Adam held Responsible - not his Wife

MSA stated: Both Adam and his wife had disobeyed Allah, and both of them sought His forgiveness. But Allah forgave only Adam (cf. 20:122). His wife was never pardoned. So she remained under Allah's curse throughout her life on earth. Her offspring, if she had produced any, were also cursed and their descendants remain cursed even today!

Answer: According to the Quran, it was Adam who had disobeyed his Lord. The blame is not placed on Adam's wife anywhere in the Quran! The progeny of Adam is also not blamed for the sin of Adam. However, we suffer from the consequences since we inherit the DNA, as I've discussed in my blogpost: Adam's Attempt to Improve upon Allah's Creation - Outcome: Mutated, Non-Functional Genes
http://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2015/11/mission-of-messengers-iii.html 

In the passage from Surah Taha quoted below, Quran 20:115 speaks of a covenant being taken from Adam, and no firm resolve found in him. Quran 20:117 states that Adam was warned that Iblis is an enemy to you and your wife, so do not let him get you both out of the Garden and landed into misery. Quran 20:120 informs us that Iblis whispered evil suggestions to Adam. Quran 20:121 informs us that both Adam and his wife ate from the forbidden tree, but the verse also goes on to place the blame only on Adam stating that Adam had disobeyed his Lord and erred. The next verse then informs us that Adam was pardoned and granted guidance.   

The following verses highlight the importance of the guidance for us, the progeny of Adam, and why it is imperative that we heed the guidance! 

113 Thus have We sent this down - an arabic Qur'an - and explained therein in detail some of the warnings, in order that they may fear Allah, or that it may cause their remembrance (of Him). 114 High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge." 115 We had already, beforehand, taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm resolve. 116 When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused. 117 Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery. 118 "There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked, 119 "Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun's heat." 120 But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, "O Adam! shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?" 121 In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced. 122 But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned to him, and gave him Guidance. 123 He said: "Get ye down, both of you,- all together, from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery. 124 "But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment." 125 He will say: "O my Lord! why hast Thou raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)?" 126 (Allah) will say: "Thus didst Thou, when Our Signs came unto thee, disregard them: so wilt thou, this day, be disregarded." 127 And thus do We recompense him who transgresses beyond bounds and believes not in the Signs of his Lord: and the Penalty of the Hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring. 128 Is it not a warning to such men (to call to mind) how many generations before them We destroyed, in whose haunts they (now) move? Verily, in this are Signs for men endued with understanding. 129 Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from thy Lord, (their punishment) must necessarily have come; but there is a Term appointed (for respite). 130 Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: that thou mayest have (spiritual) joy. 131 Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendour of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring. 132 Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for righteousness. 133 They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of revelation? 134 And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Thy Signs before we were humbled and put to shame."135 Say: "Each one (of us) is waiting: wait ye, therefore, and soon shall ye know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received Guidance."
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=20&translator=2 

Hell fire for Kufr?

SG responding to a debate to someone's comment on an email list:  ...Allah or God or Krishna or Yayweh is not so narrow minded to ask his followers to kill non believers. I think this hatred against non believers and I remember seeing a verse in Quran about non believers going to hell fire may be just added for political reasons in Saudi Arabia. God is all loving and I don't see any reason on why he will give such kind of punishment to non believers or kufr.

My response: 

In Surah Ahzab, the reason for judgement is given as follows:

[http://quran.com/33/72-73 translator: Pickthall]

Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool. So Allah punisheth hypocritical men and hypocritical women, and idolatrous men and idolatrous women. But Allah pardoneth believing men and believing women, and Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

In Surah Yasin, the warning is reiterated:

[http://quran.com/36/60-63 translator: Pickthall]

Did I not charge you, O ye sons of Adam, that ye worship not the devil - Lo! he is your open foe! - But that ye worship Me? That was the right path. Yet he hath led astray of you a great multitude. Had ye then no sense? This is hell which ye were promised (if ye followed him).

In Surah Araf, we are reminded:

[http://quran.com/7/172-174 translator: Pickthall]

And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware; Or lest ye should say: (It is) only (that) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old and we were (their) seed after them. Wilt Thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did? Thus we detail the revelations, that haply they may return. 

