{"id":378,"date":"2013-04-16T13:46:59","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T17:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=378"},"modified":"2013-04-16T13:46:59","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T17:46:59","slug":"prayers-for-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/prayers-for-boston\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayers for Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God, the Compassionate and Infinitely Merciful<\/em><\/p>\n

The attack at the Boston Marathon is truly personal for me. I was blessed to finish the 2010 Chicago Marathon, in honor of my daughter who died from cancer the year before. I remember the sheer elation, despite being in tremendous pain, of being able to finish the race and cross the finish line in regulation. That medal is one my most prized material possessions.<\/p>\n

Thus, whenever I see, or hear about, or read about any marathon, my heart is warm with joy. To learn that someone maimed and murdered innocent people who came out to cheer on complete strangers running a race, it has left a deep, searing hole in my heart.<\/p>\n

Whoever is behind the attack – whether it be followers of a twisted mutation of a great revealed religion; or anti-government extremists; or bloodthirsty murderers – the result is the same: innocent life was taken in a most senseless and barbaric manner.<\/p>\n

And so I send out my prayers to Boston: that the Precious Beloved shield this great and beautiful city (which I was blessed to visit 2 years ago) from any more vicious attacks; that the Precious Beloved send down His Undying Mercy to those victims who have suffered injury or loss from this tragedy; that He grace every single community with safety and protection from all who seek to cause harm; that He protect us from the fires of hatred, that are already burning, which led to this attack, and those fires of hatred that may rise up as a result of this attack as well.<\/p>\n

Precious Beloved Lord our God, be with the city of Boston and her beautiful, glorious people during this dark time of pain and loss.<\/p>\n

Precious Beloved Lord our God, be with us all as we mourn this horrific and terrible tragedy.<\/p>\n

Although I know that I could never qualify to run a Boston Marathon, on this day, I am proud to say that I am a Boston Marathoner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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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. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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