Street Prophets

Ramadan Day 7: Verses from the Quran

by lauramp

Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 06:22:24 PM PDT

Each day during Ramadan, I am presenting a verse from the Quran with a few thoughts or comments. An introduction to this series is here. Inshallah (God willing), I hope that this may be of benefit to any who are interested in learning a bit more about Islam and Muslim belief.

Quran 6:108:

And do not revile those whom they call on in place of Allah so that they revile Allah out of spite, without knowledge. In that way, We have adorned for every community its works. Then they will return to their Lord and He will tell them what they were doing
Like an earlier verse I highlighted, this one concerns how to act to those who follow a different religion.

Here, we are told not to attack or make derogatory comments about what others worship (or, more generally, their belief systems) because that will naturally lead to them attacking and denigrating ours.

The phrase "In that way, We have adorned for every community its works" (the speaker here is God) means that this sort of behavior is tempting and alluring to us. Anybody who's ever gotten sucked into a flame war with somebody they disagreed with knows the truth of this!

But we need to resist this allure and go with the more difficult course, which is to treat others with genuine respect, whatever their beliefs are. If we do not treat others with respect, why should they treat us with respect?


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  • Respect, yes... and (0 / 0)

    live and let be... As long as we harm no others.  To me, that is all religions' teachings.

    Thank you for this series lauramp...

    I believe in peace.

    by shermanesqe on Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 07:42:16 PM PDT

  • Timely. (0 / 0)

    But then again this message always is. Thank you and goodnight.

    Rocks and people are alike in many ways. They both age, are imperfect and come in different shapes and sizes - my son

    by one bite at a time on Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 08:44:24 PM PDT

  • Peace to you, lauramp, (0 / 0)

    I posted this
    comment earlier in the evening ~ thought you might find it interesting, and perhaps, in keeping with your diary tonight.

    Thanks for "Ramadan Day 7"

    by under the bodhi tree on Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 09:45:36 PM PDT

    • beautiful (0 / 0)

      Thanks for sharing that. I had missed the original comment so I'm glad you posted a link here.

      So little time, so much Street Prophets to read!

      "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

      by lauramp on Wed Oct 12, 2005 at 05:30:49 PM PDT

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  • Thank you Lauramp n/t (0 / 0)

    by Austin in PA on Wed Oct 12, 2005 at 08:12:03 AM PDT

  • Isn't there a surah (0 / 0)

    where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says that God has sent messengers to all the nations, at appropriate times, and that the message given to them varied according to the time and the people receiving it? I heard that alleged once, and if it's true, I think it would have to be one of Islam's bigger positive points.

    Michael

    by musing85 on Wed Oct 12, 2005 at 11:34:16 AM PDT

    • yes (0 / 0)

      I posted a comment about it here in a discussion about aliens. At some point when I have time, God willing, I'll try to pull together a more extensive discussion of this issue and post it as a diary.

      It's certainly one of my favorite points about Islam!

      "Riches does not mean having a great amount of property, but riches is self-contentment." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

      by lauramp on Wed Oct 12, 2005 at 05:29:33 PM PDT

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