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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 com-
mittingevil 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 cru-
cified 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 chil-
drenwhenHehas 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 be-
cause, 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 Chris-
tians 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 Messen-
ger 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 Uni-
ty (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 some-
one 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 guide-
lines from the Sunnah are based on the principles of generosity,
modesty, and remembrance of Allah.
“O you who believe, fasting is made obliga-
tory 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 jour-
ney, 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 judge-
ment (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 pre-
scribed 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]
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