Bilal Philips – Quranic Reflections #17

			Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh My dear brothers and sisters,
		

			this is another verse from the Quranic reflection series. And it's from Surah Al Baqarah.
		

			Atop maroon and NASA bilberry with sonar and physical well and doomed at Luenell kitab. Do you
command people to righteousness while forgetting yourselves, and you read the Scripture.
		

			This verse addresses the logic of commanding people to do good, while doing bad. So the first point
of reflection in this verse is, it is despicable to Allah, and to humankind, that one orders others
to do good while privately doing evil.
		

			Like in the days when medical doctors would tell people not to smoke, and they will be smoking at
the same time. You know, telling this smoke is not good for you, but they'll be smoking. So this way
of behavior is something despicable in the sight of God as well as in the sight of human beings. So
it is a situation that we should avoid for ourselves,
		

			that we should not be commanding people to do what we ourselves not willing to do.
		

			The second point that reflection is that we should try to do whatever good deeds that we invite
others to do before inviting them to do it. That's the best way to go. You know, we want to advise
people who see they're doing something wrong, etcetera, etcetera. So we first correct ourselves, in
case we're doing the same wrong or similar wrong, etc. We correct ourselves first.
		

			Because seeing them doing what was wrong, and recognizing it as wrong. While when we were doing it,
we became accustomed to it, and we were not looking at it as wrong anymore. This has reminded us, it
has woken us to the fact that we're also engaged in what is not good.
		

			So before we go out, to engage people, to give these things up, we need to have given it up
ourselves. And that is the way that this becomes reformative. It helps to reform ourselves. As we
tried to reform others we also should be engaged in reforming ourselves. The third point of
reflection is that this chastisement from Allah and rebuke is particularly great for the
knowledgeable while entombed at Loon al Kitab.
		

			It may be acceptable for the ignorant masses and the common people
		

			that
		

			they may do this. But they have an excuse of ignorance
		

			which the knowledgeable don't have.
		

			So it becomes particularly despicable when done by those people of knowledge
		

			BarakAllahu li comb Serravalle Kumar warahmatu Allahi wa barakato