Why Is the World So Bad If God Is Good?

The experience we have on earth in our fleshy bodies, often with fleeting moments of pleasure and joy, is accompanied by a great deal of personal, familial and community-level suffering. No doubt it has led many thinkers and philosophers throughout history to postulate whether there is truly more to life than the five senses and mundane experience, or if there is a higher purpose to our lives in this world.

The Messenger of Allah said, “The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the unbeliever.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2956)

Surely it should make us reflect that there must be a greater goal in sight then just trying to satiate our sensory pleasures? If indeed there is one true absolute God, then why is creation not perfect like Him? If the Supreme God was all-loving, why would His physical creation be flawed to such a degree? Why do we observe so many physical and mental diseases and mutations leading to abnormalities in our lives and the natural world around us? Meanwhile, on a societal level there are immense struggles in terms of simply being able to sustain oneself day to day, with essential needs such as shelter, employment, health and sustenance. It is reported that more than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and nutritious and sufficient food.

The US Census Bureau estimated that in 2021, in the so-called land of the free, upwards of 1 in 10 Americans, roughly 38 million people, lived at or below the poverty level.  In such a status quo, if human beings are supposed to be spiritually awake and more deeply connected to a divine source, having a divine experience, how could this be consistent with not even being able to have their basic needs met? 

For instance, in Mississippi in the Deep South, there is immense suffering due to social degradation and malnourishment. This is in reality the human face of poverty for many Americans such as the inner-city homeless who sleep on grates, beg on corners and line up, mornings and afternoons, at local parks for a cup of soup and a sandwich. On the flip side, the top 1% of households hold approximately 30% of the nation's wealth, and the top 10% control over 70%. Such wealth disparity means that a small political, media and business elite can create a monopoly with private jets, fleets of luxury cars, resort villas with personal butlers, whilst others die needlessly.

Larry Ellison, a US tech titan, has a house portfolio worth 1.75 billion USD and owns a colossal 453-foot yacht reportedly costing over $200 million to build. Whilst King Solomon had a rich kingdom, everyone in his lands was well provided for. It was a Golden Age. So the crime is not, therefore, living in wealth, it is in doing so to the exclusion and detriment of the majority of the world's population, and doing nothing about it when clearly they could help others. Clearly, God's earth was made rich and abundant for everyone, so something must seriously be wrong if there is so much disparity and injustice. Shockingly, three of the wealthiest individuals in America could feed a third of the world for 75 days at $2 a day, causing 1,875,000 lives (25,000 lives per day) to be saved in those 75 days.

Yet even people that are born into such wealth or achieve what is deemed success in terms of a career or peer status, gaining access to all the material things that tempt the flesh, usually become chronically depressed. They fall into mental breakdowns and addictive behaviours often mimicked by their followers, such as drug and alcohol abuse, bulimia, obesity, anorexia, and even suicide. Clearly, there is a void that cannot be filled by material things, a longing that remains and a feeling of emptiness. So is it any wonder that the elites would try to use bread and circuses to opiate the people and prevent an uprising? For if people realised that the suffering is felt from association with the self, they would also see that true happiness lies in servitude to others and spiritual awakening.

More shocking still, many of these so-called wealthy elites claim to represent the true religion of God and to be divinely inspired by Christ’s message, such as “scholars for dollars” Kenneth Copeland or Joel Oesten. They unashamedly declare that their wealth is from the grace of God and a sign that God has favoured them over the masses. These self proclaimed televangelists, with millions of supporters in their ostentatious megachurches, are campaigners for the prosperity gospel audaciously stating that your lack of sustenance is a sign of your spiritual poverty before God. Hence, only if you tithe to them will you too be rewarded by God and enter under His grace.

“Sow a seed on your MasterCard, your Visa or your American Express, and then when you do, expect God to open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing.” (Oral Roberts, “Success in Life” broadcast on the Trinity Broadcasting Network September 21, 1990)

Surely those who reflect would recall how this is in direct violation of the true words of Jesus Christ, who said it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and that we should sacrifice all worldly assets before following the living messenger.

Is it any different to the wealthy elites in Saudi Arabia, like MBS and King Abdullah of Jordan, or King Mohammed of Morocco, who profess faith in God and claim to represent true Islam? They claim to be custodians of the Holy House of Islam and holy city of Jerusalem respectively. Yet in reality, rather than living in service to others, they live in the lap of luxury, with a $1.5 billion palace complex in Saudi Arabia and the 2015 purchase of Chateau Louis XIV, a $320 million mansion near Paris. Meanwhile, they create a ministry for religious tourism to promote ludicrously overpriced Hajj packages, and build a clock tower of Sauron, costing over $15 billion, that towers over the so-called Holy House of God. When their petrodollars are converted to military hardware from US military conglomerates, they use it to obliterate their so-called brothers in faith in Qatif and Al-Ahsa, as well as leaving the horrific legacy of bombing Yemen back into the dark ages.

The House of Saud and its religious ministries have funnelled billions of dollars to propagate a doctrine of Islam known as Salafism or Wahabism, that spreads division and hatred of other Muslim sects and Christians. This has taken place on the pulpits of mosques, through social media, and through literature from Dar Es Salaam publications, with an annual revenue of some 1.5 million USD, feeding the susceptible minds of Muslims in majority nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia. This philosophy denies the significance of the Divinely appointed Caliph of God, promotes a fallible interpretation of the scriptures, and leads to massive sectarianism and corresponding hatred, wars and bloodshed that stem from this.

Such propaganda has led to even more vicious interpretations of the scriptures and the creation of terror cells such as ISIS and Boko Haram, which preach far more extreme ideologies.For example, Turki al-Binali (chief mufti of ISIS) repeatedly declared: “It is obligatory to fight anyone who does not follow Islam, until he submits to the rule of Allah.”

