World Blog by humble servant.TRUE ISLAM (SUBMISSION) No Blind Faith.

The religion of Islam (Submission to God alone) as preached by Prophet Muhammad with the holy Quran has no place for blind faith. The Quran shares this knowledge with us in different ways.

When they are told, “Follow these revelations of God,” They say,” No, we follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if the devil is leading them to the agony of Hell? (31:21)

We must read the Quran and reflect on each and every verse of it:

This is a scripture that we sent down to you, that is sacred—perhaps they reflect on its verses. Those who possess intelligence will take heed. (38:29)

The Quran educates us to reflect on the creations of God to reinforce our faith in the unseen:

In the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alteration of night and day, the ships that roam the ocean for the benefit of the people, the water that God sends down from the sky to revive dead land and to spread in it all kinds of creatures, the manipulation of the winds and the clouds that are placed between the sky and the earth, there are sufficient proofs for people who understand. (2:164)

We learn from the Quran that Prophet Abraham reflected on the creations of God to learn about God at his young age:

When the night fell, he saw a shining planet. “Maybe this is my Lord,” he said. When it disappeared, he said, “I do not like (gods) that disappear.” When he saw the moon rising, he said, “Maybe this is my Lord!” When it disappeared, he said, “Unless my Lord guides me, I will be with the strayers.” When he saw the sun rising, he said, “This must be my Lord. This is the biggest.” But when it set, he said, “O my people, I denounce your idolatry. (6:76-78)

We need to use our faculty of thinking and reasoning on the creations of God Almighty, if we want to be a faithful od brought you out of your mother’s bellies, knowing nothing, and He gave you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains, that you may be appreciative. Do they not see the birds committed to fly in the atmosphere of the sky?

None holds them up in the air except God. This should be proof for people who believe. (16:78-79)

The innermost part of our faith resides in our mind. If we employ it rationally, it will bring us closer to God. If we forsake it then we will go astray. The reminder comes from the Quran:

Did they not roam the earth, then use their minds to understand, and use their ears to hear? Indeed, the real blindness is not the blindness of the eye, but the blindness of the hearts inside the chest. (22:46)

The religion of our parents as preached by scholars, imams and mullahs educates us not to use our intellectual faculties in religious affairs. This education is spread through some false hadiths. Purportedly, the use of the mind in religious matters would lead us astray. The majority of Muslims uphold this sort of belief even though it opposes the Quranic teaching:

When they are told, “Follow what God has revealed herein,” they say, “We follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided? The example of such disbelievers is that of parrots who repeat what they hear of sounds and calls, without understanding. Deaf, dumb, and blind; they cannot understand. (2:170-171)

Prophet Abraham’s father Azar and his

community were idol worshipers. Abraham was a free thinker. He did not follow the religion of his father blindly and put his effort to find the truth as we learn from the Quran:

He said to his father and his people, “What are you worshiping?”

“Is it these fabricated gods, instead of God, that you want?

“What do you think of the Lord of the universe?”

He looked carefully at the stars.

Then he gave up and said, “I am tired of this!”

They turned away from him.

He then turned on their idols, saying, “Would you like to eat?

“Why do you not speak?”

He then destroyed them.

(37:85-93)

How many of us really take heed from the above example of young Abraham and verify the religions that we inherited from our parents? Sadly, most of us blindly follow what our parents, our imams or our scholars taught us and we do not bother to think logically. We learn from the Quran:

Do not have any doubt regarding what these people worship; they worship exactly as they found their parents worshiping. We will requite them their due share fully, without any reduction. (11:109)

Do we think that we will get God’s blessing the easy way without any test from God? Do we think that God cites all the examples in the Quran for entertainment purposes? What do we learn from the following

example of young Abraham from the Quran?

He said to his father and his people, “What are these statues to which you are devoting yourselves?”

They said, “We found our parents worshiping them.”

He said, “Indeed, you and your parents have gone totally astray.”

They said, “Are you telling us the truth, or are you playing?”

He said, “Your only Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created them. This is the testimony to which I bear witness.

“I swear by God, I have a plan to deal with your statues, as soon as you leave.”

He broke them into pieces, except for a big one, that they may refer to it.

They said, “Whoever did this to our gods is really a transgressor.”

They said, “We heard a youth threaten them; he is called Abraham.”

They said, “Did you do this to our gods, O Abraham?”

He said, “It is that big one who did it. Go ask them, if they can speak.” (21:52-63)

Prohibiting the use of the mind has crippled the intellect of Muslims in comparison with others. The minds of Muslims have been benumbed for centuries, neutralized by false hadith. The teaching of the Quran gives the mind a noble place. God deems human beings who do not use their minds worse than animals, as understood from this verse.We have committed to Hell multitudes of jinns and humans. They have minds with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like animals; no, they are far worse—they are totally unaware. (7:179)

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God restricts those who do not use their minds from the fold of the faithful:

“No soul can believe except in accordance with God’s will. For He places a curse upon those who refuse to understand.” (10:100)

Prophet Moses asked to see God to reinforce his faith even though he spoke to God:

When Moses came at our appointed time, and his Lord spoke with him, he said, “My Lord, let me look and see you.” He said, “You cannot see Me. Look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, then you can see Me.” Then, his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, and this caused it crumble. Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said, “Be You glorified. I repent to You, and I am the most convinced believer. (7:143)

Prophet Abraham was a convinced believer of God, a monotheist submitter. Yet he demanded a proof from God to reinforce his faith:

Abraham said, “My Lord, show me how You revive the dead.” He said, “Do you not believe?“ He said, “Yes, but I wish to reassure my heart.” He said, “Take four birds,study their makes, place a piece of each bird on top of a hill, then call them to you. They will come to you in a hurry. You should know that God is Almighty, Most Wise. (2:260)

The Quran advises us in the way we should use our mental faculty:

You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them. (17:36)

The above verse leads us to comprehend that true believers use their mind and verify information and choose the best path for them. These are the real intelligent people whose faiths are strengthened through verification process and they are the guided ones:

As for those who discard the worship of all idols, and devote themselves totally to God alone, they have deserved happiness.

Give good news to My servants. They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the one whom God has guided; these are the ones who posses intelligence. (39:17-18)

People grow up with blind faith when they do not think. They just follow their parents, their imams or mullahs without understanding. They utter certain words as inherited from them. Their faith is delivered by lip service, not from the heart. However, God is going to show us what was truly in our mind on the Day of Judgment:

God thus put you to the test to bring out your true conviction and to test to bring out what is in your heart, and God is fully aware of your innermost thought. (3:154)

The Quran teaches us to take lessons from life (3:13; 30:21,37; 39:42,52), from nature (16:11, 13.66; 24:44; 26:7,8; 29:44; 13:4; 16:12; 20:54) and from the past (10:98; 11:103; 12:7; 14:5; 20:128).

Blind faith does not reside in the heart of Islam.

God be glorified.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Psalm 145:1-5

I will extol You, my God, O King;

And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise Your works to another; And shall declare Your mighty acts.

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty; And on Your wondrous works.