I would like to hear from Muslims, Christrians, Jews, everyone, to briefly state what you think a person has to do or believe to go to heaven. Imagine a scenerio where your best friend is in the hospital dying of cancer. He's just been told he has only days, perhaps hours, before he will die. You are there to visit him. He says to you, "Help! I'm going to die! What do I have to do to make sure I'll go to heaven when I die???" What is your response?
. . .briefly state what you think a person has to do or believe to go to heaven. Imagine a scenerio where your best friend is in the hospital dying of cancer. He's just been told he has only days, perhaps hours, before he will die. You are there to visit him. He says to you, "Help! I'm going to die! What do I have to do to make sure I'll go to heaven when I die???" What is your response?
Thanks, everyone, for the posts to my original post (above), which I have quoted to remind us of the scenario---your friend has a very short time to live, wanting to know what you would tell him/her about what must be done or believed to "make sure I'll go to heaven when I die." Your friend, obviously, is looking for some sort of assurance that if he/she believes or does something, heaven will be assured. Believing something is probably more practical because doing something, unless simple, cannot be something that takes a lifetime or any extended period of time, since he/she has only a short time to live. So, for example, if your answer is something like, "do good deeds" you must consider what they are, and how long it takes to do them, etc. If the friend is on his/her death bed, doing much of anything may not be real practical advise. Thanks for new posts, bearing the foregoing in mind.
I'd have to think about this in terms of my best friend who is Muslim. There would be little I could tell him that he does not know already. In fact just the opposite I would be asking him what I need to do.
I can not imagine a Muslim having a best friend who is not Muslim.
It is going to be difficult to find a Muslim who would be able to answer in relation to having a non-Muslim best friend. If the best friend is Muslim, there is no need to say much as he would already know.
I can not picture the scenario you describe as happening among Muslims.
I can not imagine a Muslim having a best friend who is not Muslim.
You can't? Why not???
For the sake of Phil's question, I don't think the issue hitches on the person dying 'being your best friend'
I think Phil is talking about somebody who is fearful of death, wanting your advice on what s/he needs to do do be assured heaven. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Phil!)
Incidentally, I am really struggling with this question.
For me the problem lies with not knowing how imminent death is for our imaginary friend.
If s/he had enough time to 'find' faith, I would talk about what I believe and why. I would explain the meaning of Jesus' life and the importance of my relationship with him. I would give the person time to reflect on life, confess and repent his/her sins (before God) and find peace with him.
If death was imminent, I would probably just advise to repent any mistakes s/he may have made in life and to trust him/herself into God's hands ...
No death-bed guilt trips for me, I don't think. I just couldn't do it. :X
peace.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
For the sake of Phil's question, I don't think the issue hitches on the person dying 'being your best friend'
I think Phil is talking about somebody who is fearful of death, wanting your advice on what s/he needs to do do be assured heaven. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Phil!)
Incidentally, I am really struggling with this question.
For me the problem lies with not knowing how imminent death is for our imaginary friend.
If s/he had enough time to 'find' faith, I would talk about what I believe and why. I would explain the meaning of Jesus' life and the importance of my relationship with him. I would give the person time to reflect on life, confess and repent his/her sins (before God) and find peace with him.
If death was imminent, I would probably just advise to repent any mistakes s/he may have made in life and to trust him/herself into God's hands ...
No death-bed guilt trips for me, I don't think. I just couldn't do it. :X
peace.
Glo, you are correct.
I believe your statement
If death was imminent, I would probably just advise to repent any mistakes s/he may have made in life and to trust him/herself into God's hands ...
No death-bed guilt trips for me, I don't think. I just couldn't do it. :X peace.
Is the best answer I could give to a Non-Muslim friend.
Is the best answer I could give to a Non-Muslim friend.
Thanks, Woodrow.
I can't abide with anything humans do to force/coerce others to comply with their beliefs ... even on the death bed!
Sometimes I feel we get so self-righteous, thinking we have all the answers based on our holy books, and denying that no matter how hard we try not to, we always apply our own human interpretation to God's word!
This applies to us being oh-so-sure we know what God will do when we die. The only thing I am really sure of, is that we will stand before God, and in out state of weakness and sin will be entirely dependent on his mercy and love for us!
I don't like any of the 'you-will-burn-in-hell-because ... approach' - because in the Bible I see evidence of God's mercy!
It reminds me of God forgiving the people of Nineveh, and Jonah being right cross about it ... because Jonah in his human thinking and having just gone through a whole lot of trouble to do God's will, fancied seeing the people of Nineveh squirming under God's wrath! Isn't that just what us humans are like??!
But God had other plans for Nineveh ... so who am I to say I know God's plans for my brother and sisters?
peace.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
LOL Imagine it mate....I have a best friend that is a Hindu...!
All my best friends (sahaba) are Muslims. But I've got lots of good and close friends who are Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, Confucians, Hindus and sikhs .. plus 1 murtad (apostate).
All he has to believe is a simple statement, and that is that he has to believe that theres none worthy of worship besides the God that created him - Allaah Almighty.
He also has to believe that Allaah Almighty sends messengers, and Allaah Almighty's final messenger is Muhammad (peace be upon him.)
Ubaadah bin As-Saamit (may Allaah Almighty be pleased with him) narrated that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him); said,
"Whoever testifies that there is none worthy of being worshipped but Allah, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that 'Eesa (Jesus) is the Slave of Allah, His Messenger, and His Word which He bestowed in Maryann (Mary) and a spirit (created) from Him, and that Paradise is true, and that the Fire is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise, whatever his deeds may be."
For the sake of Phil's question, I don't think the issue hitches on the person dying 'being your best friend'. I think Phil is talking about somebody who is fearful of death, wanting your advice on what s/he needs to do do be assured heaven. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Phil!)
Incidentally, I am really struggling with this question. For me the problem lies with not knowing how imminent death is for our imaginary friend.
If s/he had enough time to 'find' faith, I would talk about what I believe and why. I would explain the meaning of Jesus' life and the importance of my relationship with him. I would give the person time to reflect on life, confess and repent his/her sins (before God) and find peace with him.
If death was imminent, I would probably just advise to repent any mistakes s/he may have made in life and to trust him/herself into God's hands ...
No death-bed guilt trips for me, I don't think. I just couldn't do it.
Yes, Glo, you're right; no correction needed. I didn't really want to stress s/he is your best friend except to give you real concern about his/her plea for help preparing for death. For example, if the person were an enemy, rather than a best friend, some people would have no concern at all, maybe even wanting to speed up the process!
As for how imminent is the death, I wanted to make it very soon, so we wouldn't saddle the poor dying soul with a lot of things "to do" that s/he would not actually have time to do.
I've seen or read of times when Mother Theresa held a dying person in her arms, perhaps trying to comfort them as they took their last breaths. But I wondered if her "comfort" really prepared them to meet God. When a person is so weak and at the point of death, there may be very little you can do to help prepare them that way. So our imaginary friend is not quite that far gone, breathing his last breath, but also not going to live long enough to "do" much either.
Also, I wasn't thinking at all in terms of forcing a belief on the poor guy/gal. S/he is pleading for our help. We want to be helpful, not coercive, as we should be with everyone. As Jesus was with everyone.
Anyway, I guess what I am looking for is a brief statement of what various people thought would be the real "crux" of the matter of being ready to die, to meet God. I appreciate all the posts. Perhaps when we try to articulate something like this, it might help to crystalize, or to make clear and definite, our respective beliefs.
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