Asalaamu alaikum folks...
This is just a reminder that when we make dawah to Christians remember not all Christian groups are the same. This became evident to one of the brothers at my masjid, and I thought I should put it here as a caution.
This brother at my masjid is a student at a local city college. He was making dawah to a Christian fellow student. He told the Christian "in Islam we honor Mary as well". This offended the student & he walked off in a huff. Why? Because not all Christians agree with the way Mary is honored by other Christians. Catholics for example label Mary almost as the co-savior of Mankind. However to the other extreme, most Baptists know her name but that's about the limit of it.
Also, be careful with the term "Immaculate Conception". This is a Catholic term coined centuries ago to refer to the way MARY was conceived, not JESUS peace be upon him. I corrected a well-known Shaykh who said "In Islam, we believe in the Immaculate Conception..." No, we don't. Let me explain:
All Christians believe in the "Original Sin", and say that all Mankind is stained with this sin. Baptism erases that. However, in order for God to have been born as man and NOT be tainted with this "Original Sin", Mary had to have been cleansed of the Original Sin "retroactively" when she was conceived. Therefore, she was immaculately conceived and carried no original sin. Thus, the "Immaculate Conception". When I hear shuyuk say that we as Muslims believe in the "Immaculate Conception" I just cringe because that's them saying they believe that Mary was wiped free of the Original Sin - something not taught in Islam. The well-known Shaykh got very nasty when I corrected him and started arguing about the virgin birth of Isa, saying that that was an "immaculate conception" as well. My argument in return is that ANY child conceived in halal means by a husband and wife is "immaculate", as the act between a husband and wife is sanctified by Allah. The conception of Isa (peace be upon him) was miraculous, but not any more "immaculate" (in Islamic terms) than had Mary been legally wedded.
So with that being said... it would be best (at first) to avoid any mention of Mary when doing dawah to a Christian unless you know for certain that he or she is Catholic, or of one of the offshoots of Catholicism. Otherwise it may backfire like it did to my brother!
Allahu alim
D.
This is just a reminder that when we make dawah to Christians remember not all Christian groups are the same. This became evident to one of the brothers at my masjid, and I thought I should put it here as a caution.
This brother at my masjid is a student at a local city college. He was making dawah to a Christian fellow student. He told the Christian "in Islam we honor Mary as well". This offended the student & he walked off in a huff. Why? Because not all Christians agree with the way Mary is honored by other Christians. Catholics for example label Mary almost as the co-savior of Mankind. However to the other extreme, most Baptists know her name but that's about the limit of it.
Also, be careful with the term "Immaculate Conception". This is a Catholic term coined centuries ago to refer to the way MARY was conceived, not JESUS peace be upon him. I corrected a well-known Shaykh who said "In Islam, we believe in the Immaculate Conception..." No, we don't. Let me explain:
All Christians believe in the "Original Sin", and say that all Mankind is stained with this sin. Baptism erases that. However, in order for God to have been born as man and NOT be tainted with this "Original Sin", Mary had to have been cleansed of the Original Sin "retroactively" when she was conceived. Therefore, she was immaculately conceived and carried no original sin. Thus, the "Immaculate Conception". When I hear shuyuk say that we as Muslims believe in the "Immaculate Conception" I just cringe because that's them saying they believe that Mary was wiped free of the Original Sin - something not taught in Islam. The well-known Shaykh got very nasty when I corrected him and started arguing about the virgin birth of Isa, saying that that was an "immaculate conception" as well. My argument in return is that ANY child conceived in halal means by a husband and wife is "immaculate", as the act between a husband and wife is sanctified by Allah. The conception of Isa (peace be upon him) was miraculous, but not any more "immaculate" (in Islamic terms) than had Mary been legally wedded.
So with that being said... it would be best (at first) to avoid any mention of Mary when doing dawah to a Christian unless you know for certain that he or she is Catholic, or of one of the offshoots of Catholicism. Otherwise it may backfire like it did to my brother!
Allahu alim
D.