The True Religion
By Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
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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