I would like to share an excerpt a beloved sister sent me in regards to a conversation she had with someone wanting a synopsis on what Muslims believe. I found her answer to be perfect:

“I am a Muslim, I believe in the One God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus the Christ and Muhammad (pbuh).

“We believe that God is One, that He was not born from a woman, nor does He have children.

“He does not have any partner. We believe He is One.

“We believe that Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him) is a Prophet of the One God.

“We do not believe Jesus died for our sins. We believe each human being will stand before the One God on Judgement day and be held accountable for his/her sins committed on this Earth, in this life.”

I will further add that we do not celebrate Easter as we do not believe that Jesus was crucified, hence there was no resurrection.

The Koran reveals: “That they said (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.” (Koran 4:157)

The above surah clearly dispels the belief in the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. We believe Jesus is alive and that he never died, as Allah saved him from his would-be murderers.

We believe that Jesus will return to Earth to correct the things said about him, namely that he is god and the son of God. We believe that when Jesus returns, it will indicate for certain the last days.

Muslims love and revere Jesus; in fact, Jesus is mentioned 97 times in 93 verses of the Koran. Jesus is referred to as the Spirit of God at seven different times.

However, despite our differences, we as Muslims respect everyone’s beliefs. The Koran reminds us to kindly say to those whose beliefs differ from ours: “To you, your religion, and to me, mine.” (Koran, 109:6)

So on that note, continue to enjoy this period of time with friends and family, while focusing to be more like Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

We as Muslims strive to uphold the principles of Ramadan, which is now in it’s 19th day. As explained in previous articles, Ramadan is a time of fasting, restraint, reflection, devotion and extra prayers to name just a few of the virtues of this Holy month.

One act that we sincerely uphold is the performance of Taraweeh prayers, where every night after Isha prayer, at the Masjid, Muslims are led by the Imam or Hafiz (memoriser) of Koran, who recites the Koran, whilst performing many rakahs. Taraweeh prayers are only performed during Ramadan, usually performing one Juz per night which results in completing the entire recitation of the Koran by the by the end of Ramadan.

Fasting, worship, doing good deeds, being tolerant and forgiving with one another gives Ramadan a unique ambience indeed.

The purity of intentions together with comradeship and unity is so prevalent during Ramadan; this is what we profit in. The spirit of this Holy month is beautiful and should continue from Ramadan to Ramadan.

Ya Allah, make us among those who fast sincerely for Your sake. Please Allah, accept our worship and nights in prayer which we do in full submission. Keep us away from heedlessness and forgive us our sins. Ameen.

Bermuda, the struggle continues and we must continue to speak out against injustices, bombings and war crimes against innocent people around the globe. It is our duty as members of the human family to demand ceasefire now wherever countries are being bombarded. This is our fervent prayer.

As salaam alaikum (peace be unto you).

Ramadan Mubarak!

• 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