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be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls – earnestly bring God into mind, and ask
for forgiveness for their sins, - and who can forgive sins except God? – and are never
obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done. For such the reward
is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath, - an
eternal dwelling. How excellent a recompense for those who work (and strive)!
(Qur’ an, 3:134-136).
In these verses we find that piety requires a proper use of the mind by grasping truth
of God and life, a proper use of wealth by spending in the way of God under all
circumstances and a proper use of the spiritual as well as the physical abilities of man
by observing the prayer. It also demands a high degree of self – control over one’ s
anger and emotions, a moral capacity for forgiveness and patience, and conscious
urge to make the sinner return to God in regret and repentance. To be pious is to be a
man of true and fine convictions, of determination and character, of will and courage
and, above all, to be a man of God. Piety, righteousness and meaningful Faith are
interrelated and all pour into one channel. They lead to Islam and build up the true
Muslim.
The Concept of Prophethood.
The Merciful and loving God has sent many prophets at different times of history.
Every known nation has had one prophet or more. All the prophets of God were men
of good character and high honor. They were prepared and chosen by God to deliver
His Message to mankind. Their honesty and truthfulness, their intelligence and
integrity are beyond doubt. They were infallible in that they did not commit sins or
violate the Law of God. But as mortals, they might have made unintentional mistakes
in some human affairs and decisions. Their private judgment were not necessarily
always right.
The sending of these prophets from God is a clear manifestation of strong link
between Heaven and Earth, between God and man. It means that man is reformable
and in him there is much good. The purpose of prophethood is to confirm what man
already knows or can know, and to teach him what he does not or cannot know by his
own means. It is also to help man to find the Straight Path of God, and to do the right
and shun the wrong. Prophethood is an eloquent expression of God’ s love for His
creations and His will to guide them to the right way of belief and behavior. It is an
emphasis of His justice to man, because He shows him true guidance first, and then
holds him responsible for his deeds. He gives warnings through His prophets, and if
man fails to see the dangers of his wrong deeds, his behavior becomes punishable.
This is in complete accord with God’ s love and justice, and the worth and capability
of man of being responsible to his Lord.
The Source of prophethood and the Sponsor of all the prophets are One and the Same:
it is God. Their aim is to serve God, to acquaint man with God and His Divine
teachings, to establish truth and goodness, to help man to realize the true purpose of
his existence and help him to conduct his life in a purposeful way. It is on this basis
that the Muslims make no discrimination among the prophets and accept their
teachings as consistent and complementary. And this is the reason why the Muslims
believe in all the Divine Books and accept all the prophets of God as already
mentioned.
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