No wonder Prophet Mohammed highlighted the suffering in these epochal times for the true, faithful believers… How there would come a time when holding onto true religion would be like holding onto hot coals. 

"And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not but assumption, and they are not but guessing" (Qur’an, Chapter 6 (Al-Anʿam), Verse 116)

Surely, a time when the honest man would be regarded as a liar, the traitor would be regarded as faithful, and the faithful man would be regarded as a traitor. How could not a true believer in God, in such a time, not feel that this world is a prison cell, that we are trapped, when there is so much deception in the hearts and minds of the so-called guardians of the faith and political leaders of this world?

Does not poverty in wealth and guidance deprive the believer in God of the strength and time to get closer to the divine? When the body is deficient in vital energy, the mind brainwashed by false doctrines and controlled by fear of speaking out against such injustice, and the soul lacking a moral and spiritual compass to help guide it back to the source of creation.

Is it any wonder then that Imam Ali, the divine successor of Prophet Mohammed, who had promised that if we followed his guardianship as believers we would live in Eden, was emboldened and inspired to say that if poverty was a man he would have killed him.

The worldly life is indeed a battleground for the believer's souls, hence a place of attrition and spiritual war to bring forth the soldiers of light and extinguish the soldiers of darkness. Jesus taught us that the flesh is weak, but we should take solace that the soul is willing in this battle.

Did not God warn the believers through Prophet Mohammed that Satan, despite all his powers and knowledge, had failed for simply not submitting to Adam as the Divine Sovereign, and that as a result he was exiled from the Kingdom of God? The fact that Satan promised in his anger to misguide all but the sincere servants of God in this world and he was given a certain period of time to lead others astray, gives more credence to this fact. This reveals our world as a testing ground for the believers in order not to fall into the same fundamental trap of false ideology and arrogance. Hence, the importance of finding the chosen leader of humanity sent by God in each era, and supporting his Divine mission, and submitting to his leadership. 

The one supreme God said: 

“Then get you from here, for verily, you are outcast. And verily!, My Curse is on you till the Day of Recompense.” (Iblis) said: ‘My Lord! Give me respite till the Day the (dead) are resurrected.” Allah said: “Verily! You are of those allowed respite – till the Day of the time appointed.” (Qur’an, Chapter 38 (Sād), Verses 77-81)

“Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as [thankful] ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).” (Qur’an, Chapter 7 (Al-Araf), Verses 16-17)

The fact that Islamic scriptures teach us that Satan is actually, IB-Lees (father of creation), the creator of the material world and even our fleshly bodies (Shay-tan - something made of clay), it should be no surprise that the battleground is within us as well outside. How, in fact, a truth seeker in God is forced to go through problems in his life so that the experience becomes one that is very much a test of our will and endurance to seek and follow the straight path.

Surely this indicates a hidden secret and mystery to life and happiness for the true believer in God? One of the biggest philosophical challenges for people to face is the fact that this life is impermanent, that it dissolves. So, in sensibility, why would we attach ourselves to it and its fading allurements? One must unconditionally suffer during our life times the loss of loved ones, wealth, beauty and health. Hence, the worldly life is clearly a prison for the believers.

“It's easier to be in a normal prison, like Guantanamo Bay which is less of a prison then the prison we are in by being born or incarnating into this physical realm.” (Aba Al-Sadiq, Mahdi has Appeared series)

Let us investigate if any other world faiths reveal similar truths, that the world really is a prison for the believers, and if so, what clues there might be to gain liberation from this prison matrix for the mind and soul?

Ancient Egyptian Religion

The ancient Egyptian religion considered the physical body (Khat) as a temporary shell which can be inhabited by the souls and is required in order for the soul to have a sensory experience and go through challenges. Whatever you do or wherever you go, you cannot escape from the trials and tribulations of life in order for the soul to grow and reach its potential.

“Even if you give everything up and go to a distant cave away from civilization, you cannot escape from the world.” (Muata Ashby, The Book of the Dead)

The soul is in reality held captive in the body within the physical world, and hence this life is not its ultimate resting abode. The world, by extension, therefore, is the temporary holding cell for this soul before it could return to its true, eternal home in the Field of Reeds or Paradise.

“Salvation is the freeing of the soul from its bodily fetters, becoming one with God through knowledge and wisdom, controlling the forces of the cosmos instead of being a slave to them, subduing the lower nature and through awakening the Higher Self, ending the cycle of rebirth and dwelling with the netters who direct who direct and control the Great Plan.”  (Muata Ashby, The Book of the Dead)

The entire elaborate practice of mummification was based on the need to preserve this shell so the Ba and Ka (different aspects of the soul) could recognize and reunite with it in the afterlife. This is clearly personified through the need to adhere to the concept of Maat, or harmony and truth, the real currency of life. The Egyptians were taught in their mystery schools throughout thousands of years of ancient Egyptian civilization to focus on reaching the hereafter. The danger lies also in the fact that we become neglectful and distracted by the five senses and mundane aspects of life and are forgetful over what we learned, we are truly ‘Insan’, as is in accordance with the tradition that “man was named Insan only because he was given a covenant, but he forgot it (Nasiya).”  

“The problem of human existence is the forgetfulness of the Divine essence of the Self and the identification with the body as the Self.”  (Muata Ashby, The Book of the Dead)

The Book of the Dead teaches that it is deeds that make the weighing of the heart lighter, so if we follow the desires of the five senses and pleasures to the extreme, we risk falling foul of this law and becoming weighed down in torments of the self. The Weighing of the Heart as the "Test," the Final Judgement, and hence we should not focus so much on this world.

