It's another sunny morning here in Surrey and Daisy and I are just waiting for our ride for our weekly grocery shopping courtesy of Dian and Derek, our neighbours two doors up the road. Bless them. They've been taking Daisy out with them to Sainsbury in - I think it's in New Malden - so she can buy her groceries there for quite a number of months now (if not years). Bless them both... :)
And Daisy's neighbour next door, Julie - who works at a clinic not far away - also looks in on Daisy, and each week, when it's time for the bins to be put b the roadside for collection the next day, Robert (Julie's husband) would kindly roll Daisy's bin out that way as well. Bless them. For all their kindness, I wish them everything good - good health, good children, good fortune, good future.
Having diligently read the translated Quran every night for a good few months now (a promise I made to myself - if I'm going to spend time reading, I may as well read the REALLY 'good books'), I am not certain if I qualify as a true 'believer', at least not by the standards set in the Quran. Growing up, I was told (mostly by mis-informed religious teachers) that anyone who is not a Muslim will never find salvation in the hereafter. A decade later, although there's still much trace of rusty religious ideologies that I need to scrape off of my mind, I know this opinion is wrong. It's too black and white. I used to be black or white in my own opinion of things, but not anymore.
One thing you'll notice in reading the Quran is that certain things are often repeated. And one of the things I keep coming across is the idea that the Lord is Just and Fair. Allah deals with all his creations justly, not an atom of deed (good or bad) escapes the Lord and every deed will be rewarded (or punished) accordingly. Being born a Muslim does not guarantee one salvation in the hereafter, and NOT being born a Muslim (or not being a Muslim) does not guarantee that one will NOT find salvation in the hereafter.
A man lives his life not going to church even a single day, but is kindly to his neighbours, charitable and does a lot of good deeds - do you think the Lord will forsake his soul in the hereafter?
A man prays five times a day, reciting the prayers in Arabic - a language he doesn't speak nor understand - wears a beard like the Prophet did, but loudly condemns those who do not pray five times a day, breates his parents, envies his neighbours good fortune, makes excuses during the fasting month and is niggardly when it comes to charity - do you thin the Lord will most certainly accept his soul for salvation?
The truth is, none of us know, none of us can be certain. This knowledge lay only with Allah. All we can do is try our best, strive for all things good and shun all things evil.
Does all this sound like a fairy-tale parable? Like an ancient lore that does not apply anymore in this day and age? Does it sound like fiction? Well, the Lord knew there will be among us who feel this way - it is pointed out in the Quran. Don't take my word for it though. Read it for yourself.
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