Assalamu Alaykum
I would like to introduce myself through a piece of my writings. I am a writer and blogger.
Reading our religious texts, we learn that God first created the earth, then the sky (the seven skies). He then created the angels and the djins. The angels remained up there in the seven skies (also called heavens by some). The djins have inhabited the earth. Satan, the first of the djins, was promoted to the rank of angels, and so he lived for some time up there among the angels. During this time God created Paradise, then Adam and Eve. The latter committed a grave error which cost them the banishment from Paradise, just like Satan. Satan knew the earth already. Adam and Eve discover it for the first time. They realize that the earth is much less splendid than the paradise from which they were driven out. They discover cold, heat, hunger, thirst, fatigue, fear, death ... But they also discover new pleasures: the pleasure of eating after hunger, the pleasure of drinking after thirst, the pleasure of rest after getting tired, sexual pleasure, etc. They also discover new realities: their life on earth makes them responsible for themselves and their offspring. They must work to be able to eat, to dress, to guard against all danger. And in addition to that they have to remind their children that they must do things if they hope to return to the lost paradise. Adam was the first messenger of God. He had to talk to his children about Paradise, a perfect world that only he and his wife had seen with their own eyes. The children, on the other hand, were asked to believe in what they could not see. Some have believed. Others saw paradise only in the world that surrounded them. And history has been repeated since. If we dissect all this a little, one can see, on the one hand, a certain god who does what he wants, at his will, and on the other hand, a human being who bends to the will of this god. God creates Man, brings him into a sublime world, Heaven, then expels him and puts him in a planet earth where he must do everything to live or survive, and, in addition to that, has to deny himself certain pleasures and, on top of that, chant the praises of god. How is it that a man who makes every effort to perfect himself, who is educated in the best universities, who gets the best jobs, who builds himself a beautiful dwelling without asking anyone for anything, etc, etc, etc. �how is it that this man should prostrate himself before a god whom he does not see, whom he does not know, and, moreover, to whom he does not feel indebted in any way whatsoever? First of all, it is because God knew that this Man would be able to learn, to educate himself, to perfect himself, to surpass himself, to take charge of himself, that He created him in the first place. The Qur'an tells us of this episode in which the angels ask God what�s the use of creating a man who is only going to commit corruption and make mischief in the earth. Divine pedagogy makes Adam demonstrate that he is worthy of God's trust. Adam demonstrates to the angels that he knows things that they do not know and, consequently, that he can undertake things that they cannot yet imagine. The Qur'an also reminds us that this Man cannot do anything as a kid. He must be breastfed, first, then fed, then protected, and then educated. It is God who makes parents (instinctively) take charge of this stage of the life of each one of us. The Quran says that "2.233. Mothers shall suckle their children for two whole years; (that is) for those who wish to complete the suckling. The duty of feeding and clothing nursing mothers in a seemly manner is upon the father of the child. No one should be charged beyond his capacity. A mother should not be made to suffer because of her child, nor should he to whom the child is born (be made to suffer) because of his child. And on the (father's) heir is incumbent the like of that (which was incumbent on the father). If they desire to wean the child by mutual consent and (after) consultation, it is no sin for them ; and if ye wish to give your children out to nurse, it is no sin for you, provided that ye pay what is due from you in kindness. Observe your duty to Allah, and know that Allah is Seer of what ye do." The Quran says: "16.78. And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers knowing nothing, and gave you hearing and sight and hearts that haply ye might give thanks." This being said, there are things you can learn at school. Maths, Physics, this can be learned at school. But there are things that require inspiration or intuition. An ordinary worker in an industrial firm could solve a technical problem to which a hundred engineers could do nothing. Where does this inspiration or intuition come from? Where do our dreams come from? There is a mysterious part in our lives that must be taken into account. Logic cannot explain everything. Even the best prognosis may be wrong. There are things beyond our imagination. Hence the importance of remaining open to all possible explanations. God is God. Man is Man. To each his greatness. Even among us humans greatness varies. A minister cannot give orders to his president or sit in his chair or stand on the same level as him. Even in the United States of America, the Vice-President and the Secretary of State stand somewhat behind the President. But when the minister is at home, in his office, he is the boss. So to demonstrate His Greatness, God wanted Man to be in the earth, far beneath Heaven, the seat of the