Page 18 Page 19 The Islamic Bulletin Secondly,makingmistakes is apart of humannature.Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Every son of Aadam is bound to commit sins…” (reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2423), but Allaah has not left man unable to do anything about the mistakes that he makes. He gives man the opportunity to repent, and so the hadeeth (words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) quoted above concludes: “...and the best of those who commit sins are those who repent.” The mercy of Allaah is clear in the teachings of Islam, as Allaah calls His servants (interpretation of the meaning): “Say, ‘OMy servants who have transgressed against themselves (by committingevil deeds andsins)!Despairnot of theMercyofAllaah, verilyAllaah forgives all sins. Truly,He isOft-Forgiving,MostMerciful.” [al-Zumar 39:53] This is human nature, and this is the solution to the problem of sin. But to make this human nature, which is bound to make mistakes, a barrier between the servant andhis Lordwhichwill prevent himfromever earning the pleasure of God, and to say that the onlyway to reachGod is through His sending His (so-called) son down to earth to be humiliated and crucified while his father looks on, so that mankind could be forgiven, is an extremely odd idea. Just describing it sounds so unlikely that there is no longer anyneed to refute it indetail.Once,whendiscussing this issuewith a Christian, I said, “If you say that God sent down His son to be crucified to atone for the sins of the people alive at his time and afterwards, what about those who had come before and died as sinners before the time of Christ, and had no opportunity to know about him and believe in the Crucifixion so that their sinsmight be forgiven?” All he could saywas: “No doubt our priests have an answer to that!” Even if they dohave an answer, it is bound to be concocted. There is no real answer. If you really examine the Christian teaching on human sin with an open mind, youwill see that they say that God sacrificedHis only son to atone for the sins of mankind, and that this son was a god. If it was true that he was a god who was beaten, insulted and crucified, and died, then this doctrine contains elements of blasphemy because it accuses God of weakness and helplessness. Is God really incapable of forgiving the sins of all His servants with just one word? If He is Able to do all things (and the Christians do not dispute this fact), then why would He need to sacrifice His son in order to achieve the same thing? (Glorified and exalted be He far above what the wrongdoers say about Him!) “He is theOriginator of theheavens and theearth.HowcanHehave childrenwhenHehas nowife?He createdall things andHe is theAll-Knower of everything.” [al-An’aam 6:101 - interpretation of the meaning] An ordinarymanwould not accept anyone harming his child; hewould come to his defense, andwould never hand himover to an enemy who would insult him, let alone leave him to face the worst kind of death. If this is the attitude of a mere created being, what then of the Creator? Thirdly, the Christian doctrine of original sin has a negative effect because, as you have mentioned, it does not require any duties of man other than to believe that God sent His son to this earth to be crucified and to die to atone for the sins of mankind. Thus a person becomes a Christian and is to earn the pleasure of God and be admitted to heaven. Moreover, the Christian believes that everything that happened to the son of God was only to atone for his sins, past present and future, so there is no need to wonder why Christian societies have seen such an increase inmurder, rape, robbery, alcoholismand other problems. After all, did not Christ die to atone for their sins, and haven’t their sins been wiped out, so why should they stop doing these things? Tell me, by your Lord, why do you sometimes execute murderers, or put criminals in jail, or punish them in other ways, if you believe that the criminal’s sins have all be atoned for and forgiven through the blood of Christ? Is this not a strange contradiction? The faults in thebehavior of somemodernMuslims cannot beblamedon Islam; those faults are the result of going against Islamic teachings. It is not fair to blame the religion for the faults of some of its adherents who have gone against it or gone astray. AreMuslims not beingmore just than Christians when they affirm that the sinner is threatened with the punishment of Allaah unless he repents, and that for some sins there is a deterrent, a punishment tobecarriedout in thisworldas anexpiation for theHereafter, as in thecaseof thepunishments formurder, theft, fornication/adultery, etc.? The key to Islam is no more than two simple phrases: “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah (I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah).” With these few words, a person enters Islam in a matter of seconds. There is no need for baptism or priests, or even to go to a certain place such as a mosque or anywhere else. Compare this with the ridiculous procedures of baptismwhich the Christians do when they want to admit someone to the Church. Then there is the fact that the Christians venerate the cross on which Jesus was tortured and crucified in great pain - as they claim. They take it as a sacred object of blessing and healing, instead of scorning it and hating it as a symbol of oppression and the worst possible way for the son of God to die! Do you not see that the Muslims are closer than others to the truth, because they believe in all the Prophets and Messengers, respecting them all and recognizing that all of them taught the truth of Divine Unity (Tawheed) and that each of them was appointed by Allaah and sent to his people with laws that were appropriate to the time and place? When the fair-minded