Abstain from works of evil.

 

62. Abstain from works of evil. Though we might now understand that evil is just the absence of good, because God only created good in the universe, that does not mean we should go out and perform acts that are reprehensible to one another and believe there are no consequences due us for bad actions we perform. The writings of God, from all His religions, clearly state that we will be held accountable for our actions whether good deeds or bad, reproachable acts that cause harm will have consequences. The writings of God, from all the religions clearly tell us to abstain from acts that may cause harm to ourselves or others, whether it be acts that cause harm to our body or to our soul. One just needs to look through these books to see the warnings written in the pages of all the work of God’s manifestations to see this truth.  JUDAISM: 1 Kings: 24:13 “Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked; The LORD therefore be judge!” So, 2 Kings: 25:39 “The LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness,” and 1 Kings: 25:39 “the wickedness (be) upon his own head.” Psalms: 34:14 “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” Psalms: 34:16 “The face of The LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” Proverbs: 24:8 “He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.” Hosea: 7:2 “They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.” Hosea: 4:9 “And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.” Isaiah: 1:16 “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil.” Isaiah: 13:11 “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”  CHRISTIANITY: Romans: 12:9 “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans: 12:17 “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans: 12:21 “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Matthew: 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” John: 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John: 3:20 “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” John: 3:21 “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” 1 Peter: 3:12 “For the eyes of The Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of The Lord is against them that do evil.” 2 Peter: 2:8 “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;” 2 Peter: 2:9 “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness” 2 Thessalonians: 1:8 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” 2 Thessalonians: 1:9 “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of The Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

 Islam: 34. “Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!“

 (The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  41)

 17. “Those who eschew Evil — and fall not into its worship — and turn to Allah (in repentance) — for them is Good News: so announce the Good News to My Servants.”

 (The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  39)

 60. “Eat and drink of the sustenance provided by Allah (God) and do no evil nor mischief on the (face of the) earth.” 93. “For Allah loveth those who do good.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  2 and 5)

 85. “And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  11)

 284. “To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth. Whether ye show what is in your minds or conceal it, Allah (God) calleth you to account for it. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and punisheth whom He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah   2)

 173. “But those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, He will give their (due) rewards, and more, out of His bounty; but those who are disdainful and arrogant, He will punish with a grievous penalty; nor will they find, besides Allah, any to protect or help them.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah   4)

 Zoroastrianism: “I praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words, and deeds. I embrace all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; I reject all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.”

(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Khorda Avesta – Book of Common Prayer pt. 1)

 “Our aim should be to mitigate hatred and increase love. Do not return evil for evil!” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan p. 664)

 “Evil acts blunt the finer susceptibilities of a man and he is gradually reduced to a brute.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan p. 756)

 6. “O righteous one, according to your will, I shall accomplish to the extent of (my) power, your worship with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. I shall open (for myself) the brilliant way (of paradise) so that the grievous punishment of hell may not be inflicted on me.”

(The Zend-Avesta, Khorda Avesta – Book of Common Prayer pt. 1)

 Hinduism: “Evil is forbidden, here once more, in order that it should be particularly avoided.” 157. “For a man of bad conduct is blamed among people,”

(Hindu, The Dharma Sutras, Apastamba Prasna 2, Patala 2, Khanda 5 and Laws of Manu)

 “All those ruined ones- Of little wit, dark-minded- give themselves To evil deeds, the curses of their kind. Surrendered to desires insatiable, Full of deceitfulness, folly, and pride, In blindness cleaving to their errors, caught Into the sinful course, they trust this lie As it were true- this lie which leads to death.”

(Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr) chapter 16)

 1. “He who instigates to, he who assists in, and he who commits (an act, these three) share its rewards in heaven and its punishments in hell. 2. He amongst these who contributes most to the accomplishment (of the act obtains) a greater share of the result.”

(Hindu, The Dharma Sutras, Apastamba Prasna 2, Patala 11, Khanda 29)

 Buddhism: 9. “Be urgent in good; hold your thoughts off evil. When one is slack in doing good the mind delights in evil.” 9. “If a man has done evil, let him not keep on doing it. Let him not create an inclination to it. The accumulation of evil means suffering.” 9. “One should avoid evil like a merchant with much goods and only a small escort avoids a dangerous road, and like a man who loves life avoids poison;” “evil-doers go to hell, the good go to heaven.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1 (tr. J. Richards))

 “We constantly seek to realize our Mind-essence with wisdom; that we refrain from all evil; that we do all kinds of good acts with no attachment to the fruit of such action.” (Buddha, Sixth Patriarch)

 10. “Whoever inflicts punishment on those who do not deserve it and offends against those who are without offense soon comes to one of these ten states: cruel suffering, infirmity, injury of the body, fearful pain, or mental loss, or persecution from the ruler, or a fearful accusation, loss of relations, or destruction of possessions, or lightning fire burning one’s houses, and when one’s body is destroyed the fool goes to hell.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 2 (tr. J. Richards))

 Sabeanism: (the religion of Adam) “Health, victory and forgiving of sins be there for me, Adam-Yuhana son of Mahnush, who have prayed this prayer and (these) Devotions. Forgiving of sins be there for a man whose eyes wait upon his Father and whose thought is directed to The Life (Haiyi/God) and whose mind doth not stray from Knowledge-of-Life.” “Avaunt! flee in fear all (ye) evil. Flee, begone, be vanquished and brought to naught before the glory and light of Manda-d-Hiia (God)!” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapters 17 and 410)

 “A throne is set up for The Lord of Radiance (God) For The Lord of Radiance a throne is set up And The Lord of Radiance sitteth thereon. Before him are set up recompenses Which he delivereth to the perfect, To the perfect doth he deliver them And said: “To each according to the works of his hands It is awarded.” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 123.

 Babi Religion: “Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 15)

  “We are averse, so that at the hour of His manifestation ye may attain through Him the good-pleasure of God and abstain from the things that are abhorrent unto Him.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 149)

Baha’i Faith: “Fear God, ye inhabitants of the City, and sow not the seeds of dissension amongst men. Walk not in the paths of the Evil One. Walk ye, during the few remaining days of your life, in the ways of the one true God. Your days shall pass away as have the days of them who were before you. To dust shall ye return, even as your fathers of old did return.” “The Great Being saith: The structure of world stability and order hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment….” “He who shall accept and believe, shall receive his reward; and he who shall turn away, shall receive none other than his own punishment.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 125, 218 and 339)

 “With all his heart he should avoid fellowship with evil-doers, and pray for the remission of their sins. He should forgive the sinful, and never despise his low estate, for none knoweth what his own end shall be. How often hath a sinner attained, at the hour of death, to the essence of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draught, hath taken his flight unto the Concourse on high! And how often hath a devout believer, at the hour of his soul’s ascension, been so changed as to fall into the nethermost fire!”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 265)

“Base and wretched is the plight of the people of evil deeds, they that are in grievous loss!”

(Abdu’l-Baha, The Will and Testament, p. 24)