Which exception do you want to be a part of?

In a chain of a few verses, there are 3 exceptions back to back in this surah. Follow this interesting story in Surah 15, verses 30-42. How can we part of the exception God wants us to be from?

https://youtu.be/s8F4O6nJU1Y

Know your purpose

وَبَلَوْنَاهُم بِالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

“...And We tried them with blessings and with afflictions, so that they might come back.” -7:168

Times of hardship and times of ease share the common purpose of bringing us back to our own purpose. When we are tested or when we are given, both grant us the opportunity to come back to Our creator and turn to Him in gratitude and in seeking solace. Let us not mistake that. 

He never sets

فَلَمَّا رَأَى الشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَٰذَا رَبِّي هَٰذَا أَكْبَرُ فَلَمَّا أَفَلَتْ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ

“When he (Prophet Ibrahim) saw the sun rising up, he said: "This is my lord. This is greater." But when it set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from all that you join as partners in worship with God.” -6:78

In a few consecutive verses in this chapter, Prophet Ibrahim is showing his people that the stars, the moon, and the sun cannot possibly be God. But what’s most interesting to me is the reason he gives them for this impossibility. In each separate mention of the stars, moon, and sun, he says they cannot be God only after witnessing them vanish. What does that tell us about the one true God? That He never sets, never leaves us, and always remains. A Creator who cares is consistently there, with a presence that never escapes us. And Prophet Ibrahim understood that. 

Book and Prayer

وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ

“And as to those who hold fast to the Book and perform prayer, certainly We shall never waste the reward of those who do righteous deeds.” -Quran (7:170)

Abiding by God’s book and its teachings and establishing prayer comes hand in hand with working to benefit the world through your action. Although the two seem like individualistic goals, they very much are what can shape and positively change communities and entire nations for the betterment of society at large. 

Wake up and see

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِّنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ
“Verily, those who are mindful of God, when an evil thought comes to them from Satan, they remember (Allah), and they then see. - Quran, 7:201

Not everyone who has eyes can see clearly. It’s in the remembrance of God that our vision awakens.

What’s to fear?

https://youtu.be/vdjjIhB8hFg

42:25

Alwadud

When we fall short or make mistakes, one of the biggest motivators to get back up is the fact that God is Loving and Merciful. No matter how deep we have fallen, rising back to Him is easy because He is the source of unequivocal Love and Mercy.
‎وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ
"And ask forgiveness of your Lord and turn unto Him in repentance. Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." - Quran (11:90) #Quran #Love #God #Wadud #Mercy #Godslove 

The fluidity of the Quran

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ وَلَهُ يَسْجُدُونَ
“Indeed, those who are with Your Lord are not too proud to serve Him, and they praise Him and prostrate before Him.” Quran (7:206)

This is the conclusion of this long beautiful chapter in the Quran, affirming that the servants of God are not too proud to bow their head to the One in control, their Creator and Fashioner. The most interesting part of this verse to me, more than the context, is what it does to the chapter as a whole. Because of this one all-encompassing verse, the reader of this chapter is suddenly taken to scenes from the very first story of the chapter, a scene where Iblees was too proud to prostrate when God asked him to. And now, at the unfolding of this chapter is God telling us how His true servants do not take Iblees as a precedent, only the exact opposite.

The way the verses and chapters connect so organically is one of the never ending miracles of the Quran. May we be gifted the ability to see them. 

Are you surprised at the decree of God?

قَالُوا أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ
They said, “Do you wonder at the acts of God?” -Quran (11:73)

https://youtu.be/HsFhNmfaa-g

Here was Prophet Ibrahim’s wife at the peak of old age where it was incomprehensible to be fertile. Yet, the angels give her the news that she will have a baby. Her instant reaction was pure bewilderment, shock, and disbelief. Their reply to her in this grandiose moment was, “Are you astonished by the works of God?” Like, do you know who God is? Nothing is impossible for Him.

And now for us, when we read this passage and deem so many situations in our lives impossible, and so many dreams unimaginable, remember what these angels said. Is anything too much for God? His decree can do the inconceivable. What’s not to believe?

Al Wali

إِنَّ وَلِيِّيَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْكِتَابَ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ
“Verily, my protector is God, who has revealed the book, and He who protects those who are act in goodness.” Quran (7:196)

What is understood in this verse is that God is the ultimate protector and One to be relied on, and that His protection befalls upon those who do good. But what’s interesting is that there is an additional description of God’s protection before He tells us who it’s for. He says that the Protector is the one who sent down His book. What does His book have to do with His protection to those who do good? Perhaps His book is a manifestation of His protection and that the book is a bridge between us and the way to rely on Him. In His book lie the keys to our reliance on Him and to His protection.