SG response: This Sura 33/72-73 is almost identical to the commandment Moses have to his followers. This is similar to "Thou shall not worship Idols". I just want to say that this commandment is only applicable to Jews, Christians and Muslims. In one of the ancient Upanishads (revelations of God to great sages) God has given instructions on how he can be worshipped in a physical form made out of a stone, metal or a wood. In the famous temple of puri God is carved in a wooden form. I don't see it nothing as Idol worship here. It is god's instruction in very ancient times to worship him in this wooden form. So this instruction of Surah punishing idolatrous men and women have to be carefully analyzed. In fact this very instruction of Quran is responsible for destruction of so many temples by Aurangzeb in India bringing direct conflict with Hindus in ancient times. Less powerful kings kept quiet and more powerful kings fought against him.  

My response: 

I had quoted Quran verse 33:72 in response to your following comment: "...  I remember seeing a verse in Quran about non believers going to hell fire may be just added for political reasons in Saudi Arabia. God is all loving and I don't see any reason on why he will give such kind of punishment to non believers or kufr." 

Quran 33:72 states that the reason why humans must be judged is because humans undertook a certain responsibility: "Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool." 

Please note that God is going to judge and reward/punish in the Hereafter. These verses are not giving the license to anyone to judge or punish anyone on Earth. They are simply informing the reader that even though humans do not have enough knowledge of the unseen nor memory of what went before being sent on Earth, rest assured that there is no injustice being done. Human chose to bear the Trust and its a consequence of that that humans must be judged and recompensed for their performance in the life on Earth. 

I'm surprised to learn from your email that in the Upanishads it is permissible to worship god in physical form, while, according to the research of Dr. Zakir Naik, the Vedas strictly forbids any image of God. 

i.  Yajurveda Chapter 32, Verse 3  It is mentioned in Yajurveda  “na tasya pratima asti”  “There is no image of Him”

Is not the Vedas more sacred than the Upanishads, and the teachings of the Vedas most sacred of all Hindu teachings?    

Link to Dr Zakir Naik's 'Similarities between Islam and Hinduism: 

http://www.islamawareness.net/Hinduism/ZakirNaik/ 

The page from where I've quoted Yujurveda 32:3 

http://www.islamawareness.net/Hinduism/ZakirNaik/part2.html  

Satan

JM wrote: Atheism is more than just absence of belief IMO: it requires a supernatural to disbelief in it. I look at a 'religiously motivated violence' with suspicion since I still look for a fitting definition for 'religious'. I asked Samiya where does 'Satan' come into the picture in vain. IMO every thinking person starts out with SOME belief (e.g. the existence (reality?) of an infinite complexity we like to call 'WORLD'' of which we only know a small fraction.)  

Answer: I'm not sure exactly what you had earlier asked about Satan and how I had attempted to answer it. I will try to answer 'where does 'Satan' come into the picture?' here.  However, my scripture informs me that we can only warn with this Quran those who believe in the unseen, hence perhaps that is the reason why our discussions have been in vain. 

May I ask why you refuse to admit the existence of a supernatural when you yourself admit that we know only a small fraction of the infinite complexity? And what do you mean by 'supernatural'? Do you use this term to refer to 'The Creator of Nature'?  

So, coming back to your question:  'where does 'Satan' come into the picture?' The following is as I understand it from the Quran. However, due to gaps in my understanding, the sequence of the events may be different, as I attempt to collect my thoughts: 

God, Allah: The Creator, The Sustainer, The King and The Deity, created everything for some purpose. 

He created dJinns and Humans to serve Him. He created dJinns from Fire and Humans from Clay.  The dJinns were created earlier, the humans later. However, there was a period of time when humans were nothing worth mentioning. Excerpts from my blogpost Human Evolution [http://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2015/01/human-evolution.html]:

Earthly Origins

[Al-Qur’an 71:17, Translator: Sahih International] And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth. 

Pre-historic Humans 

[Al-Qur’an 76:1, Translator: Sahih International] Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?   

Perfection through Evolution 

[Al-Qur’an 32:7-9, Translator: Sahih International] Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful. 

