Put God's Kingdom First

The beastly nature of man tends towards more of the flesh with little faculty input in making decisions to act.

The Id in a person paly a significant role in controlling the psyche and wish of the infants to the impressionable age level, children will ever wish the best from their parents and arrogate to themselves the achievers' materials of their parents and those who have made it in the society-may car, my house-this is the period beastly manifestation of behavior.

 He later develops into an ego region, when he is conscious of what he says and what he wishes.

However, the best of growth and development in a man is best achieved through the developed superego, when he has the characteristic senes of control and regulations over the thoughts, wishes acts, and deeds.

 For a man to achieve the superego level, he needs spiritual nutrients in form of inspirational energy with which he would drive the vehicles of his social desires.

As expressed in the Holy Quran 94: 4-8, (94:4) And did We not exalt your fame? 3

3. This was said at a time when no one could even conceive how the renown of the one unique individual, who had only a few followers confined only to the city of Makkah, would be exalted throughout the world and what high fame he would achieve. But Allah Almighty gave His Messenger (peace be upon him) this good news under those very conditions and then fulfilled it in a strange way. In the first place, he took from his enemies themselves the task of exalting his renown. One of the methods that the disbelievers of Makkah adopted to defeat his mission was that in the Hajj season when the pilgrims from every corner of Arabia were attracted to their city, they would visit them at their halting places and would warn them to beware of a dangerous man called Muhammad (peace be upon him), who they alleged, worked such magic on the people that father was separated from son, a brother from brother, and husband from wife; therefore, they should keep away from him. The same thing they said to all other people, who visited Makkah on other than Hajj days in connection with pilgrimage or on other business. In this way, although they were trying to defame the Prophet (peace be upon him), yet the result was that his name reached every nook and corner of Arabia and the enemies themselves took him out of his seclusion in Makkah and introduced him among all the tribes of the country. After this, it was but natural that the people should become curious to know as to who this man was, what he preached, what was his character like and who were the people influenced by his magic, and what sort of effect his magic had on them. As the propaganda of the Makkan disbelievers spread, the people’s curiosity also grew. Then, when as a result of this curiosity the people came to know of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) morals, his character and conduct when they heard the Quran and found what teachings it presented and when the people saw how different the lives of those who had been influenced by what was being described as magic had become from the lives of the common Arabs, the bad name started being changed into the good name. So much so that by the time the Hijrah took place, there was perhaps no tribe left anywhere in Arabia from which one or another person, one or another clan had not accepted Islam and in which at least some people had not developed sympathy and interest in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his message. This was the first stage of the exaltation of his renown. Then from the Hijrah started the second stage in which, on the one hand, the hypocrites, the Jews and the prominent polytheists of Arabia were actively engaged in defaming him, and, on the other, the Islamic State of Al-Madinah was presenting such a practical model of God-worship, God-consciousness, piety, and devotion, purity of morals and community life, justice and equity, equality of man and man, generosity of the rich, care of the poor, the fulfillment of pledges and promises and righteousness in dealings, which was conquering the hearts. The enemies tried by resort to war to impede the growing influence of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but the party of the believers, trained and developed under his own leadership, proved its superiority by their discipline, their bravery, their fearlessness of death, and their adherence to restrictions of morality even in the state of war, so convincingly that entire Arabia had to recognize it as a power to be reckoned with. Within ten years the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) renown become so exalted that the same land in which the opponents had exerted their utmost to defame him, reverberated with the slogan of Ash hadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasul Allah from one end to the other. Then the third stage commenced with the establishment of the righteous Caliphate when his holy name started being mentioned and praised everywhere in the world. This process continues till today and will continue till Resurrection if Allah so wills. Wherever in the world there exists a settlement of the Muslims, the apostleship of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is being proclaimed aloud in the call to the Prayer five times a day, blessings of Allah are being invoked on him in the Prayers, and his sacred remembrance is being made in the Friday Sermons. There is no moment in the 12 months of the year and in the 24 hours of the day when at one or another place in the world, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name is not being mentioned. This is a clear proof of the truth of the Quran that when in the initial stage of the Prophethood Allah proclaimed wa rafana laka dhikrak, no one could estimate and imagine with what esteem and to what great extent the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) renown would be exalted. In a Hadith, Abu Saeed Khudri has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Gabriel came to me and said: My Lord and your Lord asks, in what ways have I exalted your renown. I submitted: Allah alone has the best knowledge. He said Allah says: Whenever mention is made of Me, you too will be mentioned along with Me. (Ibn Jarir, lbn Abi Hatim, Musnad Abu Yala, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Hibban, Ibn Marduyah, Abu Nuaim). The whole later history stands witness that this prediction has proved literally true.

