Ignorance about faiths other than Christianity runs deep in America.

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It's only natural to ask questions like why would God, especially a merciful, loving God, allow this or that horrible thing to happen. The problem with the answers we usually arrive at is that we really cannot know; and, indeed, it may well be that such questions make no sense from the point of view of God.

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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.

It is related in Sahih Muslim.

In keeping with the theme of the week, here is the story of Jesus as found in the Qur'an. The story is told in several places, with a slightly different focus -- one place talks more about him speaking from the cradle, another focuses more on his death. This selection is more encompassing -- describing the totality of his life.

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While it's not nice to speak ill of the dead, I have to say that Jerry Falwell was one of the pivotal figures in what I consider a terrible turn in American politics -- the (most recent) attempt to include religion in legislative matters.

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I have always been touched by this affirmation that God does not burden us beyond what we can bear and the following supplication, found in the final verse of the second chapter of the Qur'an.

2:268 God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear; each gains whatever good it has done, and suffers its own bad. Say, "Our Lord! Do not take us to task if we forget or make mistakes. Our Lord! Do not burden us a you burdened those before us. Our Lord! Do not burden us with more than we have the strength to bear. Pardon us. Forgive us. Have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so help us with those who deny faith.

Life is good. That about sums it up. There are many ways in which life can be good, and I have been blessed with quite a few of them.

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While Hitchens and I would disagree about the existence of a God, I do believe that religion (or lack thereof) is created anew by each individual as s/he navigates her or his own faith course.

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