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When I was a youngster in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, my family taught me to pray The Lord’s Prayer. Later, after returning from Vietnam, I became a Muslim and learned to recite The Verse of The Throne.

This week I thought about these two prayers and I realized that both provide comfort to people of faith. Both begin with praise and glorification of The Almighty.

Next they remind the worshiper of His ultimate authority over our lives. He alone knows the challenges that we face everyday. So, we pray and ask for His protection and guidance.

Then both end by calling the worshiper’s attention to Him as related to His Creation. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” and “His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth.”

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Verse of the Thorne

God: There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they understand any of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory): (Qur’an 2:255).

There is only one God; our life experiences cause us to see Him through different eyes!

Today, our nation is suffering from excessive emphasis on social and economic partitioning. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could see ourselves as an interfaith body of people? Then we could work cooperatively for equity and social justice for all.

In our respective faith communities we pray these prayers, asking The Almighty for guidance and peace in our lives. In the words of Louis Armstrong, “What a wonderful world,” this could be!

Qadir Abdus-Sabur, Ph.D. is an Imam at the Islamic Center of Prince Edward. His email address is qas1944@gmail.com.