Human beings have been created with a natural recognition of the Creator
and innate basic moral values (Fitrah in Arabic). Throughout the history
of mankind God has sent a chain of prophets to all nations to awaken
this natural norm in mankind. The message of God to all these prophets
has always been consistent in the basic creed – the Divine Unity, belief in
the Hereafter and Righteousness – though the laws and forms of worship
varied.20 Allah says in the Qur’an 42:13;
He has prescribed for you (O Muhammad) the religion
which He enjoined upon Noah and which We revealed to
you, and which We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses
and Jesus, commanding: ‘Establish this religion and do
not split up regarding it.’ What you are calling to is very
hard upon those who associate others with Allah in His
Divinity. Allah chooses for Himself whomsoever He pleases
and guides to Himself whoever penitently turns to Him.
The diversity of creed and religion has emerged over time as a result of
gradual deviation from the original messages. Allah in the Qur’an is
calling humanity to return to the basic creed of Abraham who was a
true monotheist in faith and the ancestor of the later prophets of God
in the human history. Hence, from Islamic perspective, all the divergent
religions fall into two categories.
1. Monotheistic Religions
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are religions which share the same
monotheist traditions of Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him. In their
purest form, all these three religions have the same basic principles of
faith and religion.
Jews and Christians are called “People of the Book” in many verses in the
Qur’an.21 This means that they are people who are associated with the
divine scriptures, namely the Torah and the Evangel (Gospel). However,
these two scriptures in their present form are not strictly the original
messages of their respective prophets, Moses and Jesus, peace be upon
them. Consequently, Islam views Judaism and Christianity as religions
which are not consistent with the true teachings of Moses and Jesus,
peace be upon them.
The Qur’an was revealed not only to confirm and complete the messages
of Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them, but also to correct the deviations
in what remains of their messages.23 For this reason, from Islamic
perspective, the true followers of the messages of Moses and Jesus, peace
be upon them, are in fact those who follow the Qur’an.
2. Other religions
With regards to religions other than Judaism and Christianity, e.g.
Hinduism, Buddhism and others, Islam views them as religions which are
far from the traditional prophetic messages and are thus not associated
with Abrahamic traditions. Some of these religions incline towards
atheism, and yet others grossly deviate from the worship of the One True
God, Allah, by associating other gods with Him. Associating other gods
with the One and Only True God is contrary to the principle of Divine
Unity, (see Section 3).
However, despite all these differences, Islam respects all faiths as well as
the people who follow these faiths, since Allah is the One who created
mankind and gave us freedom of choice in matters of faith. He says in
the Qur’an 10:99;
"If it had been thy Lord’s Will, they would all have believed,
all who are on earth! Will you then compel mankind,
against their will, to believe?"
This is reiterated in another verse, 2:256:
"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out
clear from error."
Thus, diversity in faith is within Allah’s scheme in the creation of
mankind. With this recognition, Muslims throughout history have
lived together with peoples of other faiths in peace, love, goodwill and
harmony. It is indeed noteworthy that Islam protects human dignity and
implements moral values based on the bedrock principle of equality of
humanity and freedom of will in matters of faith.
One of the principles of faith in Islam is to believe in all the Messengers
of Allah. Muslims believe that Jesus, peace be upon him, was one of the
greatest Messengers of Allah.
The life and teachings of Jesus as reflected in the Bible were recorded
decades after his departure and thus they were very much shrouded in
mystery. The Qur’an, which mentions Jesus twenty-five times by name,
came to clarify the mystery and superstitions surrounding his personality
and teachings, vindicate him and his mother from the false claims
attributed to them, and honour him and his mother as true and devout
servants of Allah, may Allah be pleased with them. Thus, the Qur’an
teaches us that:
· Jesus, peace be upon him, was born after his mother the Virgin Mary’s
miraculous conception. Accordingly, Jesus, peace be upon him, had
no father and thus, had no paternal genealogy but a noble maternal
genealogy, because Mary came from the family of prophets. However,
despite his miraculous conception, he was fully human and, as the
Qur’an informs us, he never claimed to be more than a human being
appointed by Allah as a prophet.25 For example, in the Qur’an 5:116-
117, Allah describes a scene on the Day of Judgment:
"And imagine when in the hereafter Allah will say: ‘Jesus,
son of Mary, did you say to people: “Take me and my
mother for gods beside Allah?” and he will answer: “Glory
to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to.
Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know
all what is within my mind whereas I do not know what
is within Yours. You, indeed You, know fully all that is
beyond the reach of human perception. I said to them
nothing except what You commanded me, that is: ‘Serve
Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ I watched over them as
long as I remained among them; and when You did recall
me, then You Yourself became the Watcher over them.
Indeed, You are Witness over everything."
There is plenty of evidence in the Bible itself that Jesus, peace be upon
him, was humble, asserted his servitude to God and never claimed
divinity.
· He was the Messiah (Christ), meaning that he was anointed or
appointed by Allah as a prophet.
· He performed many miracles, but by Allah’s permission. The first
miracle was that he spoke as a baby to defend his mother, Mary, who
faced accusations of indecency because of the virgin birth. Later in
life he performed many other miracles, by Allah’s permission, such as
raising the dead and curing the blind and the lepers.
· He was sent with the Gospel or Evangel (Al-Injeel in Arabic). For
example, in the Qur’an 5:46 Allah says:
And We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, after the preceding
Prophets, confirming the truth of whatever there still
remained of the Torah. And We gave him the Gospel,
wherein is guidance and light, and which confirms the
truth of whatever there still remained of the Torah, and a
guidance and admonition for the God-fearing.
· He was sent only to the Children of Israel, not to any other nation.
Allah says in the Qur’an 3:49,
“And (appoint Jesus) a Messenger to the Children of
Israel…”
The fact that Jesus, peace be upon him, was sent only to the Children
of Israel is reflected even in today’s Bible, in all its different versions.
· He was neither killed nor crucified. Allah says in the Qur’an 4:157–
158:
"That they said (in boast), “We killed the Messiah, Jesus the
son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; but they killed him
not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to
them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with
no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for
of a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up
unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise."
There was an attempt by his enemies to crucify Jesus, peace be upon him,
but Allah did not allow His prophet to be humiliated: He protected and
saved His prophet.
There is a misguided belief that any religion which promotes goodwill,
harmony and love amongst people essentially leads to God and godliness
and hence, any such religion is acceptable. In other words, all religions
are essentially good, and/or equal, therefore, one does not need to follow
any particular religion. This line of thinking is faulty and flawed for two
important reasons.
First, religion is about our devotion to the Creator, Allah. It is about how
we relate to Him, how we worship Him and how we conduct our lives
on this earth in accordance with His Will. All these ‘hows’ must come
from the Creator. Hence, the true and right religion must be the one
prescribed by the Creator.
Second, to say that all religions that exist today are true religions of the
Creator cannot be correct, because there are major doctrinal as well as
practical contradictions in various religions in existence today. To give
some examples: Not all religions, as practiced by their adherents, agree
on the concept of the absolute Oneness of the Creator (Monotheism),
secondly, there are major differences between religions on the principles
of salvation, and thirdly, there are differences between religions on what
is lawful and what is unlawful.
The Creator most certainly does not contradict Himself. His religion
therefore must be consistent for the whole humanity – consistent in its
basic beliefs and practices. It is up to the individual to seek the truth
through knowledge and reason. One should not be deceived that all
religions are essentially good and therefore acceptable to the Creator; the
only religion acceptable to Him is His religion.
Islam does not claim originality in religion; it is the same religion which
was revealed to all the earlier generations of humanity. Diversity of
religions in human history emerged due to deviations from the original
messages of the prophets. The final messenger, Muhammad, and the
final message, the Qur’an, came to guide humanity towards the original
message. Thus, the only religion acceptable to the Creator is the one that
conforms to this final message - Islam, which means submission to His
will. Thus, Allah says in the Qur’an 3:85,
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (willing,
sincere and peaceful submission to the Will of Allah),
never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he
will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual
good)."
Islam was the religion of all the messengers of God who preceded the final
messenger, Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, peace be
upon them all, because they were subservient to the Creator and fully
submitted to His Will. Islam also was the religion of the sincere followers
of the preceding prophets who adhered to the true teachings of their
respective prophets.
Atheism is the denial of the Supreme Being (God), and this also implies
the denial of the life hereafter. Agnosticism is having doubt on the
existence of the Supreme Being. Both Atheists and Agnostics base their
denial or doubt on various reasons. In the olden times the reasons were
about our inability to physically see or feel the presence of God, or about
the human experience of suffering; if there is God why do we suffer. In
modern times the reasons get more sophisticated; why God’s existence
cannot be proven scientifically? Also, since we can explain scientifically
many phenomena in the creation, there is no basis for God’s existence.