(94:5) Indeed, there is the ease with hardship.

(94:6) Most certainly, there is the ease with hardship.4

4. This has been repeated twice so as to reassure the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the bad times he was passing through at that time would not last forever, but we're going to be replaced by good times in the near future. On the surface this appears to be a contradiction that hardship should be accompanied by ease, for these two things do not co-exist. But the words hardship with ease instead of ease after hardship has been used in the sense that the period of ease is so close to it as if it were a concomitant of it.

(94:7) So, whenever you are free, strive in devotion,

(94:8) and turn to your Lord with longing.5

5. So when you have finished (your duties): When you are free from other occupations, whether occupations in connection with the preaching of the divine message, or teaching and training of the new converts, or domestic occupations of mundane nature. The commandment means: When you are no more occupied, you should spend your time in the labor and toil of Allah’s worship and turn all your attention exclusively to your Lord.''

This is why the Holy Quran 51: 56, categorically made this submission, ''I have only jinns and men that they may serve Me.

 This is why the Holy Bible in Psalm 53: 1-3 submitted with all authority that only a fool thinks there is no God, People like that are corrupt, evil, malicious and they don't do anything well.

There really is a God in heaven watching over us. God is looking for wise people who are looking for God! But everyone has turned away from God. 

Every person is bad, no person does anything good. No, not one person.''

Let us all be reminded that without God those who labor do so in vain(Psalm 27: 1).

The Holy Bible, therefore, needs to be followed on the issue of putting God's kingdom first, as the Holy Quran equally emphasizes the essence of being alive. In the Holy Quran 2: 201-202,''(2:201) There are others who say: “Our Lord, grant us what is good in this world and what is good in the World to Come, and protect us from the chastisement of the Fire.” (2:202) They shall have a portion from what they earned; Allah is quick in reckoning.''

The teaching of Jesus Christ, therefore, in Matthew 6: 25-34(please take patience to read and digest to the application realm to suit the true-life situation) ,''25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.''

 To all people from all nations, therefore, starting from me and you the almighty Allah admonishes through the Holy Quran 49: 13 on the essence of love, unity, keeping good neighborliness, and abstinence from all acts that may bother one into the deluge of discrimination or despise for others.

This is for me and you to avoid the situation of losing the kingdom of God which only our closeness to God can guarantee us to have as paradise or Jannat-''O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. The emphasis here is on our ability to understand and internalise the subject matter of the Scriptures or curriculum to comprehension and application level that would suit to resolve issues and control any emerging situations for good, alongside strategic efforts on peace initiatives.

Let us equally be reminded of the following, Romans 13: 13 is about a triangle of successful and sustainable exemplary life-styles: Faith is about the religion of your choice with the dividend of hope through just worship with sincerity of purpose and that the two would only be functionally beneficial only in an environment of love. '' Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.''

Let us develop the culture of forgiveness for hatred to be replaced with love for a hitch-free voyage of life. Compulsorily, therefore, we must all submit to the design of God as contained in Quran 15: 99, ''And serve thy Lord until there come unto thee the Hour that is certain.

Once again, but God's kingdom first.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria