islam is true

Page 1 of 7The True Religion of GodByDr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips - 3rdEdition, 1994Which Is The True Religion Of God?Eachperson is born in a circumstance which is not of his own choosing. The religion of hisfamily or the ideology of the state is thrust upon him from the very beginning of his existencein this world. By the time he reaches his teens, he is usually fully brain-washed into believingthat 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 toquestion the validity of their own beliefs. The seekers of truth often reach a point of confusionupon realizing that each and every religion, sect, ideology and philosophy claims to be the oneand only correct way for man. Indeed, they all encourage people to do good. So, which one isright? They cannot all be right since each claims all others are wrong. Then how does theseeker of truth choose the right way?God gave us all minds and intellects to enable us to make this crucial decision. It is the mostimportant 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 choosewhat 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 toGod. In this respect it is no different from other systems. This booklet intends to provide someevidence for the validity of that claim. However, it must always be kept in mind that one canonly determine the true path by putting aside emotions and prejudices, which often blind us toreality. Then, and only then, will we be able to use our God-given intelligence and make arational and correct decision.There are several arguments, which may be advanced to support Islam’s claim to be the truereligion of God. The following are only three of the most obvious. The first argument is based onthe divine origin of the names of the religion and the comprehensiveness of its meaning. Thesecond deals with the unique and uncomplicated teachings concerning the relationshipbetween God, man, and creation. The third argument derives from the fact that Islam isuniversally attainable by all men at all times. These are the three basic components of whatlogic and reason dictate necessary for a religion to be considered the true religion of God. Thefollowing pages will develop these concepts in some detail.The Religion’s NameThe 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 willto the only true God, known in Arabic as “Allah”. One who submits his will to God is termed inArabic a “Muslim”. The religion of Islam is not named after a person or a people, nor was itdecided by a later generation of man, as in the case of Christianity which was named afterJesus Christ, Buddhism after Gautama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, Marxism afterKarl Marx, Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam (submissionto the will of God) is the religion which was given to Adam, the first man and the first prophetof God, and it was the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind. Further its namewas chosen by God Himself and clearly mentioned in the final scripture which He revealed toman. 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 foryou Islam as your religion.” [Qur’an 5:3]“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam(submission to God), never will it be accepted ofHim.” [Qur’an 3:85]
Page 2 of 7Hence, Islam does not claim to be a new religion brought by Prophet Mohammed into Arabia inthe seventh century, but rather to be a re-expression in its final form of the true religion ofAlmighty 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 descendantsthat their religion is called Judaism, or to the followers of Christ that their religion is calledChristianity. In other words, the names “Judaism” and “Christianity” had no divine origin orapproval. It was not until long after his departure that the name Christianity was given toJesus’ religion.What, then, was Jesus’ religion in actual fact, as distinct from its name? (Both the name Jesusand the name Christ are derived from Hebrew words, through Greek and Latin. Jesus is theEnglish 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 toaccept as guiding principles in their relationship with God. In Islam, Jesus is a prophet sent byAllah and his Arabic name is Eesa. Like the prophets before him, he called upon the people tosurrender their will to the will of God (which is what Islam stands for). For example, in the NewTestament it is stated that Jesus taught his followers to pray to God as follows:“Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, may yourwill be done on earth as it is in heaven.” [Luke11:2/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 alsopointed out that he himself submitted to the will of God.“None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdomof God, but only the one who does the will of my Fatherin heaven.” [Matthew 7:21]“I cannot do anything of myself I judge as I hear and myjudgment is honest because I am not seeking my ownwill 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 followersthat 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 theangels 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 religionof Islam: submission to the will of the one true God.God And CreationSince the total submission of one’s will to God represents the essence of worship, the basicmessage of God’s divine religion, Islam, is the worship of God alone. It also requires theavoidance of worship directed to any person, place or thing other than God. Since everythingother than God, the creator of all the things, is God’s creation, it may be said that Islam, inessence, 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 areanswered.
