We are living in a Global Village; the humanity has to learn to live in peace as good neighbors by tolerating the divergent views of members of other Faiths. The Bible and Qur’an are unanimous:
· “.. Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyselfs..”.[Matthew 22:39-40, similarly Leviticus 19:18]
· “..be good to your parents, kinfolks, orphans, the helpless, near and far neighbors who keep company with you..” [Qur’an;4:36].
[More verses quoted below].
However extremist with Jewish, Christians and Muslim names try to interpret the scriptures to their convenience to justify their unethical activities. Such people though in minority, succeed to tarnish the image of whole community, [they falsely pretend to represent] through their malicious actions.
Recently some people with Christian names have re-launched the blasphemous campaign under the guise of “Freedom of Expression” against honorable Prophet of Islam, highly revered by 1.5 Billion Muslims. How much love and affection Muslims have for their Prophet, is beyond the imagination of any non Muslim.
No Christian worth the name would indulge in such asinine acts, which are not only against the basic human norms of decency but also against the teachings of Bible and Jesus Christ, they pretend to believe.
The learned Christians appreciate and praise the Prophet of Islam, just to quote Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley:
"The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force." …“It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran....The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man. ‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.” More is available at: [‘History of the Saracen Empire,’ London, 1870’, http://cyberistan.org/islamic/quote1.html]
It’s high time that the silent majority of simple believers from each of the great Abrahamic Faiths should wakeup from long slumber, break the silence and condemn such barbaric people by raising their voice to be heard by the world. Join the effort for Peace; raise your voice against blasphemy of Prophet of Islam. Know, more about Prophet of Islam at http://wp.me/PCgrB-mf
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0Qfx8dX9TCvMDIzODcyZTctYzU0Yi00NDQ2LWI5ZDktMTczOTI4ZGZlMzhh&hl=en
Peaceful Coexistence- Bible & Qur’an
· Thou shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD. [Old Testament, Leviticus 19:18]· And the second [commandment] is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. [Matthew 22:39-40]
· And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise.[Luke 6:31]
· Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. [Matthew 7:12]. That the great rule of righteousness and equity in all the dealings with men is; “To do us we would be done unto”: it is a short rule, a full rule, and a clear rule; both the light of nature and the law of Christ bind it upon his followers.
· “Serve God and do not associate any partner with Him, and be good to your parents, kinfolks, orphans, the helpless, near and far neighbors who keep company with you, the travelers in need, and the and what your right hands possess. Allah does not love those who are arrogant and boastful [Qur’an;4:36]. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned that; "The Angel Gabriel has reminded me so often of the rights of a neighbor until I began to think that a neighbor may have a claim to inheritance."[Sunnah Abu Dawood.2446]. “Prophet said: You like for the people what you like for yourself, and you dislike for them what you dislike for yourself.”[Al-Tirmidhi Hadith,11, 1334]
· "As for such (of the unbelievers) as do not fight against you on account of your faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, Allah does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity. Indeed, Allah loves those who act equitably"(Qur’an;60:8).
· “If one amongst the pagans ask thee for asylum grant it to him so that he may hear the word of Allah and then escort him to where he can be secure: that is because they are men without knowledge”.(Qur’an;9:6
· “If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”(Romans;12:18-21).
· Give none offense [1Corinthians 10:32]
· Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. [Matthew 5:16]
· Jesus Christ & Gospel Respected by Qur’an: “And We caused Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow in the footsteps of those (earlier prophets), confirming the truth of what ever there still remained of the Torah (Law); and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein there was guidance and a light, confirming the truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah, and as a guidance and admonition unto the God conscious.” (Qur’an;5:46).
On ‘PEACE’
· One of attributive names of God in Qur’an and Bible is ‘Peace’ [‘As-Salaam’, The Source of Peace [Qur’an;59:23, Jehovah-Shalom, Judges;6:24]. Shalom, Salaam [Peace] is also common greeting, and salutation among Hebrews, Arabs and Muslims. [Genesis;43:23, John;20:19,Qur’an;6:54]· The Word ‘’ “Salaam” in Arabic, “Shalom” in Hebrew and ‘Shelawm’ in Armaic literally means "Peace" and are cognates of each other, derived from the Semitic Triconsonantal of Ś-L-M (realized in Hebrew as Š-L-M and in Arabic as S-L-M). In Greek ‘eirene’ i-ray'-nay means peace. The word ‘ISLAM’, derived from Arabic root ‘S-L-M,’ means 'PEACE' or ‘submission’. In religious context ‘Islam’ means; ‘Attainment of peace through complete submission to the will of God or his laws’.
