format_quote Originally Posted by
Eric H
Greetings and peace be with you najimuddin;
We read in the Bible that the Jews are God's chosen people, Christians are chosen by Christ, and in Islam, Allah chooses whom he wills.
So I ask, did God make a mistake? Why did he make each of our scriptures so convincing to our separate faiths?
I sincerely believe that the same God created us with the intention, that we should get on with each other despite our differences.
In the spirit of praying to 'One God'
Eric
Greetings and peace be with you as well brother Eric,
Thanks to the guidance of Muhammad :saws:, I am able to get along with everyone I know. This is regardless of differences in religious beliefs and practices.
I’ll use my recent road trip as an example.
A couple of days ago I traveled to New Jersey to see my parents. I live in Michigan. For context, my parents divorced many years ago when I was a small child. My father remarried and made a new family for himself. There’s more but it’s a long complicated story (This is a simplified version).
To begin, I visit my father whenever I get the chance. The atmosphere of Islam in his home does not correspond to that of mine. There are stark contrasts. Despite this and the associated difficulties that have arisen, I have successfully maintained ties with him. Although he welcomes me into his home, he does not reciprocate my efforts.
Adding on, I visit my mother whenever I get a chance also. She is a devout Catholic. Despite this and the associated difficulties that I have had to deal with, I have successfully maintained ties with her as well. She has reciprocated my efforts.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll end with the above – with the understanding that I
do live in the USA.
In light of this, the guidance of Muhammad :saws: tells me to treat everyone with the best of intentions and conduct, with special emphasis for people such as parents and neighbors. This guidance tells me to do this for the pleasure of the Lord :swt1:, my Creator and Sustainer.
The guidance of Muhammad :saws: tells me that doing the above and accepting non-Islamic beliefs/practices are mutually exclusive. In Islam, there is no contradiction in this. This guidance tells me to treat people with the best of intentions and conduct regardless of their beliefs/practices.
There is no need for a Muslim to modify Islamic beliefs/practices in order to be able to treat everyone with the best of intentions and conduct. It’s already there. This comprehensive guidance of Muhammad :saws: is not an option for a Muslim. It is an obligation.
And yes, I truly believe that Allah :swt1: knows best.
When I was younger, it really annoyed me when adults would make remarks such as
“you’ll understand when you get older” and the like. I really did think that my intellectual ability was fully mature at the time. Now that I
am older, I realize how little I really knew back then. This experience has allowed me to appreciate my elders and the wisdom they impart.
If that’s the case with people
(based on my experience), then
(for me) the Creator of these people is beyond any type of reproach.
With this realization, these questions don't even arise.
It is recorded Khidr :as: informed Musa :as: that
"even the combined knowledge of the two of us, yours and mine, cannot claim a status against Divine knowledge that could be compared even with the water in the beak of this bird as related to this sea."
Source: Ma’ariful Quran, Volume 5, p. 626
We received this guidance from Muhammad :saws:. He :saws: is my savior. I would not know anything of my Lord :swt1: without him :saws:.
May Allah :swt1: guide all of us to the straight path. Ameen.