So the key to escape this matrix world of the five senses is to recognise there is a harmonising force to bring order and function to the universe, including the stars, seasons, and natural forces. That in our dealings, truth and justice must prevail to prevent a collapse in this order, for without such balance there will be chaos, violence and immense suffering. Therefore, when we follow our innate egoistic, animalistic desires and pursue materialism for the sake of the self, we fall into a cycle of frustration and pain. Without clear guidance this satanic trap remains.

“Labor not after riches first, and think thou afterwards wilt enjoy them. He who neglects the present moment, throws away all that he hath. As the arrow passes through the heart, will the warrior know not that it was coming; so shall his life be taken away before he knoweth that he hath it.” (Muata Ashby, The Book of the Dead)

Maat is brought forth by good individual conduct, honesty, compassion, and respect for others. This harmonic state could only take place if people who live under this system have a Divine King or Pharaoh that rules by the laws of Maat, with commitment to justice and order, and the citizens of the state align their hearts and minds accordingly as such.

Hermeticism

Hermes, the first great philosopher, made it very clear that indeed the soul is contained in the house of the prison of the body within the prison of the world. Hermes taught that ignorance is truly a failing to recognise the divine within and pursue the worldly desires of the vessel and the body.

“To the ignorant, the body is supreme, and they are incapable of realising the immortality that is within them. Knowing only the body, which is subject to death, they believe in death because they worship that substance which is the cause and reality of death.” (Corpus Hermeticum I, Poimandres)

In essence, the goal of the wise is to recognise there is a divine spark within and harness this power for the sake of the true self and align ourselves with the real source of light.

“Because the Father of all things consists of Life and Light, where man is made.” (Corpus Hermeticum I:9, Mead translation)

Hermes made it abundantly clear that the descent of man is linked to the pursuit of inordinate desires that prevents him from recognising his higher self and connection with the divine. Whilst at the same time, we must watch over our own hearts, which are constantly being attacked by the whispering and sedations of the Devil who wishes to tempt us away from goodness.

“I will not permit the evil senses to control the bodies of those who love me, nor will I allow evil emotions and evil thoughts to enter them. I become a porter or doorkeeper, and shut out evil, protecting the wise from their own lower nature. But to the wicked, the envious and the covetous, I come not, for such cannot understand the mysteries of Mind; therefore, I am unwelcome. I leave them to the avenging demon that they are making in their own souls, for evil each day increases itself and torments man more sharply, and each evil deed adds to the evil deeds that are gone before until finally evil destroys itself. The punishment of desire is the agony of unfulfillment.” (Corpus Hermeticum I, Poimandres)

In his Secret Sermon in the Mount Of Regeneration, and the Profession of Silence, Hermes Trismegistus, who is often associated with Enoch, has the following conversation with his son Tat (possibly Methuselah) on the subject of getting close to God:

Hermes: “Yet is it so, as I say, O Son, he that looketh only upon that which is carried upward as Fire, that which is carried downward as Earth, that which is moist as Water, and that which bloweth or is subject to blast as Air; how can he sensibly understand that which is neither hard, nor moist, nor tangible, nor perspicuous, seeing it is only understood in power and operation; but I beseech and pray to the Mind which alone can understand the Generation, which is in God.” Tat: “Then am I, O Father, utterly unable to do it.” Hermes: “God forbid, Son, rather draw or pull him unto thee (or study to know him) and he will come, be but willing, and it shall be done; quiet (or make idle) the senses of the body, purging thyself from unreasonable brutish torments of matter.” Tat: “Have I any revengers or tormentors in myself, Father?” Hermes: “Yes, and those, not a few, but many and fearful ones.” Tat: “I do not know them, Father.” (Corpus Hermeticum, Treatise XII)

Hermes would even go as far as to outline the character traits which could lead a man astray from godliness as follows.

Hermes: “One Torment, Son, is Ignorance, a second, Sorrow, a third, Intemperance, a fourth Concupiscence, a fifth, Injustice, a sixth, Covetousness, a seventh, Deceit, an eighth, Envy, a ninth, Fraud or Guile, a tenth, Wrath, an eleventh, Rashness, a twelfth, Maliciousness. They are in number twelve, and under these many more; some which through the prison of the body, do force the inwardly placed Man to suffer sensibly.” (Corpus Hermeticum, Treatise XII)

It is very clear from this narration that Hermes is teaching his son Tat how to know God and how it comes down to the intention of knowing Him, patience in knowing Him and in “quieting (or making idle) the senses of the body, purging thyself from unreasonable brutish torments of matter.” After knowing this, Tat immediately asks his father whether he himself is confined by these torments of matter, whereupon his father responds by saying “Yes, and those, not a few, but many and fearful ones,” and numbering twelve. He additionally warns him that there are many more, specifically “through the prison of the body.”

In another interesting tradition, in a manuscript titled Isis the Prophetess to her Son Horus, the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis tells her son Horus about the condition of some souls who, after being tasked by God with the duty of creation, fell to pride, and as a result had to undergo punishment.

Then first did the souls learn that they were sentenced ; and gloomy were their looks. I (Isis) will tell you what the souls said; listen, my glorious son (Horus), when they were about to be shut up in the bodies, some of them wailed and moaned, just that and nothing more;... And another shrieked, and again and again turning his eyes upward and now downward said, ‘O thou Heaven, source of our being… how cruel it is that we are being torn away from things so great and splendid!... We are to be expelled from the holy atmosphere, and a place nigh to the vault of heaven, and from the blissful life we lived there, and to be imprisoned in habitations mean and base as these (i.e. in earthly bodies.)’ Poor wretches that we are, what hard necessities await us! What hateful things we shall have to do, in order to supply the needs of this body that must so soon perish! (Corpus Hermeticum, The Divine Pymander)

Hermes reminds those with the latent spark within to seek to rekindle it: 

“O people of the earth, men born and made of the elements, but with the spirit of the Divine Man within you, rise from your sleep of ignorance! Be sober and thoughtful. Realize that your home is not in the earth but in the Light. Why have you delivered yourselves over unto death, having power to partake of immortality? Repent, and change your minds. Depart from the dark light and forsake corruption forever. Prepare yourselves to climb through the Seven Rings and to blend your souls with the eternal Light.” (Muata Ashby, Ancient Egyptian Proverbs)

We learn from Hermes that, in truth, there is a battle raging inside ourselves from our egoistic desires and outside from the dark forces who want to control us by false doctrine, fear, and censorship. Hence, we often feel entrapped and ensnared.

