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From:
Edie Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 7 May 2008 20:35:18 +0100
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Hello Again Suntu,
   
  Firstly, I will like to rephrase my last paragraph, I mean God will not test us through Satan. 
   
  However, Brother man, I know we are all student and therefore we should then act like one. Religion is very complex and one should therefore be careful what to say or convey to others. "Akara" always goes with hot pepper and anyone who loves it have to resist the burning mouth thereafter. Pertaining to your saying that the message is clear is what I don't understand because any clear message should be out of questioning right, Suntu, I will never ever tell my child not to play with other human-being this alone is an abomination because God make us human to be with each other,respect and accept each other as we are whether Christian Muslim, Hindu etc, we are all praying to the same God but with different names and ways therfore, we need to respect each other to leave in peace harmony.
   
  Again Suntu, I am a believer as you are on the Godliness of the Qurran but what I don't understand is the fact that, hence God said know me before you worship me, there alone tell us that AlQuraan can be scrutinise to be able to gain that knowledge God wants us to know about Him. Moreover, it was written in Arabic just like other  viable means of survival in this world written in foreign languages. I understood, however, it was the will of God who wanted to unify the world with few important or universal languages to make the world a better place with certain countries as leaders on the world decision making. 
   
  Then again, given these credential to the countries does not mean other should not scrutinise their behaviours because without criticism, nothing will go accordingly, without criticism the world will not be as it is now. One who criticise you is not always your enemy but someone who wanted you to check on your actions and if possible make changes. 
   
  Considering the above, I don't understand why scrutinising The Alqurran is sometimes a Taboo? open the narration in The Quraan as God's word that, anyone who will worship me need to know me? If there is not a hidden agenda, they should be able to answer all doubtful question regarding the Holy Book not to be offended or sanction people who deem to say otherwise.
   
  We are all educated no matter how small it might be is far more better than our ancient folk who everyone from Arabs to westerners had fooled to imposed things upon them without their conscience. Yet for thousands of years we cannot still learn that tricks they teaches us to free out people against their false interpretations of events that suits only their own desires. 
   
  God exists is true, The Quran's existence is true, The Bible's existence is true, but if perfection is non exist ant to human, and the prophets are human, how comes Holy Books which are given to human are term perfect considering the time of the prophets till the time human-being were able to assemble the scriptures.
   
  Finally i notice Mr. Touray, you are getting exhausted in the process and I am sorry if I might offend you or anyone for that matter.
  Good afternoon
  Edie

SUNTOU TOURAY <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
  edie, i did not make any statemnet which implies that we shouldn't seek knowledge. infact i stated that we should seek knowledge pertaining to religion and God. i stated that if we are confuse we should ask the experts in the field of religion. that is my call. i am not a scholar ,i just like you is only stating some little facts about life.if one wish to be confuse i said ,you will. the message is clear. just like we advice our children not to be friends with unruely folks, similarly God advice us not obey the tempting of the satan. if one try to mix that message ,that is up that person. i also state that, if we make effort to learn about our faiths, then we wouldn't be confuse just like baba and lj and others learn about law,politics and etc. it becomes clear to you. human beings i stated can analyse complex things yet they get confuse about God and Satan.
how can you be term qualify when you have no exam or test to under go?

Edie Sidibeh wrote:
Brother Suntu,

I am not following you but the word you are conveying as Allah's yes I am, and still disagreeing with your points. However, God said "Ikera in Arabic" learn to gain knowledge, knowledge on your creator yet you said in your mail that God did not tell us to learn? but Galleh and Darbo had just got the gut to learn yet you believed in the influence of God in our daily thoughts and doings? As I pointed out earlier, the wisest among us shall be the winner in this live and the hereafter.............

Again Mr. Touray, talking about Bukassa, Hitler, etc. Those people are leaders given to them by the will of God just like directors, manager etc and etc. I however think those who missused their credentials as heads of human-being will received lower ranking in the hereafter if you will call that hell fire, it sounds too. Or maybe because they were influence by unknown force or forces by the name of Satan who have equal power with God.

That mobile phone owner is a hypocrite be cause he told the worker already that he trusted him why fixing camera? in the same vein, God trusted us and love us so much to place camera call Satan to influence our loving. He gave us the organs so as to guide ourselves towards good and bad and learn to take responsibilities in our acts. If we defy responsibility, who will learn? if Satan is to blame in every wrong thing how can we learn?

