Can we get along?

[LaSorcia]

Hello,

I would like to know if you think Jews, Christians and Muslims can get along and make peace. Maybe not on a massive scale, but how about individually?

I believe we all worship the same God. After all, there is only one God, but some people do worship idols. I have heard some Christians say that Muslims worship a different God than the God of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and that Islam is a bloodthirsty religion. I don't believe this. I have heard Muslims say that Christians commit shirk and that Jews are horrible people. But didn't the Prophet have a Jewish wife?

I know there are some people who will never want to get along, But I like to think that by forming more individual relationships, we can lessen the fear and hate, and pray all together for peace.

[Muslim Woman]

Hello ,

God Almighty says in holy Quran ,


Say, "O People of the Book! Let us come to a mutual agreement, that we shall worship and obey none but God.

That neither shall we ascribe divinity to anyone beside Him, nor shall we take human beings as our lords beside God." And if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that it is we who have surrendered ourselves unto Him."

al-Imran 3:64

[ardianto]

Hello too, LaSorcia.

Some people in my mother family are Christians. And relationship between Muslims and Christians in the family is always good. One of my Christian relative even lived in my home for few years when he studied in my city.

:)

[Muslim Woman]

Hello


God Almighty says in His final Holy Book :

The repayment of a bad action is one equivalent to it. But if someone pardons and puts things right, his reward is with Allah. Certainly He does not love wrongdoers. (Surat Ash-Shura, 40)

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[Futuwwa]

I'm up for coexistence on equal terms.

[M.I.A.]

Sure we can get along.

Although I never expect the sucker punch.


I'd have been better company the first 26 years.

[Abz2000]

^{Amen to that.
And in the Christian Bible:
"17} Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all." Romans 12: 17-18

Then there is another verse in previous scripture which asks those who obey God to give double retaliation - mini Dhul Kifls (Dhul Kifl is a Prophet whose name means "giver of a double portion") however i'm uncertain as to whether it means equal in return or literally double, since i am aware that some languages use double to mean original + return of the same.
And also tells them to rejoice at equal retaliation.
I cannot confirm authenticity as various edits have been made to previous scripture but the information is presented exactly as written simply for the sake of comparison.

4Then I heard another voice from heaven say:“ ‘Come out of her, my people,’bso that you will not share in her sins,so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5for her sins are piled up to heaven,and God has remembered her crimes.

6Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done.
Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

7Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,‘I sit enthroned as queen.I am not a widow;I will never mourn.’
8Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:death, mourning and famine.She will be consumed by fire,for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.....

....20“Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you people of God!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”

From Revelation Chapter 18

The old testament law was also equal retaliation, and was later tempered by the advice given to forgive and overlook when it is constructive and wise to do so.

When one reads the Quran it is very easy to see the wisdom behind the command to retaliate equally, and to the secondary advice to forgive if the wronged one willingly and consciously forgives the wrongdoer. Equal retaliation is a right of the one who has been unjustly wronged, or the heirs and allies if no specific will has been made by the wronged. (beaeing in mind that God is also an ally of those who submit to and serve and obey Him).
It is easy to see some of the wisdom behind the prescription of equal retaliation when one considers the fact that it keeps the would be wrongdoer in constant check.

178.*O ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.
179.*In the Law of Equality there is (saving of) Life to you, O people of understanding; that ye may have taqwa.

Quran 2:178-179

123.*So We have taught thee the inspired (Message), "Follow the ways of Abraham the True in Faith, and he joined not gods with Allah."
124.*The Sabbath was only made (strict) for those who disagreed (as to its observance); But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, as to their differences.
125.*Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.
126.*And if ye do catch them out, catch them out no worse than they catch you out: But if ye show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient.
127.*And do thou be patient, for thy patience is but from Allah. nor grieve over them: and distress not thyself because of their plots.
128.*For Allah is with those who restrain themselves, and those who do good.


From Quran Chapter 16, The Bee

194.*The prohibited month for the prohibited month,- and so for all things prohibited,- there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, Transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.

Quran Chapter 2:194

That (is so). And if one has retaliated to no greater extent than the injury he received, and is again set upon inordinately, Allah will help him:
for Allah is One that pardons and forgives.

Quran 22:60

There are also times when one has done wrong and is remorseful, or has made a mistake and is prepared and willing to walk aright, in such cases it is best to forgive, blood money is also an option in the case of forgiveness.
If however an aggressor will continue to kill people if he/she is not retaliated against and kept in check, it is sinful to leave the right to retaliate.

Double retaliation is not allowed by people and it is also easy to see the resulting possibility of userers taking advantage of such a situation.

I hope the information will be enlightening.

[syed_z]

Hello,

I would like to know if you think Jews, Christians and Muslims can get along and make peace. Maybe not on a massive scale, but how about individually?

I believe we all worship the same God. After all, there is only one God, but some people do worship idols. I have heard some Christians say that Muslims worship a different God than the God of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and that Islam is a bloodthirsty religion. I don't believe this. I have heard Muslims say that Christians commit shirk and that Jews are horrible people. But didn't the Prophet have a Jewish wife?

I know there are some people who will never want to get along, But I like to think that by forming more individual relationships, we can lessen the fear and hate, and pray all together for peace.

Asalaam O Alaikum, peace be with you sister... :)

Personally I believe it is not the Jews. Christians and Muslims at odds at each other. Its the politics of the international world that is causing this concept or fear of division. In the Muslims world, the Christians and Jews have lived with Muslims side by side for centuries during Caliphate period and even modern times till groups like ISIS emerged. While in medieval Europe it was almost impossible for the Jews to live, so forget that Muslim would even think of living there. The pogroms were very common in medieval Europe against Jews.

The Quran encourages us to eat the food of the 'People of the Book' (Jews and Christians) as well as marry their women.

Surah Al Maida Verse 5

"Today all good things have been made lawful for you. The food of the people of the book has been made lawful for you. So are chaste believing, women as well as chaste women of the people who were given the Scriptures before you, as long as you have given them their bride-gifts and married them, not taken them as lovers or secret mistresses."


...however one thing to mention about the food is that Verse 3 of the same chapter does say ..."you are forbidden to ear carion, blood, pig's meat,; any animal over which any name other than God's has been invoked...."....

So we can share their meat as long as its not one of the prohibited ones mentioned and as long as God's name has been pronounced over them at the time of slaughter.


So as you can see the emphasis of Unity is very clear in the Quran. I would love for you to share some Verses from Bible or Gospel that do encourage brotherhood with other faiths.

May Allah (swt) have mercy on you.

[LaSorcia]

Thank you everyone for your responses, even if I disagree sometimes lol.

Maybe I went about this the wrong way. I came to these forums because the violence and retaliation in the world today is making people hate and fear each other. People are attacking each other on a large and small scale because of fear. If you get to know someone, it is more difficult to hate and fear. So I seek to build bridges between people of faith in the same (only) God. It is a small gesture, but it is all I know to do.

Jesus gave us two very simple commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. When asked, 'who is my neighbour'? He responded with a story of a religious enemy, and demonstrated that it is more important to act like a loving neighbour than it is to wonder to whom we should be nice. He also told us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. So this is what I'm trying to do.

Despite the media reports and fear, all but 2 of my experiences with people of Islam have been peaceful and good. I want to defy the evil in the world that would have us hate each other. I am tired of a minority of people who call themselves Christians and Muslims committing violence and giving the rest of us a bad name.

[Abz2000]

Thank you everyone for your responses, even if I disagree sometimes lol.

Maybe I went about this the wrong way. I came to these forums because the violence and retaliation in the world today is making people hate and fear each other. People are attacking each other on a large and small scale because of fear. If you get to know someone, it is more difficult to hate and fear. So I seek to build bridges between people of faith in the same (only) God. It is a small gesture, but it is all I know to do.

Jesus gave us two very simple commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. When asked, 'who is my neighbour'? He responded with a story of a religious enemy, and demonstrated that it is more important to act like a loving neighbour than it is to wonder to whom we should be nice. He also told us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. So this is what I'm trying to do.

Despite the media reports and fear, all but 2 of my experiences with people of Islam have been peaceful and good. I want to defy the evil in the world that would have us hate each other. I am tired of a minority of people who call themselves Christians and Muslims committing violence and giving the rest of us a bad name.

Sadly it's the same story of non-violence we hear only when Muslims begin to rise up after suffering and enduring abuse and murder of innocents on a daily basis for years.
I wonder sometimes as to the reason because i don't believe there's a single person on the planet who doesn't want peace for themselves, and i've come to the conclusion that people need to live amongst like minded people who accept the laws they espouse for themselves just as they do for others.

