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) 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 Islam 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'an,
Allah states the following:
|
"This day
have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon
you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion". (Surah
Al-Ma'idah 5:3)
"If
anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah
(God) never will It be accepted of Him" (Surah
Aal'imraan 3:85)
"Abraham
was not a Jew nor Christian; but an upright Muslim."
(Surah 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 anointed. 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 not tell his followers to worship him but to worship
Allah. As the Qur'an 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')" (Surah
Al-Ma'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'an, known as Surah
Al-Fatihah, verse 4:
"You
alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek help".
Elsewhere,
in the final book of revelation, the Qur'an, Allah also said:
"And
your Lord says: "Call on Me and I will answer your prayer).
"(Surah Ghafir 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 maybe called 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 Qur'an Allah clearly states:
"For
We assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet, with the command)
worship me and avoid false gods " (Surah
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
Elaha lal lah" (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-Bukhari 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 Qur'an:
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 ". (Surah
Yusuf 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 Qur'an:
"I
have only created Jinns and men, that they may worship me "
(Surah Zariyat 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 "
(Surah 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 savior 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 Islam'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 Sabaeans 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
(Surah
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.". (Surah
Al-.Ma'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
Surah
Al-A'raf, 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-Bukhari and Muslim).
(Collected by Al-Bukhari 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 Lord of 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
(from
Ibrahim Shafee's Home Page: http://www.islamworld.net)
Try
the Following Links for More About The True Religion of ISLAM:
|
Then
Try These Links for The Basic "Pillars" of ISLAM:
|
Pillars of Faith
|
||
by
Doctor Jafar Sheikh Idrees
|
||
Last
update | 27 Safar 1421 | June 01 2000
هل أعجبك الموضوع ؟
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق