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"On
the day when we summon them all, we will say to those who worshiped
idols, "We have summoned you, together with your idols." We
will have them confront each other, and their idols will say to them,
"We had no idea that you idolized us." Qur'an 10:28
THE
RELIGION OF ISLAM
The first
thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what
the word "Islam" itself means. The religion of Islam is not
named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named
after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after
Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a
tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the
Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such,
its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's"
religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God".
The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender
of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah"
and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim", The word also
implies "peace" which is the natural consequence of total
submission to the will of Allah. Hence, it was not a new religion
brought by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) I in Arabia in the seventh
century, but only the true religion of Allah re-expressed in its
final form.
Islam is the
religion which was given to Adam, the first man and the first prophet
of Allah, and it was the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah
to mankind. The name of God's religion lslam was not decided upon by
later generations of man. It was chosen by Allah Himself and clearly
mentioned in His final revelation to man. In the final book of divine
revelation, the Qur'aan, 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". (Soorah
Al-Maa'idah 5:3)
"If
anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah (God)
never will It be accepted of Him" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85)
"Abraham
was not a Jew nor Christian; but an upright Muslim." (Soorah
Aal'imraan 3:67)
Nowhere in
the Bible will you find Allah saying to Prophet Moses' people or
their descendants that their religion is Judaism, nor to the
followers of Christ that their religion is Christianity. In fact,
Christ was not even his name, nor was it Jesus! The name
"Christ" comes from the Greek word Christos which means the
annointed. That is, Christ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew title
"Messiah". The name "Jesus" on the other hand, is
a latinized version of the Hebrew name Esau.
For
simplicity's sake, I will however continue to refer to Prophet Esau
(PBUH) as Jesus. As for his religion, it was what he called his
followers to. Like the prophets before him, he called the people to
surrender their will to the will of Allah; (which is Islam) and he
warned them to stay away from the false gods of human imagination.
According to
the New Testament, he taught his followers to pray as follows:
"Yours will be done on earth as it is in Heaven".
THE MESSAGE
OF ISLAM
Since the
total submission of one's will to Allah represents the essence of
worship, the basic message of Allah's divine religion, Islam is the
worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship directed to any
person, place or thing other than Allah.Since everything other than
Allah, the Creator of all things, is Allah's creation; it may be said
that Islam, in essence calls man away from the worship of creation
and invites him to worship only its Creator. He is the only one
deserving man's worship as it is only by His will that prayers are
answered. If man prays to a tree and his prayers are answered, it was
not the tree which answered his prayers but Allah who allowed the
circumstances prayed for to take place. One might say, "That is
obvious," however, to tree-worshippers it might not be.
Similarly, prayers to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna, to Saint
Christopher, or Saint Jude or even to Muhammad, are not answered by
them but are answered by Allah. Jesus did nottell his followers to
worship him but to worship Allah. As the Qur'aan 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')" (Soorah Al-Maa'idah- 5:116)
Nor did he
worship himself when he worshipped but rather he worshipped Allah.
This basic principle is enshrined in the opening chapter of the
Qur'aan, 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 Qur'aan, Allah also said:
"And
your Lord says:"Call on Me and I will answer
your(prayer)."(Soorsh Mu'min 40:60)
it is worth
noting that the basic message of Islam is that Allah and His creation
are distinctly different entities. Neither is Allah His creation or a
part of it, nor is His creation 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 of this concept. It is the
belief that the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or
that His divine being is or was present in some aspects of His
creation, which has provided justification for the worship of
creation though such worship maybecalled the worship of Allah through
his creation. How ever, the message of Islam as brought by the
prophets of Allah is to worship only Allah and to avoid the worship
of his creation either directly or indirectly. In the Our'aan Allah clearlystates:
"For We
assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet,(with the command)
worship meand avoid false gods " (Soorsh Al-Nahl 16:36)
When the
idol worshipper is questioned as to why he or she bows down to idols
created by men, the invariable reply is that they are not actually
worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is present within it. They
claim that the stone idol is only a focal point for Allah's essence
and is not in itself Allah! One who has accepted the concept of the
presence of God's being within His creation in any way will be
obliged to accept this argument of idolatry. Whereas, one who
understands the basic message of Islam and its implications would
never concede 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 Allah is present in
man. They merely had to assert that although Allah according to their
false beliefs, is in all of us, He is more present in them than in
the rest of us. Hence, they claim, we should submit our will to them
and worship them as they are either God in person or God concentrated
within the person.
Similarly,
those who have asserted the godhood of others after their passing
have found fertile ground among those who accept the false belief of
God's presence in man. One who has grasped the basic message of Islam
and its implications could never agree to worship another human being
under any circumstances. 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
Elaaha lllallaah" (There is no god but Allah)
Its
repetition automatically brings one within the fold of Islam and
sincere belief in it guarantees one Paradise.
Thus, the
final Prophet of Islam is reported to have said, "Any one who
says: There is no god but Allah and dies holding that (belief) will
enter paradise".(Reported by Abu Dharr and collected by Al-Bukhaaree
and Muslim).
It consists
in the submission to Allah as one God, yielding to Him by obeying His
commandments, and the denial of polytheism and polytheists.
THE MESSAGE
OF FALSE RELIGION
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
to Allah. How can one determine which one is correct or if, in fact,
all are correct? The 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 identify the central
object of worship to which they call, directly or indirectly. False
religions all have in common one basic concept with regards to Allah.
They either claim that all men are gods or that specific men were
Allah or that nature is Allah or that Allah is a figment of man's imagination.
