Isa: "Great Commandments" as Essential to True Muslim Faith

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said:
Or just insane. Ha!
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I choose this one.

Your title of this thread alone shows at least dishonesty on your part.
You deceitfully try to make it as if God's commandments are actually originated from Isa (as). Even you wrote: "Isa commandments by way of Musa".
ugh. Isa (as) had not yet existed during Musa (as), so why did you call it "Isa commandments by way of Musa".

Your deceit is quite transparent, that's why no one has even bothered to respond to your verbal acrobatic in this thread.
Just not worth the effort.
Unless you are honest in your engagement, do not expect anyone to treat you seriously.
 
Naidamar:
Your title of this thread alone shows at least dishonesty on your part.
You deceitfully try to make it as if God's commandments are actually originated from Isa (as). Even you wrote: "Isa commandments by way of Musa".
ugh. Isa (as) had not yet existed during Musa (as), so why did you call it "Isa commandments by way of Musa".

Your deceit is quite transparent, that's why no one has even bothered to respond to your verbal acrobatic in this thread. Just not worth the effort.
Unless you are honest in your engagement, do not expect anyone to treat you seriously.

Oboy.
Thanks for the response, naidar. I have to say: I'm really not trying to be deceitful. Really. What will represent more "honest engagement"? I'll phrase things that way. Seriously. I like to have fun, but I'd like to be taken seriously. Yep.

I apologize that my title wasn't clear enough. It was being provocative I suppose, but not dishonest. For real. The only thing I was doing was focusing on the Jesus/Isa and his "Great Commandments" teaching, specifically as it was potentially relevant to Muslim faith. They talked about this clearly in "A Common Word Between Us and You" . And when I talked about "Isa's commandments by way of Musa", that was an obviously imprecise (bad) way of attempting to saying that Jesus was reifying truth that had already been talked about in the Torat of Moses. That's all. I apologize for my imprecise and provocativity. (Is that a word?)

However it's more helpful for me to engage, I'll do that. Forgive my trespasses, peeps. I'd like to keep the convo going...
 
Hmm. I suppose I'm not sure where you're getting at here YieldedOne.

If it's that there are commonalities of our faiths and that we should be more loving and uphold the teachings of our faiths then that's not something really up for discussion since it's quite obvious that we should indeed do those things.

I didn't think your post was insincere, I guess, I need more clarification on what you're trying to discuss?
 
Judaism has 613 commandments(mitzvot).......
of which, the following speak of...
Love and Brotherhood

  1. To love all human beings who are of the covenant (Lev. 19:18) (CCA60). See Love and Brotherhood.
  2. Not to stand by idly when a human life is in danger (Lev. 19:16) (CCN82). See Love and Brotherhood.
  3. Not to wrong any one in speech (Lev. 25:17) (CCN48). See Speech and Lashon Ha-Ra.
  4. Not to carry tales (Lev. 19:16) (CCN77). See Speech and Lashon Ha-Ra.
  5. Not to cherish hatred in one's heart (Lev. 19:17) (CCN78). See Love and Brotherhood.
  6. Not to take revenge (Lev. 19:18) (CCN80).
  7. Not to bear a grudge (Lev. 19:18) (CCN81).
  8. Not to put any Jew to shame (Lev. 19:17) (CCN79).
  9. Not to curse any other Israelite (Lev. 19:14) (by implication: if you may not curse those who cannot hear, you certainly may not curse those who can) (CCN45).
  10. Not to give occasion to the simple-minded to stumble on the road (Lev. 19:14) (this includes doing anything that will cause another to sin) (CCN76).
  11. To rebuke the sinner (Lev. 19:17) (CCA72).
  12. To relieve a neighbor of his burden and help to unload his beast (Ex. 23:5) (CCA70). See Love and Brotherhood.
  13. To assist in replacing the load upon a neighbor's beast (Deut. 22:4) (CCA71). See Love and Brotherhood.
  14. Not to leave a beast, that has fallen down beneath its burden, unaided (Deut. 22:4) (CCN183). See Love and Brotherhood.
 
