QURAN - THE SACRED BOOK OF ISLAM The Only Preserved Scripture

v the ego. In social life, our actions elicit good or evil depending upon whether we have activated the ego or the conscience of the person or persons concerned. Whenever one initiates any undertaking, the Quran states expressly that one should begin by uttering the name of God. One thus always reminds oneself, at the outset, of God’s attributes of benevolence and compassion. It is also a way of determining that all projects will be launched not with personal will but with divine intentions, and that all actions stemming therefrom will be merciful rather than exploitative in nature. The most frequently repeated invocation in the Quran is — “In the name of God, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.” The recurrence of this phrase no less than 114 times is in itself a clear indication of how important it is. Sailing Safely We must never lose sight of the fact that we are not lone travellers on this earth. There are always others who are trying to race ahead of us in this world of competition. The resulting situation can be approached in two entirely different ways. One is to collide with anything which obstructs our path. The other is to circumvent obstacles and then to go on our way. Clearly, the first is self-destructive, while the second, in avoiding confrontations, is much more likely to prove advantageous. A ship which sails straight at a rock or an iceberg is doomed. It is the ship which veers temporarily off its course to avoid the reefs which will eventually sail safely into harbour. The Quran tells us that we are placed on this earth to be tested.