Christian sees the followers of Islam believing in Musa (Moses), ‘Eesaa (Jesus), and Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in the original Torah and Gospel, as well as the Qur’aan, and sees his own people denying the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and rejecting the Qur’aan, wouldn’t his open-mindedness make him think that the Muslims are most likely to be right? Christians say that theMessiah said, “No one comes to the Father except through me”. We need, first of all, to be sure that these words can truly be attributed to Jesus. Secondly, this is clearly not true. How then could mankind have known God at the times of Nooh (Noah), Hood, Saalih, Yoonus (Jonah), Shu’ayb (Jethro), Ibraaheem (Abraham), Musa (Moses) and other Prophets? If youwere to say that during the time of Jesus (upon whom be peace) and up to the time of the Final Prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) the Children of Israel had no other way to know the religion of Allaah except through the way of Jesus, this would be correct. Finally, the quote the Messiah as saying, “I and the Father are one”. This is clearly not correct. If we examine thematter objectively, without letting our own desires get in the way, it becomes clear that the conjunction “and” in the phrase “I and the Father” implies that two separate entities are involved. “I” is one entity, and “the Father” is another. If you say, “So-and-so and I”, it is obvious to any rational person that they are two separatepeople. The equation1+1+1=1makes no sense toany rational person, whether he is a mathematician or not. Something “geographic” Muslims take for granted that every “revert” exults is the absolute beauty of the Qur’an’s honesty. It is bittersweet in its reality. As a Muslim, I now understand faith is not something you can acquire. Everyone has some degree of faith that may either grow and bloom or atrophy and rot. I could be angry at Christians my whole life, judging them for everything they don’t see. I could despair at mankind and its inhumanity. I could rage at every Muslim who turns from the straight path. But I know, the wrath of Allah (SWT) is Just-my knowledge is infantile.Who am I to knowwhat is truth beyondwhat is written inmy own heart as fact. I have now commenced my journey to peace which somemay say startedone cool spring afternoonoutside of a public library. But I know better. I started this quest inmy own heart the day I was born and I will continue until my death. I will strive (inshallah) to keep Allah (SWT) always in my heart and faith that is strong. And I no longer have disdain for those that attempt the same. During the month of Ramadan Muslims get together to share the bounties of Allah by taking their meals together. But when Ramadan is over we should not forget the many blessings and advantages in this. For one thing, we get more baraqah (blessings) from the meal - when we eat together. In one hadith of the Prophet (SAW), some of his companions complained that they ate but were not satisfied. The Prophet (S) said, “Perhaps you eat separately.” They said, “Yes.” He said, “If you gather together and mention Allah’s name, you will be blessed in it.” (Abu Dawud) In addition, to share our meals with others is to follow the example of the Prophet (SAW) who regularly took meals with other people. The Sunnah is to share meals with people regardless of their wealth or status. This is because accepting invitations builds good feelings among people and increases love between the Muslims. Islamic etiquette of eating together is more than subjective rituals or traditional ‘table manners’. The purpose of the Sunnah in this case is remembrance of Allah, modesty, and consideration of others. According to one hadith, “I was a boy under the care of Allah’s Apostle and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So the Prophet (SAW) said to me, -O boy! Mention the Name of Allah (Bismillah) and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you.” Since then I have applied those instructions when eating.” (Bukhari) By eating what is near you, you are not picking around the plate to pluck out the choicest morsels for yourself, thereby depriving your fellow eaters (though we know from other hadiths that you may do so if you know they do not mind. (Bukhari) In another hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said, “Do not take two pieces at a time without your companions consent.” The Prophet said, “If the Iqama (call to prayer) for (‘Isha) prayer is proclaimed and supper is served, take your supper first.” (Bukhari) You don’t want to be distracted thinking about the food while praying. The one serving the food should pass and drink to the right, and take for himself last. Also, when taking a meal at someone else’s home, we should take care not to overstay our welcome, as is says in the Qur’an: “O ye who Believe! Enter not the Prophet’s houses until leave is given you for a meal (and then) not (so early) as to wait for its preparation: but when ye are invited enter; and when ye have taken your meal disperse without seeking familiar talk.” (Quran 33:53) Finally, do not forget to pray for your host. All of these guidelines from the Sunnah are based on the principles of generosity, modesty, and remembrance of Allah. “O you who believe, fasting is made obligatory on you as it was made for those before you, so that you may achieve Taqwa (God Consciousness). (Fasting) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (with hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will, -it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew. Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgement (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and that you must magnify Allah.” [Holy Qur’an 2:183-185] Eating Together n
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