Jane Doe
Page One Response
The Qur’an describes the manner and circumstances of the revelation to Prophet Muhammad in the cave called Hira, which is situated on a mountain near Mecca. Prophet Muhammad was surprised and forced to read what was written, despite his explaining to the angel that he could not read. The Prophet goes home to his wife Khadija and shares with her the frightening experience he has. He has a second encounter of revelation, except this time it is only the voice of the angel that communicates with the Prophet. Once again the Prophet returns home frightened, wraps himself in a blanket at which point Allah reveals the a holy verse from the Qur’an for the first time.
The Qur’an was revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad as a warning to the people in his disapproval of the way that man had been living and that the time would come for judgement. The Qur’an took 23 years to be revealed piece by piece to the Prophet Muhammad in order to strengthen his faith by the ongoing messages. The extensive messages of the Qur’an were not easy to take in all at once and Allah would ensure that the message was properly received by Prophet Muhammad in a manner that the message would be preserved.
The individuals who God or Allah has selected to reveal his messages to were normal human being who were pure of heart and spirit, which is why they were selected as the men to deliver the message to the people. The first part of the Sura Al-Najm expresses the term “star” in the Qur’an’s 23 year revelation to Prophet Muhammad. Stars are the Divine Manifestations of God Almighty according to this sura.
Page Two Response
The Qur’an is meant to be the direct words of God that are revealed to Prophet Muhammad. In the Qur’an, God or Allah’s purpose in the world is to be the one who oversees all that exists or is destroyed, as well as ensuring that divine law is observed. One could consider Allah, the authority figure over everything in the world who watches each individual with omnipresence, all of the time. Allah’s will is to see his people follow faithfully in his teachings in order to be saved when time comes for judgement. By following the words and advice of Allah, as he presented to Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an would be the guidebook on how humanity can honor the will of God. The Qur’an rejects the notion that Allah has offspring because the nature of God is such that he was not born unto parents in the typical manner of the human, nor will he procreate the way that man procreates.
Sura 50:16 which translates as “we are closer to him than his jugular vein,” would imply that man is nearly as close to God at the main artery in the body that sustains life. As is this main artery to man’s life, man is that important and crucial to God. The unification of humankind and Allah is nearly inseparable and to remove man from God becomes a painful process even for God. Therefore, it is of utmost important that man remain steadfast in his faith of Allah and his will, for remaining favorable in God’s eyes is the most important thing a human being can accomplish. Separation from Allah is not something that is advised by Muslims and should be avoided at all costs if one is hoping to please God.
Page Three Response
The purpose of creating human being (and jinn) was God’s way of ensuring that there would be worship of his existence. Not worship simply for the sake of glorification of Allah, but for fulfilling God’s will. It is through worshipping God that his will is then recognized. When God says that creation is not a matter of vanity, he is expressing that he did not create the world in order to be glorified, but rather to allow human beings to devote themselves faithfully to the will of God by following divine law in order to return to paradise. Human beings, after all have a natural inclination towards God considering they have in them a piece of God Consciousness. To deny God would be to deny the truest aspect of oneself. Humans are heavily reliant on God when their faith is strong. Without God’s help the human being will never return to paradise, which is the ultimate goal of the human being. In order to live a good life now and in the hereafter, it is faith and worshipping God that will allow for the good things humans wish for.
The Day of Judgement will be one that is surrounded by death and destructions of the world. Those who were devout and favorable to Allah, worshipping him faithfully will be saved and brought to live in paradise forever. Meanwhile, the non-believers will perish in this devastated earth without the hope for a better afterlife. The fate of the human being on the Day of Resurrection will solely be based on what type of believer and follower he or she is of the Qur’an and how strong their faith is in Allah. Those who followed the path suggested by the Qur’an will likely be saved and join Allah in paradise, while those who lacked faith, sinned, or followed another God would be left to eternal suffering on earth.
