#praer

[fatedroses]

A piece I did for Faebelina’s #ocgardenparty on Twitter. I just felt like drawing a couple of pairs having fun and being cute, especially now since I have a break in projects for school.

[wisdomrays]

KEY CONCEPTS OF SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM : God’s Attributes of Glory.Part5

Takwin (Making Exist)

Takwin, which means making or causing to exist, according to the Maturidis, is the eighth of the Affirmative Attributes of God Almighty.

God is the Creator of everything, and the Attribute of Making Exist is the Attribute of Glory that is the origin of this creation. The All-Exalted Creator, Who introduces Himself as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, prepares everything He creates for existence through His all-encompassing Knowledge, His all-embracing Will, Which determines what will be sent into the arena of existence and when, where, and with what characteristics, and His all-overwhelming Power, Which is all-able to do whatever His Will determines; and He finally refers this to the veil of His Attribute of Making Exist. The whole universe with whatever is in it, everything animate or inanimate, all with different designs, styles, and natures, comes into existence through His creation, invention, and origination. The sacred Attributes are veils before this Act of God Almighty, and the Attribute of Making Exist is another curtain before the Will and the Power. Everything of contingency is established within a broad frame by the Knowledge; the Will selects between many probabilities, while the Power marks its possibility to be or to come into existence, and the Attribute of Making Exist manufactures it on Its own workbench, presenting what has been created to the View of the Eternal Witness.

Making Exist is, according to the Maturidis, among the independent, eternal, and substantial Affirmative Attributes. The Ash‘aris’ approach is slightly different; according to them, this Attribute is of nominal or relative existence. For if something which the Divine Will has judged to exist is brought into existence through the Power and Will, there is no further need for Making Exist. The Ash‘aris have this same approach for other Attributes of actions that relate to Making Exist. They view them as Attributes that are not eternal in the past, but which emerged later; they explain every occurrence with the Power and Will. However, it is God Who knows best.

The Attributes of Action

As for the Attributes of action, briefly, they are six and are as follows: Creation, Originating Uniquely, Producing, Giving Life and Reviving, Causing to Die, and Providing.

Khalq (Creation)

Literally meaning originating out of nothing and formation, khalq (creation) denotes that God originates something when nothing of it exists and makes it with all of its essential elements. With this meaning, creation cannot be attributed to any other than God Almighty.

Khalq is used in the Qur’an also in the meanings of making up, fabricating, and giving form to clay. While it can be used for created beings with these meanings, the Qur’an attributes creation only to God. Likewise, the attributes of Khaliq (the Creator) and Khallaq (the Supreme Creator), which are derived from khalq, are used only in attribution to God.

There is a difference between the sacred Attribute of Creation ( Khalq) and the majestic Attribute of Making Exist ( Takwin), as well as between the Attributes of Originating Uniquely ( Ibda’) and Producing ( Insha’), which are regarded to have originated from the latter. This difference is as follows: Creation means giving existence to something with its essential parts and building blocks, Originating Uniquely means creating without having any precursor to imitate and creating in a unique and peerless way, Producing denotes bringing about something by arranging its parts which have already been created, while Making Exist, Which encompasses almost all of these meanings, signifies bringing into existence by giving Its own hue to all the Attributes of action.

It is God alone Who creates everything particular or universal, small or large, earthly or heavenly, animate or inanimate, spiritual or corporeal, and it is also He Who creates all states and the acts of all beings during their entire life. In many of its illuminating statements, the noble Qur’an reminds us that it is exclusively God Who originates, creates, and produces. For example:

It is He Who created all that is on the earth for you (2:29).

All praise and gratitude are for God, Who has created the heavens and the earth, and brought into being veils of darkness and the light (6:1).

Indeed your Lord is God, Who has created the heavens and the earth in six “days” (7:54; 10:3).

Do they never consider that God Who has created the heavens and the earth is able to create them anew (the dead) in their own likeness? (17:99).

And He it is Who from a fluid has created human and made it (a male and female and, through them,) into a population through descent and marriage. And Your Lord is All-Powerful (25:54).

God is He Who creates you, then He sustains you (by providing for you), then He causes you to die, and then He will bring you to life again (30:40).

