Ramadan Day 4: Verses from the Quran
Sat Oct 08, 2005 at 05:42:49 PM PDT
Each day during
Ramadan, I am presenting a verse from the Quran with a few thoughts or comments. An introduction to this series is
here. Inshallah (God willing), I hope that this may be of benefit to any who are interested in learning a bit more about Islam and Muslim belief.
Quran 3:195:
And their Lord answered them: Indeed I do not lose the work of any worker from you, whether male or female. You come from one another. So those who have emigrated and been sent out from their homes and injured in My path and fought and been killed, I will erase their bad deeds and admit them to gardens under which rivers flow. A reward from Allah. And with Allah are the most beautiful rewards
This is one of
a number of verses that mentions men and women in parallel like this, indicating that they are equal in all the matters mentioned in this verse.
The statement "I do not lose the work of any worker from you" I think is the heart of the verse. I like to draw a connection to the verse I discussed yesterday. From the commentary on that verse, we see that God rewards us even for intentions that never make it to action, such as intending to do a good deed but not doing it. Even our intentions can count as our "work" and God does not overlook that.
It really is a beautiful reminder that even the littlest things count. And sometimes a simple action can have amazing consequences later on that we never imagined. God does not lose sight of these and neither should we.
The phrase "gardens under which rivers flow" refers to Paradise, which is presented as a garden of plenty, although the Quran also teaches that Paradise will have many other things that are not described and we do not imagine.
This verse is another of my favorites as containing a very beautiful message and reminder.
