Prayer for Love and Mercy

 I have come to Islam while believing in Buddhism and Christianity, but I wondered if that was alright, if I could call myself a Muslim. When I asked Muhammad about this, he said something to the effect of: "If you absolutely cannot agree with me, then at least say you believe in God. Just say you have entrusted everything to God." I believe that's what he said in the Quran. As I mentioned before, God has sealed the holy scriptures for me, so I cannot quote that exact passage, but I think the final point was that all you need to do is believe in God, that you entrust everything to God, and that's enough. In other words, Islam is "Believing in God" And a Muslim is "Someone who has entrusted everything to God" That's my personal interpretation. In other words, Islam isn't just one religion among Buddhism, Christianity, or Hinduism. For me, God and Buddha are one, so believing in Buddha, believing in God in Christianity or Judaism—that is, bel...

 It's customary for Muslims to add "Insha'Allah (God willing)" to the end of their promises or when talking about the future, and I think this is a great idea. I think this is something that everyone, even non-Muslims, and indeed all living beings, should say. Whenever someone expresses optimistic aspirations for the future like, "I will do this!" I always think, "What an irresponsible thing to say! It's like they're in control of the future. You're free to express your hopes, but how do you know they're in line with God's will? Don't you understand that nothing that doesn't conform to God's will will ever come true?" These encouraging words are everywhere, like "humans can do anything if they try" and "our possibilities are endless," but whenever I hear them, I can see the underlying human arrogance, the arrogance that forgets God and thinks humans control the world. If it's not in line with ...

 In Christianity, Christ's atonement is necessary to cleanse original sin, but what about Islam? What exactly is original sin? Is it rebelling against God? Is that why Muslims pray five times a day? If they pray five times a day, original sin would be cleansed as soon as it arises, and it wouldn't have time to function. Plus, Muslims say "Insha'Allah" all the time. This supposedly means "if God wills," and in everyday conversation, they always add "Insha'Allah" when making promises. This means "God's will is placed above human free will." That means there's no way to rebel against God. In other words, every time a Muslim says "Insha'Allah," God smiles and original sin is cleansed. At least, that's how I interpret it. So it's impossible not to be saved through Islam. Guided by love and compassion ← 　 →

 I'm thinking about going from Christianity to Islam soon, and one of the differences I personally feel between Christianity and Islam is regarding miracles. Or rather, perhaps I should say the difference is in how miracles are treated in the Bible, Quran, and Hadith. In conclusion, Christianity, or rather the Bible, has many descriptions of miracles, and I feel that they are used as a sign of proof of God's existence. On the other hand, Islam, or rather the Quran and Hadith, do not use miracles to strengthen faith. So, to me, Islam feels like an "evolved" religion. What exactly is a "miracle"? I acknowledge that everything is possible for God. If that's the case, then everything God does is simply what He had to do, and there's nothing that could be called a "miracle." Humans call something a "miracle" because the phenomenon is incomprehensible to them at the time; it's simply a reflection of human ignorance. In other words, ...

 Last time I thought about immigration, and I think it can be categorized into a few patterns. First, there are those who flee for their lives after being persecuted in their home country. These are so-called refugees. Then there are those who reach poverty in their home country and head for a new land. Then there are those who emigrate to wealthier countries, not necessarily because they're struggling, but in search of a better standard of living. There are also those who venture out into the world because their home country isn't enough to allow them to maximize their abilities. Finally, there are those who leave their current homeland simply because they're attracted to new, unknown worlds. I guess you could call it the adventurous type. In reality, it's likely that several of these patterns are mixed together. But life forms migrate first and foremost, searching for their own survival. Then they migrate in order to prosper even more than they are now. And finally, l...

 With the current debate about immigration brewing in America, Japan, and around the world, I couldn't help but think about it. This is a bit of a digression from the religious path I was planning to discuss. (It's hard to go from Christianity to Islam.) What exactly is an immigrant? Aren't we immigrants? Where did we come from? From God. That aside, analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggests that modern humans originated from a single African woman. Mitochondria are inherited only maternal-line, and can be traced back to a single woman. She was called Eve, and she apparently lived in East Africa. In other words, Homo sapiens' roots are in East Africa. From there, humanity spread throughout the world. In other words, everyone except Africans is an immigrant. After all, even those who shout anti-immigration have immigrant roots. So, what's the difference? "We came here earlier." That's it. In other words, they arrived relatively early. Whether someone is an...