{"id":1144,"date":"2017-01-19T09:31:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=1144"},"modified":"2017-01-19T09:31:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T15:31:12","slug":"muslim-prays-inaguration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/muslim-prays-inaguration\/","title":{"rendered":"A Muslim Prays For The Inauguration"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring<\/em><\/p>\n

It is no secret that the result of the election was not one for which I was hoping. That said, I am not going to go as far – with all due respect and admiration – to say that Donald J. Trump is not a legitimate President. He is our President, and he was chosen by our people to lead our country. And so, as he is set to take office on January 20, I offer this prayer, imagining what I would say if I was asked to pray at the Inauguration:<\/p>\n

\"Inaguration<\/a><\/p>\n

Precious Beloved Lord our God:<\/p>\n

By Your Eternal Grace and Mercy and Love do we all stand here today<\/p>\n

By Your Eternal Grace and Mercy and Love does our democracy flourish<\/p>\n

Whereas in so many other places in our world, with people just as honorable as we, there are “Presidents for life,” or “Presidents for one billion years,” or election results with 99.9% of the vote going to one candidate, we stand here today – in Your Grace and Mercy and Love – witnessing, yet again in our nation’s history, the peaceful transition of power.<\/p>\n

This is a Grace that cannot be understated, and for this, our Lord, we thank You tremendously.<\/p>\n

And so, Precious Beloved, as the new Administration takes the reins of our most beautiful nation, I ask that you bless all of those standing here.<\/p>\n

Endow our leaders with wisdom and forbearance; endow them with grace and poise; endow them with the ability to always see each other as brothers and sisters, even if they vehemently disagree.<\/p>\n

Bless our leaders with the vision and foresight to do what is right for all of us. Let them always remember that right is might, and not the other way around. Let them always remember that the power they wield is a trust from You, and Lord always keep in their mind’s eye that this power should never be abused.<\/p>\n

Beloved Lord, there is much division in our country today. Beloved Lord, there is much that tears apart at our fabric as a nation and a people. Please, O Lord, heal us of rancor toward our American brothers and sisters. Protect us from never seeing the humanity of the other, despite our disagreements. Keep away from us the Evil Whisperer, whose very aim is to destroy our unity by making hatred reign supreme among us.<\/p>\n

And finally, O Lord, please let us never forget that we, despite all that makes us different, are still one American family, shining ever so brightly under You, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.<\/p>\n

In Your Most Holy Name do I ask these things. Amen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring It is no secret that the result of the election was not one for which I was hoping. That said, I am not going to go as far – with all due respect and admiration – to say that Donald J. Trump is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[286,804,142,167,786],"class_list":["post-1144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-common-word","tag-american","tag-inauguration","tag-muslim","tag-prayer","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nA Muslim Prays For The Inauguration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Donald J. 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. 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