God will test you via Satan hence he love you and on the other hand He is not in good term with Satan for that matter. Again Do God need to test us while He knew what we are going to be and do in this world as well as the hereafter? We therefore don't need to do anything good or bad in this world hence our destiny is already known by God. That again can be a challenging thing as well, and it will therefore needs taking responsibility of our Acts to show The God that we wanted to be in the higher position in the hereafter even thus we are intended for hell fire or else, even thus I am intended for heaven, I will rather go to hell by the action i am doing.























SUNTOU TOURAY wrote:
Brother Edie, if you are following me, i am taking a sequence. i am coming to the questions you asked.
what is imperative is that we understand our relationship with god and then with the Satan. You don't need to worry about the temptations of the Satan if you fully understand what God expects of you. The reality of the state of the human being is such that, we are given a freedom to choose between good and evil. that is part of our privilege creation. since you are using practical examples to explain our responsibilities as humans, i will do likewise to decode other issues.

Mr sidibe, we all know that nothings comes that free, we work hard for our success. suppose you work in a factory that manufacture mobile phones. your boss told you that i trust you that you will not steal any phone. and he fix some cameras to monitor you whilst you work. this cameras cover every angle of the work place. but you know unless some thing major happens your boss will not check the camera records. you start to steal some phones once in a while. your boss never caught you but your actions are on tape.
you work for that company until you are retired. your boss then plan a send off for you. he never knew what bad things you have done.he trusted you to do what is right with all the temptation to steal few phones. 
similarly, God's decision to let the devil tempt us is a test brother Edie. that test is the measure of our determination to obey him or obey our nemesis the devil. we cannot just be created to obey god, without any test, that will not make us any different from other animals.
the test is the key for our success or failure in the hereafter. just like we are given exams in schools or universities.
the point you stated concerning " no one will go to hell" is a concept that the nation of Islam preaches. but the reality is that ,hell is a place for punishment and cleansing. we should all pray that God forbid us from entering into it.
men like pol pot,Mobutu, HITLER COMMITTED ACTS WHICH ARE horrible yet no one has punished them for their actions, do you believe that those men will not get judged by their creator? 
as Muslims we believe that hell is a test for all believers. those who obey the commandments of GOD will be blessed with paradise and others with hell. but the decision to either punish or bless lies only in god's hand. the creation of the devil or Satan is part of test. he is needed to test the obedience and promise of man. all that the devil tempt men can be substitute with what is allowed by god. for instance, instead of adultery one can marry. instead of consuming alcohol one can drink juice or water. etc. i will continue later. the real issue here is why and how men give their life to the Satan, be it in the name of arts and creativity, or entertainment,wars,wealth,fame and over zealousity. we shall take a sequence.thanks



since you are using practi

Edie Sidibeh wrote:
Thank you again Mr.Touray for your clarification on the issue of faith. However sir, you did not answer my question but pondering on the same old story I have heard over and over again. What I am asking is the reason why God take us out of the Garden to earth? also as why should God let satan to exist if He/She did not Obey His will? God says that, everything on earth is an example of that we will have in heaven. 

Taking that to consideration, When swomeone works for a company for certain period and at the end does not want to Obey the company's regulations disagreeing with the owners and the owners have no other choice than sending Him/her packing, should the company be mandated to paying him continuously for life or should it be for certain period? Again God says before you worship me, you should "try" to know me first. 

Again, knowing someone or somebody those not come in a silver plate but asking a clarity about him and why he does certain thing that does not motivate you to follow what he/she is preaching concerning your interest. Some people will be critical if one will asked certain question regarding God, some will tell that God doesn't want you to asked many questions but to believe Him. Of course I believe in God as well as the prophets but the stories that preachers said are those that are confusing, as such, if God took us out of the Garden because we are sinful, why will He take us back while we are not clean? 

Again, my stupid logic told me that, GOD GAVE US THE SENSES WE ARE USING TO THINK FEEL TOUCH SEE AND HEAR. These are things that we can use to know what is right and wrong, therefore, why do we need Satan to influence us WHILE THE BRAIN IS THERE TO ASSIST OUR SENSES? If something is term wrong it therefore satanic but anything good is Godly, in this way who will take responsibility if something goes wrong hence Satan is more powerful than we are. Therefore, everybody should go to heaven because we are powerless to resist things we cannot see feel or touch and hear.

That is why God said between me and you no one will go to hell, because He knows that we are our own Satan for that matter He said only between you and your fellow human-being will take you to hell.

Again thanks for your time.














/Brother Edie, you are a very humble person. We are all students in this global village. Be proud with what you know and express it so that others can learn from you. The topic has been expanded. We shall include every thing relevant here. Our learned brothers are a bit miserly, they don't easily part with knowledge. Haruna is one educated brother.