[unquote] 

The Trust was offered to the Heavens, Earth and Mountains, all refused, scared to undertake the responsibility. Human undertook it. 

This act of being a Trustee necessitates that God judges humans, punishing the idolaters and the hypocrites, while rewarding the believers. 

Quran 33:72-73 Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool. So Allah punisheth hypocritical men and hypocritical women, and idolatrous men and idolatrous women. But Allah pardoneth believing men and believing women, and Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. 

However, the Compassionate and Just God is not going to punish anyone for no fault of theirs. Hence, after creating Adam, God took out Adam's progeny (all potential consciousnesses) and asked us all if He[God] is their god. We all testified to it, and hence each one of us is a witness to our own covenant with God.

Quran 7:172-174 And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them],"Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware." Or [lest] you say, "It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with Allah before, and we were but descendants after them. Then would You destroy us for what the falsifiers have done?" And thus do We [explain in] detail the verses, and perhaps they will return.

To establish its eligibility to inherit the eternal Garden(s), each consciousness also receives its own temporal life on Earth to prove its worth as a Trustee, and each will be judged individually. 

After God blew His Spirit in Adam, He asked all angels to prostrate/submit to Adam. However, Iblis (Satan / The Chief Deceiver) refused. His refusal to submit to Adam was based upon arrogance. He believes that his being created from Fire makes him superior to Adam who is created from Clay. Not all dJinns are evil, but Satan and his progeny are the sworn enemies of mankind. They watch us from where we cannot see them (another dimension / shadow biosphere / ??) and they are able to whisper suggestions to our minds (desires / temptations / expectations / fears / doubts / ?? ). Whether to act upon the suggestions or to resist them is in our control. Satan and his progeny do not have any real power upon us. Our intellect and our conscience are great blessings, and we must use them together to overcome the challenges.     

We are clearly and repeatedly warned that Satan is a determined, relentless enemy and that humans should not worship him. The only being worthy of worship is the One, True, Ever-Living God, and all other worship are actually forms of Satan-worship, who deceives us in multiple ways. 

Excerpts from my blogpost: Mission of the Messengers [http://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2015/06/mission-of-messengers.html]

Adam’s Covenant and Fall

Quran 20:115 informs us that a covenant was already taken from Adam, but he forgot and there was no firm resolve on his part. The subsequent verses go on to relate the event of all angels prostrating to Adam while Iblees (Satan) refused. Adam is forewarned that Satan is an enemy to Adam and his wife; hence to be careful lest Satan causes their expulsion from the Garden where all their needs (food, clothing, comfort) were taken care of. However, they were seduced by Satan and ate the forbidden fruit. Quran 20:123 informs us that, at the time of their expulsion from the Garden to the earth, Adam and Eve are yet again warned of the enmity between humans and Satan, but that whoever follows God’s guidance will not lose his way or fall into misery. The subsequent verses of Chapter 20 expand upon the result of not heeding to God’s message.  

Satan’s Plan to Destroy Humans

Modern scientific research points to the origin of RNA in clay. Advances in Genetic Engineering are opening new avenues for alterations in and modification of the ‘code of life’. 

Experiments in cloning and cross-breeding on cattle have been going on since the past many years. Though  samples for cloning can be taken from anywhere, the most convenient and popular method is to take sample from the ear. 

The following verses help us understand the relationship between keeping our covenant and duty to God and the womb, and how Satan plans to corrupt creation by means of cloning and cross-breeding: 

Quran 4:117-121 informs us that the rebellious Satan is cursed because he has sworn to take a portion of humans and that: 

‘… And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allah ." And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss. …’ 

Quran 17:61-66 relating the story when the angels were ordered to prostrate to Adam, quotes Iblees' (Satan) objection to prostrate to one made of clay, vowing that ‘I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few’. Granting Iblees respite till the Day of Resurrection, he is given permission to: ‘Go, for whoever of them follows you, indeed Hell will be the recompense of you - an ample recompense. And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them.’ 

[unquote] 

Leviticus 18-20 also forbids cross-breeding and related harmful practices. 