Ancient Greece

The teaching of Socrates in Plato's Republic concerning the Allegory of the Cave, detailing a group of prisoners literally chained in a cave since childhood, is graphic. Humans in this worldly life face a wall, unable to turn their heads. Behind them is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a walkway where images are projected by people performing tasks.

The prisoners see only shadows of this slideshow on the cave wall, and for them, these projected shadows are in fact their whole experience and reality. Eventually, a brave and bold prisoner who suspects something is not right manages to break free from the shackles and leave the cave. He is blinded at first by the sunlight, but gradually he sees reflections, true wonderful objects, and finally the sun itself, the true source of light and life. Astounded and enlightened, the awakened soul returns to the cave to reveal the true nature of the world to his fellow inhabitants of the cave. He realises that many will find this revelation hard to comprehend after a life of programming but, with sincere compassion, wants to help. Most prisoners reject his profound revelation since they still only trust the shadows they are used to. They even fight and reject his calling them out from their illusory darkness and, in their fear, claim his teachings are blasphemous and heretical as they threaten the perceived comfort of their illusory normality.

In reality, they are still consumed by their egoistic desires, which are equivalent to the media apparatus today, which blinds us with celebrity icons and crass materialism, entertainment, and addictive substances. Likewise, people today are trapped in fear of the unknown and opiated by the rules and rituals of mainstream religion, which act as a poor substitute for the true essence and soul of the living religion with the living awakened messenger.

This allegory of truth was substantiated by the principles of the teachings of the ethics and politics of Aristotle. The successor of Plato made it abundantly clear that we must seek to find the golden mean in order to escape the prison complex. The Golden mean can be exemplified as the middle path between two extremes, essentially the path of moderation, for instance, courage between recklessness and cowardice. Another could be seeking diligence between laziness and overworking, or reverence as opposed to neglect and idolatry. In all senses, to seek and practise and pursue the goal of Eudamonia. This can be described as a state of deep, enduring well-being achieved through virtuous activity, rational thought, and the fulfilling of one's true purpose or potential. Hence, unlike the pursuit of transient feelings of pleasure, eudaimonia is a stable condition rooted in morality, self-sacrifice for the sake of the greater good of the community, selflessness overcoming selfishness. So we see here the prison is identified as the illusion of following the fulfilment of one's own desires, especially to the detriment of others, which is encouraged by the mainstream majority in media, politics and religion.

The Demiurge, from Plato’s Timaeus, refers to a created craftsman who carries out work on behalf of the Monad or one true Absolute God. He becomes responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. None of this should come as a surprise to students of ancient Greek philosophy.

Plato's teachings established how an Ideal State within ourselves and outside in our world could not be achieved except by following a Divine Philosopher King inspired by the Monad or one true God. Hence, it reminds us that by living in this world without a divine guide or mentor, we are destined for self-destruction, and our communities and cities will never have a rest from their evils until Divine Monarchs are restored to the seat of power on earth.

Aristotle made this point clear himself: 

"It is incumbent upon the free, devout, and pure believer to worship none but one who is present, watching, and visible to the eye." (Abu Al-Fath Muhammad Al-Shahrastani, Religions and Doctrines, The Sage Aristoteles/Aristotle)

Mark Twain in American Literature

If we reflect on the teachings of Mark Twain in his Mysterious Stranger, a man who believed we were born from the stars, we find some interesting parallels. Twain's leading character, Satan, possesses supernatural powers and expresses the philosophy of human life as an illusion. To those he encounters, he presents himself as an innocent being with good intentions initially so they become enamoured by him. He is able to offer miracles to those he captivates, material abundance and riches, but subtly promotes nihilism, as if human existence is largely worthless. So this deceptive character, despite his miracles, is clearly callous and uncaring in reality. However, if we imagine he is the creator of the flesh, hence their desires, clearly he has the power to deceive those he encounters before using divergent philosophy to drive them against one another. He makes them believe this life to be hollow and cruel with no purpose, in an attempt to hide their divine spark. We reflect and see how incredible it is to use this power of simply whispering his ideas to the people so he can divide and conquer and cause chaos in the world, without actually doing it himself.

"Nothing exists; all is a dream. God--man--the world--the sun, the moon, the wilderness of stars--a dream, all a dream; they have no existence. Nothing exists save empty space--and you!" (Mysterious Stranger, Mark Twain)

Such a concept of the Devil's philosophy seeks to make people believe there is no hope or point in expressing humanity. This is clearly linked to Gnostic scriptures which make us realise how truly we are in a prison matrix and that we are fighting the machinations of a dark satanic energy which seeks to drive us against one another and make us believe in nothing except in nihilism.

Judaism

In the Book of Radiance, Zohar, we identify Samael as the “Venom of God,” portrayed as an archdemon who works by harsh judgment, severity and temptation. 

“’Iniquity’ refers to Samael, who is the Serpent; ‘and He did not destroy’ alludes to the Angel of Destruction; …” (Zohar, Bereshit A, v. 184–186)

Samael is not alone in his material battle against the spirit of humanity, The Zohar uses symbolic language to portray Samael as a leader of adversarial, severe forces in the lower realms.

