Muslims believe the Day of Alastu is one of the most important events in history. The Quran says of this Day:
And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam’s loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes! We testify,” lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: “Verily, we have been unaware of this.” (Qur’an 7:172, Muhsin Khan)
In this video I discuss the Islamic Day of Alastu and what it means for history and the Muslim view of sin compared to what God revealed in the Christian Scriptures. 1“The idea of this primordial covenant (mithaq) between God and humanity has impressed the religious conscience of the Muslims, and especially the Muslim mystics, more than any other idea. Here is the starting point for their understanding of free will and predestination, of election and acceptance, of God’s eternal power and man’s loving response and promise. The goal of the mystic is to return to the experience of the “Day of Alastu,” when only God existed, before He led future creatures out of the abyss of not-being and endowed them with life, love, and understanding so that they might face Him again at the end of time” (Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, 35th Anniversary edition [North Carolina University Press, 2011], 24).
References
| 1. | ↥ | “The idea of this primordial covenant (mithaq) between God and humanity has impressed the religious conscience of the Muslims, and especially the Muslim mystics, more than any other idea. Here is the starting point for their understanding of free will and predestination, of election and acceptance, of God’s eternal power and man’s loving response and promise. The goal of the mystic is to return to the experience of the “Day of Alastu,” when only God existed, before He led future creatures out of the abyss of not-being and endowed them with life, love, and understanding so that they might face Him again at the end of time” (Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, 35th Anniversary edition [North Carolina University Press, 2011], 24). |
