On Devotions: Muslim and Baha'i, we spoke the same language

"The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God's holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife." - Bahá'u'lláh

Baha'i devotions are beautiful to me for this reason - the Faith brings together people from so many different backgrounds - and there we are, all gathered in one room, not necessarily speaking the same language, but all there to love the same God.

It's always apparent that the spirit behind these gatherings is so sparkling, so alive.

Sometimes (more often than not, actually) things happen that bring tears to my eyes and leave me completely in awe of God's power and presence.

We gathered on Saturday to break fast and pray. One of the men present was the president of the Muslim Student Association at UMKC. He offered to chant a prayer in Arabic. We debated having him translate this prayer for us, but came to the conclusion that it wasn't necessary. We did not need to understand the exact words being said - the intention behind it would be clear, and that was the most important thing.

He chanted a Muslim prayer, and we read the next prayer in English from a Baha'i prayer book. As we finished the reading, he looked up."

That was the same thing I just said. Almost verbatim."

We smiled, and exchanged looks of disbelief. Why disbelief, I'm not sure. The intention was there - and so we all understood, whether or not we spoke the same language.

Posted by Erin
Memories, etc.
It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.
No translation necessary

{Re-posted with permission}