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hanifa_g

How to Respond?

Date: 21 Apr 2008, 1:10 pm / Mood: hopeful

salam, brothers and sisters.



the other evening, i was invited to a festival at a hebrew-christian house of worship. i was interested to go, and thankful to be invited.



the worship service was interesting, in hebrew and english. i was enjoying watching people dance and chat, and could understand some of the hebrew prayers. halfway through the evening, a woman came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. "which God are you worshipping?" she asked me. "the One God", i answered, thinking of 2:139 and 5:69. "Allah?" "yes." "not in our cricle", she answered stiffly, in effect asking me to leave. which i did, quickly.



i was very surprised, and actually very hurt. these hebrew christians tend to take flack from protestants over their faith, yet they feel free to turn a Muslim (whom they invited) out of a service that is open to visitors.



earlier in the day, i had been to a beautiful mosque, and had been able, alhamdulillah, to talk to some sisters there, read the Quran, and study some of the meanings of the verses. i felt at home there, and thankful to worship. the mosque is an hour's drive from my house, as there is no closer mosque. it is beautiful, and usually full of people from all over the world, coming to worship, and to study the Quran.



i am tired of Christians angrily, patronizingly, or carelessly telling me that i worship a demon, satan, an idol, or a moon god. the Quran warns against this, and i am thankful that i have been able to see it first hand, and better understand how some people think.



Neither the Jews nor the Christians will be pleased with you until you follow their creed. Say: "The guidance is God's guidance." And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then there is none who can help or protect you against God. 2:120



And the Jews and the Christians said: "We are God's children, and His beloved ones." Say:  "Why then does He punish you for your sins?" No, you are merely human beings whom He has created. He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases. And to God is the sovereignty of heavens and Earth and all that is in-between, and to Him is the final return. 5:18



the Quran is ultimately universal, offering a message of peace and salvation to all who submit to the One God. yet many other people of faith, as well as many Muslims, do not accept such a universal, tolerant vision as possible. they can not imagine that our Lord and their Lord are the same.



so, to them their faith, and to us, ours. they have their deeds, and we have our deeds, and God will let us know about what we had been differing, when we meet Him on the last day. He knows best His servants, and who is guided, and who is astray. we should not be distressed or angry or grieved over others, if they treat us unkindly, or refuse to believe. we may be tempted to become angry or self-pitying, or to talk badly about others. but that is not how God has asked us to respond.



And be patient, for your patience is on none but God. And do not grieve for them, and do not distress yourself because of what they devise. 16:127



And be patient over what they say, and depart from them in a good manner. 73:10



that is the best response, in the end. i would have liked for my relationships and attempts at dialogue with non-Muslims to have been more respectful, and fruitful, but that is not what God has willed. perhaps this is God's mercy and grace, giving me at once a swift kick, and the permission to move on to a more Islamic environment, and to break ties with those who have been hypocritical, or unlistening. i needed His signs to get me down that straight path more clearly.



may God be merciful with you, and bless you, and all who seek His guidance and forgiveness, and who do good deeds.














DhulQarnayn (09 Jun 2008, 2:05 am):
I say I worship the God of Abraham. Whether I call him Allah or what doesn't matter, my intention is for the God of Abraham.

Maj (08 May 2008, 2:30 am):
Ameen

no_ice (23 Apr 2008, 12:54 pm):
17.110  Say (unto mankind): Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent, unto whichsoever ye cry (it is the same). His are the most beautiful names.