The Holy Bible is a carefully worded and precisely created codex that provides the evergreen essential knowledge about the different aspects of human existence. Its interpretations can provide the reader with Psychological, Literal, and Spiritual knowledge that is of great use and holds true/ stands the test of time.
Literal Truths in the Bible are easily studied at face value - "Thou shalt not kill", "Love thy neighbor" and other commandments are simple to understand and they are stone truths that stand the test of time. Killing is not encouraged as it causes distress to the victim's family, leads to future consequences(Revenge, fear, and other negative actions), censured by law, etc. On the psychological level, feelings of guilt, fear, anxiety, and more negative emotions will certainly plague the conscience of a murderer and deteriorate his/her psychological state leading them down a negative path of further violent and antisocial acts. On the other hand, Loving your neighbor encourages positivity, sense of community, and has many other benefits like having someone to help you in times of trouble. On a psychological level, One will have a more positive outlook on life and their situation if they are filled with love instead of fear and hatred. They will then proceed on a positive path with joy and a clear conscience and will to help others in need.
The symbolism used in the bible:
There are 100+ Verses about Stones, Water, and Wine in the bible. Looking into it further, we can see that these terms are deep spiritual symbolism that refers to Truths at the psychological(Internal) as well as the External Worldly levels. A more detailed explanation of this can be seen here with scripture references.
Holy Quran 2:112 Whoever submits themselves to Allah and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Same message in both books - Do good and you will get positive benefits. My interpretation of this is that if we do good deeds and practice virtues like love, peace, mercy, patience, selflessness and avoid anger, lust, selfishness, and greed, our minds will be positive and joyful. In this way, we will find peace with ourselves and others around us.
Gnosticism: The Essenes were a group of nomadic gnostics who lived near the Dead Sea in the 1st and 2nd Century AD. These people focused on love, equality, and benevolent qualities. Their communal way of life was in tune with nature. The Essenes built many schools, libraries, hospices, and inns and performed a great service to humanity and the universe as a whole.
Important teachings like the belief that thoughts led to emotions which led to actions and therefore, thought were the most powerful force in the universe. Further, each thought had an effect on the vibrations of the collective consciousness and thus had an effect on others. They believed that a thought that held sway in the mind during the waking hours strongly influenced the rest of the day. Similarly, they held evening communions before sleep to influence their unconscious mind and gain the protection of superior forces like the angel of love and the heavenly father that loves all. Values like discipline, trust in God, purity, humble spirit, righteousness, even temper, compassionate nature, eternal goodness, and understanding were a few of the profound insights into Essene wisdom.
They believed that with these ideas, the darkness could be changed into light, and the process of awakening of the soul can be done. They were an agricultural community with no servants or slaves who lived away from towns and cities. There was no rich or poor, with their own economic system providing for food, clothing as well as teaching members about psychology, astronomy, healing using plants and herbs. They donned white garments, awake before sunrise to commune with nature, practiced bathing in cold water, labor in fields, and ate no meat nor drank fermented liquids. They believed that deviation from the universal law is the cause of all trouble.
They performed such penance to bring inside themselves, the light of God for the benefit of humanity. They practiced deep meditation and self-introspection to find the source of divine existence which then allowed them to recognize in the inner and well as outer level, the divine water which animates everything. It is this state of mind that opened up the doors of the spiritual worlds to them and thus in harmony with themselves, community, and the world. They could not live individually as their life had to be linked with the global task. These people performed labors like the cultivation of soil, craftsmanship, healing, teaching, etc.
