Qur'an Surah III: 112 Enter a Covenant of Protection

"Unless the People of the Book have entered into a Covenant of Protection, a canopy of shame and destitution is pitched over them, drawing on themselves cosmic wrath. These have rejected the Signs of God, having transgressed the bounds, and slew the Prophets in defiance of what is right."

This verse requires a slow unpacking and an open heart. Before we begin let us pray to Allah the Merciful that we receive the Light and that our hearts are opened.

First, the verse clearly speaks to the "People of the Book" - those who claim affiliation with one of the revealed Books (in the Rose Crescent tradition this would stretch back through time to any of the sacred revealed scriptures, including Buddhist Sutras, Zoroastrian Avesta, etc. and is not limited to the Torah, Gospels and Qur'an). Most people claim they are religious. Most people set some time aside for meditation or prayer. This does not mean, however, that we have entered into a Covenant. It is possible to have great concern and devotion to our ancestral religion and yet reject the Signs of God. To enter into a Covenant with the God is to walk through through one of the doors open into the canopy of Protection. These doors, or Sacred Revealed Covenants, have been shown to us by the Prophets - be it the Portal of Compassion, or Portal Tikkun olam, or the Portal of Agape, the Portal of Surrender, or the Portal of Peace, etc. Each of these portals requires a total radical commitment. Once we have passed through we find that we experience the Tranquility that can only be known within the Tent of Protection.

To be outside of the Canopy of Protection is to close our eyes to the Signs of Allah, signs that are within every atom of creation. To sit defiantly outside of the Canopy is to slay the Prophets every day, even though we may claim that we are a person of the Book.

Let us meditate on the ayat, pass through a door of our choice, and enter into the Covenant of Protection.

So may it be!