Back>>
Which is the true religion of God?
Each person is born in a
circumstance which is not of his own choosing. The
religion of his family or the ideology of the state is
thrust upon him from the very beginning of his existence
in this world. By the time he reaches his teens, he is
usually fully brain-washed into believing that the beliefs
of his particular society are the correct beliefs that
everyone should have. However, when some people mature and
are exposed to other belief-systems, they begin to
question the validity of their own beliefs. The seekers of
truth often reach a point of confusion upon realizing that
each and every religion, sect, ideology and philosophy
claims to be the one and only correct way for man. Indeed,
they all encourage people to do good. So, which one is
right? They cannot all be right since each claims all
others are wrong. Then how does the seeker of truth choose
the right way?
God gave us all minds and intellects to enable us to make
this crucial decision. It is the most important decision
in the life of a human being. Upon it depends his future,
Consequently, each and every one of us must examine
dispassionately the evidence presented and choose what
appears to be right until further evidence arises.
Like every other religion or philosophy, Islam also claims
to be the one and only true way to God. In this respect it
is no different from other systems. This book presentation
intends to provide some evidence for the validity of that
claim. However, it must always be kept in mind that one
can only determine the true path by putting aside emotions
and prejudices, which often blind us to reality. Then, and
only then, will we be able to use our God-given
intelligence and make a rational and correct decision.
There are several arguments, which may be advanced to
support Islam’s claim to be the true religion of God. The
following are only three of the most obvious. The first
argument is based on the divine origin of the names of the
religion and the comprehensiveness of its meaning. The
second deals with the unique and uncomplicated teachings
concerning the relationship between God, man, and
creation. The third argument derives from the fact that
Islam is universally attainable by all men at all times.
These are the three basic components of what logic and
reason dictate necessary for a religion to be considered
the true religion of God. The following summary will
develop these concepts in some detail.
THE
RELIGION’S NAME
The first thing that one
should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the
word ‘Islam" itself means. The Arabic word "Islam" means
the submission or surrender of one’s will to the only true
God, known in Arabic as "Allah". One who submits his will
to God is termed in Arabic a "Muslim". The religion of
Islam is not named after a person or a people, nor was it
decided by a later generation of man, as in the case of
Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism
after Gautama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius,
Marxism after Karl Marx, Judaism after the tribe of Judah
and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam (submission to the
will of God) is the religion which was given to Adam, the
first man and the first prophet of God, and it was the
religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind.
Further its name was chosen by God Himself and clearly
mentioned in the final scripture which He revealed to man.
In that final revelation, called in Arabic the Qur’an
Allah states the following:
"This day have I perfected your religion for you,
completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you
Islam as your religion"
[Qur’an 5:3]
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission
to God), never will it be accepted of Him."
[Qur’an 3:85]
Hence, Islam does not claim to be a new religion
brought by Prophet Mohammed into Arabia in the seventh
century, but rather to be a re-expression in its final
form of the true religion of Almighty God, Allah, as it
was originally revealed to Adam and subsequent prophets.
At this point we might comment briefly on two other
religions that claim to be the true path. Nowhere in the
Bible will you find God revealing to Prophet Moses’ people
or their descendants that their religion is called
Judaism, or to the followers of Christ that their religion
is called Christianity. In other words, the names
"Judaism" and "Christianity" had no divine origin or
approval. It was not until long after his departure that
the name Christianity was given to Jesus’ religion.
What, then, was Jesus’ religion in actual fact, as
distinct from its name? (Both the name Jesus and the name
Christ are derived from Hebrew words, through Greek and
Latin. Jesus is the English and Latin form of the Greek
Iesous, which in Hebrew Is Yeshua or Yehoshua’ (Joshua).
The Greek word Christos is a translation of the Hebrew
[for] 'messiah', which is a title meaning 'the anointed'.)
His religion was reflected in his teachings, which he
urged his followers to accept as guiding principles in
their relationship with God. In Islam, Jesus is a prophet
sent by Allah and his Arabic name is Eesa. Like the
prophets before him, he called upon the people to
surrender their will to the will of God (which is what
Islam stands for). For example, in the New Testament it is
stated that Jesus taught his followers to pray to God as
follows:
"Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, may your
will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
[Luke 11:2/Matthew 6:9-10]
This concept was emphasised by Jesus in a number of his
statements recorded in the Gospels. He taught, for
example, that only those who submitted would inherit
paradise.
Jesus also pointed out that he himself submitted to the
will of God.
"None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the
kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my
Father in heaven."
[Matthew 7:21]
"I cannot do anything of myself I judge as I hear and
my judgment is honest because I am not seeking my own will
but the will of Him who sent me."
