their desire with their duty to God. If we Muslims would celebrate Christmas, it
would be called an innovation. An innovation is something Allah disapproves of
because it is not permitted or mentioned in the Qur’an. An innovation is considered a
great sin in Islam because it is like disobeying Allah. Do you know what the word
Muslim really means, Su?
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Yes, it means total submission to the will of Allah.
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Do you know where these laws are collected, Su?
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Yes, in the Qur’an, and the Sunnah, i.e., in our holy book and in the actions of
prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that people have precisely recorded 15
centuries ago. Muhammad was a model for all Muslims so whatever he did was the
best!
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That’s right, Su. I see you remember this part very well. So, Muslims follow those
two written records in everything: law, personal behavior, economics, politics, etc.
And do you know why they were written and well preserved and unchanged for
centuries, Su?
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To make sure everybody does the same things?
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Sort of! Mostly to ensure peace and balance inside the Muslim community, and to
make sure our religion is kept pure, and also to make certain Muslims remain just,
equitable in any affairs, even with strangers and people of other religions.
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Mom? How come Christians have invalidated their religion by mixing pagan beliefs
with religious beliefs?
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See, Su, it began a long time ago, at a time called the Middle Ages, in Europe. There
was a hierarchy in the church who ruled the Christian affairs. This hierarchy had
people at its head who wanted to have power and gain money. In order to realize
their goals, they began to innovate and create new laws. The hierarchy of priests is an
innovation by itself, as well as the existence of the Pope, or even the trinity.
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What is the trinity, mom?
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The trinity is the belief that there are 3 gods in one. In France, big meetings were
held to determine whether Christ was a god or a part of God, or the son of God. The
losers were burned alive!
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So, all these people innovated new laws, mom?
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Yes. They asked people to pay cash for a piece of paper destined to forgive their sins.
The church soon created intermediaries or priests who would give you absolution or
pardon. People would tell them their intimate sins and the priests would punish them
by giving them verses to recite or painful punitive acts they had to inflict upon
themselves. For instance, they liked to walk for miles on their knees or to whip
themselves. Actually, priests controlled people that way. So, nobody addressed God
directly for pardon; they asked the advise of men who did not know much than you
and me about God’s decisions and they would pray to dead people they called saints
for help. They placed intermediaries between themselves and God, as if God did not
know what was in their heart!
Towards the 17th century, a group of people began to react to these abuses. They
claimed that the Bible was falsified and was interpreted wrongly by the church. In
fact, the Bible was translated in Latin at a time very few people could read or write
and less knew Latin. Furthermore, the monks who copied these translations that went
through many translations before that, these monks added words or meaning to the
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