Corriere forum – 16/10/2006
The Koran
There are two ways to read the Koran:
– Reading and applying the text to the letter without correlating it to the whole script: “cut off the hand of the thief” without considering the Koran’s insistence on Forgiveness!
– The second way is taking the Koran in its entirety! The believer does not seek the truth in the single sentence but in the general context, they do not remain disturbed by individual contradictions.
Despite the existence of verses that contradict the modernist M., they assert that the Koran should be read as a whole Chapter and that the truth is to be found in the evolution of the text and not in the reading of a verse taken in isolation.
The sacred texts are not closed in, but are a source of meditation and reflection:
“If all the plants that exist on earth became a series of pens, and if all the water of the sea, and of other seven seas, became ink, they would not be enough to write the verb of the God, who is powerful and wise” (Koran 31:27).
“Then there are many other things done by Jesus, which if they were written one by one, I think that not even the whole world could contain the books that should be written” (John 21, 25).
Spiritual themes
- Love
– The Benevolent (God) will grant his love to those who believe and do good works.
– To confirm the spiritual depth of Islam we can quote a hadith of Mohammed on the love of God: “When God loves a servant, he tests him; if he is patient, he puts him aside; if he places his affection in God, he chooses him… and when he loves him with total love, he takes possession of him, stripping him of everything”.
Padre Pio: “Let yourself to be loved by God and you can do whatever you want”.
- Soul
– God imposes on him only the burdens she can bear
- Goodness
– A good word and an act of forgiveness are worth more than alms followed by offenses. Do not ruin your alms by criticizing and offending others, as does the one who gives his goods to be seen.
– You reject evil with a greater good, and whoever was your enemy will become your close friend. (41, v.34
– Those who forgive and reconcile will certainly be rewarded by God. Those who are patient and forgiving should know that this is the solid principle to follow in everything.
- Debts
If the Debtor is in difficulty, he is granted a deferment until he can pay, but if you forgive him the debt, it is better for you.
- Divorce
If the spouses wish to reconcile, God will put them in agreement…
- Alm
– is encouraged by God and should be done to please him alone, it is he who receives alms
– To be virtuous give a part of what you love
– if you can’t get her to say at least one good word.
- Expiation
The renunciation of the retribution is atonement for sins.
- Faith
– None can have faith if it is not willed by God
– When combined with good works it is rewarded by God.
– God loves those who trust in him
- Doing good
– They will be rewarded by God
– Without faith they are in vain
- Patience
– If you punish, you punish in proportion to the offense received, but if you bear with patience it will be even better for those who can bear.
- Polygamy
You won’t be able to be impartial with your wives even if you want to….and don’t neglect some of them
- Humility
– manifests itself in prayer
- Veil
Tell your wives, your daughters and the women of the believers to cover themselves with their cloaks (veils). It’s the best way to be recognized and not to be harassed…
- Virtue
– Goodness, almsgiving, trust in God, justice, honesty, good works, patience, humility
People of the Book:
The Koran is often ambivalent and ambiguous towards Christians and the people of the Book, but it seems to make tolerance prevail, which unfortunately is not encouraged in practice. Especially among the populace the conviction remains rooted that non-Muslims are destined en bloc to hell, and every Muslim always feels the more or less conscious desire to make the whole world Islam.
- There are verses (word of God for Muslims.), which are very hostile towards Christians and Jews, (the people of the book). On the other hand, chapters 3 and 19 of the Koran are full of tenderness in evoking Mary as the Mother of Jesus, the birth of Mary and her childhood, the Annunciation, Christmas: a great veneration for Jesus even though he is not considered the son of God.
- In the early years Jesus was shown friendship, then as the years went by and becoming more powerful he ordered to fight him.
- The scriptures remind us that man has a Creator, owes obedience to His commandments and returns to Him:
– We believe what has been revealed to us, we believe what has been revealed to you. Our God and your God is one and we are subject to Him as Muslims (Koran 29:46).
– Those who believe in God and in the last day and do good will all have their reward with their Lord, they will have nothing to fear and they will not be saddened by it (2:62).
- Hostility:
– Fight those who do not believe … and who believe that what God and his Messenger have declared unlawful is lawful and, among those to whom the book was given, those who do not profess the religion of truth. Fight them until they humbly pay the tribute (9:29).
– Let there be no compulsion in religion! The righteous path is distinct from error… the unbelievers will end up in the fire and remain there forever (2,256).
– When therefore you meet in battle those who do not believe, hit them around the neck and after having slaughtered them with blows, tighten the logs well. Then, either grace or ransom…(47,4).
Religious freedom: (2/256-257)
Let there be no compulsion in religion! The right path is well distinguished from error. Whoever denies idols… God is the patron of those who believe… but the patrons of those who do not believe are the idols, who bring them out of the light into darkness. The disbelievers will be in the fire, and they will remain there forever.
A hadith:
– In friendship, mercy and affection for one another, believers are like human bodies: when one part suffers, the others also know fever and insomnia.
– the great Muslim mystic RABAA EL ADAWIYYYA, who one day walked around with a bucket of water in one hand and a torch in the other, saying:
“I would like to extinguish hell from this water and burn heaven with this flame so that it would be more for fear of a punishment, nor for a reward that one obeyed God, but for pure love of the interested.”
Koran
Read and apply the text to the letter without correlating it to the text as a whole.
The second way is to take the Koran in its entirety! not to look for the truth in the single sentence but in the general context.
Despite the existence of verses that contradict Muslims, modernists assert that the Koran should be read as a single Chapter and not in the reading of a verse taken in isolation.
The sacred texts are not closed-ended, but are a source of meditation and reflection.
Wives
You will not be able to be impartial with your wives even if you want to …. and do not neglect some and if you are afraid of not being fair … marry only one.
The problem of the veil fits into this framework: For centuries entire Islamic societies have not bothered to “dress” the woman, and they were no less religious than now. Today some Islamic currents continue to cover the woman’s body as an essential message of Islam. (who was addressed to Muhammad’s wives so that they would not be offended, and added that God continues to forgive!)
Until a few years ago great thinkers (Taha Hussein, Jamal El Din afghani, Mohamed Abdu… or the spiritual father of Pakistan, Muhammad ikbal) have tried to renew the theological thought of Islam; they were esteemed by the people; today, for those who walk in their footsteps, there hangs the punishment of being slaughtered. God has given men the faculty to think…
Giuseppe Samir Eid
Free web translation from the original in Italian
The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.