· “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” [Matthew 5:9]
· “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”. [Hebrews;12:14]. This is the temper of the gospel, make war with sin, but not with men; with bad passions and corrupt desires, but not with our fellow-worms.
· “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it”.[Psalms 34:14]
· “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men”.[ Acts 24:16]
· “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it”[1 Peter 3:10-11] .
· “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”.[Matthew 12:36]
· “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”:[Matthew 6:14]
· “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things with which one may edify another”.[Romans 14:19]
· “They also that render evil for good are my adversaries; because I follow the thing that is good”.[Psalms 38:20]
· “If the enemy is inclined towards peace, do make peace with them, and put your trust in Allah. He is the One Who hears all , knows all”.(Qur’an;8:61)
Jesus Christ Glorified in Islam:
http://wp.me/PCgrB-72 , http://wp.me/PCgrB-83 , http://wp.me/PCgrB-dIMuslims believe in all messengers of God: “As for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and do not discriminate between any of them, We shall soon give them their due rewards. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”(Qur’an;4:152). Jesus was the last Hebrew prophet, who was sent by God to preach the implantation of the Law of Moses to the Jews (Mathew;5:17-20) and make lawful some of that which was forbidden to them(Qur’an;3:49,50). Muslims believe in Jesus as messenger of God (Bible;Acts;2:22), his miraculous birth without father (Qur’an;19:16-40, Matthew;1:18-25 & Luke;1:28-35), the miracles performed by the will of God(Qur’an;3:49, Mathew;4:23,9:35, Luke; 4:22, 9:11, 3:8 and Acts:4:16). They further believe in the revelations (scripture) he received form God, who saved him and raised him up to Himself, to be sent back to this world before end of time.
The Qur’an has clearly emphasized the importance to the Muslims of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). Jesus was no doubt was sent with a direct mission to the Israelites; he was also a universal sign. In Qur’an (21:107) the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been termed as a Mercy unto Humanity (Rahmatun lil Alamin), in the same Chapter (21:91) Mary and Jesus have been termed as a "Sign to Humanity" (Ayatun lil Alamin) due to miraculous birth of Jesus to virgin Mary. It is important that though many prophets are mentioned in the Qur’an the word Alamin (universe or humanity) has been used "only for Prophet Jesus and Mohammed (peace be upon them). In addition to his mission to the Israelites Jesus was commissioned with the task of heralding to the world the advent of the Last and the greatest. (John;14:16,15:26,16:7,12-14, Qur’an;6:20).
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Who is this Prophet mentioned in Bible?
· "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him"(Deuteronomy;18:18,19).· "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth (referring to Muhammad) is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me"(John; 16:12-14)
· "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever."(John;14:16);“But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me;”(John;15:26)
· “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”(John;16:7).
· “What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard unto others.”(Mark;12:9, also refer to Leviticus 26:15-18)
· Advent of the Prophet was foretold in Torah and Gospel.[Genesis; 12:2,3; 17:10-12; 18:18,19;20-21;49:1-10; Deuteronomy;21:15-17; 33:2-4. Isaiah;42:1-8; 11-13;Song of Solomon; 5:16. John;12:14-16; 16:12-14;15:26;16:7]. From these verses it may be deduced that the prophet after Jesus Christ would be:
1) A rider upon a camel.
2) God’s servant (Abduho).
3) God's Elect (Mustafa).
4) Inhabitant of the villages of Prince Kedar, son of Ishmael.
5) His religion will be known as Shiloh (means; Peace-Islam).
6) His light will shine from Faran.
7) The scepter (A staff held by a sovereign as an emblem of authority or Ruling power or authority; sovereignty) of Judah will pass on to him.
8) God will put his words in his mouth.
9) He shall not fail and shall not break.
10) He will have similarities with Moses.
11) He shall be known as Comforter, (Advocate, Ahmad)
Find more at:
http://wp.me/pCgrB-2s
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgxfvv3_93c9fjj7cx
http://wp.me/pCgrB-mt
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Faith Forum 4 Peace: