God is not doing any research on us. he already new what you haruna will do from when your were a toddler to when you die even before that. Edie claims that he believe in God but he is confuse about certain things.
  The Satan blames man for his fall from grace and he is doing all he can for us too to incur the rapt of our creator. it's like the Mandingo saying ,bonoto kalafi anyun lella. a loser always wish for more losers. the Satan knows God very well. that is why when man sins he confess to not having any thing to do such a person. The Satan's problem is arrogance and pride.
  all man has to do is obey the commandments. the blue prints for our way to God is stated in his commandments. but since God knew what every man is going to do, we are only fulfilling a that knowledge not changing it or altering it.
  we decide through our actions were our final destiny lies. if you take God's words to be just fables, well and good, if you take them seriously again well and good. the message is clear. that is do good and give God his dues and you will attain eternal bliss. the basic requirement from us is to know God in the correct way, conduct the basic worship and live with him in mind.
  if that is too difficult to comprehend then, we may analyse our respective field of expertise and see who is wrong.
  i will take Baba galeh here for instance, he is a great bloke, and intelligent fellow and highly qualified human being. yet he didn't say, i am bless with intelligence let me relax in Farafeni and my intelligence will guide me. he worked hard in school. he knew the field he is most capable of and he directed his energy on that path. he is already with a masters degree and has worked for high profile organisations. isn't that enough endeavour? to him no, he is now pursuing a doctorate degree. why is Baba doing all that? is it easy attaining a masters degree? no. how many hours do one has to put in to get such a high level education.? now coming to our other brother Lamin J Darboe. he is a very intelligent brother whose intelligence was well known before he left the Gambia. he attain the highest level of law studies in the u.s. he is a barrister. but did Mr Darboe just accept his intelligence and sit at home? he worked hard for all he achieve. likewise many brothers and
 sisters study the things that interest them. God did not tell us to do those studies. we knew it will help us in our future careers. we want the best in life.
  In our every day life, God is present with us in his knowledge. he is not dictating to us what to do. he send us our constitution and guide, his words through a man from among us. this man deliver the message of God. just like any speaker, we are entitle to say, what a load of rubbish or what a waste of time you are.
  if one wants to understand the message of God, you take time and analyse his messages in the books containing them, if you still think the messages are vake, then consult the experts in that field, just like we consult legal advisers, accountants, coaches, teachers, doctors, etc. we cannot have an excuse in the hereafter.
  God told people in the Quran, " won't you ponder over the message i reveal to you?" He also told us to look into our own creation, there is a lesson for those who think. the anatomy of man is full of what amaze us every single day. the Satan is only there to distract us. we as men let him have control over us, we let him rule us. the Satan has his own kingdom. he rule over the jinns and men who obey him. he gave his followers things that they should have to wait for.
  the confusion over the messengers is all man's determination to live the way he deem fit. a close example is when we have elected members representing us in government. we expect this people to do what we voted them to do. but this men later becomes more powerful than us. they rather tell us what we should do not the other way round. they make laws that restrict our rights, they lock us up and enjoy our tax revenue. yet we feel this people should be listening to us. we normally tell them, next election , we will not vote for you. 
  As for God ,the day he will ask us to give account, there will be no next time. this is why it is important that we don't make life more complicated than it is. we all Believe in God. But we need to believe the correct way. we need to prove that we believe by doing the bare minimum required of us. if you are Muslims, pray the five daily prayers, fast during Ramadan, go for hajj in you are capable, give zakat when you have the wealth. and firmly believe in The uniqueness and oneness of god without any partner or lookalike, without any concept that we are all gods or any thing like that.
  i will now continue on the holy men's issue. the marabouts, the seriegns, the chernos.
   
   
  

Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
    In other words God/Allah is conducting research on his creation. Ergo, we 
are only significant to her and NOT ourselves. What success are we working 
toward ag
  now coming to one of our brother, Lamin J Darboe, he is also a high intelligent pain?????

I think brother Sidibeh is unto something Suntou. The Shaitan/devil is the 
conflicts within Ourselves and not a countervailing force of divine research.

Haruna. I just remembered the landscape project is not quite complete. My 
son has brought two key points to my attention. One is divine, and the other is 
process. I shall share them with you my friends under appropriate topic.


In a message dated 5/6/2008 5:47:28 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:

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
clean not while you are dirty.
Edi

SUNTOU TOURAY wrote:
The mystical fellows in our communities has been with us since when we 
cannot remember. Many among us have dealt with them, we have one way or the other 
consulted them. but do you really know what sort of things this men are 
doing? what is that we know about the serigns or marabout or moro's? this infamous 
topic i will call who dares talk. why did i gave it that strange title? it 
have to do with the strong believe that people has in the powers of this men. 
from a perspective of Islam, this people can be categorise into two groups. 
those who engage in acts of prayers and good actions and maintain the 
spiritual standard required of a learned Muslim. they conduct their acts in 
accordance with authentic sunnah or ways of the prophets. they never claim any powers 
or means extra-ordinary, when people ask them for prayers or duaas, they 
never hesitate to explain their human limitations. all they do is ask God's 
favour for that particular person. this group of marabouts are very few. to 
attain high status and closeness to God has many requirements. among them is 
consuming what is lawful and that which is acquire without deception and/or 
falsehood. in short eating from halal earnings. this is a monumental task for all 
believers.
the second categories of marabouts/seriegns is the mystical masters. they 
always have an air of piety with them. they direct people to them self. they 
demand money always. they use tricks and engage in secretive acts just to 

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