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"Old Testatment passages to be candidates for AUTHENTIC Torat of Moses and the Matthew 22:34-40 New Testament passage to be seen as authentic Injeel of Jesus."

----I don't think we Muslims spend our time worrying about what is or is not authentic in the Torah and NT-----far as we are concerned, the Quran is authentic and it repeats the "essential" Guidance given from the time of prophet Adam(pbuh). ---and this "essential" or core message is Tawheed.

----not to mention, we (Muslims) are more interested in our 5 pillars.......than the 613 mitzvot.......
 
Aprender:
Hmm. I suppose I'm not sure where you're getting at here YieldedOne. If it's that there are commonalities of our faiths and that we should be more loving and uphold the teachings of our faiths then that's not something really up for discussion since it's quite obvious that we should indeed do those things.

I didn't think your post was insincere, I guess, I need more clarification on what you're trying to discuss?

Thanks, Aprender.

I've said before that I was really inspired by the "A Common Word Between Us and You" document, and all the stuff dealing with that. Even though it was great...I noticed something. The basic ground of the document was as follows: Muslims have a Prophet they follow that talks about the Love of God and Neighbor (Muhammad) and Christians have a Prophet they follow that talks about the Love of God and Neighbor (Jesus); therefore, Christians and Muslims can get together based upon the PRINCIPLES of Love of God and Neighbor. Now, speaking from an interfaith dialogue perspective, it went a long way for Muslim/Christian relations since it was written...but there was also problems from both sides. Long story short, It was stated that, from there perspective, there was no REAL commonality because (in their perspective) a Muslim's view of the love of God and neighbor (ala Muhammad) was incompatibly different than the Christian's view of the "love of God and neighbor" (ala Jesus). Just because two people talks using the same terms doesn't mean that they MEAN the same thing by those words. For this reason, some Christians and Muslims were saying that this was a slightly disingenuous means for interfaith dialogue, in effect using words with diluted meaning. Plus, there was so much focus on whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, that it seemed to just break things down for some. "They're committing shirk!" "They don't believe in God's Son!" All that stuff...and on it goes.

As I thought about it, I asked myself "Where IS the common ground here?" Surely the Great Commandments of Love were key (hence the whole document), but was there something else? That's when I tried to think in terms of authentic common ground that would be virtually UNDENIABLE by both Muslims and Christians. And then it came to me: Jesus/Isa as God-authorized Messenger, Servant, and Prophet of God who sinlessly lived and taught the "Great Commandments" (a restatement of the Decalogue) in the Torat of Moses. As I saw it, neither Muslims nor Christians could deny the authority of Jesus/Isa's teachings insofar as they were so rooted in the Torah, a holy book that BOTH GROUPS esteem as authoritative (at least in principle). Then when I looked at commentaries like that of Mr. Maududi, then I saw how really solid this was: According to Mr. Maududi's thoughts on what comprises authentic Torat and Injeel, the "Great Commandments" of Isa (Deut 6:4-8, Leviticus 19:9-18) fit the bit almost perfectly. If a Muslim considered Maududi's perspective to be valid...and were actually interested in discerning authentic Torat and Injeel from the inauthentic--they could see these things to be true. What this mean was that both Christians and Muslims had AUTHENTIC "common ground" insofar as the teachings of Jesus/Isa were, by faith, binding on both. Neither Muslims nor Christians would deny that the teaching of Jesus was completely faithful to and representative of God's will as Prophet and Messenger. Nor could either said say, by faith, that Jesus/Isa's teachings could be ignored.