Page 3 of 7Accordingly, if a man prays to a tree and his prayers are answered, it is not the tree whichanswers his prayers but God, who allows the circumstances prayed for to take place. Onemight 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 toMuhammad, are not answered by them, but are answered by God. Jesus did not tell hisfollowers to worship him but to worship God, as the Quran states:“And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus, the son ofMary! Did you say to men, worship me and mymother as gods besides Allah?, He will say: “Glory toyou, 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 Jesuswas reported in the Gospels to have said,“It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Himonly.’” [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 weseek help.”Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the Quran, God also said:“And you Lord says: ‘Call on Me and I will answeryour (prayer).’” [Qur’an 40:60]It is worth emphasizing that the basic message of Islam (namely, the worship of God alone) alsoproclaims that God and His creation are distinctly different entities. God is neither equal to Hiscreation 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 largedegree based on ignorance, or neglect, of this concept. It is the belief that the essence of God iseverywhere in His creation or that His divine being is or was present in some parts of Hiscreation, which has provided justification for the worship of God’s creation and naming it theworship of God. However, the message of Islam, as brought by the prophets of God, is toworship 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 aprophet, with the command Worship Me and avoidfalse Gods.” [Qur’an 16:36]When idol worshippers are questioned as to why they bow down to idols created by men, theinvariable reply is that they are not actually worshipping the stone image, but God who ispresent within it. They claim that the stone idol is only a focal point for God’s essence and isnot in itself God! One who has accepted the concept of God being present in any way within Hiscreation will be obliged to accept this argument for idolatry. Whereas, one who understands thebasic message of Islam and its implications would never agree to idolatry no matter how it isrationalized.Those who have claimed divinity for themselves down through the ages have often based theirclaims on the mistaken belief that God is present in man. Taking one step further, they claimthat God is more present in them than in the rest of us, and that other humans should
Page 4 of 7therefore submit to them and worship them as God in person or as God concentrated withintheir persons. Similarly, those who have asserted the godhood of others after their deaths havefound 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 andits 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 ofcreation-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 bringone within the fold of Islam, and sincere belief in it guarantees one Paradise. Thus, the finalProphet of Islam (p.b.u.h) is reported to have said, “Any one whosays: There is no God butAllah, 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 taughtby the prophets of God. It also requires the believer to give up the worship of false gods.The Message Of False ReligionsThere are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all ofwhich claim to be the right way or the only true path of God How can one determine which oneis correct or whether, in fact, all are correct? One method by which the answer can be found isto clear away the superficial differences in the teachings of the various claimants to theultimate truth, and identifies the central object of worship upon which they call, directly orindirectly. False religions all have in common one basic concept with regard to God they eitherclaim that all men are gods, or that specific men were God, or that nature is God, or that Godis a figment of man’s imagination.Thus, it may be stated that the basic message of false religion is that God may be worshippedin the form of His creation. False religions invite man to the worship of creation by calling thecreation or some aspect of it God. For example, prophet Jesus invited his followers to worshipGod, but those who claim to be Jesus’ followers today call people to worship Jesus, claimingthat he was God.Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles in the religion ofIndia. He did not claim to be God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be an object ofworship. Yet today most Buddhists who are to be found outside of India have taken him to beGod and they prostrate themselves to idols made in their perception of his likeness.By using the principleof identifying the object of worship, we can easily detect false religionsand the contrived nature of their origin. As God said in the Qur’an:“That which you worship besides Him are only namesand you and your forefathers have invented forwhich Allah has sent down no authority: thecommand belongs only to Allah He has commandthat you worship Him; that is the right religion, butmost 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 wefollow? 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 verypurpose of his creation. Man was created to worship God alone as Allah has explicitly stated inthe Qur’an:“I have only created jinns and men, that they mayworship Me” [Qur’an 51:56]
