'O God, carry us in the ships of Thy deliverance, give us to enjoy the pleasure of whispered prayer to Thee, make us drink at the pools of Thy love, let us taste the sweetness of Thy affection and nearness, allow us to struggle in Thee, preoccupy us with obeying Thee, and purify our intentions in devoting works to Thee, for we exist through Thee and belong to Thee, and we have no one to mediate with Thee but Thee!' Imam Sajjad ('A); Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

Sunday 19 August 2007

A good parable explaining God to non-Muslims‏

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. Barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of ALLAH, the barber said: 
"I don't believe that ALLAH exists."
Why do you say that?" asked the customer
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that ALLAH doesn't exist. Tell me, if ALLAH exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If ALLAH existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving ALLAH who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbers shop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair & an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! ALLAH, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."


QUESTION: What is the difference between nature and God? If we sow a seed then the tree of that particular seed grows. Then what did God do in that case? Similarly, in the case of rain. We know the procedure of rain. Then what’s the work of God?   
ANSWER: When you take a car (in perfect condition), put in petrol and switch the engine on, it starts running. Then what did the Ford or Nissan or Mitsubishi Company does in this case?  You know the process how the said engine works, then what's the work of its manufacturer?

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