“Those seventy ministers bring allegations … and 700 million demons are attached to them. ‘Iniquity’ refers to Samael…” (Zohar, Bereshit A)

The Zohar often describes a hierarchy of demonic and obstructive ministers with Samael at the head of accusatory functions within this earthly realm. These forces seek to conceal us from holiness by such means as corruption, censorship, and on a personal level by whispering desires for crass materialism. He is attributed with bringing corruption into the world by tempting Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge, in direct violation of the law of the one true God (the allegory is explained in The Goal of the Wise Chapter 1). Such an adversary as Samael, in our worldly lives, would fight harder against the believer than others to stop them from seeking and finding the pathway to God, to obscure the Divine light by any means. The Zohar talks how such entities seek to prevent good souls from seeing or feeling the fullness of the spiritual world.

In some Rabbinic narratives, we see how there is a universal law operating, and by listening to the tempter and following our own desires, we fall into karmic error. Karmic justice requires that our debts be paid in order for the person to overcome the karmic debt we have earned.

“The Holy One Blessed be He wishes people to help those in the prison of the King and cannot release themselves. In the court above, the Holy One Blessed be He judges the people of the world to death, disconnecting from their roots together with their sons. He also judges people to have no children to stop their lines from continuing. The punishments can be related to a person’s properties and imprisonment. Those punished in their properties become sick and won’t get healed until their punishment is completed. Then they can leave the prison. Because of that, it is important to help a person complete his punishment and get out of prison.” (Zohar 2:212a, Saying 3735)

Such a reflection makes us realise that we are truly locked in suffering in this prison world until we break out of the cycle of inflicting pain on others and ourselves by ceasing to work through egoistic states. The true High King would seek to help us with angelic allies in our journey to overcome the seditions of dark temptations and encourage us to follow the path of light.

We have other narratives in the Legend of the Jews where Adam takes a stone and begins to attack his own foreskin. This self-punishment is alluded to an upwelling of desires that he was feeling about and fearful of controlling. This theme is outlined in Chapter one, The Goal of the Wise, where actually Adam is denying the flesh. And obviously, we have the same concept developing into circumcision in the Abrahamic covenant. So we see once again how the wise sage comprehends the desires attempting to overwhelm his spirit and intervenes to prevent these seditions. Truly, the body and worldly life is a battleground for the soul and it is only by listening to the guidance of the living messenger sent by God in our age that we can hope to find a path out of this labyrinth. Equally, we must be prepared to take up spiritual arms and fight the old adversary in order that we do not fall victim to his whisperings.

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Bible, Book of of Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 41)

And having said this, Jesus sat nigh unto the mountain which they looked upon. And his disciples came to his side to listen to his words. Then said Jesus: “Adam the first man having eaten, by fraud of Satan, the food forbidden of God in paradise, his flesh rebelled against the spirit; whereupon he swore, saying: ‘By God, I will cut thee!’ And having broken a piece of rock, he seized his flesh to cut it with the sharp edge of the stone: whereupon he was rebuked by the angel Gabriel. And he answered: ‘I have sworn by God to cut it; I will never be a liar!’ Then the angel showed him the superfluity of his flesh, and that he cut off. And hence, just as every man taketh flesh for the flesh of Adam, so is he bound to observe in his sons, and from generation to generation came down the obligation of circumcision.

And having said this, Jesus sat nigh unto the mountain which they looked upon. And his disciples came to his side to listen to his words. Then said Jesus: “Adam the first man, having eaten by the fraud of Satan the food forbidden of God in paradise, his flesh rebelled against the spirit; whereupon he swore, saying: ‘By God, I will cut thee!’ And having broken a piece of rock, he seized his flesh to cut it with the sharp edge of the stone: whereupon he was rebuked by the angel Gabriel. And he answered: ‘I have sworn by God to cut it; I will never be a liar!’ (Gospel of Barnabas Chapter 23). Then the angel showed him the superfluity of his flesh, and that he cut off. And hence, just as every man taketh flesh for the flesh of Adam, so he is bound to observe it in his sons, and from generation to generation came down the obligation of circumcision.

Christianity

These Satanic trappings do not escape the teachings of Jesus Christ, where he tells his disciples to deny the flesh and to carry the cross on their back. Jesus teaches us to abstain from our desires and not to pursue the worldly life, pleasures, or allurements.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Bible, Book of Luke, Chapter 9, Verses 23-24)

Jesus is fundamentally aware that the Kingdom of God is not of this material world, and neither is the origin of Jesus or his true disciples.

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (Bible, Book of John, Chapter 18, Verse 36)

Jesus warns that as a result of this, the dark powers that rule over this earthly realm are not in accord with this stance. Hence when we stand apart from the mainstream, the dark archons seek to ostracise, mock, ridicule, and chastise, and deem the adherents to the faith as heretical and, in turn, make the world despise us.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Bible, Book of John, Chapter 15, Verses 18-19) 

Jesus himself, through his own journey, reveals the nature of the spiritual war taking place against the powers of the corrupt religious and political elites. In the temptation scene with the Devil, we are made abundantly aware of the Devil's power and might over the earthly kingdoms. By offering Jesus power over these kingdoms by submitting to the command of the Devil, the one who refuses to submit to the one Absolute God, represents the ultimate compromise with pure evil. This also implies disturbingly and logically how, in reality, all the world leaders throughout history and today in politics, media, and religion in some way or another must have acquiesced to the devil in order to have gained such worldly status and glory. This would imply we are living in a state of Iblis without a Divine messenger ruling over mankind.

Jesus, the Spirit of God, is purified from such temptation as he recognises that even if he sleeps while he has no home or possessions with the rock as a pillow and the moon as a lamp and the berries as his food, no one is richer than him. Jesus teaches, “Do not store up treasures on earth… but in heaven” (Matthew 6:19–20).

