“Be More & Achieve More!”

Hi,

Most often people cannot see beyond the limited scopes of their own intelligence. The filters on their perceptions and the processing mechanisms of their minds are dulled due to montonous repetitions of life in which attempts are made to live life without understanding and to ‘progress’ without meaning. Repititious small acts of work, play, social interaction and the pursuits of creature comforts lead to a type of thinking where everything is hunky-dory and there is little to worry about. Until, of a sudden, something happens to make a person stop, think and reflect on the every-day wonders surrounding us that serve as pointers to the higher truths.

Recently, I was up on Moses Mountain, St. Catherine, Sinai, Egypt recently and the views were breathtaking, especially after ascending all night to reach the summit (2639m) and offering my pre-dawn prayers in the place of worship built at the peak (there is a church and a mosque). It is the place where the Prophet Moses received the Ten Commandments from God and nearby is also the ‘burning bush’ from where God spoke to Moses.

The fact remains that such a place was specified for a very important moment in the history of mankind: the revelation of the Ten Commandments.

According to the Biblical records, God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, inscribed on stone tablets, and intended for the guidance of the people of Israel after their exodus from Egypt. They form a small but vital part of the total 623 laws in the Torah (five books of Moses, the first books of the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament).

There are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament they are Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34:12-26 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Exodus 20 is the most commonly used set.

In the King James’ version of the Bible, Exodus 20 reads as follows:

20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 20.2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

20.3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

20.4 Thou shalt have not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 20.5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and the fourth generation of them that hate me; 20.6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

20.7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

20.8 Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy.

20.9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 20.10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 20.10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 20.11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested  the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

20.12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

20.13 Thou shalt not kill

20.14 Thou shalt not commit adultery

20.15 Thou shalt not steal

20.16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

20.17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, that shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Different religious groups have divided the commandments in different ways. Most Protestants and Orthodox Christians divide and enumerate them as follows:

1. The prologue and prohibition of the worship of any deity but God
2. Prohibition of idolatry
3. Prohibition of the use of the name of God for vain purposes
4. Observance of the Sabbath
5. Honoring of one’s father and mother
6. Prohibition of murder
7. Prohibition of adultery
8. Prohibition of stealing
9. Prohibition of giving false testimony
10. Prohibition of coveting the property or wife of one’s neighbor.

Roman Catholics and Lutherans combine the prologue and the first two prohibitions and divide the last one into two that prohibit separately the coveting of a neighbour’s wife and of his property.  In Jewish tradition, the prologue is considered the first commandment, the first two prohibitions are combined as the second commandment, and the rest follow the same as the Protestant and Orthodox traditions.

Although many verses in the Quran confirmed the Biblical Ten Commandments, many Quranic commentators have referred to the following three verses from Surah Al-Ana’m (The Cattle, 6:151-153) as “The Ten Commandments”. Aspects of Quranic moral values depicted therein:

The 1st commandment:

“Do not take partner with Allah or any thing equal to Him”

The 2nd commandment:

“Be benevolent to your parents”

The 3rd  commandment:

“Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We who shall provide substance for you as well as for them”

The 4th commandment:

“Do not even come near any shameful deeds, whether committed openly or secretly”

The 5th commandment:

“Do not kill any human soul whom Allah has forbidden except for a just cause

The 6th commandment:

“Do not even come near (touch) the orphan’s property, except to improve it, until he or she attains the age of full strength”

The 7th commandment:

“Give full measure & weigh with equity. We do not burden any human’s soul beyond its capability”

The 8th commandment:

“Whenever you speak, speak justly even (if the matter) it concerns (against) a near relative (one near of kin)”

The 9th commandment:

“Always fulfill your covenant with Allah”

The 10th commandment:

“This is my way (the straight path), then follow it and do not follow other paths. They will scatter you from this (straight) path”

The Quran refers to the Biblical laws revealed to Prophet Moses (PBUH) on Mount Sinai as follows:

“And we wrote for him (Moses) in the tablets (of the law) all manner of admonition, clearly spelling out everything. And (We said:) hold fast unto them with (all your) firmness and command your people to hold fast to their most goodly rules…” (Surah Al-A’raf 7: 145).

The above verses have been referred to as “The Ten Commandments” because every one of the three verses ended up with Allah (SWT) saying:

“Thus does God command you that you may attain wisdom” (151);

“Thus does God command you that you may remember” (152); and

“Thus does God command you, that you may remain conscious of Him” (153).

As Ever, For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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