BAZ

A couple of weekends ago I was visiting my friend Harminder (Harry) in Brampton. Harry is a amritdhari Sikh and we have been friends for about 11 years. We went to the Gurdwara 3 times to see Bhai Avtar Singh Ji and to record him doing kirtan and sing shabads in the way it was done at the time of the Gurus (in raag form using a stringed instrument called a “daous†I believe).

Now there is one thing as a muslim I am not supposed to do in a Gurdwara and that is to prostrate myself in front of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This isn’t because of any disrespect… I’m not even supposed to do this to the Holy Quran and we consider that to be the actual and exact word of God. Prostration for a muslim is restricted to only the Formless Creator because even His words cannot contain Him. I have done seva in a gurdwara before by serving langar a number of times.

Anyway, as I entered the hall I stood at the doorway facing the holy book and joined my hands and bowed my head to show my respect and sat down to listen to Bhai Avtar Singh. He started and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought “God is closer to me than my jugular vein yet I feel so far from Himâ€. I missed Him and missed that feeling of closeness. I felt like my inner being could remember a time when we were together and I longed for that.

My talks with Harry are quite often about religion and spirituality. My Sikh best friend makes me want to be a better muslim and does make me a better muslim. I always look forward to going to the Gurdwara with him. I enjoy our talks. He is my brother. I pray that Muslims and Sikhs would have this kind of love, respect and understanding for each other.

History doesn’t always have to remain in the past. What was between Guru Nanak and Mardana and Bala should be alive within us today. What was between Mian Mir and Guru Arjan should be alive within us today.

A couple of weekends ago I was visiting my friend Harminder (Harry) in Brampton. Harry is a amritdhari Sikh and we have been friends for about 11 years. We went to the Gurdwara 3 times to see Bhai Avtar Singh Ji and to record him doing kirtan and sing shabads in the way it was done at the time of the Gurus (in raag form using a stringed instrument called a “daous†I believe).

Now there is one thing as a muslim I am not supposed to do in a Gurdwara and that is to prostrate myself in front of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This isn’t because of any disrespect… I’m not even supposed to do this to the Holy Quran and we consider that to be the actual and exact word of God. Prostration for a muslim is restricted to only the Formless Creator because even His words cannot contain Him. I have done seva in a gurdwara before by serving langar a number of times.

Anyway, as I entered the hall I stood at the doorway facing the holy book and joined my hands and bowed my head to show my respect and sat down to listen to Bhai Avtar Singh. He started and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought “God is closer to me than my jugular vein yet I feel so far from Himâ€. I missed Him and missed that feeling of closeness. I felt like my inner being could remember a time when we were together and I longed for that.

My talks with Harry are quite often about religion and spirituality. My Sikh best friend makes me want to be a better muslim and does make me a better muslim. I always look forward to going to the Gurdwara with him. I enjoy our talks. He is my brother. I pray that Muslims and Sikhs would have this kind of love, respect and understanding for each other.

History doesn’t always have to remain in the past. What was between Guru Nanak and Mardana and Bala should be alive within us today. What was between Mian Mir and Guru Arjan should be alive within us today.