(no subject)
Just something I wrote 2 years ago -
"Grant the world Mercy
“We sent thee not, but as mercy to all”.
- God.
As I sit here trying to think about what to say about our beloved Prophet Muhammad, or what mercy even means in this revelation from God, I come to an end. But I should begin to think about Mercy. Mercy has two meanings, at least according to a dictionary. Mercy is a noun. But in God’s dictionary, what does it even mean? So when God said those lines to the Prophet, what was he trying to say?
Mercy. I am thinking about the song by Duffy.
But we are talking about Mercy. Mercy as forgiveness, compassion. Mercy as something to be grateful for. If that is so, I think God is trying to put forth a very important message. Wait, doesn’t He always? Yes, I suppose he does. I would like to think of Mercy as a metaphor for living life. And by that I mean living believing in the goodness of receiving and also granting forgiveness or compassion. To put it simply, I should believe in the goodness of forgiving the person who stepped on my shoe on the train this morning. And that he should forgive me for shooting him a look of contempt.
I guess we are not perfect after all. God is perfect. If he is, does he have a dictionary? If he does, it will contain all the languages in the world because he is All-knowing. It must be electronic, or maybe just online.
It is Prophet Muhammad’s birthday today, not God’s. So enough about God. But I must say this: God does not have a birthday. Or a dictionary. On a serious note, Prophet Muhammad is not entirely perfect. This is all the more reason that he embodies Mercy. There is recognition and acknowledgement of the thread of human flaw, that we all make mistakes, minor ones, major ones, those your mother says she cannot forgive you for, those the Quran validates as Man’s most mortal sins. I believe there is goodness in compassion and forgiveness, and this is the reason why our daily prayers form such an inseparable part of our lives as Muslims. We are made humble, made to feel at peace. Daily prayers. This is when we should seek to forgive ourselves.
So what do you say to your mother, when she says that she cannot forgive you? You say, even God forgives so you should too.
But she is, human.
So how does he do it, the Prophet? How does he manage to be the emblem of Mercy for all of us without sacrificing his human-ness? I do not know. But I do know that he too, receives Mercy from God. We should not think he is not perfect because our religious textbooks or our teachers tell us so. We should think he is not perfect because we know it so. We know because we, like Prophet Muhammad, are human. We all, receive Mercy from God. But I am not saying that we are all Prophets. Neither am I saying that the Prophet is an ordinary human. I am saying that we are human.
Pardon me for being so complicated, but I must tell you that we are human. It keeps us from thinking that we have to be perfect Muslims. Is there a perfect Muslim? No. What does it even mean to be a perfect Muslim? No one knows. Does God want us to be perfect? At least I do not think so. But these are my sentiments and I believe God meant his world to be ambiguous. If the world was perfect, if everyone including the Prophet was entirely perfect, there will be no mistakes. Then there will not be sins, and God will not have to distribute his forgiveness.
And that is why Hawa ate the forbidden fruit.
But I am digressing. It is still the Prophet’s birthday. What does this day even mean to all of us anyway? Why celebrate the life of a man chosen to be a mercy to all? The reason is simple; Mercy is lost every day in this world. Mercy needs to be remembered, even in the heat of anger. Mercy needs to be shared, just like how the Prophet shared God’s words to us. And Mercy needs to be lived, re-lived and living.
Then maybe the world will stop fighting within itself."
When I wrote this, I was thinking a lot about how difficult it was trying to reconcile my religion and my sexuality. Up till now, I haven't found a clear answer as to whether I have managed to find some middle ground. What is acceptable (heterosexual) versus what is not (homosexual); that is what religion tells us. But how do we know that's what He really meant? Does he truly understand what he has undoubtedly created? And if so, why is it so difficult for His Faith to be all encompassing and accepting?
I still believe that He loves us all despite our differences. Is it then just human's fault for being judgmental?
"Grant the world Mercy
“We sent thee not, but as mercy to all”.
- God.
As I sit here trying to think about what to say about our beloved Prophet Muhammad, or what mercy even means in this revelation from God, I come to an end. But I should begin to think about Mercy. Mercy has two meanings, at least according to a dictionary. Mercy is a noun. But in God’s dictionary, what does it even mean? So when God said those lines to the Prophet, what was he trying to say?
Mercy. I am thinking about the song by Duffy.
But we are talking about Mercy. Mercy as forgiveness, compassion. Mercy as something to be grateful for. If that is so, I think God is trying to put forth a very important message. Wait, doesn’t He always? Yes, I suppose he does. I would like to think of Mercy as a metaphor for living life. And by that I mean living believing in the goodness of receiving and also granting forgiveness or compassion. To put it simply, I should believe in the goodness of forgiving the person who stepped on my shoe on the train this morning. And that he should forgive me for shooting him a look of contempt.
I guess we are not perfect after all. God is perfect. If he is, does he have a dictionary? If he does, it will contain all the languages in the world because he is All-knowing. It must be electronic, or maybe just online.
It is Prophet Muhammad’s birthday today, not God’s. So enough about God. But I must say this: God does not have a birthday. Or a dictionary. On a serious note, Prophet Muhammad is not entirely perfect. This is all the more reason that he embodies Mercy. There is recognition and acknowledgement of the thread of human flaw, that we all make mistakes, minor ones, major ones, those your mother says she cannot forgive you for, those the Quran validates as Man’s most mortal sins. I believe there is goodness in compassion and forgiveness, and this is the reason why our daily prayers form such an inseparable part of our lives as Muslims. We are made humble, made to feel at peace. Daily prayers. This is when we should seek to forgive ourselves.
So what do you say to your mother, when she says that she cannot forgive you? You say, even God forgives so you should too.
But she is, human.
So how does he do it, the Prophet? How does he manage to be the emblem of Mercy for all of us without sacrificing his human-ness? I do not know. But I do know that he too, receives Mercy from God. We should not think he is not perfect because our religious textbooks or our teachers tell us so. We should think he is not perfect because we know it so. We know because we, like Prophet Muhammad, are human. We all, receive Mercy from God. But I am not saying that we are all Prophets. Neither am I saying that the Prophet is an ordinary human. I am saying that we are human.
Pardon me for being so complicated, but I must tell you that we are human. It keeps us from thinking that we have to be perfect Muslims. Is there a perfect Muslim? No. What does it even mean to be a perfect Muslim? No one knows. Does God want us to be perfect? At least I do not think so. But these are my sentiments and I believe God meant his world to be ambiguous. If the world was perfect, if everyone including the Prophet was entirely perfect, there will be no mistakes. Then there will not be sins, and God will not have to distribute his forgiveness.
And that is why Hawa ate the forbidden fruit.
But I am digressing. It is still the Prophet’s birthday. What does this day even mean to all of us anyway? Why celebrate the life of a man chosen to be a mercy to all? The reason is simple; Mercy is lost every day in this world. Mercy needs to be remembered, even in the heat of anger. Mercy needs to be shared, just like how the Prophet shared God’s words to us. And Mercy needs to be lived, re-lived and living.
Then maybe the world will stop fighting within itself."
When I wrote this, I was thinking a lot about how difficult it was trying to reconcile my religion and my sexuality. Up till now, I haven't found a clear answer as to whether I have managed to find some middle ground. What is acceptable (heterosexual) versus what is not (homosexual); that is what religion tells us. But how do we know that's what He really meant? Does he truly understand what he has undoubtedly created? And if so, why is it so difficult for His Faith to be all encompassing and accepting?
I still believe that He loves us all despite our differences. Is it then just human's fault for being judgmental?