Than a message
To (all) the worlds:
(With profit) to whoeverAmong you wills
To go straight.
S.81 A.27-28
I have never been in a mosque where I had any sense of the socio-economic status of its worshipers, any sense of cultural or racial differences, any sense of any division at all. Shoulder to shoulder, we stand in comforting anonymity sharing God's grace. This is one of the glorious aspects of my faith, probably the only example of a successful egalitarian community on earth. With apologies to my Christian friends, I have never seen a beggar or misfortunate soul sitting on the steps of a church beseeching my help; rather I have seen them shepherded gently to a back door where they were tended to lovingly, but out of sight. In contrast, I rarely visit a mosque where I do not have to pass these brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, to enter to make my prayers. Their poverty, their plight, the rags they drape themselves in are indictments of my faith if left ignored or made invisible. I walk into the mosque with the welfare of these souls added to my prayers.
I love the quiet sanctity of my faith, the universal invitation extended to us all, our willingness to live it daily and openly, and the recognition and embrace of our responsibility to each other, rich or poor, white or black, male or female, strong or crippled, blessed or destitute - a community devoted to a gracious God.
*I love this verse above, but my favorite verse in the Koran is also in this sura. I wrote a post about it a month ago getting ready for Ramadan, and I have included the link below (didn't want to "cheat" my mission to read and write about each sura this month :)
No comments:
Post a Comment