From: ian@mcclure.net   
      
   love4all_hatred4none wrote:   
   > May peace be upon you!   
   > =(0)=Indeed a believer is one who does good works and believes in the   
   > Unity of God, the Prophets of God, the Books, the angels and the Day   
   > of Judgment; a person whose heart surges with love of God at the   
   > mention of His name. Such a person would be ever mindful not to   
   > indulge in something that would incur Divine displeasure and as a   
   > result would be primarily conscious of only doing what Allah favours.   
   > =(1)=Expounding what is needed to be a true believer, the Promised   
   > Peace Maker (on whom be peace) wrote that first of all one needs to   
   > put in maximum endeavour to establish the Unity of God on the earth.   
   > Simple vocalisation of one's faith is not enough; it needs to be put   
   > in practice. A practical step to establish Unity of God will come to   
   > pass once a person frees their heart of everything except Allah, will   
   > not use cunning means and falsehood to achieve personal goals, will   
   > make effort to inculcate love of God in one's children through one's   
   > practice of harmonic word and deed and to propagate the unity of God   
   > in one's sphere of life with all of one's capacity.   
   > =(2)=Secondly, compassion for fellow human beings is needed. A true   
   > believer is one who is not unfair to another person through his word   
   > or deed. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)   
   > declared it as a distinctiveness of a believer that others would be   
   > safe from his/her tongue and hand. It also entails that one feels   
   > another person's pain as if one's own; of course when such feelings   
   > would materialize only then a person would have true belief in the   
   > Gracious God.   
   > =(3)=Thirdly, when one reaches the stage of compassion, where, as he   
   > mentioned feeling another person's pain as one's own, one should not   
   > limit this sentiment as something one feels. Rather one should   
   > communicate this emotion by actively trying to do good for others, for   
   > God's creation. If any sacrifice needs to be made for this, it should   
   > be made. There were some (Companions of blessed holy Prophet) who gave   
   > preference to others above themselves (Surah Al Hashr). Even before   
   > the advent of his prophethood, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings   
   > of Allah be on him) had a great reputation of sympathy and concern for   
   > others. After his prophethood the practical examples of this standing   
   > got overwhelming in their profusion. It was this blessed model of   
   > benevolent benefaction and indeed his power of holiness that inspired   
   > his Companions to transform their lives.   
   > =(4)=In the current age, it was the Promised Messiah (on whom be   
   > peace) who established excellent examples of service to humanity -   
   > regardless of race or religion - which are a guiding light. Despite   
   > his tremendous scholarly undertakings to strive against falsehood he   
   > would find time, hours at a stretch, to dispense medications to the   
   > poor and the needy, listening to them and consoling them.   
   > =(5)=Then there is the matter of curbing arrogance. One should not   
   > give in to any arrogance, even with people who are subordinate to one,   
   > In fact one should be grateful that one has been provided with people   
   > who can help out with one's tasks...... It is the distinction of a Momin,   
   > a true believer that the great his/her standing and authority, the   
   > greater is his/her level of humility and thankfulness....... If one wishes   
   > to attain the pleasure of Allah, one needs to give serious   
   > consideration to the things explained in the verse(31:19)..... If one   
   > claims to have fear and awe of God then one has to free oneself of all   
   > manner of arrogance....... The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah   
   > be on him) enjoined to be mindful of the self-respect of even the   
   > slaves and advised that they should be referred to as 'my boy or my   
   > girl' rather than the then prevalent custom of 'my slave'....... Indeed,   
   > the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) counselled against abusive   
   > language even if the other person indulges in it....... A true believer is   
   > always expected to be pure of speech, abusive language is out of the   
   > question...... To desist upon receiving abusive language keeps one's mind   
   > clean. It is a natural and impulsive to react to abusive language with   
   > anger and be inclined to be abusive back or be insulting....... However,   
   > the objective not to use the words that Allah has forbidden is a great   
   > virtue....... It is not easy and cannot be attained without spiritual   
   > endeavour and striving....... This also facilitates one's level of   
   > patience to develop and enhance........ A believer has been assured that   
   > when he/she exhibits patience in such a circumstance, then angels   
   > respond on his/her behalf and indeed Allah's blessings and grace   
   > descends on him/her....... By preventing any escalation of bad feelings, a   
   > believer thus facilitates promotion of peace in society.   
   > =(6)=As long as one does good works one is a true believer, otherwise   
   > one who does not focus on adopting what is enjoined is one who has   
   > accepted Islam but has not quite adopted true belief as stated in   
   > (49:15). If the level of faith is moving that way, we could not bring   
   > about the revolutionary change in the world. For this purpose we need   
   > to have a burning desire to do good works and try our best to follow   
   > the blessed model as set by the Holy prophet (peace and blessings of   
   > Allah be on him).   
   > =(7)= In the words of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that the   
   > glad tiding therein (verse 26 of Surah Al Baqarah) is of Gardens where   
   > streams flow. In this verse faith is analogised with the gardens and   
   > good works with the streams; just as it is not possible for a garden   
   > to be verdant without water, similarly without good works entry to   
   > Paradise will not be facilitated. The pleasures promised in the verse   
   > are of course metaphorical and it does not indicate that, for   
   > instance, one will be rewarded with milk and honey in Paradise. The   
   > rewards of the Paradise will be different in their origin. Of course   
   > those who endeavour and strive to do good works are shown glimpses of   
   > the Hereafter in this world as well. This can be in the form of   
   > acceptance of prayer, tranquillity and peace of mind that can only be   
   > attained through spirituality as well as worldly and spiritual   
   > blessings. Each good work will be thus when it is done to seek the   
   > pleasure of Allah otherwise Allah states that there are Salats offered   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)