Before I start, I wish to stress the importance of having respect for other faiths, even if we do not necessarily agree with everything. A show of respect and kindness may be returned with equal kindness. In the end, it is for Allah to guide each and everyone of us according to His will and plan.
سورة المائدة ٤٨
[…]
لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ ۖ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ ۚ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
سورة الممتحنة ٨
لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
سورة النحل ١٢٦
وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ فَعَاقِبُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبْتُم بِهِ ۖ وَلَئِن صَبَرْتُمْ لَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لِّلصَّابِرِينَ
Surah Al-Maaida 5:48
[…] To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;
Surah Al-Mumtahana 60:8
Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.
Surah An-Nahl 16:126
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.
What I describe in this article is to show how I went from simply reading an aya… to understanding it.
While I went travelling abroad in 2018, I was fascinated to see a different spiritual interpretation of a faith I had grown up with. There was one experience that had a special impact on me…
When inside a religious sanctuary, going towards the front of it, there was a large glass case… as I came closer I saw the shape of a figure inside, a man. The man was dressed in religious robes. Wait… a deceased man? When I came closer, the figure inside the glass box gave the impression of being artificial somehow… so I rejected my first thinking… ok, it’s a plastic doll…
Some people stood around it, nodding or praying toward it, and I figured that was some kind of symbolic thing… but… I later found out that the “doll” in the glass case really was a deceased man. I concluded it had been oiled and embalmed in order to prevent the body from decaying, which is what might have given the “plastic” appearance. According to research, this kind of worship is a common practice in that particular faith, but it was something I was totally unaware of, so it kind of came as an initial shock to me…
But, mashallah, this was a revealing experience that made me gain an understanding about a specific aya I had previously just read without much consideration…
سورة الأحقاف ٥
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَهُمْ عَن دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ
Surah Al-Ahqaf 46:5
And who is more astray than one who invokes besides Allah, such as will not answer him to the Day of Judgment, and who (in fact) are unconscious of their call (to them)?
I saw the words from a totally new light. I felt the blessing of increased faith and wisdom. Many are the situations where we can gain wisdom and understanding from the Quran, simply by noticing and considering the things around us…
سورة النور ١٨
وَيُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
Surah An-Noor 24:18
And Allah makes the Signs plain to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.
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الحمد لله الذي هدانا