In the few weeks of my effort to reach out to Muslims I spoke to a few at the Mosque. Most Muslims are happy to share their belief however the prevailing theme in Islam is that there are no assurance of salvation. There is salvation in Islam when one becomes a Muslim, takes part in Hajj, Jihad, etc, but the salvation is only temporary, which means sins are only forgiven up to the point of the event. So it means if you are a new Muslim then you die, you go to heaven, assuming you didn’t commit a sin (and missing a prayer on purpose is a sin in Islam, the five daily prayer are required). It also means that there really is no way of knowing if you are going to heaven or hell because Allah ultimately decides on that matter by weighing your sins and good deeds, and that not even Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, is assured of salvation! It really gets scary because if this is true, then it’s probably better for a Muslim to die an untimely death right after taking the shahada (the oath taken to enter into Islam) since all sins are forgiven but even suicide is a sin in Islam. Therefore in short there are no salvation in Islam and every Muslim lives in the constant fear of not knowing if he or she is saved, whether they know it or not. Furthermore, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse in the eyes of Allah if sins are committed, therefore many Muslims could be sinning and not know it!
Christianity is not a religion, nor is it a religion of rights and wrongs. God sent us the law to let us know that we may never live up to that expectation and since we desired to know good and evil (by eating that fruit), God had to give us the law anyways. The law however only brings death and it shows that we can never save ourselves by our own good deeds or some event that “promises” salvation temporarily. However God himself was born as a man, lived a holy life, and yet was obedient even unto death on the cross, so that we may be saved through grace, justified by what God did on the cross rather than what we “earned” from our good deeds.
Please pray for the Muslim world wide to discover this fact, that may the Lord reveal the truth to every Muslim as they pray five times a day to a God that is only the same as our God by name, but not by attribute, the friday prayer, the two eid festivals, and other events where Muslim gather in devotion to Allah. Please pray that the Lord will send out more willing workers to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and SE Asia and NW China where there are a majority of Muslims. Please pray that people will reach out to Muslims in your neighborhood, in fact if you see a Muslim please love them as Jesus has loved us, because they do not know of a God who loves them and your love will break down any walls they put up against Westerners (whom they perceive as enemies). Remember even if the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Issac are destined to fight each other, God still has a promise for both of them, and Jesus died on the cross for them as much as for you. Please do not marginalize Muslims wherever you see them, love them because the greatest weapon they have against us is the fact that we have not shown them any love.
Finally pray for the soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan but also that God may use them to reach out to the Muslims as well.
