Suzy Ismail posts “A Muslim Defense of Life” on Altcatholicah . The remarks, delivered in Princeton University’s chapel for Respect Life Sunday, are worth a read for those familiar with traditional Christian language surrounding the dignity of the person and the common rhetoric of surrounding issues like abortion and euthanasia.
Today, as I look at my three beautiful children, I know that God is good. No, God is great, or in Arabic, Allahu Akbar. And what gives me the greatest solace in times of trial is the verse in the Quran that states: “It may be that you detest something which is good for you; while perhaps you love something even though it is bad for you. God knows, while you do not know” (2:216).
As Muslims, we believe in the power of life to change others, and we believe even more in the power of God. In any disaster, in any calamity, and in the face of any death, we are urged to repeat “inna lilah wa inna ilayhee raji’un”—“To God we belong and to Him we return.” In the end, only He knows what is best for us.
Read the entire piece, which mixes personal narrative and scriptural exegesis, here .
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