Reading the therapeutic contract in the Quran

Thought of the day

Day #3

We are not really left hanging… God tells us immediately who are those who are mindful of God

2:3  (those)who believe in the unseen, keep up the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them

2:4  those who believe in the revelation sent down to you [Muhammad], and in what was sent before you, those who have firm faith in the Hereafter

2:5  Such people are following their Lord’s guidance and it is they who will prosper

We are immediately given the first challenge, we have to believe in the unseen. In the word Ghaib, we also find the meaning of that which is not acquired by the five senses. A challenge to go beyond the mind’s eye. Mindfulness of God requires digging deep but also operates on three relational axis:

⁃ A humbling act of submission to Allah by believing in what He tells us about what is beyond our grasp (an antidote to narcissism)

⁃ A vertical relationship with our lord through prayer that reminds us of the bond with Allah and what each party has contracted for (an antidote to omnipotence)

⁃ A horizontal relationship with others through an act of care: giving out of what they have been given (an antidote to isolation and estrangement)

So the opening guidance works on providing the seeker with an immunological response to internal structures that can lead to deviation from the righteous path.

Hence, the five pillars of Islam, shahadah, zakah, prayer, fasting and pilgrimage, which incorporate this belief in the unseen, work as the foundations and boosters of our psychological immune system and are first and foremost beneficial to us.

So what is this immunological response going to strengthen?

TBC…

Previous reflection

https://psychobableblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/ramadan-reflections-2/

Next reflection

https://psychobableblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/ramadan-reflections-4/