Coming to the real issue of our relationship as human beings with the Devil or Satan. i will put it in a story form but it is how the scholars of Islam explained it.

Long before man was created ,a being was among the angels. Angels don't disobey the commands of God. They are created that way. The duties assigned to is done to perfection and they engage in the glorification of God all their life's. Among the Angels was the Devil or Satan or Jinn. He was created from Fire. He served among the Angels ,at one point rose to be among the leadership. 
What causes a high ranking being among the Angels to be banished to oblivion? God in his infinite plans, started creating our ancestor Adam. As Muslims we believe that God created Adam with his own hands. when Adam was laying in a form of clay or mud. the Angels will be wondering what being God is creating. The Satan started to be jealous of Adam has he lay in a lifeless form. It is reported that, The Satan usually point its finger at Adam's Tummy saying " i don't know what is this but if any thing his tummy will be a big temptation for him". to this many scholars said, the Satan's words proof true against us as humans, our quest for livelihood make us do many horrendous things. all we pursue in life is related to our happiness and comfort. from thief's to murderer.

When Adam was completed to the human form, God then created a soul. The soul is not from God. The soul is created. Then Adam's soul is breath into him. Then God authorised the Angels and Satan to prostrate to Adam. God created us with honour and respect. To this request the Angels fall down and prostrated. But the Satan refused.
He disobeyed the command of God. This is a serious issue but the Satan was ready to face any consequences. He was asked, why did you refuse to obey the command of God? his answer, which is similar to what many human beings say to day is " i am better than him, you created me from fire and him from clay". 
God told the Satan ," i know things you don't know". but the Satan was adamant. It refuse to bodge. He sealed his faith. What is the difference between committing a sin and falling in a state of disbelief? to commit a sin one knowingly do an act that he is forbidden from doing. to commit disbelief or kuffur, one denies the the validity of there being any wrong in his or her action. he/she don't belief the commands are reasonable and valid. this is disbelief.
an example, God command Muslims not to commit fornication and adultery. we as humans have many temptations. one way or the other, you find yourself committing fornication. you accepts that it is wrong but you followed your desire and commit a major sin in Islam which has a stipulated punishment in here and the hereafter. but still you do it. That is a sin.
but if you don't belief that fornication is a sin and that why should it be a sin? it is a relationship between two consenting adult, it is unreasonable for God to regard it a sin, then you have disbelief and disregard God's commandments and his validity and existence.

What the devil did was the later. He told God, i am better than Adam ,meaning human. i am made of fire, still coming to the discrimination issue. the statement of the devil is thus, you God made a mistake. you were irrational and unjust to tell me to bow down to an inferior creation of yours. whom he thought don't deserve any honour from him.
God then asked him the Satan, what do you want? i reward you now all the past deeds you have done or later? he opted for a condition that He the Satan live till dooms day. that wish of him was granted. Before parting he made a promise to God. That is " i will make all the offspring of Adam, the man who is responsible for my banishment to disobey you" .God replied ,you can only make those who listen to you disobey me.
this is the condition we are in Edie. God never abandon us as humans. he through out our existence have send men among us with his message, his guidance and word. 
what is important for us as people to realise is that, God has given us a brain. that set us apart from all other creatures. we can differentiate what is good and what is not depending on our state of mind. we can take time to read the books containing the words of God, we can take time and asked those who spend their time learning about God and the way to him. this is all our choice. but let no one mistake the words of God's punishment for disobeying him. there is a hell fire and there is paradise. there is a day of judgement. yes we may not be able to do acts that will guarantee us paradise but obeying God's commandment is an indication that we held him high and respect his words. i will continue later brother Edie. thanks a lot. 

Edie Sidibeh wrote:
Thanks again Suntu, 

I am not doing this to offend anyone but to clear my doubt on certain issue regarding religion in general. I am really in a confusion stage and I need a refurbishment from anyone as knowledgeable to set me free as a result, God will reword you for opening the eyes of a blinded stupid person like me. 

If however, the story of Adam and Eve is to go by like it was narrated by both Islam Christianity, God took us out of the heaven due to our sins so as to get our acts together before He took us back, then do you think He will accept us while we are still dirty? I think anyone who died, has completed his mandates, that is to say, he/she is clean from the sin to take his or her place in heaven. We who are still alive, need to complete our mandates like those who went before us. Therefore, if a person is dead, we should thank God for him because he/she have pass the exam to live in eternal life forever.

