A Place of Peace
I recently posted a quotation from the Quran: 5:69 “Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians–whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good–they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve.” Does this mean everyone? Should we even ask?
When I grew up in the Catholic Church, I was admonished and actually kicked out of a summer school run by nuns because I asked too many questions. They felt I was being disruptive. My parents supported me, though, and provided as many answers to my questions as they could. But the attitude of “Don’t ask!” was one of the (many) things that made me leave the Catholic faith and head out on my own spiritual journey.
In the last week, I’ve left two Islamic groups on Facebook because I saw the same sort of “Don’t ask!” attitude. This makes me sad, because I think one of the most wonderful things about Islam is that the Quran guides us to obtain more knowledge and to ask questions—to search for meanings. It also admonishes us not to focus so much on the rules but to look at our own judgment and to use our own free will, which Allah gave us. This is seen especially in 5:101, where Islam is shown to be flexible enough to apply to all times, countries and societies through the use of knowledge, prayer, and good will.
Here are some of my beliefs:
1. You can’t drag someone else along the path where they can have connection with God. If you do, it won’t mean anything to them. They have to find their own path to God.
2. Whether you call God Allah, Yahweh, God, Great Spirit, or some other term—if you’re talking about one spiritual essence that is in every part of the universe, but greater than the universe—then we’re all on the same page.
3. If you hear someone telling you not to ask about something, that’s a sign to walk away and stay on your own path.
4. I believe in Islam as my religion; I believe that other people can have their own beliefs and for them, their beliefs are just as important and valid as my own. I need to respect them and hopefully they’ll respect me. It doesn’t mean we have to agree on all the details. We can agree to disagree. After all, we all return to Allah, Who will “inform you of that wherein you differed.” (5:48)
5. I also believe that everyone has a series of goals in their lives, but one of them is hopefully making peace with God, no matter what they use as a term for It. Each person has to go down their own life path and their own spiritual path, and I pray for everyone that they find a way to connect with God in a positive, loving way at some point in their lives.
6. Islam is a religion based on peace in my opinion. The Quran tells us that there is no compulsion in religion (2:256) and also tells us Muslims to respect other religions and peoples. We do believe that Islam is the perfection of God’s messages to the Earth’s people, but we should also be able to understand that everyone has their own path to God.
7. Don’t judge other people; let Allah take care of that. Focus on your own self and your journey towards living a positive, productive life. We all have enough areas we need personal improvement on to not spend time and energy on judging others for their faults. Let God handle that.
8. And finally, I believe it’s important to separate the main ideas of Islam—belief in one God, Allah; charity, fasting, prayer, the Hajj if you are able—from ideas that are expressed in the many Hadith collections. There are Hadith and then there are Hadith, if you know what I mean. Some are more carefully researched and authenticated than others. Be choosy and thoughtful when going through the collections, just as Christians should be when going through commentaries on the New Testament or Jews when they read commentary on the Torah.
When I was growing up, I saw friends and family members who had found their path to God. I was always curious about it, because I never felt like I could get there; I was also amazed that even when faced with adversity, these people who had found their path still had a sense of peace in them. I wondered how they got that, where it came from and if it would always stay with them… and kept looking for my own path to God.
Upon making the leap of faith to accept Islam into my heart, I realized—that’s where the peace comes in. It took me a long time—years—to find a connection with God; many prayers, meditations, reading, long evenings talking with friends and family—but I finally made it. When I did, a sense of peace washed over me like walking under a cool mountain waterfall on a hot summer day. I realized then that the feeling of peace was the same my family and friends had been talking about. “Would it last?” was my next question (I’ve always been full of questions!). Even when I get upset, mad, sad, or depressed… if I step away from those feelings for a moment, I can always find the center of peace still there. It’s never gone away and I don’t think it ever will.
And that cooling, refreshing, calming sense of peace is what I wish for everyone—no matter their name for God—no matter what rituals they practice in their religious beliefs—no matter what culture they come from—I wish everyone the gift of finding that peace within. It’s a gift from God that we should all treasure!
