bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Fasting…Without Grace

There is often a debate in Western nations regarding celebrating Christian holidays. For instance, should one wish a stranger “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” since you do not know if that individual celebrates Christmas? Although you could offend someone by failing to guess their preferred greeting somehow, you do not have to fear punishment. The same is not true for non-Muslims and even moderate Muslims during Ramadan in some Islamic nations.

Pakistan enacted the Ehtram-e-Ramazan ordinance in 1981, prohibiting anyone from eating in public places during fasting hours. If someone breaks the law, they can be fined and/or jailed for three months. In addition, the person serving someone breaking the Ramadan fast can also be fined and/or jailed. Keep in mind Muslims must abstain from both food and water during daylight hours, even when Ramadan occurs during hot weather. In 2013, a man who violated the ordinance for selling the food “paan” was sentenced to five days in prison, but it took him six years to finally get out of jail.

In July 2014, two Iranian men were flogged in public for eating during the fasting hours. The police chief of Iran’s Fars Province said that eating in public is a crime forbidden by Islamic law and that police will act against violators. Each of the men received 80 lashes.

This year, in Nigeria, the Islamic police, known as Hisbah, arrested eleven Muslims for eating during the fasting hours. Other nations that have penalties against eating or drinking during the day in Ramadan include Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. Punishments in those nations range from flogging in Saudi Arabia to fines and imprisonment. Some laws apply only to Muslims, but others apply to everyone.

Azad, an anonymous Pakistani ex-Muslim, writes, “Over the past few years, religious intolerance has grown in Pakistan. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is an Islamist extremist political party founded in 2015 that has become more and more prominent. This party openly calls for the murder of apostates and even for the execution of Muslims who commit acts deemed by the TLP as unIslamic. Ex-Muslims and religious minorities like Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus are all living in a state of constant fear as the Islamists grow in numbers and influence. During Ramadan, even non-Muslims are forced to remain hungry and thirsty because they fear Muslim majoritarianism.”

PRAYER

Muslims are ending this 30-day fast on Tuesday evening, April 9. Imagine fasting for 30 days during daylight hours without food and water, and in many places in the world, eating a morsel of food during daylight hours could bring severe punishment. This past week, a boy was beaten in a Chicago, Illinois, mosque because he was eating food in the bathroom. Muslims live under a strict law, with no grace given.

Thank God, as believers in Christ, we have been saved by grace and serve a God of grace and mercy. As we pray for Muslims:

  • Ask our Lord to give the Muslim people a revelation of His grace in the months to come, an understanding that Jesus longs to pour out His grace in every area of their lives, and give them a revelation of the wonders of His eternal love, bringing them to salvation in Christ!
bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Islam’s Works: Shahada

Islam is a works-based religion. To go to paradise, Muslims need to adhere to all of the five pillars, and even then, their ultimate fate is up to the will of Allah.

Ramadan is only one of the five pillars of Islam. These pillars are five basic acts considered mandatory by Muslims. A list of the pillars is found in the hadith, (Sahih al-Bukhaari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 8):

Allah’s Messenger said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):

  1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
  2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
  3. To pay Zakat (i.e., obligatory charity).
  4. To perform Hajj. (i.e., Pilgrimage to Mecca)
  5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.

The first pillar is a confession of faith called the shahada. The confession must be declared in Arabic and be said with conviction and an understanding of its meaning. The first part, “there is no god but Allah,” declares that only Allah can be worshipped, and that Allah has no partner or son. The second part declares that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It should be noted that you do not become a Muslim by simply pronouncing the words in Arabic. The oral declaration is a reflection of belief that is held in one’s heart.

The complete “shahada” does not appear in the Qur’an. It is actually found in Sura 9:31 and in Sura 33:40. As soon as a baby is born into a Muslim family, these words are whispered into his ears, and if possible, a Muslim is encouraged to repeat the words as he is dying.

PRAYER

It is helpful for us to be reminded that they become Muslims by their works, Thank God,  Christians receive salvation through faith in Christ. 

The Islamic religion requires Muslims to pray five times a day. In an Islamic nation (and even in a few American cities), they hear the call to pray from loudspeakers at the mosque five times a day. A man 50 years old has listened to this piercing call 90,000 times. The power of repetition is deceptive. Repeating a doctrine that many times becomes ingrained in the mind and is perceived as truth. Even with all this, they still feel empty and alone! Muslims need a relationship with Jesus to fill that void. 

God says to take every thought captive to the light and obedience of Christ. Pray for Muslims that the truth of Christ will prevail over this deception.

bestcurrentnews 2023 Ramadan Prayer

10 Things the Qur’an Says About Christians

The Qur’an has much to say about Christians. 