God says as well, the wisest among you will gain from my unlimited gifts on earth as well as heaven. Now who are the wisest, on earth? people who manufactured planes cars technological equipment etc which are benefiting to millions of people, upon that, they manufactured politics using it as a weapon to strengthen their positions. However, I am not saying that the white people are as well the ones to go to heaven, because I think going to heaven needs the recognition of your higher self, your Creator. Recognising that what ever you manufactured was created by Him hence without him bringing you to this earth, those products will never be manufactured. 

Africa for example, is the richest continent in the globe yet the poorest continent, Why? simply because white people came to us, fool us, and teach us their political languages to be use as official language, and teaches us the politics that we know nothing about and the few that were wise among us were assassinated through the help of the white man by their own people so that they can continued dealing with fools. 

However, in recently era, there came lots who are wiser in the system and eager for changes but failed in using the politic wisely to gain but wanted to challenge head-on to get what they rightfully own and in doing that, they end up hurting their own people. What I am trying to say is the fact that whoever God blessed no one can take that but to work with them wisely by using their own tools of politic they teaches use to whip them hence for now, we cannot manufacture our own politic which will be contrary to theirs. All this religious countries are using western democracy one way or the other because of its power and influences it carries. 

The Kingdom of Saudi have never ever stage an election but due to the pressure from the west, they recently stage one as well as giving rights to women to vote and hold higher positions in strategic areas. Do they have the need to do that with vast amount of wealth in their disposal? yes they do because they wanted to use the politic to pave their ways through the skin of the west. Therefore, African leaders should open up their eyes and stop challenging but work with these God given people by studying and using their politic against them wisely to take our rightfull position in the club. This is my own logic on what need to be done as well as the truth I think is how things are in reality.
Edi

SUNTOU TOURAY wrote:
Thanks Edie. you raise interesting issues as well. you are brave to state your notion on religion and faith. since i am a bit short of time ,i will respond later in detail. i know a lot about the marabout business. they are unlike the field of studies you alluded to but still a wonderful take. from what you wrote, i can see our difference in the understanding of agida. the Islamic creed. the quran explicitly stated the existence of parallel beings,the jinns. we as Muslims must accept that teaching. i hope more learned brothers here like mo baldeh and others can elaborate on that but whatever the case i will comment later. 

Edie Sidibeh wrote: Good piece of writing my dear Suntu and may God bless you for refurbishing people's mind on this sensitive issue. 

Then again Suntu I have a doubt as such, who gave that magical power? did they create those powers for themselves? God gave power to people to make guns yet guns kills, He gave power to people to make cars planes boats yet those creations are not completely save for human consumption. He gave us mouth, hands, brains, legs and all the organs to use them in-order to make our lives easier. 

He also said we should use these above powers if it will make our lives easier in "good manner" by using our brains he created and eye. He also said that those whom he have guided will never be misled right. Therefore, I think, those who goes to the serigns or marabout is also His creation to have the guts to go there and give the money they are giving to get blessing in return if that also will make their lives easier. God is more powerful than the serigns, therefore, whoever God have guided, will never be influence by tricking of the marbouts with their magics. If God did not agree with you going to Marbouts you will not be able to do it because He is the ruler of your life and have created you and whatever you do. Preachers also can be of the same category because lots of them are rich from the donation given by their followers, Presidents, directors, ministers, name just few are all using the power given to them by God and is only few of them who are using their
brains and eyes for that matter. 

Why is Satan created? is it just to say all bad influences are created by him and Good ones by God? Logically, Satan is a fake or a cooked product to play with people's mind by saying oh whatever good is God but whatever bad is created by Satan. Satan never exist we are our own Satan hence we have the brain and eyes to think and to see and realised what is Godly and not. Traditionally, we are praying because we were born seeing our fore fathers doing it and that is great because faith can move mountain and can make one happy especially the poor who without faith will have shorter life. 

Why will God create you after knowing already that you are going to the hell fire? what is the use of Him creating you? God loves us very much and will not take anyone to hell fire, because if you do bad, you will see it before you die and if you do good is only good that will follow you. Is only we humans who are always hesitant by looking at what others have and you don't, that is why He said as well do not look at people who are over you but those who are bellow you and always pray for them to be at the stage you are, in this way, God will guide you and bless your progress. He said as well no one will get to the hell fire because of Him but between you and your fellow human-being will, hence He cannot forgive what you did to your fellow human-being. I think whatever one did bad, will see it before dead overtake you, either in your life time or the period of you dead when the angel will take your breath away but you must pay for all what you did because God need you

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