Divine. Nevertheless, He wanted the whole universe to be at the service of this Man. One cannot humiliate someone and at the same time give him the tools and means to grow. In other words, the earth is the natural place for man in relation to God, all the more so because it is of the earth that God created Man. In addition, God spent four of the six days of creation preparing the earth for human life and He only spent two days creating all the heavens. This is to say the care with which God treats man. Better still, God made the angels prostrate to Man (Adam). Better still, God says in the Qur'an that He loves (some) men and values them. 4.125. Who is better in religion than he who surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good (to men) and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright? Allah (Himself) chose Abraham for friend. Better still, God attaches great importance to the testimony of man as to the oneness and divinity of God. 3.18. Allah (Himself) is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise. We spoke earlier in this topic of God's care for man right from his early age. God reminds us in the Quran that He "27.60. sendeth down for you water from the sky wherewith We cause to spring forth joyous orchards, whose trees it never hath been yours to cause to grow." "16.5 And the cattle hath He created, whence ye have warm clothing and uses, and whereof ye eat. 16.6. And wherein is beauty for you, when ye bring them home, and when ye take them out to pasture." Better still, God willed that there should be no obstacle or intermediary between Him and (believing) man when He needs Him. Man can address his prayers directly to God without any intermediary. It would only take that man have the humility and the honesty to be grateful. Man is not God, but both he and God have things in common. Who among us would love lies, arrogance, ingratitude, injustice, aggression ...? The Qur'an states that "4.28. Allah would make the burden light for you, for man was created weak." But this man, despite all his weaknesses, has the privilege of the fact that God "15.29. breathed into him" of (His) spirit. This breathing should be a source of great energy which forces man to perfect himself not only on the material level but also and above all on the moral level as well. And, fortunately, Man has always been capable of it. Man has always made peace after war; he has always created courts to do justice; he has always built schools to educate future generations; he has always built cities and villages to allow men to feel close to each other, to build all kinds of healthy relationships, to join hands, to exchange services, even when personal relations or between immediate neighbours or between clans are not perfect. Neighbours quarrel and reconcile. It is not philosophy or literature that has forged our ways of behaving towards one another, but it is religion. Religion is, in this sense, a source of hope. It teaches us that we can triumph over our weaknesses: avarice, jealousy, covetousness, arrogance, hatred ... Of course, an atheist or agnostic can quite be a good person. There are people who do not believe in any religion and yet give charity, engage in volunteer activity, who do not like injustice, lying, arrogance, corruption .... But they categorically refuse to bow down before any God; They see it as a form of humiliation. For God, it is quite the opposite. Prostrating before God is the sublime form of gratitude, the total manifestation of being freed from all that is other than God. We prostrate ourselves before God only, He Who has given us this chance to know where we came from, where we are heading, why we are here on earth and what is awaiting us uppon our death. By bowing down before God, all the physical distance that separates us from Him is gone at once. One is never closer to God than at the time of prostration, as the prophet said. If one loves gratitude, honesty and freedom (all of which are human virtues) one can only see in this gesture an honour. Do not they say I have the honour to .... ? So what is more honourable than to prostrate myself before Him who gave me everything, who tells me that He is there to protect me and guide me to my success in this world and my happiness in the hereafter ? How can I, a mere mortal, compete with Him who existed before me and who will exist after me? Moreover, "22.18. Hast thou not seen that unto Allah payeth adoration whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts, and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due. He whom Allah scorneth, there is none to give him honour. Lo! Allah doeth what He will." One should first solve this problem with oneself before asking whether God is with or against him /her. Do we accept God in our hearts, from the bottom of our hearts? Do we want God only if He grants us this or that? Is our gratitude to God objective or subjective? In other words, is it conditioned upon the fact that I must be married, that I must have children, that I must have a permanent home, that I must always feel happy .... ? If you have not yet solved this problem with yourself, well, God will subject you to trials to make clear whether your eeman (belief / faith) is true or false. "29.2. Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested with affliction? 29.3. Lo! We tested those who were before you. Thus Allah knoweth those who are sincere, and knoweth those who feign."
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