So, as I saw it, it placed the same idea (Love of God and neighbor as common ground) in a different context. It wasn't just about the PRINCIPLE of loving God and neighbor per se like in "A Common Word"...but it was much more about focusing on the same teaching from the same holy books reified by the same authoritative Prophet and Messenger venerated by both Christians and Muslims. In turn, this would mean that Jesus/Isa's "Great Commandments" teaching was essential to both fully lived Christian faith and fully lived Muslim faith. It seemed like a pretty tight line of thought. And the thing I felt was the best about it was that, functionally speaking, it would be IRRELEVANT whether or not a person believed the Jesus was the Son of God or not. Jesus' teaching as Prophet and Messenger would be what's most important. And that would mitigate a WHOLE bunch of problems I'd been seeing in Muslim/Christian dialogues.

That's part of why I came here. To see if the thoughts had real merit. I mean, it makes sense to me...but if it didn't make sense to Muslims, then what would be the point, right? :statisfie

I believe that Muslims and Christians can AT LEAST agree on what Jesus/Isa most likely historically taught...and gather around that lovingly and peaceful in faithful acknowledgement of his Allah-sanctioned teaching.

So here I am...and that's why I've been so about this. I'm terribly excited about the prospect of more common ground between Islam and Christianity! Hope this helps understanding what I'm trying to do and where my thinking is.:shade:
 
Siam:
I don't think we Muslims spend our time worrying about what is or is not authentic in the Torah and NT-----far as we are concerned, the Quran is authentic and it repeats the "essential" Guidance given from the time of prophet Adam(pbuh). ---and this "essential" or core message is Tawheed. ----not to mention, we (Muslims) are more interested in our 5 pillars.......than the 613 mitzvot.......

Thanks, siam. Good list too! Lots of those you mentioned were in the Leviticus 9-18 passage involved in my stuff. Nice.

From what I seem to be getting, I'm seeing that a significant amount of Muslims seem to only value the Torat and Injeel in principle rather than in practice for just the reason you say. And that's cool, as far as it goes. What I'm saying is this, though: to the degree that a Muslims WOULD be interested in that stuff, it's interesting to see how consistent the teaching is from Torat to Injeel. As you well note, the "love and brotherhood" aspects of the Old Testament had been there and were just restated and reified by Jesus as Prophet and Messenger of God.

Interestingly enough, siam, Jesus basically says that "all the Law and Prophets" (that would include all 613 mitavot) are encapsulated in the TWO commandments he mentioned. Call it wonderful simplification if you will.

And if Muslims and Christians BOTH venerate Jesus as Prophet and Messenger from God (which they do), then it would make sense if they 1) understand what he historically taught and 2) heeded it.

From my perspective, this is REAL "common ground" between the two faiths.

-------------------------------

Implications of Major Point and Discussion:
Muslims and Christians are bound by mutually-held belief in Jesus/Isa as Allah's Mesenger and Prophet and his teaching of the "Great Commandments" such that both groups are committed by their own holy books to be faithful to Jesus/Isa's commands to "love your neighbor as yourself."
 
It's funny. I've been accused by Christians AND Muslims of trying to "gloss over" the differences of the two religions by this focus on the Great Commandments as taught by Jesus. I don't see how that can be the case though. It is crystal clear to me that true Muslims will never be trinitarians (Jesus is NOT the Son of God) and true Christians will never NOT be trinitaritarian (Jesus IS the Son of God). No amount of discussion will ever change that, I don't think. So there could never be some kind of one-world-religion "gloss over" in that respect. Islam and Christians, though both Abrahamic religions, are absolutely, immutably distinct from one another. And I think that should be said upfront. No "Christianizing" Islam or "Islamizing" Christianity possible. All I'm saying is that, even within those inevitable differences, there is a core that allows for effective common ground for both that doesn't compromise the faith of EITHER GROUP.

And to me, that's awesome!

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And I really have gotten interesting in the whole "Mother of the Book" idea since MustafaMc mentioned it. As I've been reading, it seems to be what's called the "archetypal source" of Allah's revelations (Quran, Torat, Injeel)...but I wanted to make sure.

