Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 109
109 Your deeds depend on your intentions. When Peter the apostle inquired of Jesus how oft shall my brother sin, and I forgive him? Till seven times? 31 Hence the Bible teaches us to forgive our brothers' sin for at least seventy times. If men out of their compassion and mercy can repeatedly forgive those who sin against them, without punishment, why will it be unjust if God, the Merciful God, out of His unlimited mercy and grace, forgives those who sin against Him, without punishment? The true way for forgiveness of sin is repentance, as taught by all the divine prophets. Ezekiel, the Prophet, was commanded by God: 32 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him; in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live". The Bible again emphasizes that humility, prayer, the seeking of God's face and the forsaking of the ways of wickedness and unrighteousness are the means by which sins might be forgiven. 33, 34 God says in the Holy Quran, concerning the sinners: 35 They will be saved from punishment, those who repent and believe and do good deeds; these are they of whom Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful". One point that Christians raise in discussion is that animal sacrifices (referring to the Muslim practice of sacrificing animals on Eid) are less desirable for the redemption of sins. They do not understand that animal sacrifice by Muslims have nothing to do with the redemption of sins. That occasion is to commemorate the great sacrifice that Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael were prepared to offer in response to God's wishes. Having misunderstood the reason behind the Muslim sacrifice, they claim that God gave the ultimate sacrifice of his son to redeem mankind. Had they fully understood the significance of the Muslim practice, they would not have drawn such blatantly incorrect comparisons. God Himself says in the Quran that he does not get any benefit from animal sacrifices by humans. 36 A related but apparently extraneous point needs to be explained here. Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son to demonstrate his ultimate obedience. Abraham and his son willingly submitted themselves to God's commandment and God, out of His mercy, spared the child's life and had it replaced by an animal. The point of difference between the three faiths is on who the son was. Muslims believe it was Ishmael, while the Jews and Christians believe it was Isaac. Again, according to the Biblical teachings explained earlier, Ishmael was Abraham's only son for 14 years before Isaac was born. Hence, Isaac was never the only son of Abraham. Secondly, the Jews are known to preserve their religion's traditions and it is incomprehensible to assume that they would choose to overlook this ultimate act