So we learn from this that even if we are deprived of material success, we can endure if we have the light of God in our hearts. How we truly must be in a battle for our souls if we live in a world where the leader and elite who control the media we watch and the education system and health care, and national borders and customs, not to mention the scholars of all powerful mainstream religions are ultimately in submission to the creator of this world, the Devil.

How the living messenger or Jesus archetype of our age is fit to lead us out of perdition because he has already marked himself as a willing sacrifice for the sake of humanity.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand… does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own knows me.” (Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 41)

We see how the flock or true disciples recognise the voice and guidance of their true shepherd and follow him obediently to avoid falling victim to the wolves. The ones who represent the hired hand, or Satan, the trickster, have been lent power by God but do not represent the one true God.

These evil scholars seek to blind people from Divine light by practising a plethora of distracting rituals and rules that actually deny a true connection with a living messenger. In John 8:44, we see how these elites who encourage the believers to follow them blindly are actually sons of the Devil. How could believers be at peace in this realm until we win victory in this cosmic battle with the forces of Satan's army who act as wolves in this realm seeking to devour the believers as spring lambs?

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand for the truth…” (Bible, Book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 44)

Jesus came as a Divinely inspired spiritual warrior and ally of truth from beyond the cave, whose weapons, like all prophetic messengers, are parables, timely rebuke, and the spark of divine compassionate light that embraces his followers. Parables from Jesus in which he tells his disciples to not build their homes on sinking sand because they would become unstable. So, in essence we should take this abode as temporary and not as a resting place. Instead, as a place where by performing good deeds we can seek to gain merits in heaven. How that a merciful and generous God has given us the chance to reach great heights of spiritual development by simply fighting against our lower desires and trying to be like Jesus, so too becoming sons of God.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Bible, Book of John, Chapter 14, Verse 12)

Therefore this is a constant battle to be watchers over our own selves, work good deeds for the Living messenger as opposed to resting on our laurels and neglecting our duties and responsibilities. The son of man is without rest in this life and we know that faith without works is dead, so we must be prepared to toil and labour for the sake of God and truth. Here we must be prepared to stand up against oppression and injustice for the sake of God and his living messenger, and work by the principle of the supremacy of God apart from the self and appointed elites. By taking such a stance we are forced to traverse the earthly realm facing severe obstacles with our homes on our backs without a fixed abode, as Jesus forewarned.

“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 20)

There is a parable that is actually attributed to Jesus that reminds us we are in a great spiritual battle within ourselves as well as against the elites, epitomised by two wolves. One wolf is evil. It is anger, envy, greed, resentment, lies, ignorance and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth. The wolf that wins is the one you feed the most.

So obviously, in a modern world full of bright neon lights and temptations of sin, it is far easier to follow the evil wolf, and that is where the struggle lies within all of us. No wonder Jesus warned us that wide is the path to destruction and narrow the way to salvation. By following the narrow path of Christ, we hope to be delivered from temptation to be an ally in establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth, with the true Kings of Jesus and the Riser Aba Al-Sadiq.

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” (Bible, Book of Mark, Chapter 8, Verse 36)

Gnosticism

Such teachings correspond with those expressed by the Cathars, a medieval sect of Christianity in France around the 12th to 14th centuries derived from Manichaean thought. From them, it can be surmised that the Demiurge or Rex Mundi, King of the earth, from Platonic studies had malicious intentions. The material world, including human bodies, is inherently corrupt, evil, and a prison for the soul. Our souls are sparks of divine light trapped in matter, awaiting liberation from this prison world. They believed that humans originally had an angelic station and, having been seduced by Satan after a cosmic struggle, were trapped in the material realm created by the evil tempter. To regain their angelic status, they needed to renounce the material self. Until they were prepared to do so, they would be stuck in a cycle of reincarnation, condemned to suffer endless human lives on the corrupt Earth, as stated in Manichean teachings:

“The Prince of Darkness, having mingled with the world, brought forth the material realm, and trapped the sparks of Light in the bodies of men.” 

Hence, much of the teachings and practices focused around asceticism, spiritual purity, and detachment from the body and material possessions. With the Demiurge responsible for the material world we live in and material bodies, then is it any wonder we have a spiritual battle to escape from his clutches?

It is very clear this stance was in stark contrast to the deeply corrupt mainstream Catholicism and led ultimately to the Albigensian massacre of the Cathars. This was launched by Pope Innocent III to eliminate this so-called heresy, whose followers had the audacity to declare, “Kill them all; God will know His own” (Papal legate and military commander of the Crusade, Arnaud Amalric). The key question is which God he was referring to, the king of this world, perhaps?

20,000 were killed in Beziers alone in 1209. Many were burnt at the stake. Papal inquisitions were held,  military and political manoeuvres followed, and entire communities were decimated. On reflection, we see how by following a belief that centred on liberating the spark of light from the body and reconciling with the divine source, it was met with a backlash from the establishment. Is it any wonder that in any age, when you stand apart from the mainstream, you face extreme reprisals? The believers are truly in a prison of the body and the mind.

Buddhism and Hinduism

From the outset, we see how indeed this worldly life is an illusion in Buddhism, as clearly pointed out by the enlightened Siddhartha Gautama, Lord Buddha, who reached a state of tranquility and wisdom by depriving the self of its pleasures.