[John 5:30]
There are many reports in the Gospels which show that
Jesus made it clear to his followers that he was not the
one true God. For example, when speaking about the final
Hour, he said:
"No-one knows about the day or hour, not even the
angels in heaven, not the son, but only the Father."
[Mark 13:32]
Thus, Jesus like the prophets before him and the one
who came after him, taught the religion of Islam:
submission to the will of the one true God.
GOD AND
CREATION
Since the total submission
of one’s will to God represents the essence of worship,
the basic message of God’s divine religion, Islam, is the
worship of God alone. It also requires the avoidance of
worship directed to any person, place or thing other than
God. Since everything other than God, the creator of all
the things, is God’s creation, it may be said that Islam,
in essence, calls man away from worship of creation and
invites him to worship only his Creator. He is the only
one deserving of man’s worship, because it is only by His
will that prayers are answered.
Accordingly, if a man prays to a tree and his prayers are
answered, it is not the tree which answers his prayers but
God, who allows the circumstances prayed for to take
place. One might say, "That is obvious". However, to
tree-worshippers, it might not be so. Similarly, prayers
to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna or Saint Christopher, or
Saint Jude or even to Muhammad, are not answered by them,
but are answered by God. Jesus did not tell his followers
to worship him but to worship God, as the Quran states:
"And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus, the son of Mary!
Did you say to men, worship me and my mother as gods
besides Allah?, He will say: "Glory to you, I could never
say what I had no right (to say)."
[Qur’an 5:118]
Nor did Jesus worship himself when he worshipped, but
rather he worshipped God. And Jesus was reported in the
Gospels to have said,
"It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve
Him only.’"
[Luke 4:8]
This basic principle is contained in the opening chapter
of the Qur’an, known as Soorah al-Faatihah, verse 4:
"you alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek
help."
Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the Quran, God
also said:
"And you Lord says: ‘Call on Me and I will answer your
(prayer).’"
[Qur’an 40:60]
It is worth emphasizing that the basic message of
Islam (namely, the worship of God alone) also proclaims
that God and His creation are distinctly different
entities. God is neither equal to His creation nor a part
of it, nor is His creation equal to Him or a part of Him.
This might seem obvious, but man’s worship of creation,
instead of the Creator is to a large degree based on
ignorance, or neglect, of this concept. It is the belief
that the essence of God is everywhere in His creation or
that His divine being is or was present in some parts of
His creation, which has provided justification for the
worship of God’s creation and naming it the worship of
God. However, the message of Islam, as brought by the
prophets of God, is to worship only God and to avoid the
worship of His creation either directly or indirectly.
In the Qur’an God clearly states:
"For we assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet,
with the command Worship Me and avoid false Gods."
[Qur’an 16:36]
When idol worshippers are questioned as to why they
bow down to idols created by men, the invariable reply is
that they are not actually worshipping the stone image,
but God who is present within it. They claim that the
stone idol is only a focal point for God’s essence and is
not in itself God! One who has accepted the concept of God
being present in any way within His creation will be
obliged to accept this argument for idolatry. Whereas, one
who understands the basic message of Islam and its
implications would never agree to idolatry no matter how
it is rationalized.
Those who have claimed divinity for themselves down
through the ages have often based their claims on the
mistaken belief that God is present in man. Taking one
step further, they claim that God is more present in them
than in the rest of us, and that other humans should
therefore submit to them and worship them as God in person
or as God concentrated within their persons. Similarly,
those who have asserted the godhood of others after their
deaths have found fertile ground among those who accept
the false belief of God’s presence in man.
It should be abundantly clear by now that one who has
grasped the basic message of Islam and its implications
could never agree to worship another human being under any
circumstance. God’s religion, in essence, is a clear call
to the worship of the Creator and the rejection of
creation-worship in any form. This is the meaning of the
motto of Islam:
"Laa Ilaaha Ill Allah" (there is no God but Allah)
The sincere declaration of this phrase and the
acceptance of prophethood automatically bring one within
the fold of Islam, and sincere belief in it guarantees one
Paradise. Thus, the final Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h) is
reported to have said, "Any one who says: There is no
God but Allah, and dies holding that (belief) will enter
paradise."
Belief in this declaration of faith requires that one
submit his/her will to God in the way taught by the
prophets of God. It also requires the believer to give up
the worship of false gods.
THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS
There are so many sects,
cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the
world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only
true path of God How can one determine which one is
correct or whether, in fact, all are correct? One method
by which the answer can be found is to clear away the
superficial differences in the teachings of the various
claimants to the ultimate truth, and identifies the
central object of worship upon which they call, directly
or indirectly. False religions all have in common one
basic concept with regard to God they either claim that
all men are gods, or that specific men were God, or that
nature is God, or that God is a figment of man’s
imagination.
