The articles Mercy the Stamp of Creation” and One God, Many Names are written by Abd-Allah Umar Faruq, they both look into the religion of Muslims. Even though they are written by the same writer, they have some differences in the way they approach religion. There are also several similarities. This paper takes a comparison between the two articles.
In the article Mercy, the Stamp of Creation, the religion of Islam is considered as a religion of peace. There is a lot of emphasis on the meaning of religion. The word Islam means entering into peace. This portrays the religion as having had its strongholds in peace development. Just like the religion of Christianity puts more emphasis on love, Prophet Muhammad, who is the main character, puts more emphasis on mercy. He was the last and greatest of God’s messengers, who were mandated to continue the works of Abraham, Jesus, and Mosses. He preached to people to have mercy on each other. He did emphasize the need for mercy to the less fortunate in society. This goes in line with the strongholds of the religion, which is peace. The religion calls their God Allah, this means God, the true God. The character of the lord is that of peace and mercy. The article recognizes Allah as the primary name of God. It tends to illustrate that the name of the lord illustrates who He is and defines the religion, He is seen as the peaceful one and one who is merciful. The name of God either in the Muslim or other religion is respected. The article finds that the ideology that either Christianity or Muslim derived the name was the same or similar. This is so in that, the Biblical Elohîm (God) and h¥-Elôh (the true God) of Moses and the Hebrew prophets or the Aramaic Al¥h¥ (God, the true God) of Jesus and John the Baptist the recognition of the supremacy of the lord is recognized1. From the spirit of the article then it can be derived that the God that either the Muslims or the Christianity worship is the same.
On the other hand, the article “one God Many Names”, elaborates that the Gods worshiped by the Christians and Muslims are different. It aims to look at which of the God is more superior to the other. Though the articles have this controversy, they both recognize that Allah is a unique name that is accorded to the lord. In the article “One God, Many Names”, the recognition of the religion is vested in the life of Abraham. It recognizes that all Islam should be guided by the life of early prophets like Isaac, Mosses, and Abraham. The article emphasizes living ethically like the lives of the early prophets of God. The word name is seen as the most beautiful name in the two articles.
Similarities
Both the articles recognize God as the most supreme creature in the life of the Muslim. It is seen as the most beautiful name that is reserved for him. “As for our English word “God,” it reflects such primordial roots, belongs to the treasury of ancient divine names, and is among the most expressive designations of the Supreme Being”( Abd-Allah, “one God many names”, 3). He is the most powerful creature who is responsible for creating the earth and heaven. The earth is where we live but one day if we maintain the faith and act according to the will of God, we will rejoice in heaven with Him. They also recognize Him as the all-merciful God. He expects humankind to emulate Him in today’s life. “God’s signature in creation is linked to a law of universal reciprocity: Mercy will be shown to the merciful, and it will be withdrawn from the merciless”.
They both recognize the works of early prophets in developing religion. They specifically recognize the work of Abraham, Mosses, Isaac, and Jesus. The power of God is seen as incomparable. He is seen as one who the early prophets served and today’s people have no alternative than to follow his teaching. The early prophets were seen as the ones who were to ensure that religion and respect is accorded to God.
Differences
The article “one God, many names” recognizes the name God as the only true name of God whereas the article on “Mercy the Stamp of Creation” recognizes Allah as the supreme and most beautiful name of the creator. It also recognizes Islam as the only faith that represents perfect peace. Abd-Allah recognizes Mohammad as the greatest prophet, “According to Islamic revelation, Muhammad was the last and greatest of God’s messengers, fulfilling the legacy of the Biblical and extra-Biblical prophets and confirming the teachings of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus” (“Mercy the stamp of creation”, 2). The article “One God many names” recognizes Abraham as the greatest prophet and father of the region. The author observes that Islamic scripture repeatedly declares the belief that Islam symbolizes a perfect model of Abraham dispensation to the God Abraham, he also stated that “It instructs Muslims to declare their allegiance to Abraham’s God and his primordial teaching: “Say (all of you):” (p. 2).
In the article “One God, many names”, Adb-Allah observes how the Qur’an instructs the Muslims to acknowledge their God and the God of the other followers (like the Jews) as the same while in the article “mercy the stamp of creation” he observes that there is a difference between the two Gods but it is not clear who is supreme to the other2.
There is a direction that is taken by “Mercy the stamp of creation”; according to the article the Islam religion followers should be of current time in their way of doing things, by this the article portrays that even though the religion was affected by the early prophets their times is different than the current time; thus the most important thing is not living as they did but to uphold a life of peace and mercy in today’s life. It acknowledges the need for peace but they should not be taken for granted because of their belief. In circumstances that peace cannot be maintained, there is the use of other means to keep the peace. In the second article “One God, Many Name” there is a lot of emphasis that today’s Muslims should follow the teachings and the life of early prophets. The emphasis is that the life of today’s Muslims should be similar to that of the early prophets. There is not much recognition of the changing needs in life. As much as the two articles seem to have some differences the underlying factor is the supremacy of God; despite the differences, there is a general recognition that religion is one a strong aspect of human life. Whether one is a Christian or a Muslim, he can justify his stand, and thus the most important thing is to respect one’s ideologies.
Bibliography
- Abd-Allah Umar Faruq. “One God, Many Names.” A Nawawi Foundation Paper.
- Abd-Allah Umar Faruq. “Mercy, the Stamp of Creation.” A Nawawi Foundation Paper.
Footnotes
- Abd-Allah Umar Faruq. “Mercy the Stamp of Creation.” A Nawawi Foundation Paper.
- Abd-Allah Umar Faruq. “One God, Many Names.” A Nawawi Foundation Paper.