I strongly recommend you all to open your minds and hearts and give this very interesting article on finding Allah on Xmas a read.
I'm very intrigued by my dear sister Suroor’s ability to connect with Allah(swt) in a Christmas mass. Eventhough I attended a Jesuit high school and went to many masses during those four years, I never fully appreciated its significance in the remarkable manner that Suroor explains in her writing.
I do believe that many Muslims (especially in the West) have lost the emotional connection with our prophet Isa and his beloved mother Maryam (peace be upon them both), as they casually write them off as icons unique to the Christian faith, with only historical significance in Islam.
Why don’t we read the Bible to connect with the teachings of prophet Isa? Surely there are unaltered parts that have retained the spirit of his teachings. Surely the predecessor of our own beloved Prophet is worthy of some attention.
“That day I learnt to love Maryam, the blessed mother of Jesus, just like I loved Fatima and Aisha (may peace be upon them all). I also discovered the love I have in my heart for Jesus.”
I wish to feel that love for Maryam and her miracle child Isa. Although I don’t feel it necessary to attend a mass to gain that feeling, I can't knock Suroor for doing so.
While I don’t agree with her sentiments that Jews and Christians are not to be considered disbelievers, as she states here:
“Amongst those who will go to Hell are those who “disbelieve and deny Our revelations” (Quran 5:10). According to this definition all Jews, Christians, Muslims (Shias, Sunnis and their sub-sects) are not Hell-goers. They neither disbelieve in God nor do they deny the revelations.”
I do believe that respect and love ought to be extended to our faith-brethren in a manner that is sorely lacking in our times. A joint Christmas luncheon is an excellent gesture towards achieving that goal.
WAW
5 days ago
9 comments:
Salaam brNaeem and thank you so much for this post.
I agree with you that a Muslim (specially) should not find it necessary to attend a xmas mass to connect with Isa and find it unfortunate that although we are the only religious community to recognise and accept all prophets and Abrahamic religions we are often not taught the greatness of ‘religious icons’ of other faiths. I mean of course we know Musa, and Isa, and Ibrahim were great men but there are certainly so many of their attributes we should try to follow – Musa’s interest in knowledge and Isa’s patience are the two that come to mind immediately.
There are passages in the Bible that sound ‘so right’ and shed so much light on the life of Jesus and his greatness as a human. My father spoke often about Maryam the mother of Isa and encouraged me to recite Surah Maryam often when I was pregnant with my own Mariam. The surah always reminds me that where Ibrahim could sacrifice his son for God, Mariam sacrificed her reputation and brought a son into this world for that same God. How utterly lonely and scared she must be when Allah tells her to lean against the date tree and bear labour for His cause!
Regarding “all Jews, Christians, Muslims (Shias, Sunnis and their sub-sects) are not Hell-goers”, I’m glad you brought it up because I still don’t remember details of an anecdote that I wished to refer to but in a comment it would be safe to mention it. I want to emphasise the word ‘all.’ I was discussing this once with my father with reference to ayah (2:62) which is actually in future tense and so a promise from Allah and my father referred to something (now this is where I forget details!) in which it was stated that the dead bodies of the righteous shall never rot. Just the same evening we were watching telly together and there was this news about a 140 year old dead body of a nun that has not been mummified or anything but put in a glass coffin after it was found under rubble several years after her death. The body is unscratched and it seems like she is smiling in deep sleep! It is so well-preserved, SubhanAllah. My father and I looked at each other and all he said was “she must be God-fearing.”
Yet when I told this whole story to my FIL he insisted that since she was not Muslim she would never enter Heaven. I mean come on, yaar, leave it up to Allah. Why say all non-Muslims will queue up for Hell and Muslims will snigger in the queue headed towards Heaven?! The pastor of our local church in Scotland is our neighbour and he is such a great person – very gentle and kind. I can’t imagine him burning in Hell if it is only because he is not Muslim.
OK, very long comment. Sorry! I got carried away and should eat my breakfast now. Hope the ‘Rani’ boy is doing great in his orange clothes :)
"Whoever imitates a people is of them" [Abu Dawud and others]
AA- Abul Layth,
Thank you for the reminder, but how do you see that hadith relevant to this post?
I feel great love for nabi isa as and maryam as , and I have never read the bible , I am not saying not to read the bible.
For me maryam as is a great exmaple , and isa as is awaited so offcourse I have great love for him . I think christians have made a joke of isa as religion . I dont know any muslims that right him off.I certainly dont need to remember him on 'christmas day ' , which we all know is not even his birth day in the first place .
