In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Peace

Peace is the state of mind that is exclusively promised and reserved for righteous. It can only be achieved by the certainty of God's absolute authority, the total submission to Him alone at all times, and the determination to lead a righteous life by following His commands. The righteous submitters who strive to achieve and maintain certainty are the winners of peace and contentment in this life. The blessing of certainty is attainable through the worship of God alone (15:99) and definitely provides us with the strong will to observe God, and uphold His laws, unconditionally, with no hesitation, fear, or compromise.

[5:50] Is it the law of the days of ignorance that they seek to uphold? Whose law is better than GOD's for those who have attained certainty?

[32:24] We appointed from among them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments, because they steadfastly persevered and attained certainty about our revelations.

[10:25] GOD invites to the abode of peace, and guides whoever wills (to be guided) in a straight path.

[2:38] We said, "Go down therefrom, all of you. When guidance comes to you from Me, those who follow My guidance will have no fear, nor will they grieve.

[2:1] A.L.M.
[2:2] This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous;
Three Categories of People
(1) The Righteous [2:3] who believe in the unseen, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and from our provisions to them, they give to charity.
[2:4] And they believe in what was revealed to you, and in what was revealed before you, and with regard to the Hereafter, they are absolutely certain.
[2:5] These are guided by their Lord; these are the winners.

Peace can never be achieved by any means other than following the guidance of God in His scripture. Pursuing peace without this divine guidance is a squandered and illusion with no real gain!

[47:1] Those who disbelieve and repel from the path of GOD, He nullifies their works.
[47:2] Those who believe and work righteousness, and believe in what was sent down to Muhammad - which is the truth from their Lord - He remits their sins, and blesses them with contentment.

God's Promise
Kings and Queens on Earth [24:55] GOD promises those among you who believe and lead a righteous life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they worship Me alone; they never set up any idols beside Me. Those who disbelieve after this are the truly wicked.

[5:15] .... A beacon has come to you from GOD, and a profound scripture.
[5:16] With it, GOD guides those who seek His approval. He guides them to the paths of peace, leads them out of darkness into the light by His leave, and guides them in a straight path.

There is a misconception that with the above explanation of peace, true believers do not and should not sense any fear or grief in their lives. This is nothing but an unrealistic and superficial handling of the word of God and it also reflects the ignorance of God's divine systems that are established clearly in His scripture. Verses such as 46:13, 10:62 and 2:62 can be misunderstood if not taken in the context of the entire Quran.

Happiness: Now and Forever [10:62] Absolutely, GOD's allies have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

God has created the human being and He's fully aware of our weaknesses and emotional reactions to different situations or losses. The following are just a few examples that only show and validate some of our normal human feelings:

- Moses' mother was anxious and worried about her son.

[28:10] The mind of Moses' mother was growing so anxious that she almost gave away his identity. But we strengthened her heart, to make her a believer.
[28:13] Thus, we restored him to his mother, in order to please her, remove her worries, and to let her know that GOD's promise is the truth. However, most of them do not know.

- Both Moses and Aaron were afraid to approach Pharaoh and his people with the message, and Moses was intimidated by the great magical skills of Pharaoh's people.

[20:45] They said, "Our Lord, we fear lest he may attack us, or transgress."
[20:46] He said, "Do not be afraid, for I will be with you, listening and watching.

[20:67] Moses harbored some fear.
[20:68] We said, "Have no fear. You will prevail.

- Abraham feared his honorable guests.

[51:28] He harbored fear of them. They said, "Have no fear," and they gave good news of a knowledgeable son.

- Muhammad feared traditions and was intimidated by social pressure.

[33:37] Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by GOD, and blessed by you, "Keep your wife and reverence GOD," and you hid inside yourself what GOD wished to proclaim. Thus, you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only GOD. When Zeid was completely through with his wife, we had you marry her, in order to establish the precedent that a man may marry the divorced wife of his adopted son. GOD's commands shall be done.

