05 Sep 2022
Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! In a discussion forum, one person compared both Islam and Christianity in the following way shown in the table below: I request You to give a reply to it. At Your Lotus Feet-Anil
|
Muhammad … |
Jesus … |
|
Stoned women for adultery Muslims 4206 |
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone John 8:7 |
|
I have been commanded to fight against people till Muslims 1:33 |
He who lives by the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52 |
|
Permitted stealing from unbelievers. Bukhari 44:668, Ibn Ishaq 764 |
Thou shalt not steal. Mathew 19:18 |
|
Permitted lying. Sahih Muslims 6303, Bukhari 49:857 |
Thou shalt not bear falset witness. Matthew 19:18 |
|
Owned and traded slaves Sahih Muslim 3901 |
Neither owned nor traded slaves. |
|
Beheaded 800 Jewish men and boys. Abu Dawud 4390 |
Beheaded no one. |
|
Murdered those who insulted him. Bukhari 56:339, 4:241 |
Preached forgiveness. Matthew 18:21-22, 5:38 |
Swami Replied:
1) These two statements refer to different cases. The soul that is not reformed through any divine effort is punished by God so that there will be some temporary fear at least for some time. Moreover, such punishment acts as warning to other persons in discouraging them from doing the sin. The soul that is good and having every possibility for reformation must be excused and encouraged for reformation. In this way, two different rules exist for two different cases.
2) Again, these two different concepts refer two different cases. A soul may be reformed easily by preaching and in its case, the sword shall not be used in a hasty manner. Another soul like Duryodhana will not reform even though hundreds of sages including God Krishna preached a lot. In such a case, the sword is to be used to establish justice and to condemn injustice. If different religions are fighting with each other continuously making a continuous bloodshed, a final bloodshed is better to unite all the religions to come under one ultimate truth, which is that there is only one God, who can be called by any name.
3) Stealing from an unjust person, who stole from a good person is not a sin. After stealing from the unjust person, the stolen amount is given to a good person. But, you should not steal from a justified person. In this way, both rules apply to two different cases.
4) God is the owner and a devotee feels like a slave to God without any force. Slavery by force to serve a bad person as owner is to be condemned. Both rules are correct as per the case.
5) If the soul is not reformed, beheading a demon is good to protect the society. At the same time, you shall not behead a good person due to ego. Same as above.
6) Both preaching and forgiving are good as per the applicable contexts. The rules are made at a higher level by good spiritual scholars. When the rules are implemented, ignorant people misinterpret and implement with selfish fascinations. In order to escape from the sin, the misinterpretations are created so as to satisfy God. You may fool a human being by your clever misinterpretation, but not the omniscient God. The same God came in all the religions and spoke the scriptures. Even the most dull headed human being will not speak with self contradictions. In such case, will the omniscient God speak mutually contradicting statements?
★ ★ ★ ★ ★