It is important to note that Iblis [Satan] is not unaware of God. He acknowledges God, yet refuses to obey Him. He arrogantly considers himself superior to another creation, and yet prays, to the same God he is daring to disobey, to grant him respite to the Day of Judgement. In the narrative in the Quran, Adam and his wife also err, tempted by Satan: 'Then Satan whispered to him; he said, "O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?" ' [http://quran.com/20/120]. Yet they humbly admit their error and turn to God in repentance. Hence, the importance of humility, submission and piety, the will to keep our duty to God. That, in my understanding, is what Faith is all about: willful submission to the Will of God! 

  

What divine consideration allows Satan to ... tempt and mislead, to beguile and decieve?

Question: I am familiar with the Islamic taboo against "partners unto Allah", but I am confused by the reference to Satan, a rebel. Must Satan not originally have been either a servant of God, a mighty being but not divine, like the angels you described, or else a partner of God? If Satan is not divine, then what divine consideration allows him to rebel and live for all these many years and harm so many human souls who otherwise might have pleased God? If Satan is not divine, from whence come "his" powers to tempt and mislead, to beguile and deceive? He often seems to be portrayed as a being of powers divine, greater than those of any angel, Christian or Islamic, and I find it hard to see how Satan is not essentially a partner of God. Does God not allow his rebellion to continue? Is that not a contract or agreement between divine good and evil? 

Answer: Satan (Iblis) refused to obey God out of pride and was cursed (removed from God's blessing forever). He blamed God for his fall from grace, and asked that he be given respite till Judgement Day so as to allow him & his progeny to lead mankind astray. God permitted that, knowing quite well that Satan will only be able to lead astray those who choose to be led by him.

Background:
1) Iblis is a dJinn. dJinns are a creature made of smokeless fire. They can see us but we cannot see them (from another dimension, I suppose).
2) Iblis was among the angels who were ordered to prostrate to Adam. Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam citing that he is superior to Adam as Adam has been created of clay.
3) Before God created Adam, God informed the angels that he is about to create a vice-regent for Earth. The angels asked why someone who would create mischief and shed blood... (Quran 2:30). God told them 'I know what ye know not'. After God had created Adam and taught him names of all beings (inferred from the arabic pronoun used), He then presented Adam to the angels and asked the angels to name them. The angels did not have the knowledge of those names and thus could not answer. Then Adam was asked and he was able to recite the names of them all.
4) Thereafter, the angels were ordered to prostrate to Adam. They all did except Iblis. He refused, was haughty and became of those who reject faith. God asked Iblis what prevented him from prostrating. Iblis said that Thou didst create me from fire and him from clay (Quran 7:12). God told him that it is not for Iblis to be arrogant , that he is the meanest of creatures, and he was ordered out. Iblis asked for respite till the day they (humans) are raised up. He was granted respite, disgraced and expelled. (Quran 7:13-18).
5) Adam and his wife were told to stay and enjoy all things in garden (heaven) and were only prohibited from one tree. They were warned that if they approach it, they will run into harm and transgression. Satan began to whisper suggestions to them and beguiled them, and through deceit brought their fall. God asked them that weren't they forbidden and were they not warned that Satan was their avowed enemy. They were repentant and humble, so God forgave them.    
6) Then were they sent to Earth for a temporal life (Quran 2:36 - 38 and 7:24).
Quran 2:38 'We said: "Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.'
7) We are warned that Satan and his progeny are our enemies, and that we need to be ever aware of that. We are also told that they have no real power over us: they can only whisper and suggest, and stir up desires; it is up to us whether we choose to follow them or not.  

We on Earth, this temporal life and its trials, Satan and his progeny, Prophets and God's guidance, Judgement Day, Heaven and Hell, all this is part of a much larger scheme, of which we have but very little knowledge and insight. Things will be made clear to us when the time is right. So, for the time being, we must use conscience and intelligence as our tools in search of guidance and choose accordingly. 

Dualism

Question: Anyone want to explain to me why dualism is not a viable wayof looking at things?