Page Four Response
The Qur’an describes the difference in the creation on human beings and jinn to differ because the source of the jinn’s creation comes from a smokeless fire. Jinn are capable of physical manifestation and free will similar to human beings. Jinn can be both good and evil and have different agendas in accordance with their nature. Iblis is the main jinn that refused to bow down to man when asked by Allah to do so. Iblis is a jinni that is evil and goes against the will of Allah by rebelling against his wish. Iblis is also known as shytan (Satan).
When the jinn heard the revelation recited by Prophet Muhammad they suddenly understood why the messages from heaven were no longer delivered to them. It used to be that the jinn would receive messages directly from heaven, but now that the message was delivered to Prophet Muhammad, it is he that the jinn should listen to. The jinn who valued the teachings of Prophet Muhammad began to invite one another to become Muslims by joining the Islamic faith.
Those who follow the jinn can be lead astray and away from the teachings of the Qur’an if the jinn is evil natured. The jinn have a tendency to be deceptive and can lure the human into less favorable deeds and towards lowly desires. Jinn are able to eavesdrop on the conversations Allah has with the angels, which allows them to foretell the future. Next is a discussion on Satan’s influence on people.
Satan lures people into lustful desires of the flesh and towards greed and misdeeds. Satan is hoping to claim these souls away from Allah as a response to the insult Iblis felt when asked to bow down to man. Those who follow Satan are surely going to be unfavorable in God’s eyes because their thoughts, actions, and deeds will go against divine law and the will of God. Iblis was insulted by God’s request to bow to Adam, therefore tempting Adam and Eve with the apple. God denied Iblis for this rebellion and no longer favored Iblis.
Paper Five Response According to the Qur’an, persons of moral rectitude display a great amount of faith in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and follow the divine law of Allah. These people are pure of heart and mind or are working towards that end goal as they worship Allah and faithfully comply by the rules of Islam. These individuals follow the Qur’anic principles very stringently and walk the straight path of righteousness. Evil thoughts and greed are not displayed by the highly moral servants of Allah. They are devout in their religious practices and keep up on their multiple daily prayers. The way they dress, the way they eat, and the observation of prayer and religious holidays are a priority in their lives.
In order to follow God’s path one must strictly adhere to the Qur’anic verses to live a good life that follows divine law. Understanding one’s duty as a Muslim is an important message in the verses throughout the Qur’an. In the verses there is complete explanation of the things one should do, as well as the things one must avoid. Acknowledging Allah as the one and only God is one of the most important things to be mindful of for the Muslim believer who wishes to gain entry into paradise. These verses are aimed at regulating the temptations and desires that would cause one to go astray from God’s will and against divine law. The role of man, woman, and children are addressed within the verses, as well as the way one must dress. How one treats their neighbor is another aspect of what the verses entail in their teachings. Nearly every law or expectation Allah has for human beings is delivered in the Qur’anic verses.
Paper Six Response
In the Qur’an, the act of marriage is highly favorable to Allah and must be sought by all his believers. Allah feels that the best of his believers choose to marry, while those who remain single are not following God’s will. Bachelorhood leads one celibacy which in not favorable to Allah, and there are temptations that could be avoided by the family man or woman who is working together to please Allah by way of their family. The term for marriage ‘nikah’ has a literal meaning of sexual intercourse, which is an important aspect of marriage that fulfills the needs of the individual. A man is also not expected to remain faithful to only one woman, but is able to marry several wives. The logic behind this is of expanding his lineage, as well as providing a home and family life for women who may have otherwise remained without a husband. This polygamous marital situation is considered favorable in the Islamic religion. However, this is only acceptable if the man is able to care for all his wives and children, and should only take on as many as he can afford to support. In addition, when a man has sexual intercourse with his wife (wives) he is cleansing himself of sin.
When it comes to the breakup of a marriage (divorce), if there is an understandable and mature reason that a man wants to end his marriage than it will be granted. Although, marriage is not meant to be taken lightly and one should do what they must to try and remain married unless it goes against the rules of Islam. There are many specific reasons listed in the Qur’an that make divorce acceptable, such as the lack of sexual intercourse in the marriage, if the woman is already pregnant without knowledge of the husband, or if the spouse is kept away due to imprisonment then a divorce can also be granted.
