Hi,
Do you know when muslims say or mention their prophet, they always say "Mohammed, peace be upon him". But , as a Christian, what should we say when we mention Mohammed's name in front of them??
If we just say "Mohammed" they get offended. I cannot say "peace be upon him" because i don't understand why i have to say that for, and I'm not at all sure whether Mo is really in peace or not at time of writing this question.
What do u all think?
Comments
and a person i know once told me you just say it to make ends meet the same way you'd say "Aleykom al Salam"
but personally i find a differnce between Peace be upon you......and Praying over a prophet, i personally dont believe in
so i just stay quiet.....i mean sure its awkward but they cant say im wrong for not saying it
the story by the way about saying PBUH is:
When Mohammed was speaking to God, they believe God told him that cursed be anyone who doesnt say PBUH after hearing your name.
As a side note they aslo says "3aley el salam" when talking bout other prophets.
someone ask H.H. about where El-Sha'rawee would be.
So H.H. answers in a very intelligent way. He says "With Muhamad his beloved."...hehe
get it?!!!!!
there is another nice 'nokta' but it's not good idea to say online.
Although, you should try to avoid the issue all together. It's nothing personal but as you Middle Easterners, including us, take their religion very seriously and is not a comfortable situation to get in to.
OTR, I don't say PBUH, I just say Mohammed and if I do say his name it will almost certainly be in a historical reference rather then a political or religous manner. You could however say to your friend Mohammed, "Salaam 3alek Mohammed." ;)
If you say PBUH, then you are profaning your own religion. Why should their be peace on something our faith says unequivocally is an enemy of God!
If anything, when they mention his name to you, they should say "Muhammad, may all the curses be upon him." But we love them, and understand their love for the one who taught them about a Being and Cause greater than their own, and we can share that feeling of having a purpose that is bigger than anyone of us.
But, love rejoices in truth (1 Cor. 13)- so to say PBUH is to lie to them, I feel.
When Pope Kyrillos went to see that person, don't think his Christianity also was left in the car- he did not confess that Muhammad was a prophet etc. No.
Secondly, the martyrs in whom we should emulate did not think it wrong not to go to the emperors and kings by their own resolve and confess the Name of Christ.
They definately get offended if u don't say "Prophet" mohammed.
I always say :"The Islamic Prophet Mohammed" - cos he sure aint our prophet!!
And i cannot say "PBUH" - because it is incompatible with my faith. THem asking me to say "Mohammed PBUH" would be the same as me asking them to say "Our Lord Jesus Christ, King and Saviour of us all".
This is what I would normally do. To call him "the Prophet of Islam" is, in the eyes of most Muslims, a respectful way to refer to him and you won't need to add the benediction "prayer and peace is upon him" in order to avoid offence. Of course, to a Christian, "Pophet of Islam" is "Prophet of heresy" and therefore not an honourable title at all.........win win situation ;)
Here's what I said to them:
There was story of a woman who's husband had turned miser and didnt want to spend any money on her. So mohammed said to her "take secretly what u need from your husband, but be fair".
THen mohammed said :"If you lie to make peace between peoples, then you are not a lier".
I gave these 2 examples and said :"U know, I find it hard to see where God is in all of this. Why didnt Mohammed ask the poor woman to pray?
You make peace through lying, yet where is God's grace in this story that shows how He can change the heart of men and make peace between people??
You've made peace between peoples using your own wisdom - where is God in this!?
In the Bible, we believe that through prayer and faith, God can work in our lives.
Abraham had a problem: he didnt have any kids in his old age - now, God told him that he would have children. But rather than depend on God, he slept Hagar his wife's servent. This caused a lot of bitterness between them. At the end, God blessed Sarah with a son anyway. So, its as if in the Koran, you solve all your problems WITHOUT God. Where is His hand in all these problems??
I know that H.H. did not leave his Christianity in the car...Obviously, he's the Pope, i was making a point that he was being humble and did not want to offend anyone by carrying his cross. Secondly, why in the world would you say: "Muhammad, may all curses be upon him"? why would you curse him even if you don't believe in him? God said to love your enemies as yourself and not to judge anyone. By saying, "Muhammad...curse be upon him" they will get offended for sure and may retaliate and say something about Jesus which you will not like. Just like you think that Jesus is our savior, they have something affiliated with their "prophet" Muhammad. And, if someone were to ever ask you about Muhammad or if it were to come up in a conversation, why would you just disregard that and bring up Jesus. What if you wanted to talk to someone about our God, and they brought up their god? how would that make you feel? I hope you're not offended by this. I do agree that we should not say PBUH. I would much rather say "Muhammad" alone without anything preceding the name, but I don't know if there is anything wrong with losing your pride to say "PBUH" just to satisfy them....let me know what you think.
I do agree that we should not say PBUH. I would much rather say "Muhammad" alone without anything preceding the name, but I don't know if there is anything wrong with losing your pride to say "PBUH" just to satisfy them....let me know what you think.
The words in themselves are harmless - we should wish for peace to be upon everyone, including our enemies - but when used in this way they have a very specific connotation that recognises him as a beloved messenger of God. It is the same phrase Muslims use to refer to our Lord Jesus Christ, Moses, Abraham, etc.
So it's not out of pride that we refuse to say PBUH when mentioning this heretic. It is out of love for the Truth; a Truth Muhammed wholly rejected in his 'recital.'
That being said, I agree that it would be wrong to wish evil to come upon him. There is a difference between stating that his heresy and lies will be the source of condemnation and to wish him to be condemned. The former is something done by numerous saints, the latter seems contrary to the teachings of our Lord.
As St. John Chrysostom says:
In Christ,
Anglian