2:177(One consequence of this schism is their preoccupation with rituals, with each sect leaving the Revelation aside and taking delight in its own set of dogmas they call religion. 30:320.)
Righteousness and exponential development of the ’self’ depends not on whether you turn your faces to East or West. But righteousness is that:
- One has conviction in God,
- And the Last Day,
- And the Angels,
- �And the Book,
- �And the prophets.
- �And that he gives his cherished wealth to:
- �Family and relatives,
- �Orphans,
- �Widows,
- �Those left helpless in the society,
- �And those whose hardearned income fails to meet their basic needs,
- �Those whose running businesses have stalled,
- �The ones who have lost their jobs,
- �Whose life has stalled for any reason,
- �The disabled,
- �The needy wayfarer, son of the street, the homeless, the one who travels to you for assistance,
- �Those who ask for help, and
- �Those whose necks are burdened with any kind of bondage, oppression, crushing debts and extreme hardship of labor.
- �(And righteous are) those who strive to establish the institution of Salaat,� (2:3. 2:53)
- �And help set up the Economic System of Zakaat.
- �They are true to their pledge whenever they make one.
- �And they remain steadfast in physical or emotional distress and in times of peril.
It is they who have proven themselves to be true, and it is they who are living upright.