“Life is an illusion a dream; a bubble; a shadow… Nothing is permanent. Nothing is worthy of anger or dispute. Nothing…” (Buddha, Diamond Sutra, Chapter 32)

It is very vivid in these traditions, this idea that human beings are caught or trapped, just like the prophet Muhammad said, in cycles of reincarnation. Life on earth is associated with suffering because nothing is permanent and this is a place which is inherently evil if we act solely on a material, selfish level. Hence, the Goal of the Wise is to break free of the cycles of incarnating or Samsara which is driven by our ignorance (avidyā), craving or lusts (tṛṣṇā), and karmic debt, which is of course inherently marked by suffering (dukkha).

We again see parallels with an evil tempter God called Mara, a symbolic figure associated with control over humanity in this material plane. It is revealed how attachment, desire, and delusion act as obstacles to our spiritual enlightenment. This is a clear parallel with Christ's journey as Buddha sought to reach beyond the confines of this material plane, and seek enlightenment. He faced Mara head on and was tempted by fear, desire, and doubt, with Mara sending female consorts and armies. Like Jesus, he passed with flying colours, setting him apart to be fit to guide others.

Mara represented the personification of internal obstacles: our own mental defilements, craving, aversion, and confusion. Under his sway, we fall foul of his seditions and enter into a cycle of rebirths in Samsara. The illustration of the Wheel of Mara reveals how this dark entity clutches this world of illusions and desires in his claws, holding humans under its spell. As long as we personify traits of hatred, desire, and ignorance, we remain trapped. Mara's primary goal is to exploit our attachments to different aspects of this worldly life, so we ultimately keep ourselves in fetters. The goal is eventually to reach a state of Nirvana, freeing our souls from this physical cycle and therefore breaking out of the matrix, so to speak. Hence, liberation comes from cultivating wisdom, courageous acts, seeking true justice and genuine compassion in our dealings with others, and by having a living Buddha guide.

We see how the teaching of the enlightened Buddha, through his recorded word, or Dharma, and life experience teaches us how to mirror his traits. Once we follow in his footsteps, we can likewise realise it is indeed possible to cut through desire, aversion, ignorance, avarice, and all negative states. We realise the critical aspect on this life path of having a living messenger to teach us insightful meditation, how Mara's power is not absolute in contrast to God, so we should put our trust more in the supreme. Buddha teaches us, through his own personal victory over his tempter, to be steadfast and become the observer, not attached either to our thoughts or even to the fruits of our labour, so we don't become conceited or envious of others. He teaches us that this is indeed a prison matrix for the believer, but by recognising his humble and stoic example, we too can reach a state of sublime Nirvana.

In Hinduism we see how Lord Krishna, the Divine Avatar of God in the Bhagavad Gita, teaches Arjuna how to overcome evil, inner delusion, and attachments. How indeed life is a test and battleground for the soul. We see how Arjuna had been paralyzed by fear, attachment, and confusion by having to face down his own physical family in battle over the leadership of the kingdom. We see how Krishna was able to guide him to recognise it was more about the inner “enemy” of facing the struggle against his ego, desire, and ignorance and trusting completely in the living messenger and the will of God. To act in the way of God, not the perception of the self, without attaching to the outcome of the mission.

“Act according to dharma without attachment to results.” (Bhagavad Gita, 2:47)

Krishna would also teach Arjuna that there is a Divine spark within the body which is able to overcome the dark seditions of the self and how we must practise discipline, meditation, and restraint (Gita 6:5–6). This is in order to prevent the soul from being enslaved by desire and anger, symbolically “the devil.” The living messenger or Krishna was able to reveal divine wisdom to Arjuna to help him on his journey, how the eternal self (Atman) is part of the divine (Brahman) (Gita 4:38).

Arjuna was also taught through Bhakti Yoga the importance of surrendering and submitting to the will of the living messenger, despite his own ego or opinions, as Krishna's will truly represented the will of God and was therefore superior judgement. He was taught to surrender to Krishna with love and faith (Gita 9:22).

So we find in Buddhism and Hinduism the same concept that in the process of incarnating on earth, it is truly a prison for the believers and a test of their faith. Once again, we realise there is a malevolent creator force or enemy seeking to derail us and lead us away from the one True God and the living messenger. In this school of life we are in fact trapped within our bodies and the cycle of rebirth, until we break free from the shackles of our egoistic desires within and without the insinuations of evil scholars and political elites.

Islam

We have this same notion of being in this earthly realm, with the same outlook on reincarnation being explained in books like Al-Haft Al-Sharif or some of the Gnostic Islamic and Christian texts that belong to particular sects that believed in reincarnation. They also use verses from the Quran to extrapolate on this idea that the process of reincarnation is not one that someone should wish to remain in forever, that it's actually a trap. It's actually a prison. It's something that we want to eventually escape.

Prophet Mohammed taught how we should seek to deny the senses in order to get closer to God and purify the soul. In order for justice to prevail, we must seek to put the other before the self, and so deeds are more important than assets in our weighing and scales before God.

Prophet Mohammed, inspired by the one True God, was bold enough to explain that this worldly life is temporal and fading. How it is truly nothing but play and amusement, adornment, boasting among people, and rivalry in wealth and children, a distraction from the spiritual path. How we should treat the world as a place to earn good deeds to present before God and not to store up treasures that weigh us down, instead using it as a bridge to carry us over to the other side.

