Remembering God Every Chance We Get (18:23)

Remembering God Every Chance We Get

[18:23] You shall not say that you will do anything in the future,
[18:24] without saying, “GOD willing.”* If you forget to do this, you must immediately remember your Lord and say, “May my Lord guide me to do better next time.”
*18:24 This important commandment gives us daily opportunities to remember God.

They Should Have Said: “God Willing.”

[68:28] The righteous among them said, “If only you had glorified (God)!” [68:29] They said, “Glory be to our Lord. We have transgressed.” [68:30] They started to blame each other.

Appendix 27 – Who Is Your God?

Most people are outraged upon hearing this question. “What do you mean, `Who is your god?’ they ask, `My god is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.’ ” And most of these people will be shocked to find out that their proclamation that their god is the Creator of the heavens and the earth is no more than lip service, and that they are in fact destined for Hell (12:106).

Your god can be your children (7:190), your spouse (9:24), your business (18:35), or your ego (25:43). This is why we note that one of the most important and most repeated commandments in the Quran is:

To put this commandment into practice, we must establish certain habits whereby we guarantee that God occupies our minds more than anything else. The Quran helps us establish such soul saving habits:

1. The Contact Prayers(Salat): those who observe the 5 daily prayers come a long way towards commemorating God a significant proportion of their waking hours. Salat helps us remember God not only during the few minutes of prayer, but also throughout the times of anticipation. At 11:00 AM, one may look at his or her watch to see if the noon prayer is due yet. This act causes one to think about God, and one is credited accordingly (20:14).
2. Commemorate God before eating: Verse 6:121enjoins us to mention God’s name before we eat: “You shall not eat from that upon which God’s name has not been mentioned.”
3. God Willing(IN SHAA ALLAH): “You shall not say, `I will do this or that tomorrow,’ without saying, `God willing’ (IN SHAA ALLAH). If you forget to do this, then apologize and say, `May my Lord guide me to do better next time.'” [18:24]. This is a direct commandment that we must carry out, no matter who we are talking with.
4. God’s Gift(MAA SHAA ALLAH): To invoke God’s protection for our beloved objects – our children, our cars, our homes, etc. – we are enjoined in 18:39 to say “MAA SHAA ALLAH” (This is God’s gift).
5. Glorify God day and night: When we eat anything, we shouldn’t be like animals; we must reflect on God’s creation of the food we are eating – the flavor, our enjoyment due to the senses God has given us, the perfect packaging of the banana or the orange, the varieties of sea foods created by God, etc. – and glorify Him as we enjoy His provisions. When we see a beautiful flower, or animal, or sunsets, we must glorify God. We must seize every possible opportunity to remember and glorify God, so that God may be our God.
6. First Utterance: Make it a habit to say: “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. There is no other god besides God,” the moment you wake up every morning. If you establish this good habit, this is what you will utter when you are resurrected.

http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix27.html

James 4:13-17

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.