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>> But finally, I'm still kind of confused by where the question is coming
>> from. I understand that you might not call it "ritual purity"or "ritual
>> impurity". But if both the Bahai faith and Islam have ablutions which need
>> to be performed before the prayers that would make them equally
>> "superstitious" to use your conept.. I mean, in the Bahai case, even if you
>> just took a bath, and then choose to pray, you would still do the ablutions
>> again, right? That seems to be more of a ritual concept, no? <<
Hi Gilberto, I think you are confusing different issues. Lets consider the
concept of ritual impurity.
I think the difference is that in Islam and especially in the Qur'an,
non-Muslims, the disbelievers, and considered to be a distinct group of people
separate from the Muslims (the believers) who are pure. The Islamic concept of
"ritual impurity" is an extension of this foundational idea. When, if the
Muslims are correct, the world becomes a Muslim world, the world passes from a
state of general impurity of disbelief to a state of spiritual purity full of
believers.
The Baha'i idea of ablutions and provisions about cleanliness are
foundationally different from the Islamic idea because the core concept that
humanity is separated into "believers" and "disbelievers" has been eliminated.
Now all mankind is considered to be from one single root, including
disbelievers and people of other races, nations, cultures, and religions.
This is because "Baha'u'llah", the Glory of Allah, has already appeared on
earth. The Glory of Allah is not going to appear in the future, it already
appeared in the past.
The Muslim concept that mankind is still separated into believers vs.
disbelievers (and consequently into different cultures, races, nationalities,
etc. etc.) is because Islam is still waiting for the Day of Judgment.
Best Regards.
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