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It’s God’s grace that He gave us a beautiful world to prove ourselves in, where, praise God, we’re not lacking for anything. And in some ways, it’s a world that we choose. If we choose sin—our world is unhappy. If we choose to submit, to obey God, our world is happy. It’s a continuous cycle that are little tastes of heaven or hell.
We know the minimum requirements for salvation are in 2:62 and 5:69: belief in God, belief in the Last Day, and leading a righteous life. And since we have the Quran, each of these is spelled out in more detail. Let’s look at some verses that talk about attaining salvation.
[2:21] O people, worship only your Lord―the One who created you and those before you―that you may be saved.
[92:17-21] Avoiding it will be the righteous. Who gives from his money to charity. Seeking nothing in return. Seeking only his Lord, the Most High. He will certainly attain salvation.
[4:95] Not equal are the sedentary among the believers who are not handicapped, and those who strive in the cause of GOD with their money and their lives. GOD exalts the strivers with their money and their lives above the sedentary. For both, GOD promises salvation, but GOD exalts the strivers over the sedentary with a great recompense.
[6:51] And preach with this (Quran) to those who reverence the summoning before their Lord―they have none beside Him as a Lord and Master, nor an intercessor―that they may attain salvation.
These verses tell us: we need to worship God—that’s why we were created. Charity and striving in the cause of God are emphasized. And we’re told to follow whatever’s in the Quran. Which ties in to why we should be seeking refuge in God when we read it (16:98).
Because Satan will try his best for us to be heedless or distracted or get the wrong meaning out of the verses. If you look, there are so many people out there who have read the Quran, even in their native language, yet find it too difficult. We pray that we never find the Quran too difficult and are able to read it every day.
And it is God’s gift that He gives us opportunities, like Contact Prayers (Salat), obligatory charity (Zakat), fasting, etc. All religious duties are gifts for the soul. They help us remember God and appreciate God. We learn to give up this body’s wants and needs and prioritize the soul. Getting up at dawn means giving up sleep and “forsaking the bed” to remember God. Giving to charity allows humans, with God’s help, to tackle our natural stinginess and the love of money. And during fasting we give up food and drink and allow the “soul” to be the boss of the body with God’s help. As we stay away from food for the body, fasting provides food for the soul. It nourishes the soul. We may not be eating, but our souls are eating and growing. Thank You, God.
If you like chocolate—think of fasting as treating your soul with the equivalent of chocolate all day long. Every time we think of God or consciously avoid food, it’s like soul-chocolate! May God bless us with a good month that grows our soul.
And may God help us all be happy fulfilling the fast. Jesus reminded his followers not to be glum during fasting, but instead to be happy—seeking to please God alone (Matthew 6:16-18).
If we slip, we seek forgiveness and work a little harder. God doesn’t want us to be miserable. He knows the human body and condition well. We can fast and be happy, kind, humble, patient and steadfast.
2:185 “… GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation.”
Ramadan 2021 is just around the corner (see box on page 1 for dates). We want to prepare ourselves for this wonderful month. It’s a blessing from God that we have the ability to fast, and an even greater blessing that we know why we fast, what we’re striving for.
[2:183] O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
God tells us that that awareness—awareness of the Hereafter, Salvation—is a great blessing
[38:46] We bestowed upon them a great blessing: awareness of the Hereafter. Someone who goes through this life oblivious to the consequences after death has no chance to repent and reform. They’re not even aware that they should. So, we have to be very thankful that God has shown us, taught us through the Quran and the messengers, that this life is an illusion and the only reality is in the Hereafter.
There are certain things we have to do in this life to deserve Paradise in the Hereafter. We have to worship God alone—no idols, no partners. We have to believe in the accountability of the Day of Judgment. We have to lead a righteous life, which God defines in 2:177 and which includes being charitable, kind and honest.
In order to achieve that level of belief, God has given us practices which help to focus our attention on God and grow our souls. One of those practices is fasting. It’s not meant as a hardship, torture or deprivation. It’s meant as a motivation. When we feel hungry during the day, we become appreciative of the provisions God has given us and more sympathetic toward those who have less. And we are very appreciative of the food we consume after sunset. When we feel thirst on long hot summer days,
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