Subject: [Masjid Tucson] Submission weekly reminder

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Peace be upon you,

[Quran 10:57] O people, enlightenment has come to you herein from your Lord, and healing for anything that troubles your hearts, and guidance, and mercy for the believers.

[Quran 6:155] This too is a blessed scripture that we have revealed; you shall follow it and lead a righteous life, that you may attain mercy.


From the very beginning, the Quran makes it clear: we should not make this life about us, our pride, our achievements, or our excuses. It is about God--the Most Gracious, Most Merciful. The Lord of the universe. A big problem when we get caught up in our ego is we forget who God is. Consider the example of Satan in Quran 38:71-78: when God said to the angels to bow down before Adam, the angels submitted because they saw it as obedience to God, the source of the command. Satan, on the other hand, got caught up in thinking, "i am better" (than Adam). He forgot that serving humans was not about being "better" but about submitting to God. Later, Adam too forgot that the reason not to approach one tree (Quran 7:19-23) was to submit to God. By listening to Satan's whispers, Adam thought he knew better. And he forgot that God's commands are always good.

While the command to submit to God is easy to understand, it can be tough to put in practice because of our own egos. May God help us to submit to Him and to kill our egos.


References:
It Was Never About Us--it's Always About GOD, https://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/books/sp/2026/apr/page1.html
Introduction, https://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/introduction.html

Peace.