UPDATE: The Baptism Of Allah (Sibghatu ‘I-Lah)

[Guest guest]

" The Baptism of God, and who is better than God to baptize? Him do we

worship " (chap. ii). this is the translation from the Quran… The

spiritual baptism is the direct work of God Himself. As a fuller or a

laundress washes the linen or any other object with water; as a dyer

tints the wool or cotton with a tincture to give it a new hue; and as

a baptist blots out the past sins of the true penitent believer, so

does God Almighty baptize, not the body, but the spirit and the soul

of him whom He mercifully directs and guides unto the Holy Religion

of Islam. This is the " Sibghatu `I-Lah, " the Baptism of Allah, which

makes a person fit and dignified to become a citizen of the Kingdom

of Allah and a member of His religion. "

 

Encyclopaedia of Islam, Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed, page 214

 

" Not only this, but we Muslims also believe in a ritual purification

with water (ghusl) upon conversion. But I think that we Muslims

differ on the fact that the Christians say that a priest or another

religious person must do it...whereas the Quran says that Allah does

the best baptism. In other words, it's probably a reflection of shirk

to necessitate another person to do the washing. Muslims believe that

Allah does it directly and no intermediary needed. "

 

http://adishakti.org/al-qiyamah/baptism_of_allah_al_baqarah.htm