THERE 'S NO SHORTCUT TO JANNAH! Islam Is For Righteousness & Social Justice.

 

There's No Shortcut To Jannah!

Islam Is For Righteousness

And Social Justice

(M. Javed Naseem)

إِنَّ هَـٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ فَمَن شَآءَ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلاً

“Surely this is a Reminder. Let him who will,

then, take a straight path to his Lord.”

(al-Quran 73:19)

Allah the Most Merciful, the Supreme Creator, created us and prescribed for us a way of life – Deen – based on social justice and righteousness. He chose from among us the most righteous and pious men to lead us and guide us to the right path. They were the Prophets and Messengers of Allah who led their lives in accordance with the rules and laws laid down for us by the Almighty Creator. They showed us how to live on this planet peacefully by obeying God's Law.

The Quran is not the first Book of Revelations or Book of Divine Guidance. Allah sent many Messengers with many Scriptures but all those Scriptures or Books delivered the same message to the mankind: That there is only ONE God, and no deity worthy of worship except Him. He has no partners and no family. Whatever is in the universe, in the heavens and on earth or in the oceans, all belongs to Him. He is the Almighty to whom should we submit in obedience. If we disobey Him, there is no escape for us in the universe and nobody can protect us from His wrath. Only He can forgive us and bestow His mercy and blessings upon us. The real guidance comes from Him and without His help and mercy, we'll be lost.

Allah tells us that there is no compulsion in Deen (Islam). Everything is voluntary. You are not forced to do anything for Allah. The Most Merciful Allah gave us a lot of liberty and choice of actions. We make our own choices with our own good will. Allah looks at our hearts; our intentions (Niyyah) and the actions that follow. Obedience to Allah is only voluntary and not forced. We need to use our brains and intellect; thinking by reason and logic, to make a choice or take a decision. Allah the Almighty has detailed everything for us in the Book and that is the Book that should govern our lives in this world. That Book is full of guidelines on all aspects of life. We choose our own path of action with a sound mind, without any compulsion.

وَهَـٰذَا صِرَاطُ رَبِّكَ مُسْتَقِيماً قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا ٱلآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

“This is the path of your Lord, a straight path.

We have detailed Our revelations for

a people who take heed.”

(al-Quran 6:126)

Truth and falsehood (lies, deception) go in the opposite directions. We go for ‘looks’ on the outside or ‘appearances’, glitter and attractive packing without caring much about the inside or the contents. But it is the contents that matter. It is OK to check the credentials of the messenger to see if he is trustworthy but it is a lot more important to see the message he brings. All prophets brought the message of Truth from Allah, the Almighty. Allah created everything in Truth and prescribed the same Truth for all maladies inflicting us.

Allah created only one ‘Deen’ (faith or religion) for mankind, and that is Islam. It is called Islam in Arabic as the Quran was revealed in Arabic to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Before him, during other Prophets' era the same Deen might have other names in other languages. But all Prophets (Messengers) brought the message of Islam to their respective nations. It started with Adam and was completed with Muhammad (s.a.w.). As a matter of fact, it existed in the heavens even before Adam was created. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) all preached and practiced Islam. It is only Islam – the truth, everything else is either from Satan or from pagans – the beautiful lies!

Since the creation of the universe, Allah, the Supreme Creator, has been sending us His message through different messengers in different times. The messengers were different, languages were different, cultures were different, peoples were different and diverse but the message was the same, one and universal – there is only One God (Allah) worthy of worship and He has no partners, no family, nor children. Your salvation is His obedience and He wants you to be righteous and God-fearing.

كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوۤاْ آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُوْلُو ٱلأَلْبَابِ

“This is a Book that We have revealed to you,

full of blessings, that they may ponder its

revelations, and that men of understanding

may reflect.”

(al-Quran 38:29)

When Allah, the Almighty, declares that the Quran is full of guidance, blessings, mercy and cure for our spiritual and physical ailments, we should believe that. There should be no doubt about it as the promise of Allah is always True. If we are not following the righteous path, the Truth might become uncomfortable for us because we look for easy solutions, comfortable life and short-cuts to Paradise. We go out of our way to make things comfortable and easy for us in this world and forget all about the Hereafter. In this campaign of finding 'shortcuts' we go astray and lose the sight of Truth. There are no shortcuts to Jannah (Paradise) except by mercy of the Almighty. We need to live a life of righteousness and obedience to Allah, taking care of all the commands of Allah, whether comfortable or not.

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