It's not correct that a person would be correct and righteous if they are an adulterer and their spouse is an adulterer and their neighbour is a Muslim, then the adulterer claims they're in their right to commit adultery with their neighbour, rather they would have to go live separately amongst adulterers and never interact with Muslims until they repent or die and go to hell, that's the peaceful worldly solution for those who want to avoid violence.
If a person is ok however to afflict unjust harm upon their neighbours, they can expect retaliation to the same extent, or the more relevant punishment as clearly mentioned and guided by God.
Does that make sense of the verses you quoted?

[LaSorcia]

I think I understand what you are saying Abz, but I am not sure. It feels very hypocritical at times, I know. Kind of like, "Let's kill until they begin to kill back! Then we cry foul!"

I think the media of most countries deliberately slant things to make it seem as if it is only the 'other people' doing the violence. That is another part of the reason I am here. I am scared, too. But I will not panic with hate and fear and condemn Islam. As others have said, we are sisters and brothers in humanity at the very least. I want to see if what I hear in the media is really the truth or not.

Also, please keep in mind that just because the government of a country acts in a certain way, that does not mean that all the citizens of that country agree with it!

[keiv]

We have the capability to but, I don't think we can. Although I'm sure atheists may disagree, religion isn't the problem either. Just look at early human civilization. Humans will always be humans and all the negative characteristics about us will never go away, imo. There will always be people that are selfish, corrupt, greedy, and so on. These people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions and even no religion.

[Abz2000]

I think I understand what you are saying Abz, but I am not sure. It feels very hypocritical at times, I know. Kind of like, "Let's kill until they begin to kill back! Then we cry foul!"

God knows well the aggressors and He also gives the people the opportunity to know exactly what is happening and to empathize and consider, that way all people are given the opportunity to seek the best and righteous path which works for all.

Consider the complicated nature of the following hadith and see how easy it was to make the man who had bitten the other to think clearly.

It was narrated from 'Imran bin Hussain that:a man bit the hand of another man, who pulled his hand away, and the man's front tooth (or front teeth) fell out. He complained about that to the Messenger of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah said: "What do you want? Do you want me to tell him to put his hand in your mouth, so that you can bite it like a stallion bites? Or, do you want to give him your hand so that he may bite it, then you can pull it away if you want?"

أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عُثْمَانَ أَبُو الْجَوْزَاءِ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا قُرَيْشُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَوْنٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ سِيرِينَ، عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، عَضَّ يَدَ رَجُلٍ فَانْتَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَسَقَطَتْ ثَنِيَّتُهُ أَوْ قَالَ ثَنَايَاهُ فَاسْتَعْدَى عَلَيْهِ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏*"‏ مَا تَأْمُرُنِي تَأْمُرُنِي أَنْ آمُرَهُ أَنْ يَدَعَ يَدَهُ فِي فِيكَ تَقْضَمُهَا كَمَا يَقْضَمُ الْفَحْلُ إِنْ شِئْتَ فَادْفَعْ إِلَيْهِ يَدَكَ حَتَّى يَقْضَمَهَا ثُمَّ انْتَزِعْهَا إِنْ شِئْتَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏
http://sunnah.com/urn/1086440

I think the media of most countries deliberately slant things to make it seem as if it is only the 'other people' doing the violence. That is another part of the reason I am here. I am scared, too. But I will not panic with hate and fear and condemn Islam. As others have said, we are sisters and brothers in humanity at the very least. I want to see if what I hear in the media is really the truth or not.

People are required to be just and truthful, if the media deceive you with intent to collaborate in commiting injustice, they will accrue sin on that act unless they repent, what also tends to happen is that real intellectuals who have taken part in false and shallow speech see the futility and lowliness of the scheme and leave the empty trash talking to the fools, some of the wiser ones also accept the truth which they were made to knock against, this can be seen in the way the illusion artists of Pharaoh submitted to God when they saw their own faults, the futility, shallowness and undignified way of those who worked as deceivers for pharaoh, in contrast to God's magnificence.
Another boon is that people who are exposed to the lies and deceptions slowly come to see through the elaborate tricks and mind hacks, and find the need to look for the truth themselves, this has been observed in the gulf wmd lie and lamestream media collaboration, many people also came to realise that their politicians weren't really serving the interests of the people and were actually targeting them as propaganda war subjects. The 9/11 false flag blowback is a wonderful example of how liars actually end up clarifying facts to the inner minds of the people in a stark manner, the emergency laws and harrassment of the public - although at first caused people to dislike "the bin ladens" it turned around to make people see clearer in due time, Allah tells His messenger that the slander of Aisha was a good thing for the believers rather than bad and that the slanderers would receive their just rewards. The event caused many questions to be resolved and much guidance to be clarified.