It's started me thinking about Jesus' relationship to the Mother of the Book, from the Islamic standpoint. This is what I came up with:

Jesus/Isa was a sinless human being created directly by Allah's "word" to Mary who perfectly embodied the "Great Commandments" (restatement of the Decalogue) as a "living example" of the reality within the "Mother of the Book", the "archetypal source" of Allah's revelations to humans (ie Quran, Torat, Injeel) that is in the Presence of Allah.

In other words, the life of the created and fully human Jesus of Nazareth is a complete expression of the Divine Will within the "Mother of the Book."
With this idea, I'm not even talking about Jesus/Isa being any uncreated "word" or anything like that. Just saying that, as sinless, Jesus never failed to live by the Great Commandments he taught...and in so doing, he re-presented God's Will on earth.


Thanks for keepin' the party going, peoples! :D
 
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Greetings and peace be with you YieldedOne;

I believe that Muslims and Christians can AT LEAST agree on what Jesus/Isa most likely historically taught...
Click to expand...

Not only did Jesus teach the greatest cvommandments, he lived them, just some thoughts to ponder on this statement........

Could the greatest commandments possibly describe how Christ is one with the Father.

Jesus loves God the Father with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Jesus loves each and every one of us as he loves himself.

In the spirit of searching for a greater interfaith understanding

Eric
 
FYI.
I've already tried this out with Christians. There was this one Baptist preacher in particular who told me that he couldn't see any real similarity between Islam and Christianity because they denied Jesus being God's Son. He was hardcore on it. He wasn't anti-Muslim. He just believed there was NO common ground at all for discussion. I talked to him for a while about this idea here.

After our discussion, he admitted that he didn't know how much Muslims venerated and honored Jesus as Messenger and Prophet and that he couldn't knock the logic, if it was all true. He said he had a lot to think about.

I was like "Heck, yeah!" :shade:
 
Eric:
Not only did Jesus teach the greatest cvommandments, he lived them, just some thoughts to ponder on this statement........ Could the greatest commandments possibly describe how Christ is one with the Father. Jesus loves God the Father with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jesus loves each and every one of us as he loves himself.

Sup, man. I hear what you're saying...and that question can be asked. For the sake of not putting to many obstacles/defenses up, however, I would just stick to the fully human Jesus completely "embodying" and expressing God's Will through his singular love for God and his self-giving love for all others in that singular love for God.
I'm thinking that's safer. Maybe I'm just a bit gunshy now. Heh...:nervous:
 
Greetings and peace be with you YieldedOne;

For the sake of not putting to many obstacles/defenses up, however, I would just stick to the fully human Jesus completely "embodying" and expressing God's Will through his singular love for God and his self-giving love for all others in that singular love for God.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and what you say does sound like Jesus living by the greatest commandments..

Every blessing

Eric
 
Blessings to you as well, Eric.

In light of all the discussion above, I love the summary of "A Common Word". It's terribly inspiring to me personally...

A Common Word between Us and You
(Summary and Abridgement)​
Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.

The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples:

Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8). Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad r said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ u said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. / And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture):
Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)

The words: we shall ascribe no partner unto Him relate to the Unity of God, and the words: worship none but God, relate to being totally devoted to God. Hence they all relate to the First and Greatest Commandment. According to one of the oldest and most authoritative commentaries on the Holy Qur’an the words: that none of us shall take others for lords beside God, mean ‘that none of us should obey the other in disobedience to what God has commanded’. This relates to the Second Commandment because justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part of love of the neighbour.

Thus in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, we as Muslims invite Christians to come together with us on the basis of what is common to us, which is also what is most essential to our faith and practice: the Two Commandments of love.


In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
And may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad​
 
How about this:

Imagine all adherents of the 3 Abrahamic faiths that exist in the world faithfully following the "Two Commandments of Love".

That would pretty much be world peace, functionally speaking...wouldn't it?

