ISLAM FOR BEGINNERS BRS 107.pdf - CUEA

1. In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.(2,3,4 )-Praise be to God, the Cherisher and the Sustainer of the Worlds;-Most Gracious, Most Merciful;-Master of the day of Judgment5. Thee do we worship and thine aid we seek6 and 7. Show us the straight way.The way of those on whom thou hast bestowed thy Grace,those whose is not wrath, and who go not astray.The idea expressed in the verb “ihdina” contains therein the accusative “na: us” whichcomprises those who believe in Allah. This means that the believer is seeks guidance inhis prayers and works. “O you Muslims, your leader or your guide is Allah; leadership andguidance belong to Allah and to him alone. Such belief will doubtlessly have someimplications: first, Muslims attribute the organization of the world to Allah since he is theone who orders the universe and all that is in it. Secondly, they believe that Allahdetermines the attitude of each Muslim -Allah bestows favor upon whomsoever he willet ofhis servants” (Q.14,13). Thirdly, Allah determines all human acts and therefore eliminatesany philosophical ethics, for if nature is guided by Allah without man’s collaboration, itmeans that nature cannot decide whether this is bad or good, right or wrong. All theseexplanatory phrases tell us of the leadership of Allah.However Allah has revealed himself through and in the Qur’an for his last time that theQur’an becomes the only source of guidance. Where shall we turn when we are in need?It is in the previous books? Surely the Taurat, the Zabur and the Injil that came downbefore the Qur’an are well acknowledged but their time has gone and in a way distorted;this is the time of the Qur’an. It contains the final and the last revelation of Allah; there isnone after it. I think that its value is lifted up because of its position in processionalrevelations. It is clearly asserted here that all leadership belongs to Allah. But he guidesthrough the Qur’an. In other words, God’s expression of leadership is the Qur’an.AL-BAQARA (1-6)If al-Fatiha is the essence of the Our`an, al-Baqara is its summary. Revealed in Madina,its 286 ayats summarize the main points of Muslim life in its manifold dimensions. We willconcentrate on its first six ayats.Frederic N. Mvumbi,OP Page 67 of 85