Thus, it may be stated that the basic message of false
religion is that God may be worshipped in the form of His
creation. False religions invite man to the worship of
creation by calling the creation or some aspect of it God.
For example, prophet Jesus invited his followers to
worship God, but those who claim to be Jesus’ followers
today call people to worship Jesus, claiming that he was
God.
Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of
humanistic principles in the religion of India. He did not
claim to be God, nor did he suggest to his followers that
he be an object of worship. Yet today most Buddhists who
are to be found outside of India have taken him to be God
and they prostrate themselves to idols made in their
perception of his likeness.
By using the principle of identifying the object of
worship, we can easily detect false religions and the
contrived nature of their origin. As God said in the
Qur’an:
"That which you worship besides Him are only names and you
and your forefathers have invented for which Allah has
sent down no authority: the command belongs only to Allah
He has command that you worship Him; that is the right
religion, but most men do not understand."
[Qur’an 12:40]
It may be argued that all religions teach good things, so
why should it matter which one we follow? The reply is
that all false religions teach the greatest evil the
worship of creation. Creation-worship is the greatest sin
that man can commit because it contradicts the very
purpose of his creation. Man was created to worship God
alone as Allah has explicitly stated in the Qur’an:
"I have only created jinns and men, that they may worship
Me"
[Qur’an 51:56]
Consequently , the worship of creation, which is the
essence of idolatry is the only unforgivable sin. One who
dies in this state of idolatry, has sealed his fate in the
next life. This is not an opinion, but a revealed fact
stated by God in his final revelation to man:
Verily Allah will not forgive the joining of partners with
Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that for
whomsoever He wishes."
[Qur’an 4:48 and 116]
UNIVERSALITY OF GOD’S RELIGION
Since the consequences of
following a false religion are so grave, the true religion
of God must have been universally understandable and
universally attainable in the past and it must continue
eternally to be understandable and attainable throughout
the entire world. In other words, the true religion of God
cannot be confined to any one people, place, or period of
time. Nor is it logical that such a religion should impose
conditions that have nothing to do with the relationship
of man with God, such as baptism, or belief in man as a
savior, or an intermediary. Within the central principle
of Islam and its definition (the surrender of one’s will
to God) lie the roots of Islam’s universality. Whenever
man comes to the realization that God is one and distinct
from His creation, and submits himself to God, he becomes
a Muslim in body and spirit and is eligible for paradise.
Consequently, anyone at any time in the most remote
regions of the world can become Muslim, a follower of
God’s religion, Islam, by merely rejecting the worship of
creation and turning to God alone. It should be noted,
however, that in order to actually submit to God’s will,
one must continually choose between right and wrong.
Indeed, man is endowed by God with the power not only to
distinguish right from wrong but also to choose between
them. These God-given powers carry with them an important
responsibility, namely, that man is answerable to God for
the choices he makes. It follows, then, that man should
try his utmost to do good and avoid evil. These concepts
are expressed in the final revelation as follows:
"Verily, those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who
follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the
Sabians (angel-and-star-worshippers) -- any of these who
believe in Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness
shall have their reward with their Lord. They will not be
overcome by fear or grief."
[Qur’an 2:62]
If, for whatever reason, they fail to accept the final
message after it has been clearly explained to them, they
will be in grave danger. The last Prophet said:
"Whoever among the Christians and Jews hears of me but
does not affirm his belief in what I brought and dies in
this state will be among the inhabitants of hell."
(Sahih Muslim [English Translation], Vol.1 P.91 No, 284)
RECOGNITION OF
GOD
The question which
arises here is : How can all people be expected to believe
in the one true God, given their varying backgrounds,
societies and cultures? For people to be held responsible
for worshipping the one true God, they all need to have
access to knowledge of Him. The final revelation teaches
that all humans being have the recognition of the one true
God imprinted on their souls as a part of their very
nature with which they are created.
In the seventh chapter of the Qur’an (Al-A’raaf, verses
172-173), God explained that when He created Adam He
caused all of Adam’s descendants to come into existence
and He took a pledge from them saying:
"‘Am I not your Lord?' To which they all replied, ‘Yes, we
testity to it'"
Allah then explained why He had all of mankind bear
witness that He is their creator and the only true God
worthy of worship. He said:
"That was in case you (mankind) should say on the day
of Resurrection, ‘Verily we were unaware of all this'"
[Qur’an 7:172]
That is to say, we cannot claim on that day that we had no
idea that Allah, was our God and that no one told us that
we were only supposed to worship Allah alone. Allah went
on to further explain that:
"It was also in case you should say, ‘Certainly it was
our ancestors who made partners (with Allah) and we are
only their descendants; will you then destroy us for what
those liars did?’"