AA- Poetic,
Thanks for your thoughts...
"I dont know any muslims that right him off."
Masha'Allah, I'm glad that you have an active relationship with Prophet Isa (as) and Maryam (as), but honestly, do you believe that many other Muslims do as well? Basedn on my experience the answer is 'not the way we ought to.'
When I said 'they casually write them off as icons uniqe to the Christian faith', I meant that most Muslims place their sole focus on Prophet Muhammad (saw) (and deservedly so!), while neglecting the importance of Isa (as), except in terms of Islamic history or the end of times.
Where are the teachings of Isa (as) in our lives?
"I certainly dont need to remember him on 'christmas day ' , which we all know is not even his birth day in the first place."
With regards to his actual birthday, that is irrelevant. Just as I personally don't place great import on the celebrated birth date of our beloved Prophet (saw) (which is itself disputed), I do believe that the popularly assigned day for celebrating the Mawlid is a good opportunity for all of us to refocus our thoughts on Prophet Muhammad (saw).
So why not take advantage of Xmas and use the occasion to recharge our energy towards this great Prophet of our tradition?
Because brnaem , as wahhabi as this may sound , it has not been prescribed in islam to do so . We should be remembering the phrophet swa , and all the other prophets as examples in our lives . Phrophet isa as , I have this love for him that I can not explain , I have hope about him because I know he will be coming back .
The problem is muslims , we need to learn to make islam as a regular thing in our lives , the best way of doing that is reading the quran and remembering their storys the phrophetswhat they went through . Making one day for a phrophet is kind of funny , what forget him a whole year then remember him on a paticular date? . My personal opinion I think its silly and meaningless . islam is such a meaningfull religion , make it meaningful by reading the quran , then apply the knowledge that you have of the phrophets to your daily lives .
One thing I alaways remember about phrophet isa ( as ) , is his positive outlook on life , and his non attachment to the dunya . Thats a whole topic in itself .
ps. reading the bible is an intresting read, but I dont think one should rely on it as a source . Reading the bible would most defintly make you understand christians better , also the storys are entertaining !
I think that we should keep away from the danger of looking to other religions for guidance what prophet Muhammad saw came with contains all that other prophets came with in their purest form. reading about prphet 'Isa in the Islamic tradition gives a deeper and more accurate picture of prophet 'Isa more that the corrupted texts of misguided people. it is said that the prophet pph saw saydna Umar(ra)reading some writing of the people of the book. The prophet saw said to him something along the lines of are you not content with what has been sent down upon me. If you want to know more about the prophet read the qisas of the prophet (as) and the hadiths of the prophet that contain their sayings. There is a book buy shaikh Hamza yusuf called WALKING ON WATER. It is the stories and sayings of prophet 'sa (as) from traditional islamic sources you will find them, insha Allah, subtle and uplifting.
No one can deny that the books of other religions contain some truths, but only Islam contains the whole truth and only Islam has the honor of being the only heavenly sanctioned ticket to Hadratil Qudsiyah and enlightenment proper. salvation for individual persons is a complex issue that Muslim scholars like al Gazhali(ra) have competently dealt with.
People should be not encouraged to attend, or rather should be strongly discouraged from atttending the religious ceremonies of Man-Worshippers or any other non-muslim group just because one can experience some sort of emotional high that is mistaken for true spiritual ecsatacy that you one can get from dhikrullah in all its forms. That said there is nothing wrong with dealing fairly with non-Muslims who are not the enemies of Islam.
beware of RELATIVISM; it will only lead to darkness and distance from Allah's good-pleasure.
the pressure to find something in common with the dominant culture that we live in can deceive into compromising one's belief. I call it the "fashion for us a cow to worship syndrome". which the qur'an Illustrates as when the banu Israel, Just out of slavery and overwhelmed by the glitter of the surrounding dominant culture asked the Prophet (as) to fashion a god for them while he was bringing among them and the gates of heaven where open for them subhana lah
AA- Abukar,
Thank you for your enlightening thoughts!
"the pressure to find something in common with the dominant culture that we live in can deceive into compromising one's belief. I call it the "fashion for us a cow to worship syndrome""
I respectfully disagree. I don't believe focusing on Isa (as) on Xmas is compromising one's belief. I see it as an opportunity to reconnect with one of the 5 greatest Prophets.
Of course, if the intent is to please fellow Christians or to find a better alternative than what Islam offers, that would be unacceptable. I'm not proposing that, nor was the sister whose post inspired this post of mine.
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