Eschew (avoid) all sin... Al-Annam (Sura 6:120) R.M. Harnisch
‘ Eschew all sin’… BISMILA-HIR RAHMA-NIR RAHIM Assalamu Aliekum! May the peace of Allah be upon you and may He guide your life. Our topic today is regarding the Law of Allah, “Sharia ya Allah” (Ten Commandments). Today, many are saying that Allah has no law! There are even believers, who say that the Law of Allah, (as written in the Ten Commandments) is no longer binding upon mankind today. Can humans really live without laws? A Nation without laws Just suppose that a nation chooses to do away with all law. Each man is free to choose what he wishes. Could we picture a nation, let’s say without traffic laws? Or even worse dismissing all police officers from their duties of law enforcement? Would this not cause extreme chaos? Nothing would be safe, life would turn into a massive scene of horror. Thieves would take that which is another’s without respect of life. Surely such an existence would be unthinkable. Yet, for some reason people feel that the Ten Commandment Laws of Allah are no longer binding! Imagine saying that ‘Allah doesn’t mind if I have other gods’, or ‘it is alright to steal’, or that it is alright to tell lies to your neighbor or even worse to take his wife or belongings from him. Such a society would surely come to an end, quickly. Friends has it ever dawned upon mankind that the reason that this world is in such difficulty, is because far too many have set aside the Law (Sharia of Allah) Ten Commandments of Allah as found in the Taurat Exodus 20! In Sura 2:93 Al-Baqara, it reminds us of the Law given. “And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): “Hold firmly to what We have given you, and hearken (to the Law)…” Sura 2:93 Al-Baqara Would the Honored Qur’an tell the readers to ‘hold firmly to what was given you and hearken to the Law’ (Ten Commandments) and then later say it is no longer binding? Is it not time to be honest with ourselves and admit that yes, here is what it says in reference to the Law of Allah! In the Honored Qur’an, it tells us to eschew (avoid) all sin. ‘Eschew all sin, open or secret: those who earn sin will get due recompense for their “earnings.”’ Sura 6:120 Al-Anaam Long ago, ancient men from the East, were well aware of what it means to ‘eschew sin’. These God-fearing men were recognized in the Taurat, (Holy Books) Job 1:1 It speaks of a man called ‘Job’. “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God [Allah], and eschewed evil.[sin]” Ayub or Job 1:1 (Bible Scriptures). He is noted by Allah as being the ‘greatest of all men of the east’ Job 1:3 How would this great man know sin, if he was not instructed? How was he to know what sin is unless he knew about the Law of Allah? How are we to know what sin is unless we look at the Law of Allah? How is sin to be defined? Therefore the Law [Ten Commandments] is needed for us to understand what sin is. In the Holy Injeel it defines exactly what sin is: (Injeel) 1John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” This Law, the Ten Commandments, is for man’s happiness. If men everywhere obeyed, revered, and respected this Law, how happy and peaceful our world would be. Allah would be honored supremely, everyone’s possessions would be respected, each life would be sacredly guarded. Society today would be far different, if all held in high regard the Ten Commandments of Allah. Allah’s Special Ten In the event the reader is unaware of the Ten Commandments of Allah we want to include this list of the ten brief laws given to humanity from heaven. We already know that the law was given long before the time of Moses upon the towering heights of Mount Sinai. For the Taurat says that Ibrahim the ‘khalil of Allah’ obeyed Allah’s Laws. In the Honored Qur’an it calls Ibrahim the “Imam to the nations”. Sura 2:124 Al-Baqara. He would be an example of following God’s Laws. (Taurat) Genesis 26:5 ‘Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.’ Here we see one from ancient times who was faithful to Allah who kept and respected Allah’s Laws. Should we not follow the example of Ibrahim who is among the ‘hanif ’? Then as a reminder, because man had forgotten, Allah repeated the Laws to Moses upon the towering heights of Mount Sinai. To impress upon the mind of man their importance, Allah wrote them Himself upon tables of stone. He would not commit to man this most important task, it is His own hand writing which would be seen. Below is listed the Ten Commandments as found in: (Taurat) Exodus 20:1-17. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 1.Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2.Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 3.Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4.Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 5.Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 6.Thou shalt not kill. 7.Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8.Thou shalt not steal. 9.Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10.Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” Thus ends the ten brief laws of Allah also listed in the (Taurat) Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Also listed through out various places in the Injeel. Forgiveness from Allah But the question may frequently be on our hearts and minds, ‘what if a man sins’? Is there forgiveness with Allah? If any man sin, and asks for forgiveness, Allah has promised to forgive. But we must ask, and also be in willingness to turn [repent] from the evil. Allah will give repentance, He will give us a sorrowful heart to the point where we will no longer want to be involved with sin. Notice the words in the Injeel…Acts 5:31 “Him [Isa al-Masih] hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, [al-fida] for to give repentance…and forgiveness of sins.” It is through Isa al-Masih which Allah sent down that He gives us repentance and forgiveness of sins. Isa became the ransom for sin on behalf of the human race. He is the great gift of Allah! May we take hold of that gift and not reject what was sent down to us! We must not miss this point! It is through Isa al-Masih that we are forgiven! Receive Him! Isa al-Masih gives power We again turn to an ancient one from the East who the record says… “eschewed [turned from] evil”. Job 1:1 (Taurat). How was he able to do that? How can anyone turn from evil? Does man in himself have the power to do that? Can a man in his own strength fight effectively against Iblis (Satan)? The Taurat records the following: Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm [strength], and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” With man there is only failure, there is no hope to trust in ourselves or in another man to recover us from our fallen condition. We can only have hope as we look to Allah and to Him who was sent down as our helper, Isa al-Masih! (Injeel) John 1:12 “But as many as received him [Isa al-Masih], to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Isn’t that what we all need, power? Power over our sinful lives! Power to do right! Listen dear friend of Allah, it is through Isa al-Masih that we receive this power from Allah. (Injeel) 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him (in repentance): He will send you the skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your strength: so turn ye not back in sin!” Sura 11:52 Hud May Allah grant unto you His Eternal Peace as you seek to eschew evil. Copied from DivineIslam’s Qur’an Viewer software v2.913 For a free copy of the Taurat and Injeel see: www.e-sword.org For more info: www.salahallah.com
Series no. 09
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