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Every nation has its messenger (10:47)
Humanity sees different religions, and delights in its own interpretation of it. The Qur'an addresses God's messengers and says: "And surely this your community is one community, and I am your Lord, so keep your duty (be devoted) to Me. But they became divided into sects, each rejoicing in their own ideas. So leave them in their ignorance for a time."
The Qur'an regards all the Prophets, God's messengers, as belonging to one faith. The first actually tells us that religion is one: "So set your face to the religion, being upright, the nature (pattern) forged by God, upon which He created humankind. There is no changing God's pattern of creation. That is the right religion, but most people don't know."
If we look at things with human eyes, we see a multitude of perspectives; but there is a space that if we step into, we actually taste the oneness of faith, where in we are all God's creatures, bound by one compact or covenant, by one set of ethical and moral values. In that space, we are taught directly, and know directly, the nature of truth. In that space, we see with God's eyes, we see with no astigmatism. We all see the same Reality.
All conflict stems from the I-thou polarity; I am different from you, and I don't recognize myself in you. It can Arab against Jew, Catholic vs Protestant, Hutu against Tutsi, man versus woman, white against black, Ashkenazi versus Sephardic, Northerners vs Southerners, Democrats vs Republicans, and Harvard against Yale. The list is endless.
This is the nature of the Divine lament in the above quoted Qur'anic verses. We divide ourselves into groups, each delighting in what we have, asserting our superiority.
But there is another approach. In it, I see myself in you. It is what we call like the "I-I" relationship. This is not just merely another division, it is a fundamental paradigm shift. And the "I" with which we need to connect most of all is God's I, the Divine Self, in Whom we submerge our own individual selves. In that space, religion is indeed one, for when you step into that space, there is no room for any other religion but one, and that is true surrender to the divine will, which is what the term Islam means.
"Interfaith Tree"
Click on picture to enlarge
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