God says
And so, set thy face steadfastly towards the [one ever-true] faith, turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the natural disposition which God has instilled into man:* [for,] not to allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created -- this is the [purpose of the one] ever-true faith; but most people know it not. – Q.30:30
*The term fitrah, rendered as “natural disposition”, connotes in this context man’s inborn intuitive ability to discern between right and wrong, true and false, and, thus, to sense God’s existence and oneness, Cf. the famous saying of the Prophet, quoted by Bukhari and Muslim: “Every child is born in this natural disposition; it is only his parents that later turn him into a ‘Jew’, a ‘Christian’, or a ‘Magian’.” These three religious formulations best known to the contemporaries of the Prophet, are thus contrasted with the “natural disposition” which by definition, consists in man’s instinctive cognition of God and self-surrender (islam) to Him. ( The term “parents” has here the wider meaning of “social influences” or “environment”).
He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them.* And He alone is a dispenser of grace, truly forgiving. -- Q.34:2
* This definition comprises things physical and spiritual: water disappearing underground and reappearing; the metamorphosis of seed into plant, and of decaying plant into oil and coal: traces of old artifacts and entire civilizations buried in the earth and then reappearing within the sight and consciousness of later generations of men; the transformation of dead bodies of animals and men into elements of nourishments for new life; the ascent of earthly vapours towards the skies, and their descent as rain, snow or hail; the ascent towards the heavens of men’s longings, hopes and ambitions, and descent of divine inspirations into the minds of men, and thus a revival of faith and thoughts and, with it, the growth of new artifacts, new skills and new hopes: in short, the endless recurrence of birth, death and re-birth ( as mentioned above) that characterizes all God’s creation.
And [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denying the truth: but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth!* -- Q.38:27
*I.e., a deliberate rejection of the belief that the universe – and, in particular, human life – is imbued with meaning and purpose leads unavoidably – though sometime imperceptibly – to a rejection of all moral imperatives, to spiritual blindness and, hence, to suffering in the life to come.
[And all this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart. -- Q.38:29
And In your own nature, and in [that of] all the animals which he scatters [over the earth] there are messages for people who are endowed with inner certainty. --Q.45:4
Prophet said
“He who is pleased to see people standing in his honour, should seek his seat in hell fire” – H: Tirmizi. N: Mu’aawiya.
Think of the reward!
“The believer, by his (good) conduct, reaches the position of one who stands up (praying) at night and fasts during the day” – H: Abu Daod. N: Bibi Ayesha.
