Greetings and peace be with you Studentofdeed;
I know we are not allowed to say who goes to heaven and hell.
The wisdom of Allah is beyond our understanding, the only thing that is in our power to do is to pray for ourselves and others, that we might all have salvation. Instead of searching for our differences and striving to find faults in other religions, I believe we should try and find ways to work together. We are all created by the same God, and the same God hears all our prayers, despite all our differences.
It is said in Judaism that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son in the region of Mount Moriah. God commanded Solomon to build the Temple on Mount Moriah, that will house ‘The Ark of the Covenant’ better known for the Ten Commandments. Jesus prayed on the Temple Mount, and when he healed people he sent them to the Temple to give thanks.
The prophet pbuh ascended to heaven to meet all the other prophets from the Dome of the Rock, which is built on the site of the Temple Mount, which is associated with Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Jesus and many other prophets.
It seems that God has brought all three religions together in so many ways, and Jerusalem seems to be a place to search for God rather than religion.
In 2009 I had the privilege to go to Jerusalem, Most of the Christian holy places are within the Muslim quarters of Jerusalem, this in turn is surrounded by the Jews. I stood by the Wailing Wall, which is a sacred place to the Jews. But when you look above the wall, you see the golden dome of ‘The Dome of the Rock, and the Al Aqsa sacred to Islam. As you queue up to go to the mosque from the Jewish side, there is a sign that says – God is always present here.
God could have made our lives much easier if he had placed our three religions a thousand miles apart, but is seems that God has some greater purpose by bringing all three religions together in one place. But why would God link all these things together on the Temple Mount?
The closet analogy I can think of is this. It is like a parent with three young children, the parents save up for ages to buy the latest play station and when it arrives they set it up. The parents say to the children, play nicely together and the parents leave the room. The best result would be for the children to share and play together, but often with mankind, it seems in our nature to fight for a greater possession of the things we want.
God made the Dome of the Rock easy for us to share, the Muslims have Friday for their Sabbath, the Jews have Saturday and the Christians Sunday. The same God clearly made this site sacred to our three religions, I believe as a lesson on how we should find ways to respect each other despite our differences.
Next week I shall be going to an interfaith meeting, which will be held in a mosque in Dorchester.
In the spirit of searching for a greater meaning of 'One God@
Eric
