The Deliberate Sterilization of God’s Mention from Western Culture

You can notice it in news broadcasts, in television series, in Disney movies and all kinds of cartoons, especially the Marvel series. You can find it in public discourse as the “standard model” of communication – the scrupulous avoidance of mentioning God or anything “sacred” in Western culture – except rarely when covering news about religion. Yet even then the word “God” is usually replaced with “approved words” like “nature” or “Mother Nature” (which Apple capitalized for me!). This is something I’ve been aware of for the longest time, but it’s extremely important to articulate it now in light of world events, the culmination of a long-standing erasure of the Sacred from so-called “Western” culture. Public mentions God are rare except in “sanctioned” phrases like “OMG” or “god-forsaken” or “godawful.” Compare to public discourse as it used to be in Muslim countries, like Egypt, where the name Allah was one of the most frequently-used words, effortlessly incorporated into daily life. Now with the imposition of Nazi and hedonistic “leaders” such as Sisi in Egypt or MBS in Saudi Arabia, the elimination of God in language, even where Islam is the dominant religion, is underway.

But maybe insha’Allah not for long…

Video Explains Israeli Cruelty, Similar to How the Quran Describes Satan

In this video, an Israeli who is against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the siege of Gaza tells us “How Israelis Live so Easily with Occupation.” He explains why they commit atrocities and are comfortable with the occupation, as well as the current war crimes in Gaza and now Rafah, where they can hear children’s screams of agony from starvation and fear. His answers show us a mindset like Satan’s as described in the Quran, although that was not his observation. How can people commit these evil, unconscionable atrocities against mothers and children and celebrate them? Why do they dehumanize Palestinians, who welcomed the first refugees in the aftermath of WWII, and in return were massacred?

Satan’s “original” sin which condemned him to hell was arrogance. We may have wondered if that’s enough to warrant hell. But this arrogance is the root cause of all evil.

Allah’s Infinite Justice

Note re featured image above: When you plot the sun’s position at the same time of day once a week throughout the year you get this figure of eight, or infinity symbol, called Analemma. April and September are at the crossover point in precisely the same position.

Muslims know that Allah’s justice is perfect – one of His significant names is Al-‘Adl, the Just. In fact, justice of the highest order is required of all Muslims, for “indeed Allah loves those who act justly.” (5:42, 49:9, 60:8) But certain theological dogmas in Christianity and other faiths involve beliefs which at their heart represent God/Allah to be unjust. Which is itself unjust to Allah/God. It’s not the only one we’ll explore here, but the doctrine of original sin is a prime example. Is it just or fair to hold a person guilty for an act they did not themselves commit? Clearly not. The Quran tells us, contrary to church doctrine, that God/Allah forgave Adam/Eve and even gave them words to properly express their feelings.

Then Adam received some words from his Lord, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed it is He who is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Merciful. (2:37) – (close to the beginning of the whole Quran)

Who “Allah Guides/ Allah Does Not Guide”

Guidance is one of the main purposes of the Quran, and Allah frequently describes what guidance is and how to receive it, how to distinguish between good and evil. These two phrases “Allah guides/ Allah does not guide” appear in the Quran 35 times – 5×7 –  in 34 ayat – a {3,4} set – 24 times in reference to whom He does not guide, and 11 times in 10 ayat referring to whom He does guide. There are correspondences between these and the narratives of the creation of Adam. For example, the verse numbers in bold below match the numbers above:

the two tests…of the central ayat (34, 35): 34 testing Iblees/Satan as well as the angels, and 35 testing Adam/Eve, the human.

The “central ayat” are two verses in the center of the ring composition of this narrative. The central theme was to test both Iblees and humanity (as the first pair). Satan/Iblees failed the test out of defiant disobedience, devoid of humility before Allah. Although Adam/Eve also disobeyed Allah, they were tricked and then forgot; they did not disobey out of arrogance but rather immediately turned to Allah in humility and shame and a desire to return to Him, unlike Satan. So Allah gave them words to ask for forgiveness and forgave them. .

