Monday, February 1, 2010

Islam’s River Analogy: Prayer Purifies

On multiple occasions Muslims have shared with me this analogy of the river to explain why they reject the idea that faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus makes us pure/clean before God: 

“What do you think if there was a river at the door of one of you in which he bathes five times a day: Does this leave any dirt on him?’ They answered, ‘Nothing is left.’ The Prophet (PBUH) said, ‘That is like the five prayers with which Allah remove sins.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

Read the whole post (very brief).

See also The Essence of Ramadan (and Islam) and Hajj Paves Way to Paradise for examples of how fasting and pilgrimage provide purity. 

Does anyone know of any references to alms-giving (zakat) or the shahadda serving in this function?

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