My partner, who does not admit to being very religious, was always fascinated by this prayer. Although I also liked it, it was Stephanie who caused me to look at it in a critical light. This past Yule, I had the prayer done in calligraphy and framed for her. (Thanks, Kathy. It looks awesome.)

What fascinates me is that Ahmad does not ask forgiveness for anything that he has done. Although Christianity does have the concept of sins by commision and sins by ommision (and I assume other religions would have such as well), the stress in today's society, one must admit, is on commision.

To commit an immoral act - that marks you as a "sinner", or (in secular terms) a "bad person". To take something that is not yours, to hit someone, especially someone helpless, simply to vent your anger or frustration. Those are obvious wrongs. At least, to me they are obvious.

However, when you leave this world, how will your life stack up in terms of what you did not do?
The kindness you did not offer?
The support you did not give?
The intervention you did not make?

Reminds me of the (disputed) quote by Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."