Also, please keep in mind that just because the government of a country acts in a certain way, that does not mean that all the citizens of that country agree with it!

That should be good reason to cause the citizens of a country to realize that democracy is a feel good/god term and a lie, to consider how things should be, to work towards rectifying their government, and if unable to, to disassociate themselves from such government, store up a few months food and take a few months well deserved break from work and spend time with the family+/kids+/friends+/books+God.
It's what the youth of surah al kahf (sometimes spoken of as the seven sleepers of ephesus - google it) did, Gandhi did it when he saw that it wasn't worth losing blood over, and God advised the Prophet pbuh to do it when he turned away from the false gods that his people worshipped, it is also reported that it will happen again during the second coming of je suis ;)

[Abz2000]

We have the capability to but, I don't think we can. Although I'm sure atheists may disagree, religion isn't the problem either. Just look at early human civilization. Humans will always be humans and all the negative characteristics about us will never go away, imo. There will always be people that are selfish, corrupt, greedy, and so on. These people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions and even no religion.

Mankind started off with many positive and negative traits, man learns to lead a disciplined life with experience and with the assistance of God through His sending of messages containing warnings, glad tidings and guidance, and man learns to make wise choices despite the ease to neglect duties, learns to teach his inner self to constantly struggle against animalistic tendencies until his characteristics are refined, his social standing is elevated, and his inner self contains power and light which comes as a result of being closely allied with God. It is the nature of dna to make difficult choices and man is able to discipline and refine himself when he knows the facts, learns to untangle them and make rational choices.
There will always be weaknesses and short term slips (hence the abundant grace made available to the humbly repentant) but it has been proven through the sending of Prophets and their subsequent followers that a core group often becoming the majority will always come to and incline to the right path, maybe have a listen through the stories of the Prophets pbut.

[ardianto]

My relationship with my Christian neighbor is good. But I see in other place, there are Muslims who always in conflict with their Muslim neighbors. And I am sure, there are Christians who always in conflict with their Christian neighbors too.

Yes, not the difference itself that become the cause of conflict, but unwillingness to respect each other. People from different beliefs can get along and coexist if they can respect each other. People from same belief can be in conflict if they cannot respect each other.

[Walter]

Dear LaSorcia:

There are basically two types of getting along. The first is to tolerate each-other. We normally tolerate what offends us. Regrettably, this is the type of unstable relationship that many are forced into by their leaders.

The second type comes from trusting each-other. This requires an honest discussion in order to converge towards what is true. However, very few people are willing to discuss issues. Most want to debate in order to protect their opinion from rigorous scrutiny.

Having one life to live, it is supremely beneficial to expose all opinions to the light of rigorous scrutiny so that we can know and accept the Truth. That then facilitates trust which leads to a stable peace.

Best regards.

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you LaSorcia;

Jesus gave us two very simple commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. When asked, 'who is my neighbour'? He responded with a story of a religious enemy, and demonstrated that it is more important to act like a loving neighbour than it is to wonder to whom we should be nice. He also told us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. So this is what I'm trying to do.

In essence the greatest commandments are to love God first, neighbour second and self last, to comply with these commandments means we have to change ourselves more than we should want to change others.

Mankind seems to reverse these commandments and make them much easier to comply with, put ourself first, neighbour second, and God last, we do things our way and make a mess of the world.

Relationships are the toughest challenge in life, marriage starts with two opposites having to love each other, even if we are both of the same faith, it does not make it any easier. I have only been married thirty years, and it is a struggle to stay kind all the time, We have probably gone past the quota of having to forgive each other, seventy times seven times, and it still means we have to keep persevering.

I believe we should put the same amount of effort into loving all our neighbours, despite our differences. ( minus the bedroom bits of course)

In the spirit of praying to the same God

Eric

[Ali.Fahed]

In Al andalus (Spain under muslim reign from) the muslims, christians and jews were living in peace and harmony together. When the Spanish conquered Spain from the muslims and took back the last city Grenada in 1492 they threatened the muslims and jews with either converting or get killed. A lot of the jews then left to another muslim country, to Turkey and they lived there for centuries in peace and without any muslim harming them.

