Echo

Friday, April 01, 2005

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Hi,

Congratulations to all our Christian brothers and peoples around the world on Easter Holiday. I have recently discovered a saying attributed to the prophet Mohammed (PBU) that may surprise some of you quite understandably, in view of the present day practices of our contemporary “Khawarij” heretics. “What is religion but love”, the prophet is reported to have said. What a revelation! This is a statement of a prophet, i.e. a tenet and precept of the faith. It follows that any act of hatred and violence inspired by vengeance or spite is against religious faith. Even an act of War must not be inspired by hatred but by quite opposite sentiments; hence “Love thy enemy”, the famous concept of Christianity, can be understood in this context. One incident comes to mind here. It is reported that in one of the battles of early Islam, the Imam Ali (PBU) overcame an enemy in a battle, and sat on his chest with the intention of finishing him off. The beaten man lay there in total helplessness and looked at the Imam with burning hatred in his eyes; and suddenly seeing that the Imam’s face was quite close to his he spat in the face of the Imam. The Imam wiped his face and suddenly stood up and let the man go. The people were amazed and asked him what was the reason for sparing the man’s life. The Imam’s response was: “I let him go; for fear that my motivations might be tinted by personal vengeance”.

Thus, the message of religion whether Christian or Moslem is essentially the same. In this, I am firmly convinced regardless of all the theological quibbling and disputes. And this is the final conclusion that I have come to after a long life full of all kinds of trials including the present one.

Yes, “Religion is Love”, and in this we are in perfect agreement with all the true Christians and it is the final and irrevocable position that nothing can shake.

Happy Easter to all.

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