You like to make lofty statements about yourself but it is the same for me to say that I have never gotten into smoking, drinking and drugs. That "holier than thou" statement might sit well with some but I have more admiration for those who have taken those poisons and quit than someone like myself who has never even tried - let alone be addicted to - them.
However, as believers, we must not distinguish between them.
"Say: 'We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to God do we bow our will (in Islam).' "
Or maybe you can start by reading the Qur'an.
You do! You are pretending you have no issue with it because you have been compelled by Qur'anic verses. Don't think that I don't know that you will confront another uninformed Sunni with the same claim (that certain Sahaba fled the battlefield) to score points against him or her.
My claim, backed by Qur'an, is very simple. It has nothing to do with sports leagues and divisions. Allah (swt) forgave certain Sahaba (ra) for a mistake for which you ridicule them. I side with Allah's (swt) judgment; you can stand in contrast to Allah's (swt) Decree along with your scholars.
Of course I remember the score (from our previous discussions).
Imams (ra) = 0
Sahaba (ra) = still winning! Their dynasty (since you like sports) was so successful that your 12th Imam, despite the fact that a 1000 years have passed, will not show face because of the embarrassing, completely one-sided defeats of his ancestors at the hands of Sahaba (ra).
Are you listening, Iceman's 12th Imam?
Therefore, Allah (swt), as per your judgment, is unjust because He (swt) forgave those who fled and afforded them almost the same good deeds and outcome as those with an unblemished record who fought alongside the Prophet (saw).
"You like to make lofty statements about yourself but it is the same for me to say that I have never gotten into smoking, drinking and drugs. That "holier than thou" statement might sit well with some but I have more admiration for those who have taken those poisons and quit than someone like myself who has never even tried - let alone be addicted to - them."
So who's better and superior, those who have screwed up and then got themselves back on track. Or those who never went astray to begin with. Those who lived on the straight and narrow and remained that way. Go on, it's not too difficult. Give it a try. With an honest and open mind that is.
"but I have more admiration for those.."
It's not about you and me or what we think or how we feel and take things. It's about reality and facts. It's about principles. If you could only understand this by getting your head around it. This is exactly where the problem is.
"However, as believers, we must not distinguish between them"
I disagree with that But for argumentative reasons I will agree with it. Then why the hell do you distinguish between them? In all and every matter you put the Shaykhain above others without any logical reason or explanation. This is where we are given the chance to jump in. 😊
""Say: 'We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord:
We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to God do we bow our will (in Islam).' "
That's right. Now if you start distinguishing between them, what then. That's what you do with the companions. Then we dive in to correct how you distinguish. Or to question you over how and why have you distinguished.
"Or maybe you can start by reading the Qur'an"
It's not about the Qur'an. It's about your double standards. It's about you being unjust, unfair and unreasonable. That's what we point out.
I don't need to score points. Or go against anyone. Where you are wrong, unreasonable, unfair, unjust, speak without logic and reason, or disregarding reality and facts, where you come in with double standards etc, I will be there to point out and correct you.