Yes, you saw it right. Though my mother tongue is Bengali and my faith is hinduism, but I believe in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. All roads to God may look different, but the aim of each is reaching the ultimate truth. One may do it by any of the way shown by prophets, avtars etc but to walk down the path is the main. I have immense respect for the Islam. I reside in a place where temple, mosque and churches are very near. Infact, from my childhood I used to listen to the beautiful and pure aazan coming from nearby mosque. I was introduced with Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) when I was in class Iv. From that time to learning Islamic law in my law school, I have noted down some of my favourite verses/ayats of holy Quran which I want to share with my audience. Those are:-
1)“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah , and indeed to Him we will return.”-Surah-al-Baqarah 2:155-157
Now if we look into this ayat one can remember a bengali proverb “যে সয় রে রয়” which means He, who have patience, survives the race of the life because patience is, was, always a virtue. I have many friends who believe in Islam. I have talked to them. I have critically analysed many aspects of today’s world and found that many people believe or tend to believe or forced to believe that ‘Allah’ or any other arabic abbreviation of him are the only name of God. But he is bigger than anything. Allah, the omnipotent, the merciful called as Bhagwan in bengali, as God in English. If you use google translator you can find the name ‘Allah’ can be written differently in other font, or may be sounds differently in other language. But thus the meaning and the purpose does not change. The only thing that matter is pure devotion and surrender to the supreme. I felt that worshiping God by any other name is misinterpreted. For this I want to quote a hadis from Sunna Abu dawood- “Beware, if anyone wrongs a contracting man, or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment. Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.”
Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the Second Muslim Caliph, concluded a treaty with the people of Jerusalem which read: This is the assurance of safety which the servant of God, `Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, has granted to the people of Jerusalem. He has given them an assurance of safety for themselves, for their property, their churches, their crosses, the sick and the health of the city, and for all the rituals that belong to their religion. Their churches will not be inhabited [by Muslims] and will not be destroyed. Neither they, nor the land, on which they stand, nor their crosses, nor their property will be damaged. They will not be forcibly converted. This was quoted in The Great Arab Conquests, from Tarikh Tabari. So we can understand that whoever damages property of the other faith and/or forcibly convert are not following the principle of any religion.
2) “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our God and your God is one; and it is to Him that we bow”. Surah al ankabut 29:46
3)“And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation – his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.” Surah As Surah 42:40
4) “Do not let your wrath against the people who have barred you from the Holy Mosque move you to commit undue transgressions; rather, help one another in acts of righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and transgression. Fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in retribution.” Surah al Maidah 5:2
5)“and when other relations and orphans and the poor are present at the division of the heritage, give them something therefrom and speak to them words of kindness” Quran 4:8
Worshipping formless bramhan(God, not a race who wear sacred threads) is tough. Quran is very advance study and very difficult. You need at least an advance brain of a Graduate who has good academic background. The bitter truth is literacy rate of the muslims, specially women are very low or not upto the mark. This is the story of the world. Indian sub continent is not an exception regarding this . Muslims are the most educationally backward class. I appeal to my muslim brothers and sisters if you really want to know your religion and its beauty better than anyone else study hard and at least try to complete your graduation. I want to conclude this article by writing this appeal to my Indian muslim brothers and sisters-
Dear, If you look into our national flag you can found when saffron join hands with green, peace and progress prevails. India needs you. We cannot make this country, this world better without the help of you. Lets learn together, Lets build together. World needs peace. A muslim whenever meets always smile and greets with ‘as salam walekum’. From myself I want to say ‘Peace be upon you too my friend”. Om Santi, Santi, Santi.
Reference:-
1)Malik, Shahnawaz. (2017). Rights of Minorities under Islam. Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Volume-2: Issue-12 (Dec, 2017). 10.21276/sjhss.2017.2.12.4
2)https://sunnah.com/muslim
3)myislam.org
4)https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=5
5)Kaleem, Ahmad, and Saima Ahmed. “The Quran and Poverty Alleviation: A Theoretical Model for Charity-Based Islamic Microfinance Institutions (MFIs).” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 39, no. 3 (June 2010): 409–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764009332466.
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