  1. Christians believe in three gods and should be punished for their belief. Sura 5:73: “They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’ And there is not god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. 
  1. Christians are deluded and should be destroyed. Sura 9:30: “The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’; and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?”
  1. Christians believe in idols and false gods. Sura 4:51: “Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in superstition and false objects of worship and say about the disbelievers, ‘These are better guided than the believers as to the way’”
  1. Christians are defiantly disobedient. Sura 5:59: “Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, do you resent us except [for the fact] that we have believed in Allah and what was revealed to us and what was revealed before and because most of you are defiantly disobedient’”
  1. Christians hid and overlooked their scriptures. Sura 5:15: “O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger making clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book.”
  1. Allah has stirred up hatred and animosity among Christians. Sura 5:14: “And from those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that which they were reminded. So We caused among them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. And Allah is going to inform them about what they used to do.”
  1. Allah has cursed Christians. Sura 4:52: “Those [Christians and Jews] are the ones whom Allah has cursed; and he whom Allah curses – never will you find for him a helper.”
  1. Christians will burn in hell. Sura 5:72: “They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary’ while the Messiah has said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers and helpers.”
  1. Muslims cannot be friends of Christians. Sura 5:51: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.”
  1. Christians must believe what Allah revealed to Muhammad or they are cursed. Sura 4:47: “O you who were given the Scripture, believe in what We have sent down [to Muhammad], confirming that which is with you, before We obliterate faces and turn them toward their backs or curse them as We cursed the sabbath-breakers. And ever is the decree of Allah accomplished.”

PRAYER POINT:

Although most people believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God, Islam is the opposite of Christianity. As we are nearing the end of Ramadan for this year, we must see Muslims through the eyes of Jesus and continue all year to pray for their salvation. They will be lost eternally unless they realize that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We remember that Jesus instructed Christians to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). May God use our prayers to bring change to lives around the world for His glory!

bestcurrentnews 2023 Ramadan Prayer

The Basis of Faith

Both Christianity and Islam have foundational texts. For Christians, it is the Bible; for Muslims, it is primarily the Qur’an. 

Christians believe that God gave the Bible through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to more than forty authors. These authors wrote over an almost 1600-year period from three continents in three languages. Despite being written by different authors, the Bible does not contradict itself, and external texts are not necessary to practice Christianity.

The words of the Bible have been well preserved. Israel’s religious leaders created a system to ensure the accuracy of copies of the Old Testament through meticulous proofreading techniques. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between the years of 1947 and 1956, are in substantial agreement with the Old Testament throughout the generations proving that the text has been preserved and kept the same. The accuracy of the New Testament is proven through dated copies and writings of the Church fathers. In fact, these writings contain over 38,000 quotations from the New Testament, making it possible to reconstruct the entire New Testament minus 11 verses.

In Islam, the Qur’an is considered to be the actual words of Allah dictated to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a 23-year period. Muhammad recited these words to his followers and instructed them to write them down on various materials such as palm leaves, bones, and stones. The words were assembled into the Qur’an after Muhammad’s death. This resulted in different versions of the Qur’an. The differences sometimes slightly affected the meaning but did not change the basic ideas of the Qur’an. Almost twenty years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Uthman established a committee to produce an official version of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an’s chapters (or suras) are not in chronological order but are organized by length, starting with the longest, except for the opening chapter. It consists of 114 suras which read like an Arabic poem. Although the Qur’an has been translated into many languages, Muslims are encouraged to read and recite the Qur’an in Arabic, its original language. The Qur’an is also divided into thirty equal parts so that Muslims can read a portion each day during Ramadan.

The Qur’an states around ninety times that Muhammad is the perfect Muslim, so in order to properly practice Islam, a Muslim must worship Allah as Muhammad worshipped him, which is why external texts (the hadith and sira) are a vital part of Islam. The hadith are reports of Muhammad’s teachings, deeds, and sayings compiled generations after his death. As the Islamic website “whyislam” explains that without the hadith, the Qur’an does not make sense. The sıra is the biography of Muhammad. Together the hadith and sira make up the sunna (Muhammad’s way of life and legal precedent). If all a Muslim possessed was a Qur’an, he could not practice his religion.

PRAYER POINT:

  • By reading the Bible, we read words that bring God’s life into our hearts and understanding, bringing joy and peace. For Muslims, reading the Quran, which is more of a “duty,” does not bring hope and joy to their lives. Pray that during Ramadan, Muslims will be curious to see what is in the Bible, the true Word of God, and be drawn to read its life-changing message.