1. Has there not been over man a long period of time, when he was nothing, not even mentioned?
2. Surely, We created man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: so we gave him (the gifts) of hearing and sight.
3. We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful
4. For the rejecters, We have prepared chains, Yokes, and a blazing fire.
5. As to the righteous, they shall drink of a cup filled with kafur (Comphor)
6. A fountain where the servants of God drink, making it flow in unstinted abundance.
7. They fulfill their vows and fear a day whose evil flies far and wide
8. And they give food out of love of God, to the indigent, the orphan and the captive,-
9. (Saying) We feed you for the sake of God alone: No reward do we desire from you nor thanks.
Scientists speculate that the universe is approximately 14 billion years old. Light began to be formed around 400,000 years after the Big Bang. These are "earth-centric" time periods. They seem very long when we compare them to our own life span. Comparatively, our life-span on earth would seem like the blink of an eye. In the short time of our life-span, God asks us to remember him so that we may treat all of his creation with compassion and mercy. By being grateful for all of God's blessings, we acknowledge the value of these blessings in our lives and this increases us in compassion and mercy, with which we grow in our spirituality.
In order that we may accomplish this simple Divine request to remember him, God has gifted us with the senses that help us interract with our world, the intelligence to understand, and the free-will to implement our understanding. Because of his immense compassion and mercy, God has given us a short time period in which we can fulfill his simple request so that we are not overburdened. When we do good for God, we open our hearts to inner serenity and tranquility. As Epictetus explains, "happiness and personal fulfillment are a natural consequence of doing the right thing."...and by doing right, we become better human beings and by this effort, we become worthy of paradise. As Seneca explains "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials."
Siox prayer
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with light
Give us strength to understand
and the eyes to see
Teach us to walk the soft earth
As relatives
To all that live.
"Then do remember me; I will remember you. Be grateful to me and reject not faith."---Quran Surah 2, verse 152