139. ALL of us are mere MORTALS.

VIEWS@10087


The following is interesting in that it takes us to compare several of our established religions.

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THE ISLAMIC PRAYER AND THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER

By Vivienne Stacey

Questions

1. What are the common elements in the two prayers?

2. What are the differences?

3. Can a Christian pray the Al-Fatiha or a Muslim the Lords prayer?

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1. What are the common elements in the two prayers?

Both have respect, worship; guidance; and ask for mercy. 

Sura 2 has temptation, and condemnation.

Both praise God, Hallowed be your name.

Both ask for help.

The Lords prayer asks for specific help: - or bread, for help when tempted, and to be rescued

from evil. The Al-Fatiha asks for general help.

2. What are the differences?

The Lords Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven!

Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts

as we have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

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Al-Fatiha (Sura 1):

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent;

The Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,

the Beneficent, the Merciful,

Owner of the Day of Judgement.

Thee (alone) we worship;

Thee (alone) we ask for help.

(Quran 2:286)

...Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or

miss our mark!....

Pardon us, absolve us, have mercy on us, 

Thou our protector.

And give us victory over disbelieving folk.

Show us the straight path.

The path of those whom Thou has favoured;

Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger

Nor of those who go astray.

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1. What are the common elements in the two prayers?

2. What are the differences?

3. Can a Christian pray the Al - Fatiha or a Muslim the Lords prayer?

Both have respect, worship; guidance; and ask for mercy.

Sura 2 has temptation, and condemnation.

Both praise God, Hallowed be your name.

Both ask for help.

The Lords prayer asks for specific help: - or bread, for help when tempted, and to be rescued from evil. 

The Al - Fatiha asks for general help.

2 What are the differences?

The Lord’s Prayer is personal, and relational and talks of forgiving enemies.

The Al-Fatiha is distant, and talks of victory.

In The Lord’s Prayer, there is a request for forgiveness; this is very different.

The Al-Fatiha doesn’t talk of forgiveness, some other texts in the Quran invite people to forgive others but there is not a command to do so. It implies that God will only forgive those whom he favours.

Muslims were involved in warfare, physical and spiritual against the heathen in Mecca. When Mohammed entered Mecca, he did not fight the people because they surrendered and Mohammed pronounced an amnesty, Mohammed did not punish his enemies and Muslims are proud of this.


Sura 2:286 Victory over disbelieving folk. Yusuf Ali says that disbelieving folk are those who stand against the faith. The Arabic means those who haven’t a sound faith.

From a Muslim perspective, Jesus doesn’t follow Mohammed’s teaching so Christians are disbelievers. Christians follow the Old Testament and New Testament prophets, but are still unbelievers.

The Lords’ Prayer , talks of specific help: for physical (food), for Spiritual (from evil).

Al - Fatiha talks of general help.

The Lord’s Prayer has more of a Spiritual interpretation. But many Psalms, which now are taken in their spiritual sense, were at the time of writing taken literally. Literally asking for deliverance over existing physical enemies.

The Al - Fatiha has more of a literal interpretation. The Al - Fatiha asks for victory over existing physical enemies.

In The Al - Fatiha, God is the owner of the day of judgement.

In The Lords Prayer, God is ruler on earth and in heaven. In the end we know that judgement will come because God is the owner of judgement day.

3 Can a Christian pray the Al - Fatiha or a Muslim the Lords prayer?

There are parts of The Lords Prayer that a Muslim could pray, but does it mean the same to them?

Can they pray Our Father who is in Heaven?

God is not their father. They do not have a personal relationship with God that Christians have. It would make no sense to pray this. God is too distant, the creator and terrifyingly awesome.

Christians pray “Hallowed be thy name" just as Muslims pray "Praise be to Allah."

_______________________ETCETERA___________________

Bloggers Note:

I do not mean the 'etcetera' in any DEMEANING manner! 

REMEMBER, the above text is QUOTED (not mine)

I merely add the above for consideration, to show our differences, yet similarities. 

I also stress that I am an INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEING, with my own beliefs. And so long those beliefs are my own, and I do not force them on, or trouble anyone else with them, and as long as I adhere to live within the laws of my chosen domiciled land - THIS land, called CANADA, I ask you to leave me be in PEACE. This is the part of Democracy we were so close to attaining! 

BUT, here too, we are now showing strain and regression. 
This is truly sad, and seriously disconcerting.  

So PLEASE folk, beyond the rhetoric and turmoil of any formed religious expression, please allow me to concentrate on my general objective in trying to UPGRADE the Canadian LEGAL system, in the hope that it will serve ALL CITIZENS more justly, whatever their denomination.

And, as a basic SERVICE to ALL its citizens - NO MORE + NO LESS - while servicing its deserving citizens, respecting their differences. VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!  It ads breadth and depth to the human journey. CARPE DIEM! 
Is it yet attainable? 
Only Time, that illusive 'dimension', will tell. 

_(PS: I have had serious problems with the FONT sizes on this Posting. Is it my Computer?
The software, or something else?...) It will have to do...

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