One God and one human family
The compassionate teachings of the Holy Quran are lost or neglected to the ordinary, non-Muslim observer, and the Islamophobes, who hate Islam, and the extremist Muslims, such as ISIS, and Al-Qaeda at the same time!
The Holy Quran talks about One God and one human family in different places of the Divine verses. Here, I want to stress the Quranic message of compassion, love and kindness, as the Shia school of thoughts, the school of loving and following the Pure and infallible Household of the holy Prophet (p.b.u.t.) have taught us, by cataloging, few verses, from more than 200 verses, realizing that it can never be an exhaustive list as other readers will continue to find new ideas of mercy and grace, in other verses of the Holy Quran. I will count the verses here, as I go along.
In the beginning of every chapter (Surah) of the holy Quran, except one, we read, In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. Allah is not only the Gracious and the Merciful, but, also asks humanity to be gracious and merciful, to each other, in their spheres and this can be inferred from many verses of the holy Quran. This verse is in the beginning of 113 chapters (except for Surah Taubah and in the middle of one Surah ).
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
We have more than 200 instructions from the All Knowing God, to be kind, merciful and compassionate. We should try this repeated Islamic teaching of being compassionate for a few decades! May be it will bring us to true teachings of Islam and the Household of the holy Prophet (p.b.u.t.).The Holy Quran suggests compassion and kindness to be a recipe to turn ones enemies into bosom friends:
And good and evil are not alike. Repel evil with that which is best. And then, he between whom and you was enmity will become as though he were a warm friend. But none is granted it save those who are steadfast; and none is granted it save those who possess a large share of good. (Al Quran 41:34-35)
The holy Quran stresses that righteousness is not in precise observance of the rituals, but in acts of compassion and kindness. It says that the test for true belief and genuine worship is that it leads to compassionate living:
It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but truly righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Book, and the Prophets, and spends his money for love of Him, on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask for charity, and for ransoming the captives; and who observes Prayer and pays the Zakat(Religious annual tax for charitable purposes); and those who fulfil their promises when they have made them, and the patient in poverty and afflictions and the steadfast in time of war; it is these who have proved truthful and it is these who are the God -fearing. (Al Quran 2:177)
Every Friday in the second part of the sermon, Muslims all over the world hear a verse, which stresses, justice, kindness and natural mutual love as among the closest blood relatives:
Indeed, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression. He admonished you that you may take heed. (Al Quran 16:90)
Allah says that to be divine, is to be compassionate. He makes His relationship or His Providence to the common man, conditional to common human compassion, by claiming that those, who wish to find Him, will succeed only if they are kind and compassionate to the common people:
And as for those who strive in Our Path — We will surely guide them in Our ways. And Indeed, Allah is with those who are of service to others. (Al Quran 29:69)
Allah is with those who are righteous and those who do good. (Al Quran 16:128)
The Almighty Allah asks us to be the first, and take initiative to do good to others; but, if others have been kind to us, in the first place, we have no choice, but to return the favor:
The reward of goodness is nothing but goodness. (Al Quran 55:60)
In one of the verses, which is recited at the time of marriage ceremony, the Merciful Allah links the responsibility owed to Him to kind treatment of the in-laws relationships:
O people! Fear your God, Who created you from a single soul and created therefrom its mate, and from them twain spread many men and women; and fear Allah, in Whose name you appeal to one another, and be mindful of your duty to Allah, particularly respecting ties of relationship. Verily, Allah watches over you. (Al Quran 4:1)
And We granted him Isaac and Jacob; each did We guide aright, and Noah did We guide aright aforetime, and of his progeny, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward those who do good. (Al Quran 6:84)
And remember the time when We said: “Enter this village and eat therefrom - wherever you will - plentifully; and enter the gate submissively and say: ‘O’God! Forgive our sins.’ We shall forgive you your sins and We shall give increase to those who do good. (Al Quran 2:58)
And create not disorder in the earth after it has been set in order, and call upon Him in fear and hope. Surely, the mercy of Allah is nigh unto those who do good. (Al Quran 7:56)
I hope that the international community, currently confronted with harsh extremism , terrorism, and different prejudices in many parts of the world, would consider these kind, just, and Divine guidelines which comply with the human conscience and other divine revelations.
|