Playing God

"All rights of this book are reserved for the publisher and the author. This copy is for reading purpose only. This copy cannot be uploaded on any website except those of the publisher and the author." Playing God: Misre ading a Divine Practice 1. Introduction In order to un derstan d divine religions, it is essential to comprehend a c ertain un alterable practice of God. This practice is nothing but a divine scheme devised and executed by God either through natural disasters or through His messengers 1 and their followers and as such does not relate to the shar ī ‘ah (divine law) revealed by Him. Simply put, it is: God, through natural disasters or through His messengers, punishes and humiliates in this very world their foremost and direct addressees who deliberately deny the truth communicated to them by their respective messenger, 2 and rewards in this very world those among them who adhere to the truth. In the case when this humiliation takes place through the messengers and their followers, they act as nothing but divine weapons. As such, this divine practice must not be undertaken by human beings on their own. It is God’s 1. A messenger ( ras ū l ) is a special cadre among the prophets of God. 2. The truth here means that one day each and every person will be held accountable on the basis of his deeds before the Almighty and rewarded or punished accordingly. www.javedahmadghamidi.com www.al-mawrid.org