Al-Baqara (The Cow) Sura 2: Verses 207-208

"And there is a kind of man who would willingly sell his own self to please God. And God is gentle to His servants. O you who believe! Enter the fold of peace, all of you. Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, for he is to you a manifest enemy."

Self-surrender is the most basic concept of faith, it is the condition of placing total trust in the certainty of the existence of God and recognising that one is the creation of a Merciful and Compassionate Creator. The consequence of such consciousness is giving one's self over completely to doing what God has commended, trying to live in this world to earn one's place in Paradise in the Hereafter. The 'fold of peace' is then a state of personal certainty and acceptance, a coming to terms with one's true nature. It is also recognition of the real nature and purpose of the world in which we exist. It is the state of being that one should strive to achieve, a state of being in stark contrast to the arrogant, worldly, domineering and destructive populism; dedicated commitment to working peacefully being the best way to make a better world based on justice, equity and dignity for all.

Whatever of Allah's blessings you receive - His forgiveness, His rewards, His pleasure, and eternal comfort - all will be by dint of your own effort. You will receive these because of your actions. This will be the reward of your own striving. Life is the most precious thing of all. Assume full responsibility for it. Just as a shopkeeper tends his store, a businessman takes care of his trade, or a farmer carefully looks after his farm, you too should take the reins of your life in your hands. So, do open and close the shop at the right times, settle the accounts on a daily basis, and tend to your farm. When you strive to set yourself and your life right, when the desire to succeed here and in the Hereafter overwhelms you, Allah will keep on opening new avenues of growth and progress for you.

Al-e-Imran (The House of Imran) Sura 3: Verse 145

"No soul can die except by Allah's leave according to a prescribed term. If any do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the hereafter, We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those who (serve Us with) gratitude."

In this verse, two weaknesses of the weaker elements in the Muslim community and the hypocrites are pointed out. One, they do not believe that the time of death of every person is fixed and that no one will die before the completion of the prescribed term of life, and that once this term is over, no one will be able to avert death even for a single instant. Therefore, a person's first concern should be to faithfully, firmly and resolutely discharge his obligations towards Allah rather than fleeing from them. The time and manner of every person's death is already fixed and cannot be altered.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent to address people of every level, from ignorant seventh-century bedouins to those of the highest intellectual and scientific achievements, until the Day of Judgment. No one has yet been able to disprove what he said. Accordingly, after we scrutinize his Traditions and the Quran, we realize that they complement each other in style and content. Moreover, there is no contradiction between them and established scientific knowledge. Ever since the Revelation, billions of people have found in the Quran answers for their intellectual problems, cures for their spiritual diseases, and models for their behaviour in all circumstances.