Islam addresses this rejection or skepticism by appealing to the human
conscience, intellect and reason on the existence of God. The nature of the
Creator and the creation are infinitely different and as such human beings
do not have the capacity to see God. Furthermore, if God has a physical
form which we can see, He will be limited or constrained in space, time
and matter. This is an absurd proposition, because space, time and matter
are created things and hence, they cannot limit the Creator. The Qur’an
instead invites people to an intellectual enquiry of the creation so that
they can comprehend God through His Creation. Evidences of God’s
existence are called ‘signs’ in the Qur’an, (ayah in Arabic) and there are
hundreds of these signs in the Qur’an. In chapter 41, verse 53 Allah says:
"We shall show them Our Signs on the horizons and in their
own beings until it becomes clear to them that it is the
Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a witness over
everything?"
Thus, with this promise the Qur’an invites mankind to ponder on the
many evidences of God’s existence through His Creation. For example,
in the Qur’an verse 3:190 Allah says;
"Behold ! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and
the alteration of night and day – there are indeed signs for
men of understanding."
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth scientists have
discovered amazing facts; e.g. (a) the universe had a beginning, i.e. it
started from nothing, (b) the universe evolved according to precise
and interconnected physical laws and processes, (c) there are over
200 parameters which make life on earth possible, for example, the
distance between the earth and the Sun, the earth gravitational pull, the
atmospheric composition, the existence of water, and so on.
In another verse Allah says;
"It is He, Who sends down for you water from the sky,
which provides drinking water for you and brings forth
fodder for your cattle. And thereby He grows for you crops
and olives and date-palms and vines and different kinds
of many other fruits. Surely there is a great Sign in this for
those people who ponder. "(Qur’an 16:10-11)
In this verse many signs of the existence of God are mentioned. Just to take
one element in the verse, the formation of rain: It involves hundreds of
physical laws and precise parameters which cause evaporation of moisture
from the earth, the ascent of the moisture to the sky, the condensation of
the moisture into droplets, the accumulation of the droplets into clouds,
the movement of the clouds laden with thousands of tons of water, and the
falling of the droplets as rain. All these processes are governed by precise
physical laws and parameters. The Qur’an invites us to ponder on many
thousands of these signs in the creation. For a thinking and reasonable
human being all this points to a Supreme Designer and Creator, God. It
is unreasonable to assume that all this intelligent design, complexity and
precision in the Creation and all its profound dynamics are a result of
random chance. Indeed, many great modern scientists have come to this
same logical conclusion.
The Qur’an also informs us that all human beings are created with a
natural disposition to recognize the Creator and to submit to Him, (this
is called fitrah in Arabic). The proof of this is that when we face a serious
crisis and realize that no human can come to our help, we tend to turn
to God for help. Our Creator has appointed prophets and sent scriptures
to humanity to awaken this conscience of recognizing Him. However,
because God has given us the freedom of will, we have the capacity to
suppress this natural disposition of recognizing Him. But God tells us in
the Qur’an that those who respond to the inner call to believe in Him,
He will guide them, and those who chose to suppress their conscience
against believing in Him, He will leave them astray, and this is God’s
scheme of our creation.
The Qur’an, which is the last revelation sent to mankind, is in itself a sign
of the existence of God. We read in chapter 4 verse 82;
"Do they not consider the Qur’an (with care)? Had it been
from other than God, they would surely have found therein
much discrepancy."
An objective and open study of the Qur’an clearly shows that it could
not have been written by man, (see Section 7). The Qur’an is a mighty
testimony of the existence of God.
God created us for an eternal divine purpose and favoured us above most
of His creation. Our life on this earth is transient and it is meant to
prepare us for our eternal abode in the Hereafter. In this preparation our
faith in the Creator will be tested through prosperity as well as adversity.
Furthermore, we will also be tested on how we exercise our free will,
and it is on this test of our free will that both good and evil will touch
our lives; it is man who perpetrates evil and not God. The upside of all
this, however, is that evil and suffering not only serve as a test of our
faith, but they are also a warning and a deterrence for man. It is often in
adversity that positive contemplation and a quest for a higher purpose are
awakened in our inner conscience.
Not a wise way to stop in the middle !
Why not proceed till the end of cave to see the light of the sun !
We open the doors for you to see the light of the life !
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