Video: Ramadan as Hope, the Quran as Allah’s ”Rope”

This video gives a unique and meaningful perspective about Ramadan, starting with Adam in an exalted state so close to Allah that Allah the Exalted spoke to him, then Adam’s mistake and descent to earth, not as a punishment (that’s a Christian idea not in Islam), but to work and suffer, becoming stronger in faith and determination, to return insha’Allah (God willing) to Allah’s Presence in the promised Garden, an inheritance from Adam and a reward for patience and struggle in His path. An eloquent and beautifully-presented message from Nouman Ali Khan. He explains the name ”Iblees” (another name for Satan) as derived from the meaning “hopeless,” from which we understand that the idea that we are a ”hopeless case” to be from satanic influence, and that to think we are beyond redemption or cannot be forgiven is a trademark satanic concept. Satan’s case is indeed hopeless, and he wants us to feel we are also hopeless, whereas with Allah there is always hope. The Quran is literally the way Allah speaks to us, opening up a two-way “conversation” if we join it and speak in return: the Quran gives us words, if we are at a loss for words, but any language will do.

Creation of Adam 6: Why Do We Suffer?

Here the temptation and “fall” of Adam is in the central position, making it a “narrative within a narrative.” But this internal narrative is also surrounded by Allah’s mercy. It shows us that the All-Merciful wants the best for us.

But Satan, a name/word that is more of a title than a name, means enemy, and has become the sole word used to refer to the embodiment of evil and harm in the form of an enemy. Although he was a being of the jinn, others who act as an enemy to our trust/faith are given the same name — “from the jinn and from people” as per Al-Nass 114:6. And this enemy is the source of our suffering, per aya 20:117 below. 

Creation of Adam 7: Completing the Narrative

This “creation-of-Adam” narrative from Surat Sawd (38) begins, unlike the others, with a statement given to Prophet Mohammad to “say” that he had no prior knowledge of the angels’ dispute in the celestial realm and that it was not revealed to him except that he is a clear warner. This reminds us of the very first such narrative in Surat Al-Baqara which began by telling us of that very dispute, but unlike that narrative, this one does not mention Adam by name but rather as bashar, which means literally “covered by skin” and is used to refer to the human as a physical being. And why would this narrative begin with a declaration of what the prophet did not know? (Please also note the amazing connection between verse 38:83 and verse 11:11 in bold later below.)

What Prostration Means in the Quran

It Depends on the Context

The word sujud, sometimes transliterated sujood, is most often associated with the full prostration position illustrated above and below in this post. It is a powerful focal position in salat prayer in Islam indicating humility, but also in the original Christianity per Jesus’ example as mentioned in the Bible. Healing benefits of sujud have also been shown. It is strongly associated with worship and tawheed or worshiping Allah alone. But the Quran uses the word sujud (“prostration”) in contexts distinctly outside of prayer and worship, giving us an expanded usage of the word, which is extremely important to understand to avoid confusion and misconceptions, especially in the Creation of Adam narratives (found in order with Surah number here2, here7, here15, here17, and here18.)

Creation of Adam 5: Are We Guardians or Violators?

This is the shortest of the Creation of Adam narratives, consisting of only two ayat, whose central section is taken from the second half of the first aya 18:50. The center in bluegreen above is essentially a question addressed to us as Adam’s descendants. It is intended for the here and now, regardless to what era in time or what place on earth we are in. The words are crystal clear and stark: Satan, who represents evildoing and destruction, is an obvious enemy, an imminent threat to our very souls/ selves as humans — shall we then take him and his descendants as guardians or protectors? Instead of the Almighty All-Merciful who alone can protect us and guide us? 

The Creation of Adam 4: Forces of Evil Surrounded (Ring Composition)

This creation-of-Adam narrative is the 4th out of 7, and comes in Surat Al-Isra’ 17:61-5, consisting of only 5 ayat, each aya forming a section in a ring composition, with the third aya #63 in the middle. 

Creation of Adam 3 – Now Satan is in the middle, Surrounded

Ring analysis of 3rd Creation-of-Adam narrative (15:26-44)

The Basic Issues:

All 7 of the creation-of-Adam narratives in the Quran include Iblees’ refusal to prostrate after being commanded by Allah to do so, an indication of its importance. In this narrative, it is described in the 4th, 5th and 6th ayat of the narrative (29-31), each of which is given a separate section in the ring composition. This creation-of-Adam narrative is the longest in the Quran (in terms of ayat numbers), and is also quite comprehensive in scope, as we shall see.  But here Satan/Iblees is surrounded in the middle.

Atheist Finds Purpose of Life in Quran – a Beautiful Video

Best video I’ve seen on the purpose of life, a fascinating story told by Dr. Jeffrey Lang.

Dr. Lang is now a well-known lecturer as well as mathematician, speaking from the heart. Here he tells the story of how he was an atheist and read the Quran that a friend had given him. What happened is riveting, and will surprise you! Well-worth your time.