eve repented to God and asked His forgiveness for their sins.
Step 2: God accepted their repentance and gave them specific words.
Step 3: They recited those words given to them to be redeemed by God.
Step 4: As a consequence, God redeemed them.
Adam and Eve would not have been redeemed unless they used those words that were given to them by God nor if they changed the words given to them by their Lord. Here are some mathematical relationships of the steps of their redemption process described above based on the verses (7:23) and (2:37) along with Sura Al-Fatehah:
Numeric properties and relationships between the verses (2:37) and (7:23):
1. Both verses are made up of the same digits: 2,3 and 7.
2. Therefore, if the Sura (Chapter) number and verse number of these two verses are added, the sum is the same (12).
(2:37) ⇒ 2 + 3 + 7 = 12
(7:23) ⇒ 7 + 2 + 3 = 12
3. These two verses (2:37) and (7:23) can also be represented by the following digits.
(2:37) ⇒ 237
(7:23) ⇒ 723
Note: The mathematical relationships above indicate that although these verses are revealed in different times and included in separate suras, they are interrelated with Adam as well as our redemption process.
Today, the words we use in the Contact Prayer are in Chapter 1 of the Quran. The chapter titled The Key, or sura Al-Fatehah, consists of specific words given to us by God to redeem ourselves. This chapter contains 7 verses. The verses of The Key are divinely coded and play a crucial role in the mathematical evidence telling us that the words are specifically designed by God for our nourishment and redemption. The following are some relevant properties of the verses of The Key.
4. Both the number of words in Al-Fatehah and the sum of digits of its 7 verses is 28
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