Indonesia prays to ...
Indonesia prays to ...
From Republika
Indonesia Prays, an event in which people of different faiths pray together, is a comical thought from the theological point of view because each religion has its own theological concept, which is quite distinct from that of other religions.
Christians have the concept of a trinity. The Christians' God has a Son. According to Matthew 3:17, (God's) voice from heaven proclaims that was His son, the one that He loved and that He allowed the Son (to be born into the world). In the Necaca congress in 325 AD there were two schools of thought: (1) the Arius school, claiming that God the Son (Jesus) was created by God the Father, and (2) the Athanasius school, saying that God the Father and God the Son were one and the same.
Muslims, meanwhile, believe that Isa (Jesus) was merely a prophet. The Holy Koran strongly criticizes the belief of the Christians, saying that those stating that God is actually Al Masih (the Messiah) are infidels. (QS 5:72).
Therefore, in a theological perspective, Christians and Muslims pray to "different Gods". While Christians pray to a childless God and God as a child. Meanwhile, in the event referred to earlier, Muslims praying along with the people of different creeds is rather ridiculous, isn't it?
Then there is a difference in the theological concept between religions believing in one God only and those believing in gods. Since the third century BC, Hinduism has placed its belief in three gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma created this world, Vishnu looks after it and Shiva can destroy it.
In the perspective of Islam, a prayer is a practice of religious service with a tightly arranged procedure. In a hadith narrated by Imam Turmudzi, Prophet Muhammad SAW mentioned a prayer as munkhkhul ibadah (the essence of a religious service). Prophet Muhammad SAW also said that "a prayer was itself a religious service" (HR Ibnu Hibban). Meanwhile, Al Hakim narrated a hadith mentioning a prayer as "the sword of a mukmin, a believer (shilahul mu'min).
Allah and His Prophet arrange tightly the procedure for a prayer. When and how long a prayer is made is also arranged in Islam. There is also a rule about when a prayer is considered mustajab efficacious and also about who will be considered to have their prayers fulfilled (makbul). Therefore, allow me to inquire whether there is a "yellow book" telling people to go to a field to pray together and invite the figures of other religions to ensure that the prayer will be fulfilled.
How will the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and Muslim kyai (clerics) respond to this matter? If we are really sincere in praying for the safety of the nation, it would be better for the kyai to call on Muslims to adhere to Allah's rules and perform shalat tahajud, a special prayer to ask Allah to grant something, undertake sunnah fasting and sincerely pray in their own homes at the time of sahur, the meal eaten before daybreak during the fasting month!
ADIAN HUSAINI
Jakarta