Understanding Islam

Today’s Peace Verse: Al Baqarah (2): 138

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“[Say: "Our life is] the color of Allah! And who can color better than Allah? And it is He Whom we worship.”

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Todays Peace Verse is very significant not only for an understanding of peace, coexistence and diversity, but also for ethics in general.

Let us get through the metaphor of color first. When we color an object, that object not only appears that color, let us say purple, but also becomes that color. A car would be a purple car, a candle would be a purple candle or a book would be a purple book.

So, if were to be colored by the color of God, would we be God? Of course, no one can be God, but there is nothing that says we cannot be and we should not be God-like in our day to day lives, deeds, thoughts and words–and as this verse claims, God encourages that.

But, to be more clear, what does it mean to be God-like in our day to day lives? How can we act God-like? This requires a transformation of thinking most of us seem to have. When we pray, we give so many attributes to God: Merciful, Gracious, Compassionate, Pure, Source of Peace, Forgiving, Knowledgable, Just, Magnificent, Love, Mighty, Nourisher, Preserver, Wise, Truth, Glorious, Patient and countless more. When we *give* these attributes to God, more often than not, we end up distancing these attributes from ourselves. What we need to do, is to take those names, take their merits and start living like what they suggest. Let us BE Love, BE Compassionate, BE Just, BE Understanding. That is the way to be colored with the color of God.

Like we have explained in yesterday’s Peace Verse, God does not care which religion someone believes in. If we want to be God-like, let us not care about such differences.

This verse tells us, this is the way to worship God, in our deeds towards other people, in our words and in our thoughts. Sun does not chose to provide its light to a good person over a bad one. There are many more examples in the world, in the universe and in the Holy Books. If we observe, think and try to see those examples, we can find many more instances which can guide us. Article from Peace Verse  http://peaceverse.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/todays-peace-verse-al-baqarah-2-138/