Understanding Islam, Seeking the Face of God

On April 16, the PVCC Religion 230 class hosted guest speaker Dr. Aliaa Khdir to speak about Islam beliefs. The title of her talk, Believer’s Quest to See the “Face of God” in One’s Self as Well as in Creation, was open to the PVCC community.

She said, “The believer’s quest is to seek the face of God.” She said that seeking the face of God helps Muslims in seeking peace and meaning in their religion and their lives.

Khidr is a speech language pathologist and retired physician who is affiliated with UVA. She is also a public speaker on speech pathologies, disorders and treatment.

At PVCC, Khidr first had students connect in small groups to discuss their own interpretations of what the face of God means to them. This provided everyone with the opportunity to introduce themselves and speak to each other about their knowledge and interpretations of Islamic beliefs.

Khidr then presented a powerpoint highlighting some of the tenets of Islam. “The Quran is the book of signs,” said Khidr. Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad between the years of 609 and 632 B.C. In the Quran, the first command from God to Muhammad was to read. Muhammad could not read, but he learned that to read means to understand and seek the signs. Signs are arrows that help to  seek and understand God.

Allah means God, Salah means prayer, and divine worship means a connection to God. If there is not a connection, then Salah is a ritual. “The perspective of God is that he is everywhere,” said Khdir.

For those interested in learning more about Islam, they can go to the website https://www.receivingnur.org/. Dr. Khidr can also be contacted through email at alliahkhidr@gmail.com.