Answer: As there can be no two leaders of a nation or organization, no two kings or presidents, there can not be two gods. God has to be one and only one to have complete authority and freedom, to be omnipotent, omniscient, all-powerful.
Observation of nature leads one to reasonably assume that there is a guiding force (a pattern-imposing force as V would put it) which creates with such clockwork precision and beauty, encoded programming and replication,and so on and so forth. Even things/events/creatures which do not appear as nice/pleasant/beautiful have the underlying clockwork precision and infallible programming. All that must emanate from a deity, and only one deity, because two or more would eventually have differences, and thus would no longer be able to co-exist. As they themselves would be immortal/eternal (our concept of God being uncreated and thus from forever till forever), they would eventually seek out to destroy each others work and all created things would come to an end. For things to be as beautiful, wonderful, precise and orderly as they are, there has to be only one God.
Considering the above premise to be true, how does one explain the continuous war between good and evil. My answer is FREE-WILL and its misuseby both humans and djinns.
Remembering that God is omnipotent, omniscient, all-powerful leads us to theunderstanding that inspite of a grand and vast celestial plan, he has the time and the ability to be a personal deity for each and everyone of his creatures...He created all, He knows all, He cares for all, and He respondsto all.
Why God allows some to suffer while others enjoy a luxurious life, He Himself best knows, though I have attempted to answer that question before (link below). The problem is that we try to judge God without having a complete knowledge of what exactly is going on. The story of Moses and Khizr aptly illustrates this short-coming:
Chapter 18 (Kahf) Translated by M. Pickthal
65 Then found they one of Our slaves, unto whom We had given mercy from Us,and had taught him knowledge from Our presence.
66 Moses said unto him: May I follow thee, to the end that thou mayst teachme right conduct of that which thou hast been taught?
67 He said: Lo! thou canst not bear with me.
68 How canst thou bear with that whereof thou canst not compass anyknowledge?
69 He said: Allah willing, thou shalt find me patient and I shall not inaught gainsay thee.
70 He said: Well, if thou go with me, ask me not concerning aught till Imyself make mention of it unto thee.
71 So they twain set out till, when they were in the ship, he made a holetherein. (Moses) said: Hast thou made a hole therein to drown the folkthereof? Thou verily hast done a dreadful thing.
72 He said: Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
73 (Moses) said: Be not wroth with me that I forgot, and be not hard upon mefor my fault.
74 So they twain journeyed on till, when they met a lad, he slew him.(Moses) said: What! Hast thou slain an innocent soul who hath slain no man?Verily thou hast done a horrid thing.
75 He said: Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
76 (Moses) said: If I ask thee after this concerning aught, keep not companywith me. Thou hast received an excuse from me.
77 So they twain journeyed on till, when they came unto the folk of acertain township, they asked its folk for food, but they refused to makethem guests. And they found therein a wall upon the point of falling intoruin, and he repaired it. (Moses) said: If thou hadst wished, thou couldsthave taken payment for it.
78 He said: This is the parting between thee and me! I will announce untothee the interpretation of that thou couldst not bear with patience.
79 As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the river, and Iwished to mar it, for there was a king behind them who is taking every shipby force.
80 And as for the lad, his parents were believers and we feared lest heshould oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.
81 And we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one betterin purity and nearer to mercy.
82 And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, andthere was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father had beenrighteous, and thy Lord intended that they should come to their fullstrength and should bring forth their treasure as a mercy from their Lord;and I did it not upon my own command. Such is the interpretation of thatwherewith thou couldst not bear.
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=18&translator=4&mac=
Link of a previous answer:http://islam-qna.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-loving-perfect-god.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M, you responded: "a child is not born based onFREE-WILL.................nor will it die, based on FREE-WILL..............a person may choose many things, but there are many things that will happen, regardless of CHOICE." And, in another post, you write: "we is just ants, following well wornpaths.............."
See, this is exactly what I've also been (trying) to say all along, that is,that we are sent here for a fixed period(trial), that we have freedom of choice (free-will), that everything is already programmed/paths or roads already mapped/decreed (that is all happens exactly as God has decreed) regardless of choice, because all possible choices are already pre-programmed and consequent paths mapped.
We both belief that there is a Creator, we both believe that we do not have much control ( if any) over what happens, and we are too tiny (peanuts) inthe cosmic scale of things to be able to comprehend God.
R, coming back to your point, you seem to believe that Satan/Lucifer is in control /has domain over planet Earth, and God is somehow incapable of intervening, unable to stop him from perpetrating evil. I believe that even Satan is on a licence from God, and all that he is able to do is suggest evil ideas to humans, whereas we are endowed with intellect, conscience/ morality, and freedom of choice. It is upon each of us, as individuals, to choose to do good or evil, and the world is shaped by the consequences of our collective actions, not because God is unable to intervene, but because God has programmed (decreed) all possible outcomes. Birth, death, disease, health, poverty, wealth, and so many other things are not in our direct control, and we naturally worry, fret and dismay over our helplessness, and then try to find explanations why the all-loving, ever-merciful deity does not intervene and put an end to suffering. Ofcourse, there are many human conditions that worry me just as much as theyworry you all as well, but are we qualified to judge God? The proof that God is able to intervene is to be found in the experiences of those who pray and have their prayers answered. Since most choose not to pray, atleast directly to God, and since sometimes God also chooses to not grant us that which we pray for, it is indeed difficult to establish such interventions scientifically/empirically.
There are a myriad of faith systems out there, and in the absence of a direct means of communication with God, how is one to arrive at the correct set of beliefs, if I may put it that way.
We've discussed earlier why I believe the Quran is divine revelation, so I don't think repetition is necessary. http://islam-qna.blogspot.com/2008/11/holy-quran-word-of-god.html
As you know, we muslims pray five times a day, and we start with recitation of the first seven verses of the Quran. The key prayer is verse 6: ehdinassirat al mustaqeem meaning Show us the straight path! I'd like to share theprayer with you
Translated by M.Pickthal
1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
2 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
3 The Beneficent, the Merciful.
4 Master of the Day of Judgment,
5 Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
6 Show us the straight path,
7 The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those whoearn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

