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