Wise One
Surah 31, Luqman
A guide and a mercy for the righteous. Those who observe the prayer, and pay the obligatory charity, and are certain of the Hereafter. (v.3, 4)
There are two key messages which I highlight in this blog - worship and God. Together these themes cover a good deal of the Qur’an. The Qur’an speaks about the detail of worship, mostly that it is natural that creatures should worship the Creator. The good — those who turn towards God — i.e. not driven by ego, greed or the desire to oppress others — are characterised as those who observe the prayer, or ‘establish worship’, ‘maintain the prayers’ in other translations. This is to set a personal (and perhaps public) example, whether through morning and evening prayer in the parish church or congregational prayers in the mosque.
The other elements are concern for all other people in need and a focus on the ultimate end of human beings. These two perspectives both inform and provide a (straight) path (or ‘narrow way’ as in the Gospel) of implemented prayer and prayerful action. This can easily be seen in Muslim giving to charities, especially during Ramadan.
The Hereafter is about the eventual final encounter with God, the realisation of everything that has been believed and hoped for. It is…