The above oft-repeated seven verses are a reminder that we need to keep learning, to keep praying, and to ever be wary of being misled by the whisperings of Satan and the myriad of philosophies, and to remember that on the basis of our intellect alone we will not be able to reach anywhere, and that we are always in need of divine guidance and help. Hope I've been able to clarify why dualism doesn't appear viable to me, and why I believe what I believe.

All-loving Perfect God?

Question: Why did an all-loving God create such a mess? The question, for me, leads logically to three possible conclusions: (1) He is not the Creator God to begin with; (2) He created a perfect world but another powerful entity (the Bible says that Satan is the prince of this world) took over and fouled things up, or (3) God, the Creator, is Himself imperfect.

Answer: Ever considered a software, or perhaps a still easier analogy, a video game, how it is designed and how it responds to the players' inputs? You see, the software designer engineers a set of possibilities which are programmed in a set of ‘if’ ‘elseif’ ‘else’ conditions or ‘while’ ‘do while’ ‘for’ 'next' loops knowing very well all the possible choices the player can possibly make, and even though the game evolves in exactly the same pattern as it was designed, yet, it is coloured in the choices made by the player. The player has no power over the result of his choices, but he does have a limited power to make the right choices. The perfect game that he plays, or the mess he creates is based on his own aptitude, and does not reflect the perfection/imperfectness of the designer. If the game crashed, gave an unknown error, then the programmer is flawed, but if the game continues till the end, then the programmer has done a very good job incorporating and designing around all possible user inputs. That our world continues, that inspite of all the evil perpetrated by humans upon humans, life goes on, and good things still happen, and all in all, everything continues till such a time as is prophesized that it will come to an end, all indicates a perfect designer. But, He tells us that this is no mere sport, that there is a purpose behind this world and this life, and beyond what we’ve been told, we will be acquainted with the reality of it in the Hereafter. Till then, we just have to trust Him, and wait……….He will tell us when the time is right, or so I guess!
And as far as Satan being the prince is concerned, well, like us He is also allowed to make His choices, but actually everything happens exactly according to the Divine plan….we can only make choices, whether we are humans or genies.
Have you seen the movie, Matrix? Sometimes I think perhaps we are simply plugged in here like in the movie!