:sunny:
 
'And if Muslims and Christians BOTH venerate Jesus as Prophet and Messenger from God (which they do), then it would make sense if they 1) understand what he historically taught and 2) heeded it."
----That was sort of my point---as far as Muslims are concerned, what Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) taught IS in the Quran.----therefore, we Muslims DO follow the message of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and all the other Prophets before him, when we follow the Guidance of the Quran. We strive to live all of his message. Christians on the other hand, seem more concerned with the "Trinity" and debates about various aspects of it, than they are about the message of Jesus Christ (pbuh). As you yourself mentioned, conversations between Muslims and Christians inevitably gets stuck with the Trinity......Christians insist that the Trinity is a message of Jesus Christ (pbuh) when their own history tells a different tale and the Quran itself specifies pure monotheism. In some Christian denominations, "works" aren't even important---one requires "faith" (in Trinity) for salvation----which essentially nullifies any message of "doing good" that Jesus Christ(pbuh) mentioned in the NT......If you are interested in finding out what was the authentic message of Jesus Christ(pbuh) I invite you to read the Quran.

Another commonality between Christians and Muslims is Charity. (one of the pillars of Islam)

Love for neighbor (brotherhood) is also an important concept in Buddhism and other Eastern religions.......(the Golden rule of Confucious).....

God's will=Right belief that inspires right intentions that lead to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creations.-----I think that sums it up.........
 
Love of God----- "Long story short, It was stated that, from there perspective, there was no REAL commonality because (in their perspective) a Muslim's view of the love of God and neighbor (ala Muhammad) was incompatibly different than the Christian's view of the "love of God and neighbor" (ala Jesus). Just because two people talks using the same terms doesn't mean that they MEAN the same thing by those words. "
---I would agree with that----I did have a conversation with a Catholic about the term "Love of God"---from his perspective---this was all about what Jesus Christ (pbuh) had done for mankind---which was crucify himself......from the Muslim perspective,---the phrase means what human beings can DO for God. (Submit to his will---Islam=willing submission)
 
Siam:
'And if Muslims and Christians BOTH venerate Jesus as Prophet and Messenger from God (which they do), then it would make sense if they 1) understand what he historically taught and 2) heeded it."
----That was sort of my point---as far as Muslims are concerned, what Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) taught IS in the Quran.----therefore, we Muslims DO follow the message of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and all the other Prophets before him, when we follow the Guidance of the Quran. We strive to live all of his message.

My point is that the "Two Commandments of Love" is so much of Isa's message, to strive to live ALL of his message cannot be without it. And that's just looking at all the historical data of what Jesus most likely taught. Seriously. Even the most liberal of scholars will not deny that the "historical" Jesus most likely actually knew the Shema well and taught about love of the neighbor as oneself.


**********************************


Siam:
Christians on the other hand, seem more concerned with the "Trinity" and debates about various aspects of it, than they are about the message of Jesus Christ (pbuh). As you yourself mentioned, conversations between Muslims and Christians inevitably gets stuck with the Trinity......Christians insist that the Trinity is a message of Jesus Christ (pbuh) when their own history tells a different tale and the Quran itself specifies pure monotheism. In some Christian denominations, "works" aren't even important---one requires "faith" (in Trinity) for salvation----which essentially nullifies any message of "doing good" that Jesus Christ(pbuh) mentioned in the NT......

That's exactly why focusing on Jesus as Messenger and Prophet of God who's teaching (Great Commandments) is faithfully followed by both parties...is much more helpful than starting the conversation around the Trinity.

***********************************


Siam:
If you are interested in finding out what was the authentic message of Jesus Christ(pbuh) I invite you to read the Quran.

From what I read, it seems simple to me: It's a Quranic re-iteration of the JEWISH Shema. Jesus taught 1) singular love for God and 2) self-giving love for all others in that singular love for God. That's how simple it is. I think.


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Siam:
Another commonality between Christians and Muslims is Charity. (one of the pillars of Islam)

Yessir. Which is not far from "loving the neighbor as oneself" at all. Right?

