Muhammad

[Islam means, “surrender to God.” When we surrender ourselves fully, there is nothing but God: not even a “there”; not even an “is”; not even a “God.”]
I like how it said that Islam is “surrender to God.” I think it is natural for everyone to dislike the idea of completely giving themselves up for something like religion. We want to do whatever we feel like and whenever we want. I wonder if anyone could COMPLETELY surrender themselves to God. It definitely would be an ongoing daily challenge. Some days a person would be more “surrendered” than others. That concept reminds me of the reading, “The Cloud of the Unknowing,” which talked about giving your full focus to God in prayer. It said that having our whole focus on God would be pleasing to God. When we surrender ourselves fully to something, it becomes our life. Whatever we surrender ourselves to, we see it in everything. So I guess it makes sense to say that we should be surrendered to God. He would then be on our minds everyday and we would view everything with God in mind. I think when the reading says that “When we surrender ourselves fully, there is nothing but God,” it means that God receives a form of worship at all times. This reading (Muhammad) surprisingly sounds very similar to Christianity partially because the same concept of surrendering yourself to God is a major part of Christianity. I have always heard Islam, Judaism, and Christianity grouped together in one category. I understand the similarities and links between Judaism and Christianity. As far as Islam goes, it sounded like the only similarity between Christianity was the belief in one God. Growing up I have always been taught that (either directly or at least hinted at) that Christianity has a God of love that people happily followed while Islam has a God of violence that people followed in fear. As I get older and learn more, I know that the differences between the two are not simply that black and white. I know that I do have a lot more to learn about Islam.