All-Glorified is He, Who has created the pairs all together out of what the earth produces, as well as out of themselves, and out of what they do not know (36:36).

It is God Who has created you and all that you do (37:96).

Have they (the unbelievers) not considered that surely God, Who has created the heavens and the earth, and never wearied with their creation, is able to bring the dead to life? Certainly He is; He has full power over everything (46:33).

Ibda’ (Originating Uniquely)

Ibda’ means that God Almighty creates without there be anything before to imitate and in a unique, unequalled, and unprecedented way. In place of ibda’, the words ihdas (innovation), ihtira’ (creating out of nothing), ijad (invention), and sun‘ (making) can be used, although there are slight differences among them. In fact, these words express different aspects of Takwin (Making Exist). In several verses such as the following ones, the manifest Qur’an presents to our view God’s unprecedented origination and calls upon us to notice the beauties of His Art:

The Originator of the heavens and the earth with nothing preceding Him to imitate. When He decrees a thing, He does but say to it, “Be!” and it is (2:117).

The Originator of the heavens and the earth with nothing before Him to imitate (6:101).

Insha’ (Producing)

Literally meaning gathering together certain ingredients or components and elements to produce a new thing, Insha‘ is the Attribute of God which denotes gathering together certain essential ingredients or components that have already been created to produce something new. In dozens of explicit verses, the glorious Qur’an reminds us of this mighty reality. For example:

He it is Who produces gardens (and vineyards, and orchards) trellised and untrellised, and date-palms, and crops varying in taste, and olives, and pomegranates, resembling one another and yet so different (6:141).

He it is Who has made for you (the faculty of) hearing, and eyes, and hearts (23:78).

He it is Who developed you from a single human self and has appointed for each of you a lodging-place where you will stay permanently, and a place where you will stay temporarily (6:98).

Say: “He Who produced them in the first instance will give them life (anew)” (36:79).

[holyawkwardsilence]

Daily Devotional #20: Find Your Prayer Room Be not forgetful of prayer. Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky, 

[wally1266]

Ask. Seek. Knock.

8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  — Matthew 7:8 NLT

Matthew 7:7-10 NLT

We hear a lot of opinions on how we should pray. Some say you should only ask once and God will answer when and if He wants to. Some say you should only ask for certain things. What does God say about it? In the original text of the Bible,…

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[thewisdomtoknowthedifference]

I have continued to sin and it has escalated. It's unsettling how casual it was and I can't help but feel that my future husband won't accept me because of what I have done. I can't regret it because I can't take it back, but I just feel bad about it because I know God didn't want that for me. Prayers and advice/messages would be much appreciated Confession is going to happen tomorrow. I need it God bless

[weareopeningdoors]

Hea-Woo's story!

[crazy-lady-says-words-blog]

Decisions That Lead to Contentment

Read | Romans 8:28-39

Think about a circumstance in your life you'd change if you could. Are you frustrated? Worried? Angry? To experience the freedom of contentment in the midst of it--whether a hardship or unfulfilled desire--you must accept the situation as having been allowed by God, even if He didn't cause it.

In these situations, I often pray, "Lord, I choose to accept this as though it's coming from You. No matter what I see, I'm choosing to look to You." Then I can rest in His omnipotence and the knowledge that I'm a child of the living God. Instead of feeling like a helpless, hopeless victim of my circumstance, I know I'm cared for and guided by my sovereign Father through whatever may come.

The second crucial decision is total submission. This doesn't mean approaching God insincerely and saying, "Well, Lord, I just want to thank You for this! It's all just so sweet, Jesus." No, it's not. Be honest and admit, "This is painful and I don't like it. But I choose to submit to You because You are trustworthy and loving. I'm willing to persevere until You accomplish in me whatever You want. I choose to draw from Your strength for everything I need." My friend, if you make this decision and follow through, your fears will lose their power.

Either you believe Romans 8:28 or you don't. And if you do, you can entrust yourself to the Lord, knowing that He has your best interest at heart, will take care of you, and won't ever leave your side. When you embrace these truths, you'll have no reason to be anxious.