Thus, it may
be stated that the basic message of false religion is that Allah may
be worshipped in the form of His creation. False religion invites 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
Allah but those who claim to be his followers today call people to
worship Jesus, claiming that he was Allah!
Buddha was a
reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles to 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 prostrate to idols made in their perception of his likeness.
By using the
principle of identifying the object of worship, false religion
becomes very obvious and the contrived nature of their origin clear.
As God said in the Our'aan:
That which
you worship besides Him are only names you and your forefathers have
invented for which Allah has sent down no authority: The command
belongs only to Allah:
He has
commanded that you only worship Him; that is the right religion, but
most men do not understand ". (Soorah Yoosuf 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 Allah alone as
Allah has explicitly stated in the Our'aan:
"I have
only created Jlnns and men, that they may worship me"(Soorah
Zaareeyaat 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 Allah 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 whom so ever He wishes"(Soorah
An- Nisaa 4:48 and 116)
THE
UNIVERSALITY OF ISLAM
Since the
consequences of false religion are so grave, the true religion of
Allah must be universally understandable and attainable, not confined
to any people, place or time. There can not be conditions like
baptism, belief in a man, as a saviour etc., for a believer to enter
paradise. Within the central principle of Islam and in its
definition, (the surrender of one's will to God) lies the roots of
lslam's universality. Whenever man comes to the realization that
Allah is one and distinct from His creation, and submits himself to
Allah, he becomes a Muslim in body and spirit and is eligible for
paradise. Thus, anyone at anytime in the most remote region of the
world can become a Muslim, a follower of God's religion, Islam, by
merely rejecting the worship of creation and by turning to Allah
(God) alone-It should be noted however, that the recognition of and
submission to Allah requires that one chooses between right and wrong
and such a choice implies accountability. Man will be held
responsible for his choices, and, as such, he should try his utmost
to do good and avoid evil. The ultimate good being the worship of
Allah alone and the ultimate evil being the worship of His creation
along with or instead of Allah. This fact is expressed in the final
revelation as follows:
"Verily
those who believe, those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), the
Christians and the Sabians any who believe In Allah and the last day,
and work righteousness *hall have their reward with their Lord;They
will not be overcome by fear nor grief (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:62).
If only they
had stood by the law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was
sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from
every side. There Is from among them a party on the right course; but
many of them follow a course that Is evil.". (Soorah
Al-.Maa'idah 5:66)
RECOGNITION
OF ALLAH
The question
which arises here is, "How can all people be expected to believe
in Allah given their varying- backgrounds, societies and cultures?
For people to be responsible for worshipping Allah they all have to
have access to knowledge of Allah. The final revelation teaches that
all mankind have the recognition of Allah imprinted on their souls, a
part of their very nature with which they are created.
In Soorah
Al-A'raaf, Verses 172-173; Allah explained that when He created Adam,
He caused all of Adam's descendants to come into existence and took a
pledge from them saying, Am I not your Lord? To which they all
replied, " Yes, we testify to It:'
Allah then
explained why He had all of mankind bear witness that He is their
creator and 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." That is to say, we
had no idea that You Allah, were our God. No one told us that we were
only supposed to worship You alone. Allah went on to 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?" Thus, every
child is born with a natural belief in Allah and an inborn
inclination to worship Him alone called in Arabic the "Fitrah".
If the child
were left alone, he would worship Allah in his own way, but all
children are affected by those things around them, seen or unseen.
The Prophet
(PBUH) reported that Allah said, "I created my servants in the
right religion but devils made them go astray". The Prophet
(PBUH) also said, "Each child is born in a state of
"Fitrah", then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a
Zoroastrian, the way an animal gives birth to a normal offspring.
Have you noticed any that were born mutilated?" (Collected by
Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
So, just as
the child submits to the physical laws which Allah has put in nature,
his soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is his Lord
and Creator. But, his parents try to make him follow their own way
and the child is not strong enough in the early stages of his life to
resist or oppose the will of his parents. The religion which the
child follows at this stage is one of custom and upbringing and Allah
does not hold him to account or punish him for this religion.
Throughout
people's lives from childhood until the time they die, signs 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). If
the people are honest with themselves, reject their false gods and
seek Allah, the way will be made easy for them but if they
continually reject Allah's signs and continue to worship creation,
the more difficult it will be for them to escape. For example, in the
South Eastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South America, a
primitive tribe erected a new hut to house their main idol Skwatch,
representing the supreme God of all creation. The 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 walked into the
hut, The young man looked up in time to see the dog lift its 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 Lordof the universe. Allah must be elsewhere. he now
had a choice to act on his knowledge and seek Allah, or to
dishonestly go along with the false beliefs of his tribe. As strange
as it may seem, that was a sign from Allah for that young man. It
contained within it divine guidance that what he was worshipping was false.
Prophets
were sent, as was earlier mentioned, to every nation and tribe to
support man's natural belief in Allah and man's inborn inclination to
worship Him as well as to reinforce the divine truth in the daily
signs revealed by Allah. Although, in most cases, much of the
prophets' teachings became distorted, portions remained which point
out right and wrong. For example, the ten commandments of the Torah,
their confirmation in the Gospels and the existence of laws against
murder, stealing and adultery in most societies. Consequently, every
soul will be held to account for its belief in Allah and its
acceptance of the religion of Islam; the total submission to the will
of Allah.
We pray to
Allah, the exalted, to keep us on the right path to which He has
guided us, and to bestow on us a blessing from Him, He is indeed the
Most Merciful. Praise and gratitude be to Allah,the Lord of the
worlds, and peace and blessings be on prophet Muhammed, his Family,
his companions, and those who rightly follow them.
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