“And tell my servants that they should speak in a kind manner (unto those who do not share their beliefs). Verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men; for verily, Satan is man’s foe … Hence, We have not sent you (unto men O Prophet) with power to determine their faith.” — Koran, 17:53, 54

Subhan’Allah! (Glorious is God!). Indeed the above verse speaks clearly on the matter of sharing different faiths without allowing discord between men. Allah says in the Holy Koran, Surah 49:13: “O mankind, indeed we have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is knowing and acquainted.”

My dear sister in Islam, Safiyyah Salaam, wrote the following article after listening to a talk on faith, and has allowed me to share it through this medium. I pray you will gain insight from it. Ameen.

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With the name of Allah, the beneficent, the most merciful; all praise is due to Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of all the systems of knowledge.

I listened to the gentleman’s talk about faith and it makes me ask the question … what is faith? Faith is belief in the unseen. Muslims, Christians and Jews are the three faith-based religions. Although we worship differently and call the Creator by different names, our core values are the same.

As a Muslim, I believe in the one God who has no partners. He is the Supreme Being. I believe in all the books, the angels and predestination (life after death). So we try to live a life pleasing to the Almighty. We try not to judge anyone … we leave judgment to All God. In the Koran [42:13,14] Allah says, “He decreed for you the same religion decreed for Noah, and what we inspired to you, and what we decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: You shall uphold this one religion, and do not divide it.”

“Ironically, they broke up into sects only after the knowledge had come to them, due to jealousy and resentment among themselves. If it were not for a predetermined decision from your Lord to respite them for a definite interim, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the later generations who inherited the scripture are full of doubts.”

I found the footnote very interesting. It states faith, duty, religion … not a matter to dispute about the very principle of religions [which] is unity. What we should strive for is steadfastness in duty and faith and unity among mankind, unity, unselfishness, love of God and man.

These things are inconsistent with self-aggrandisement, unjust suppression of our fellow creatures, false worship and false conduct to our brethren. Hence, the Gospel of Unity is in complete accord with the pure pattern God made [and] is hard for the egotistic. But grace is free to all. He specifically selects teachers to show the way to humanity and no one who turns to Him will lack guidance. God gives us time to repent.

Islam came at a time when warring Christians and Jews were at war and united the two. The more sectarianism and division there is in the world, the more the need is for the Gospel of Unity. The mission of Islam is further described. The God whom it preaches is not an exclusive God. He is the Lord of the worlds to any given person of whatever faith. He is your God as well as mine.

Our faith is not a question of words, it is deeds that decide. Each one of us is responsible for our own conduct. There is no course for contention when we preach unity, truth and hereafter.

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Surely to gain understanding and live in peace we must remember God’s words: “Say: O ye that reject faith! I worship not that which ye worship, nor will ye worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship, nor will ye worship that which I worship. To you be your way, and to me mine.” Surah 109:1-6

Bermuda, let us always practise unity among ourselves with mutual dignity and respect despite our differences because really we are more alike than different. Have a blessed week. As salaam alaikum.

• Linda Walia Ming is a member of the Bermuda Hijab Dawah Team, a group of Muslim women who reside in Bermuda and have a goal of educating the community about the religion of Islam