Thursday, November 27, 2008

God's Greeting

Before we make a speech, we say a greeting and the type of greeting made depends on the occasion whether it is formal or informal and it also depends on the type of audience in attendance.

Interestingly, in the Quran, God also greets His audience and the type of greeting He uses depends on who He is addressing. Below are examples of typical greetings:

1. Greeting the Muslims "O Believers.." (Ya ayuhalazi na amanu)
2. Greeting the people who received revelations: "O People of the Book" (Ya ahlil Kitab)
3. Greeting the Israelites: "O Children of Israel" (Ya Bani Israel)
4. Greeting people regardless of their religions "O Children of Adam" (Ya Bani Adam)
5. Greeting humanity: "O Mankind" (Ya ayuhan nas)

From these different greetings, we can conclude that God addresses every body and no one is left out. The message of God is universal. Muhammad is the only prophet entrusted to spread this universal message whereas previous prophets like Moses and Jesus were for the Children of Israel only

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