A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali ( r.a. ), recorded, from earlier Aramaic texts, that John the Baptist ( a.s. ) said to Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ), “Do not be angry.”   Jesus ( a.s. ) replied, “I am not able to cease from anger altogether, for I am human.”   John ( a.s. ) then said, “Do not desire property.”   Jesus ( a.s. ) replied, “That is possible.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali ( r.a. ), recorded, from earlier Aramaic texts, that to Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ), was of those who were specially favoured.   Among the proofs of it is this, that he called down peace upon himself, for he said, “Peace be on me the day I was born and the day I shall die, and the day I shall be Raised up alive.”   And this was because of His peace of mind and His loving-kindness toward men.   سُوۡرَةُ مَریَم وَٱلسَّلَـٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوۡمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوۡمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوۡمَ أُبۡعَثُ حَيًّ۬ا (٣٣)   “So, Peace is on me, the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be Raised up to life (again)”! (Surah Maryam:33)   But as for John ( a.s. ), the son of Zachariah ( a.s. ), he took the place of awe and fear toward Allah ( s.w.t. ), and did not utter these words until after they were repeated to him by his Creator Who Says, “Peace be upon him the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “John, the son of Zachariah, said to Jesus, son of Mary, ‘You are the Spirit of Allah, and His Word, and you are better than I.’   Jesus replied, ‘You are better than I.   Allah Bestowed peace upon you, but Greeted me with peace.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a transcript of discourse given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   The coming of Abraham ( a.s. ) ushered in a new era in the mission of man as the Vicegerent of Allah ( s.w.t. ) on the Earth.   On one hand, he was a model for mankind, while on the other he became the father of the Revealed religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.   Judaism and Christianity came from his son with Sarah ( r.a. ), while Islam came from his son Ishmael ( a.s. ).   Christians do not recognise Ishmael ( a.s. ) as a son in every sense of the word, because he was born from the slave of Sarah ( r.a. ), that is, Hagar ( r.a. ).   However, their argument for not accepting him as a legitimate son of the Patriarch is very weak.   Their reason for not accepting him as Abraham’s ( a.s. ) first son is as they say that he was the son of lust and not the son of Promise.   What they failed to take note of is the fact that his...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The Catholic Church commemorates the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents on the 28 th December.   The Slaughter of the Innocents is the biblical account of the infanticide committed by Herod the Great.   In the Gospel according to Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all male children, below the age of two, in the vicinity of Bethlehem, to secure his throne from the infant “King of the Jews”.   Matthew 2:16-18 16 Meanwhile, when he found that the wise men had played him false, Herod was angry beyond measure; he sent and made away with all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its neighbourhood, of two years old and less, reckoning the time by the careful enquiry which he had made of the wise men.   17 It was then that the word spoken by the prophet Jeremy was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and great mourning; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, becaus...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote, “Jesus laughed a lot.  John the Baptist wept a lot.  John said to Jesus, ‘You have become mighty secure from God’s Subtle Traps to laugh so much.’   ‘You,’ replied Jesus, ‘have become mighty heedless of God’s Subtle and Mysterious Grace and Loving-Kindness to weep so much!’   One of God’s saints, who was present at this moment, asked God which of the two was of the more exalted station.  God Answered, ‘The one who thinks better of Me,’ that is, ‘Within My servants’ conception of Me, I am there.  Each of My servants has an image or idea of Me.  Whatever each of them imagines Me to be, that I am.  I am the servant to images within which God Lives; I care nothing for any reality where God does not dwell.  O My servants, cleanse your thoughts, for they are My dwelling places.’   Now make a trial for yourself and see what is more beneficial to y...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary   ( a.s. ) , is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel ( a.s. ) to the Virgin Mary ( a.s. ) that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus ( a.s. ).  The word “Annunciation” anglicised from the Latin Vulgate verses from the Gospel according to Luke, Annuntiatio nativitatis Christi .  The word “Annunciation” is derived from the same root as the word ‘announce’.  Gabriel ( a.s. ) was announcing the birth of Christ ( a.s. ) in advance.  “Annunciation” is simply an older form of saying “announcement”.  This term has also been applied in other ways such as the annunciation of the birth of John ( a.s. ) and the annunciation to Mary ( a.s. ).   John the Baptist’s ( a.s. ) birth was also announced in advance.   Both stories have multiple parallels.   In both case, the angel Gabriel ( a.s. ) makes the announcement to a single indiv...