The book of Thomas: It is a gnostic text unearthed with the dead sea scrolls and its content will be very familiar to people who have read the bible. The book claims to be a collection of 114 sayings of the Living Christ and, to wit, many of the parables mentioned in it are the same as those in the bible. I have written a short document/book covering Gnosticism, Interpretations of the Book of Thomas, and also a collection of Commands/Words of Christ from the 4 Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It can be accessed here
100 Direct Lessons From The Quran w/ Refs.-
1. Do not be rude in speech (3:159)
2. Restrain Anger (3:134)
3. Be good to others (4:36)
4. Do not be arrogant (7:13)
5. Forgive others for their mistakes (7:199)
6. Speak to people mildly (20:44)
7. Lower your voice (31:19)
8. Do not ridicule others (49:11)
9. Be dutiful to parents(17:23)
10. Do not say a word of disrespect to parents (17:23)
11. Do not enter parents’ private room without asking permission (24:58)
12. Write down the debt (2:282)
13. Do not follow anyone blindly (2:170)
14. Grant more time to repay if the debtor is in hard time (2:280)
15. Don’t consume interest (2:275)
16. Do not engage in bribery (2:188)
17. Do not break the promise (2:177)
18. Keep the trust (2:283)
19. Do not mix the truth with falsehood (2:42)
20. Judge with justice between people (4:58)
21. Stand out firmly for justice (4:135)
22. Wealth of the dead should be distributed among his family members (4:7)
23. Women also have the right for inheritance (4:7)
24. Do not devour the property of orphans (4:10)
25. Protect orphans (2:220)
26. Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly (4:29)
27. Try for settlement between people (49:9)
28. Avoid suspicion (49:12)
29. Do not spy and backbite (2:283)
30. Do not spy or backbite (49:12)
31. Spend wealth in charity (57:7)
32. Encourage feeding poor (107:3)
33. Help those in need
by finding them (2:273)
34. Do not spend money extravagantly (17:29)
35. Do not invalidate charity with reminders (2:264)
36. Honor guests (51:26)
37. Order righteousness to people only after practicing it yourself(2:44)
38. Do not commit abuse on the earth (2:60)
39. Do not prevent people from mosques (2:114)
40. Fight only with those who fight you (2:190)
41. Keep the etiquettes of war (2:191)
42. Do not turn back in battle (8:15)
43. No compulsion in religion (2:256)
44. Believe in all prophets (2:285)
45. Do not have sexual intercourse during menstrual period (2:222)
46. Breast feed your children for two complete years (2:233)
47. Do not even approach unlawful sexual intercourse (17:32)
48. Choose rulers by their merit (2:247)
49. Do not burden a person beyond his scope (2:286)
50. Do not become divided (3:103)
51. Think deeply about the wonders and creation of this universe (3:191)
52. Men and Women have equal rewards for their deeds (3:195)
53. Do not marry those in your blood relation (4:23)
54. Family should be led by men (4:34)
55. Do not be miserly (4:37)
56.Do not keep envy (4:54)
57. Do not kill each other (4:92)
58. Do not be an advocate for deceit (4:105)
59. Do not cooperate in sin and aggression (5:2)
60. Cooperate in righteousness (5:2)
61. ’Having majority’ is not a criterion of truth (6:116)
62. Be just (5:8)
63. Punish for crimes in an exemplary way (5:38)
64. Strive against sinful and unlawful acts (5:63)
65. Dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine are prohibited (5:3)
66. Avoid intoxicants and alcohol (5:90)
67. Do not gamble (5:90)
68. Do not insult others’ deities (6:108)
69. Don’t reduce weight or measure to cheat people (6:152)
70. Eat and Drink, But Be Not Excessive (7:31)
71. Wear good cloths during prayer times (7:31)
72. Protect and help those who seek protection (9:6)
73. Keep Purity (9:108)
74. Never give up hope of Allah’s Mercy (12:87)
75. Allah will forgive those who have done wrong out of ignorance (16:119)
76. Invitation to God should be with wisdom and good instruction (16:125)
77. No one will bear others’ sins (17:15)
78. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty (17:31)
79. Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge (17:36)
80. Keep aloof from what is vain (23:3)
81. Do not enter others’ houses without seeking permission (24:27)
82. Allah will provide security for those who believe only in Allah (24:55)
83. Walk on earth in humility (25:63)
84. Do not neglect your portion of this world (28:77)
85. Invoke not any other god along with Allah (28:88)
86. Do not engage in homosexuality (29:29)
87. Enjoin right, forbid wrong (31:17)
88. Do not walk in insolence through the earth (31:18)
89. Women should not display their finery (33:33)
90. Allah forgives all sins (39:53)
91. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah (39:53)
92. Repel evil by good (41:34)
93. Decide on affairs by consultation (42:38)
94. Most noble of you is the most righteous (49:13)
95. No Monasticism in religion (57:27)
96. Those who have knowledge will be given a higher degree by Allah (58:11)
97. Treat non-Muslims in a kind and fair manner (60:8)
98. Save yourself from covetousness (64:16)
99. Seek forgiveness of Allah. He is Forgiving and Merciful (73:20)
100. Do not repel one who asks (93:10)
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