Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an:
Say: He is God, the One! God, the Self-Sufficient
Besought of all! So invoke the Name of thy Lord
and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion.
Of the necessity of love for the neighbor, the Prophet
Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“None of you has faith until you love for your
neighbor what you love for yourself.”
Jesus said:
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One;
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength.”
This is the first commandment.
The second is this:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is
no other commandment greater than these.
Say:
O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word
between us and you: that we shall worship none but
God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him,
and that none of us shall take others for lords beside
God.
The Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
When God created the creation, he inscribed upon the
Throne, “My Mercy overpowers my wrath.”
To each among you:
We have prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If Allah
had so willed, He would have made you all one
community, but [He wishes] to test you in that which
He has given you, so compete with each other in good
works.
As the Letter to the Hebrews admonishes:
And let us consider how to provoke one another to
love and good deeds.
The goal of you all is Allah; it is He that will show you
the truth of the matters in which you dispute.
©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Written for worship featuring a sermon by a Muslim scholar. Texts quoted: Al-Ikhlas, 112:1–2; Al-Muzzammil, 73:8; Mark 12:29–31; Aal ‘Imran 3:64; Sahih al-Bukhari 7404; The Qur’an, Surah Ma’idah, 48; Heb 10:24; The Qur’an, Surah Ma’idah, 48.