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for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Praying to God helps us to remember Him and connect with Him (20:14, 29:45): [20:14] “I am GOD; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me”. In the Contact Prayers we pray for His guidance (1:6). Remembering and commemorating God through prayer and meditation can help us strengthen our connection with Him and become more aware of His guidance. That guidance then helps us to surrender or submit our wills to Him.
The Quran speaks of prayer a great number of times. For the Contact Prayers it is at least 70 times and if we include informal praying and imploring it is far more. This is an indication of how important praying to God is for our spiritual growth. In this step we pray to know His will for us and for the power to carry it out. When we pray for this we are essentially praying for the ability to submit absolutely to Him—to subdue our will and to follow His will. May we come to submit like Moses did when he wished to see God. God said: [7:143] ... “You cannot see Me. Look at that mountain; if it stays in its place, then you can see Me.” Then, his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, and this caused it to crumble. Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said, “Be You glorified. I repent to You, and I am the most convinced believer.”
There are many other Quranic verses that apply to this step. God speaks of meditation and urges us to meditate on Him and commemorate Him. Here are just two examples: [50:40] During the night you shall meditate on His name, and after prostrating. [76:25] And commemorate the name of your Lord day and night.
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
We believe the essence of both Submission and the 12 Steps is to surrender or submit totally to God—trusting in Him and depending on Him alone. God advocates spreading the message of submission to Him (41:33, 16:125), and there is wisdom in this. When we spread the message, we are actively thinking and talking about it and this can make the message come alive for us and reinforce it for us. Surrender and submission to God is the goal and message of the 12 steps. These steps are one tool that we can share with others to aid in their striving to reach that goal.
As to practicing the principles of the 12 Steps in all our (relevant) affairs, the originator of the 12 Step program, Bill W, believed that each step was a principle in and of itself, and we have discussed how these principles/steps are righteous and in accord with the Quran. Thus, it follows that if we choose to take the approach of using the 12 Steps, we may wish to try to practice them in the relevant aspects of our lives. In any case, we wish to be righteous “in all our affairs”: [16:90] GOD advocates justice, charity, and regarding the relatives. And He forbids evil, vice, and transgression. He enlightens you, that you may take heed. There are many other verses that apply to being righteous in all aspects of our lives. See for example 46:15 and 2:148.Once again, we see how this last step is in harmony with the Quran and can be a part of striving to be a good Submitter.
This brings us to the end of this series of articles on the 12 Steps and the Quran. While we have discussed how these principles are in line with Quran, we do know that the Quran is fully detailed and our only source of religious guidance (6:19). So, the 12 Steps are not intended as an alternative to the Quran. Instead what we find by examining them or other writings (39:17-18) is that the more we study and learn, the more we understand and appreciate God’s perfect wisdom and guidance in the Quran.
Reference:
Comparing ourselves to others can be a negative thing, if it is used in a way that allows our ego to do the comparing. An 18th century French philosopher, Nicolas de Condorcet, said: “Enjoy your life without comparing it with that of another for there will always be others whose lives on the face of it appear better. However, just remember and focus on the fact that your life could be much worse and be grateful it isn’t. No matter what others or even you may briefly think, you are lucky things aren’t worse, so be grateful.”
You may easily come off looking bad if you look at someone else’s apparent strengths or possessions compared to your weaknesses or lacks. They may be better educated or wealthier than you. Even if you compare strength to strength, there will always be those who are better, and those who are worse. Wherever you are on the ladder of accomplishments, there will always be someone more accomplished. [12:76] ... that was the will of GOD. We exalt whomever we choose to higher ranks. Above every knowledgeable one, there is one who is even more knowledgeable.
Even if you do well in comparison with others, it’s likely temporary. If you win the comparison, it could be a short-lived boost of ego that is easily knocked down. Or you may covet what others have or resent them for doing well, without really knowing the true person. My conclusion is: Focus on your own soul; don’t knock others down; don’t expect to be perfect, instead expect to work hard to improve.
Someone else’s good or bad can neither help nor harm us, but the quality of our souls can. This life is a journey to grow our souls, not a competitive race to beat someone else. The journey involves tests
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