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Siam:
Love for neighbor (brotherhood) is also an important concept in Buddhism and other Eastern religions.......(the Golden rule of Confucious).....

Personally, I think this fact is representative of what it means to be truly human...but that's another discussion.

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Siam:
God's will=Right belief that inspires right intentions that lead to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creations.-----I think that sums it up.........

Right belief <=> Singleminded love for the Allah

Right intentions <=> Other-oriented love for others inspired from one's love of Allah

right actions <=> Concrete "living out" of one's right belief and intentions before Allah everyday
 
Siam:
Love of God----- "Long story short, It was stated that, from there perspective, there was no REAL commonality because (in their perspective) a Muslim's view of the love of God and neighbor (ala Muhammad) was incompatibly different than the Christian's view of the "love of God and neighbor" (ala Jesus). Just because two people talks using the same terms doesn't mean that they MEAN the same thing by those words. "

---I would agree with that----I did have a conversation with a Catholic about the term "Love of God"---from his perspective---this was all about what Jesus Christ (pbuh) had done for mankind---which was crucify himself......from the Muslim perspective,---the phrase means what human beings can DO for God. (Submit to his will---Islam=willing submission)

Here's where things converges. From the perspective of Jesus, submission to God's will is necessarily related to love of one's neighbor as oneself: serving and benefiting others in the name of Allah. You can't fully do one without expressing it by way of the other.

If we forget the crucifixion for bit (GASP!!), we will see that this is something that both Muslims and Christians can and do agree on.

That's the absolute beauty of this to me: it's on quite historically solid ground ala what we know about what Jesus taught.

I once heard it said: "The faith IN Jesus divides. The faith OF Jesus unites."
 
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)

And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah - a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil).

Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.

If I take this Quranic passage seriously, then as a "person of the Gospel" (I guess this can mean "Christian", right) , I'd better "judge" what Allah has revealed Jesus' teaching...right? Because therein was "guidance" and "a light" This is the Quran telling me this, now...

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'Now I have come to you with Wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) on which you dispute. Therefore, fear God and obey me. God, He is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him -- this is a Straight Way.'
The Words of Jesus/Isa in Surah 43:63-64

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And absolutely no true Christian would dispute that claim...

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
--Luke 4:8

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
--John 14:15
 
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It is good that you are looking for "common ground" on which to build dialogue, and I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm----but trying to teach Muslims about the message of Jesus Christ (pbuh) is a bit misguided---not to mention, arrogant----we already KNOW what Jesus Christ (pbuh) taught----ITS IN THE QURAN!!

I would humbly suggest that perhaps you try to learn about Islam/Muslims and find "common ground" that way. ---You might want to start with the most important concept in islam---which is Tawheed. All other concepts flow from this one. Therefore, "right belief"=Tawheed. Once tawheed is understood correctly, right intentions and right actions can flow properly through it......

There is only ONE God, the Unique, Uncreated creator of all creation. Therefore, in order to show him respect (God is genderless), we respect all his creation. This means, all our interactions with God's creation must be with the intention not to cause harm.
There is only One God---therefore all human beings, regardless of our religious affiliation or geographical location, are all equally God's creations. In this sense, we are all one family/brotherhood. When we interact with our fellow brothers and sisters with compassion and mercy (2 of God's attributes mentioned repeatedly in the Quran) out of "love of God" because they are equally his creation, we are confirming "right belief"/tawheed.
There is only One God----the earth and its rescources are also God's creations. These must be respected, and used wisely and with consideration.
To do otherwise is to selfishly put our needs above God's will (Tawheed)........without "right belief"/tawheed---arrogance, selfishness, greed, miserliness,....etc become the rulers....."right belief"/Tawheed helps us look beyond our "self" and this flows into right intentions that lead to right actions..........


by the way---not sure I would have used the word "singleminded"-----faith = The use of ones reason and intellect to arrive at conviction-----The Quran is against blind belief........
 

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