“This book is revealed by Allah the Almighty the Wise. We have sent down the book to you containing the truth so worship Allah sincerely with commitment. Beware! Sincere commitment is for Allah alone. As for those who have taken protectors besides him, claiming that we only worship them to achieve nearness to Allah, Allah will certainly decide between them in what they differed… He created heaven and the earth for a purpose, He wraps the night around the day and the day around the night; and made the sun and the moon for specific tasks, each floating in its orbit for an appointed time. He is Almighty the forgiving” (Al-Zumar:1-5).
The Majestic Quran describes a faithful person with dozens of qualities: God-conscious, benefactor, charitable, a friend of God, warrior, courageous, sincere, forgiving, patient, pious, modest, just and fair, kind, generous, truthful and honest etc. These describe the inner-self, the moral values. On the other hand, is a person who has all the qualities of a gentleman or gentlewoman: well-groomed, wearing Gucci perfume, smartly dressed, physically healthy, talks confidently and with a posh accent. We seem to value the qualities of the faithful but find them challenging to adopt. We also long for the smartly-groomed healthy person. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said “Allah doesn’t look at your faces or looks but at the purity of your hearts.” So, we must merge the two to produce a wholesome person, with inner beauty and outer attraction. To achieve this here are three Quranic tips that will help you.
- Understand the beautiful names of Allah. His eternal and descriptive qualities that explain something of His Divine nature. You can do this by studying ‘The Majestic Quran’. That’s an effective way to get to know Our Creator and loving Master. What is your understanding of Allah like? Loving or judgmental? Distant or available? Limited or powerful? Your knowledge of His qualities and names will grow your confidence in Him, so spend time getting to know Him. The best way to know and understand these names is to bear witness to their truthfulness. This is the Shahada.
- Look at yourself as Allah looks at you. He sees you as: His Khalifa, special creation, beloved, full of potential for good etc. He sees you not as you are now, but as you can be. There’s no superior and inferior, all are special in His sight. Our past experiences make us feel worthless, so, you can change. So, discover what the Quran says about you. Once you know the Mighty Lord’s opinion about you, what else matters?
- Understand that Satan has limited ability to influence you. The devil is the world’s oldest and biggest loser, a former teacher in heaven who got fired because of arrogance and who is headed for hell. The only power he has over you is the power you give him by remaining ‘ignorant of his deceptions and devious ways’. The Quran teaches methods to tame the selfish ego, overcome its meanness. The Quran instructs, ‘Submit yourselves…to Allah’. As you plod on to achieve these three things each day, you’ll become a true believer.
May Allah open our hearts to the truth and guide us to become true servants.