Mohammed said: “What have I to do with this world? I am like a rider who stops in the shade under a tree, then moves on and leaves it behind.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 3709)

Mohammed was alluded to as a physician of the souls, a direct link between mankind and the one true God to help us in our battle to bring victory to the souls over the bodies and worldly life. Clearly, this was a man inspired by God in order to be able to remedy the hearts and souls of the people that had fallen into the trap of worldly life. He came to cure the spiritual diseases of arrogance, greed, heedlessness, envy, and provide remedies through faith, humility, worship, and compassion. Imam Ali in Nahj Al-Balaghah said about the Prophet: 

“He is a doctor who moves from place to place with his remedies, and has already prepared his ointments. He puts them where there is the need of cure, with hearts that are blind, ears that are deaf, and tongues that are dumb. He follows with his remedies the spots of negligence and places of perplexity.” (Nahj Al-Balaghah, Sermon 108)

Imam Ali was also the Divine successor of Mohammed as per the sacred will, who became the guardian of the believers after his death. Imam Ali would say that this world was pig sweat in the hand of a leper, meaning it is always getting away from us and is nothing worth clinging to. Imam Ali would explain further how: 

The world is like a snake: smooth to the touch, but inside it is full of venom. The wise man avoids it, while the child plays with it.” (Nahj Al-Balaghah)

For instance, the evil scholars offer us sweet talk to make us submit to their will, not God's will, easing our burdens in the apparent and claiming to us that they will be held accountable before God on our behalf, when we know by God and his messenger this is not the case.

“No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.” (Qur’an, Chapter 6 (Al-Anʿam), Verse 164)

Imam Ali, himself concerned by his own combat with the self, upon his death would exclaim, “By the Lord of the Kaaba, I have won,” knowing that he had died in a state of submission to the one true God without any deviation or association with God. This is a victory in the great struggle of the self that Mohammed would speak of, where the physical combat was the lesser struggle, but the greater struggle was to overcome the desires and attachments, the true battleground of the soul.

Imam Al-Baqir, the 5th Holy Imam, revealed a precious jewel: how indeed the father of creation, or Iblis (Satan), was only able to create anything by the power and permission of God. In Umm Al-Kitab, Imam Al-Baqir discusses with his companion, Jabir, the creation of the world and says:

“The High King lent Azazel light, and using this light he shaped his creations. In his image he made spirits. The King shouted about what he had done. Azazel shouted his creation of place, aeon, and spirit into being, and no one but the High King knows how many. The High King said to Azazel: ‘Old being, tell me who you are and what I am and what all these creatures are.’ Azazel answered: ‘You are a god and I’m a god, and all these spirits both of us have made.’ The High King said: ‘There cannot be two gods. You’re my creation.’” (Gnosticism in Islam, Heinz Halm, p. 111-112)

Despite this, the Peacock angel or creator of the material universe became arrogant over his works, even though they were not truly from himself, and refused to submit to the will of God. Satan seeks to misguide all but the grateful, sincere servants of God from submitting to Adam's successors.

Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq, another holy successor, revealed parallels with Jesus concerning the battle of soldiers of intelligence over the soldiers of ignorance. Hence, by working through aspects of light, we can overcome and dissolve devilish traits that otherwise would lead us to sink into deceit and despair.

Through these comparisons, in this day and age, it is clear that in actual fact all divine religions from east to west through time came from the same core origin with the same core principles. How in fact this world is being controlled by an evil trickster creator and that the goal is not to attach ourselves to material pursuits but instead to good deeds and selfless acts. How in fact this earth is a testing ground and battle for the souls and not our final destination.

Any wise observer will see how we have severed connection with the primary guidance of the divine avatars and messengers of the one true God. This is manifested by the reality that we see today where the world is actually conversely aligned with chaos, disunity and arrogance. How we see evil corrupt rulers siphon off and steal world resources and leave the majority in debt servitude and sufferance whilst the religious scholars are self-appointed, divisive and encourage us to follow them blindly.

Jesus said: “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 15, Verse 14)

Were we not forewarned when Prophet Mohammed said Christianity would divide into 71 sects and only the path of Simon Peter, the living messenger after Jesus, would be saved? How Judaism divided into 72 sects and only the path of Joshua, the living messenger after Moses, was saved? How Islam divided into 73 sects and only the path after Mohammed, led by the living messenger Ali., was saved? Hence it has been clarified the devil did not create new religions, just sought to misguide people from the one true straight path by creating divergent sects, and blocking them from seeing the unbroken chain of successors. Critically, if we didn't or don't know the living messenger, we would clearly fall for the seditions of the material creator or Satan. Were we not informed by Prophet Mohammed?

“Verily God made religion two states, the state of Adam and it is the state of Allah, and the state of Iblis, and if God wants to be worshipped in public, it is the state of Adam, and if God wants to be worshipped in secret, it is the state of Iblis.” (Al-Kafi, Al-Shaikh Al-Kulayni, Vol. 2, p. 372)

So clearly, we must be prepared to wage war against the evil trickster within and without by working good deeds and control over our lower selves so we can become a backbone for the building of a new earth.

Ahmed Al-Hassan, the Yamani, warned us as such over the machinations of the devil and his tricksters:

“And don’t ever prefer anything from the world (the Dunya) over the hereafter. The entire world is not even worth one atom from the hereafter. And when we say an atom, that is just to describe, but even tenth of an atom would be too big for the world. The world is not worth anything at all. Yes my beloved ones, it is an illusion. And I hope that you understand that it is truly an illusion. An illusion and nothing other than that. I hope that you comprehend that. Everyone in it and on it are an illusion. [An illusion] which the human being does not wake up from except after he/she gets rid of this body. Look around you. Look at everything. You will find that everything is temporal. [You will find that] what you were fighting for yesterday, today you will find it boring and that you wish to get rid of it. At death, the world (the Dunya) becomes as such.” (Sayings of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, p.4)

Hence, we need to arm ourselves with the soldiers of light to defeat the soldiers of darkness and follow in the footsteps and guidance of the light warrior in our day and age, the Riser, Aba Al-Sadiq. As Aba Al-Sadiq said, no Divine Just State can or will be established unless we establish it amongst ourselves first and foremost.

We must stand tall and firm against the tyrants of this worldly life and heed the words of Hussein, the successor of Mohammed, those who truly were free in this life, by recognising this world is indeed a prison for the believers and that only God has the right to rule the people.