[80:1] He (Muhammad) frowned and turned away.
[80:2] When the blind man came to him.

- We laugh and cry, and God is the One who controls both.

[53:43] He is the One who makes you laugh or cry.

- God's messengers grieve but their grief is never a threat of loosing peace or a feeling that is out of anger and despair but rather a normal emotional reaction such as laughing. Jacob never stopped imploring God, never lost his hope, and never lost his peace while dealing with and grieving over the loss of his son, Joseph.

[12:18] They produced his shirt with fake blood on it. He said, "Indeed, you have conspired with each other to commit a certain scheme. All I can do is resort to a quiet patience. May GOD help me in the face of your conspiracy."

[12:84] He turned away from them, saying, "I am grieving over Joseph." His eyes turned white from grieving so much; he was truly sad.

[12:86] He said, "I simply complain to GOD about my dilemma and grief, for I know from GOD what you do not know.

- God's messengers feel saddened, and take their rejection personally.

[6:33] We know that you may be saddened by what they say. You should know that it is not you that they reject; it is GOD's revelations that the wicked disregard. Victory, Ultimately, Belongs to the Believers [12:110] Just when the messengers despair, and think that they had been rejected, our victory comes to them. We then save whomever we choose, while our retribution for the guilty people is unavoidable.

- God's messengers get scared and shaken up.

[2:214] Do you expect to enter Paradise without being tested like those before you? They were tested with hardship and adversity, and were shaken up, until the messenger and those who believed with him said, "Where is GOD's victory?" GOD's victory is near.

In conclusion, we learn from all of the above verses and lessons that God is validating our human emotions of fear and grief. God also teaches us that if we remember Him and reverse our insecurities and fear during our difficult tests to a total submission, and trust in the guaranteed victory of the believers (3:139, 47:35), we achieve our promised peace. God teaches us that the fear of lightning can turn into hope (30:24).The source of Abraham's fearless behavior with the idol worshipers was his certainty about God and his extraordinary submission to His will. He almost sacrificed his son (37:102-111) and walked into the fire, but God saved him and showered him with peace and contentment in both cases (37:106-110, 21:69) as a consequence of his total trust in Him alone. God's tests are inevitable and testing the believers is a crystal clear system in the Quran. It is how we maintain our submission at all times that brings us peace despite the weeping, and the grief. When God is telling us that believers shall not fear or grieve, He is simply offering us His sympathy, filling our hearts with hope, reassurance and courage, and reminding us with His promises for those who steadfastly persevere in upholding His commands and maintaining their submission while going through their emotional turmoil and tests.

[20:112] As for those who worked righteousness, while believing, they will have no fear of injustice or adversity.

[48:26] While those who disbelieved were enraged, and their hearts were filled with the pride of the days of ignorance, GOD blessed His messenger and the believers with peaceful contentment, and directed them to uphold the word of righteousness. This is what they well deserved. GOD is fully aware of all things.

[48:4] He is the One who places contentment into the hearts of believers to augment more faith, in addition to their faith. To GOD belongs all forces of the heavens and the earth. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.

[6:80] His people argued with him. He said, "Do you argue with me about GOD, after He has guided me? I have no fear of the idols you set up. Nothing can happen to me, unless my Lord wills it. My Lord's knowledge encompasses all things. Would you not take heed?

[29:58] Those who believe and lead a righteous life, we will surely settle them in Paradise, with mansions and flowing streams. Eternally they abide therein. What a beautiful reward for the workers.
[29:59] They are the ones who steadfastly persevere, and trust in their Lord.

Peace is also a guaranteed eternal state of mind for the believers from the moment their souls leave the earth and move to Heaven.

They Go Straight to Paradise [16:32] The angels terminate their lives in a state of righteousness, saying, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise (now) as a reward for your works."

[13:24] "Peace be upon you, because you steadfastly persevered. What a joyous destiny."

Peaceful Friday, salaam, and God bless.