[Qur’an 7:173]
Thus, every child is born with a natural belief in God
and an in-born inclination to worship Him alone. This
in-born belief and inclination is called in Arabic the "Fitrah".
The Prophet Muhammad reported that Allah said, "I created
my servants in the right religion, but devils made them go
astray." The Prophet also said, "Each child is born in a
state of Fitrah. Then his parents make him a Jew,
Christian or a Zoroastrian." If the child were left alone,
he would worship God in his own way, but all children are
affected by the environment. So, just as the child submits
to the physical laws, which Allah has imposed on nature,
in the same way his soul also submits naturally to the
fact that Allah is his Lord and Creator. But, if his
parents try to make him follow a different path, the child
is not strong enough in the early stages of his life to
resist or oppose the will of his parents. In such cases,
the religion, which the child follows, is one of custom
and upbringing, and God does not hold him to account or
punish him for his religion up to a certain stage of his
life.
THE
SIGNS OF GOD
Throughout people’s lives,
from childhood until the time they die, signs of the one
and only true God are shown to them in all regions of the
earth and in their own souls, until it becomes clear that
there is only one true God (Allah). God says in the Qur’an
"We will show them our signs In the furthest regions
(of the earth) and in their souls, until it becomes clear
to them that this is the truth."
[Qur’an 41:53]
The following is an example of God revealing by a sign
to one man the error of his idol-worship. In the
south-eastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South
America, a primitive tribe erected a new hut to house
their man-idol Skwatch, representing the supreme God of
all creation. The following day a young man entered the
hut to pay homage to the God, and while he was in
prostration to what he had been taught was his Creator and
Sustainer, a mangy old flea-ridden dog slunk into the hut.
The young man looked up in time to see the dog lift his
hind leg and pass urine on the idol.
Outraged, the youth chased the dog out of the temple; but
when his rage died down he realized that the idol could
not be the Lord of the Universe. God must be elsewhere, he
concluded. As strange as it may seem, the dog urinated on
the idol was a sign from God for that young man. This sign
contained the divine message that what he was worshipping
was false. It liberated from slavishly following his
traditionally learned worship of a false god. As a result,
this man was given a choice: either to seek the true god
or to continue in the error of his ways.
Allah mentions Prophet Abraham’s quest for God as an
example of how those who follow His signs will be rightly
guided
"So also did we show Abraham the power and the Laws of the
heavens and the earth that he might (with understanding)
have certitude.
When the night covered him over, he saw a star. He said:
‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, he said: ‘I love not
those that set’
When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: ‘This is
my Lord.’ But when the moon set, he said: ‘Unless my Lord
guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray.’
When he saw the rising sun in splendor, he said:
‘This is my Lord this is the greatest (of all).’ But when
the sun set, he said; ‘O my people I am indeed free from
your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards
Him who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall
I give partners to Allah"
[Qur’an 6:75-79]
As was mentioned earlier, prophets have been sent to
every nation and tribe to support man’s natural belief in
God and man’s in-born inclination to worship Him, as well
as to reinforce the divine truth in the daily signs
revealed by God. Although much of these prophets’
teachings became distorted, portions revealing their
God-inspired messages have remained untainted and have
served to guide mankind in the choice between right and
wrong. The influence of God-inspired messages down through
the ages can be seen in the "Ten Commandments" of
Judaism’s Torah which were later adopted into
Christianity’s teachings, as well as in the existence of
laws against murder, stealing and adultery in most
societies throughout the ancient and modern world.
As a result of God’s signs to mankind through the ages
combined with His revelation through His prophets, all
mankind has been given a chance to recognize the one only
true God.
Consequently, every soul will be held accountable for its
belief in God and its acceptance of the true religion of
God, namely Islam, which means total submission to the
will of Allah.
CONCLUSION
The preceding book presentation has demonstrated that the
name of the religion of Islam expresses Islam’s most
central principle, submission to God, and that the name
"Islam" was chosen not by man, but by God, according to
the holy scriptures of Islam. It has also been shown that
Islam alone teaches the uniqueness of God and His
attributes and enjoins the worship of God alone without
intermediaries. Finally, due to the divinely instilled
inclination of man to worship God and the signs revealed
by God throughout the ages to each individual, Islam may
be achieved by all men at all times.
In short, the significance of the name Islam (submission to
God), Islam’s fundamental acknowledgment of the uniqueness of
God and Islam’s accessibility to all mankind at all times
convincingly support Islam’s claim that from the beginning of
time in whatever language it was expressed, Islam alone has
been, and will be the true religion of God.
In conclusion we ask Allah, the exalted, to keep us on the right
path to which He has guided us, and to bestow on us His
blessings and mercy, for He is indeed the Most Merciful. Praise
be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be
on prophet Muhammad and on all the prophets of God and their
righteous followers.
AMEEN
Back to Top