[Search]

:bism:

Lol, I think we already do, that is, get along, sis, and with that we're ahead of the game as we can make pieces of other adults' war against peace (winks).

Btw, sent you PM.

[MohammedK]

Yes we can so stop oppressing Muslims then we will live in peace and return palestine to the rightful owners otherwise its never going to be peace as we can see.

[Eric H]

greetings and peace be with you MohammedK;

Yes we can so stop oppressing Muslims then we will live in peace and return palestine to the rightful owners otherwise its never going to be peace as we can see.

All the land belongs to Allah,so that makes us all temporary custodians, as opposed to rightful owners. I feel that Allah always intended that we should share.

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people

Eric

[Delphi]

I came here to answer that one question " Can we get along". For me , I'm seeking a long term answer, not a short one.

My major "religious" focus if it were, is longterm, sustained human spaceflight. That's the next stage in evolution, transhumanism and evolution to an eventual state beyond what we are right now, physically and mentally. The challenges of "up there" are so immense we'll probably have to use every technological tool we can develop or think up just to do that. It's the rationalist answer to God - if there is no God - and I have not seen convincing proof that there is, then we should try and treat each other fairly and equally and accord every member of society an opportunity to develop. I guess I believe in a form of "adapted post-enlightenment Christian-civilization inspired rationalism".

I think getting along is very simple, and it's muslim phrase that leads back to it . "There is no compulsion in religion". In short, this is absolute to me. Separation of church and state is paramount. Religion is a private matter, and must remain so eternally, with whatever eternal reward or punishment meted out by God after one dies. The older I get, the more I believe that "there probably IS no God, or not one we have recognized yet.", and "God wants us to all live together in peace, no matter what.".

The older I get the more I see Islamic civilization like the Klingons, from Star Trek. No, I don't believe quite frankly, Islam is the most perfect civilization on the planet. The words "historically warlike" tend to cross my mind. But, eventually, the Federation and the Klingons found a way to live together in peace. Captain Picard doesn't go to Kronos with an invasion fleet to "impose" Federation ideals by force, but the Federation has the right to defend itself against incursions into it's territory. It's a case of the Star Trek "Prime Directive". I don't believe we should have ever interfered in other's affairs to get expedient access to oil. Instead, we should have developed out of our reliance on fossil fuels in the first place, and gone on to the next step. Ultimate, that reliance on oil is set up to profit a very few families in America that have gotten rich from it.

In short to live together in peace I propose we just STOP. Islamists STOP trying to Islamicise the West. The West STOPS supporting proxy wars and assorted bullshit in the middle east, and lets Arabic and Muslim countries live their way, even if it's imperfect or we don't agree with it. Personally, I'd be very comfortable with a situation where anyone who wants to live under religious law, however strict, is accorded a choice when they are an adult (the age of 20), and they either continue an adult bound by the strictures of their culture or can again voluntarily leave. We could do the same thing here in the west, and set up a transfer program of "people who wanted to live a certain way bound by certain societal laws". I know it's totally impractical given our current situation, but basically this is what happens in a far more chaotic and disorganized fashion anyways with the refugee crisis, or people migrating to the middle east to join ISIS. It's only when we STOP TRYING TO DOMINATE ONE ANOTHER for any reason, that we'll be able to live in peace. Us in our space, you in yours. I know that sounds like certain western nativist groups, but essentially, I've got less in common with those groups than I like. They are tribal . They are violent. They resort to the same form of primitivism in the name of self defense that ultimately limits our species from evolution.

I want to sit down, and come up with some kind of other solution . Ultimately multiculturalism, TRUE multiculturalism that isn't used as an excuse to guilt trip people into accepting anything, but says "You in your place, I am different, me in mine, eternally" ala Star Trek Prime directive is probably the only real solution. We all live on this tiny marble in space. The rest of the universe is very big, very cold, and largely uninhabited, and if we get our act together, we might actually be able to change that and go out there and see some of it. We're a young species, like a child, barely taking our first steps out there. We have the potential to make so many mistakes, or blow ourselves up with nuclear fire. All of these things are ultimately pointless , and lead only to silence, and yet another star that empty and dead of radio signals on the frequency.

I'm here to find out all I can before I make any kind of judgement for the future.