Page 5 of 7Consequently , the worship of creation, which is the essence of idolatry is the only unforgivablesin. One who dies in this state of idolatry, has sealed his fate in the next life. This is not anopinion, but a revealed fact stated by God in his final revelation to man:“Verily Allah will not forgive the joining of partnerswith Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that forwhomsoever He wishes.” [Qur’an 4:48 and 116]Universality Of God’s ReligionSince the consequences of following a false religion are so grave, the true religion of God musthave been universally understandable and universally attainable in the past and it mustcontinue eternally to be understandable and attainable throughout the entire world. In otherwords, 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 therelationship of man with God, such as baptism, or belief in man as a savior, or anintermediary. Within the central principle of Islam and its definition (the surrender of one’s willto God) lie the roots of Islam’s universality. Whenever man comes to the realization that God isone and distinct from His creation, and submits himself to God, he becomes a Muslim in bodyand 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 toGod alone. It should be noted, however, that in order to actually submit to God’s will, one mustcontinually choose between right and wrong. Indeed, man is endowed by God with the powernot only to distinguish right from wrong but also to choose between them. These God-givenpowers carry with them an important responsibility, namely, that man is answerable to God forthe choices he makes. It follows, then, that man should try his utmost to do good and avoidevil. These concepts are expressed in the final revelation as follows:“Verily, those who believe (in the Qur’an), and thosewho follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, andthe Sabians (angel-and-star-worshippers) -- any ofthese who believe in Allah and the Last Day and workrighteousness shall have their reward with theirLord. 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 explainedto them, they will be in grave danger. The last Prophet said:“Whoever among the Christians and Jews hears of me butdoes not affirm his belief in what I brought and dies inthis state will be among the inhabitants of hell.” (SahihMuslim [English Translation], Vol.1 P.91 No, 284)Recognition Of GodThe question which arises here is : How can all people be expected to believe in the one trueGod, given their varying backgrounds, societies and cultures?For people to be held responsiblefor worshipping the one true God, they all need to have access to knowledge of Him. The finalrevelation teaches that all humans being have the recognition of the one true God imprinted ontheir 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 Hecreated Adam He caused all of Adam’s descendants to come into existence and He took apledge from them saying:
Page 6 of 7“‘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 theonly true God worthy of worship. He said:“That was in case you (mankind) should say on theday of Resurrection, ‘Verily we were unaware of allthis’” [Qur’an 7:172]That is to say, we cannot claim on that day that we had no idea that Allah, was our God andthat no one told us that we were only supposed to worship Allah alone. Allah went on to furtherexplain that:“It was also in case you should say, ‘Certainly it wasour ancestors who made partners (with Allah) and weare only their descendants; will you then destroy usfor 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 worshipHim 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 rightreligion, but devils made them go astray.” The Prophet also said, “Each child is born in astate of Fitrah. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.” If the childwere left alone, he would worship God in his own way, but all children are affected by theenvironment. So, just as the child submits to the physical laws, which Allah has imposed onnature, in the same way his soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is his Lord andCreator. But, if his parents try to make him follow a different path, the child is not strongenough 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 holdhim to account or punish him for his religion up to a certain stage of his life.The Signs Of GodThroughout people’s lives, from childhood until the time they die, signs of the one and onlytrue God are shown to them in all regions of the earth and in their own souls, until it becomesclear 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 becomesclear 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 tribeerected a new hut to house their man-idol Skwatch, representing the supreme God of allcreation. The following day a young man entered the hut to pay homage to the God, and whilehe was in prostration to what he had been taught was his Creator and Sustainer, a mangy oldflea-ridden dog slunk into the hut. The young man looked up in time to see the dog lift his hindleg and pass urine on the idol.Outraged, the youth chased the dog out of the temple; but when his rage died down he realizedthat the idol could not be the Lord of the Universe. God must be elsewhere, he concluded. Asstrange 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 liberatedfrom slavishly following his traditionally learned worship of a false god. As a result, this manwas 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 Hissigns will be rightly guided:
Page 7 of 7“So also did we show Abraham the power and theLaws of the heavens and the earth that he might(with understanding) have certitude. When the nightcovered him over, he saw a star. He said: ‘This is myLord.’ But when it set, he said: ‘I love not those thatset’ When he saw the moon rising in splendor, hesaid: ‘This is my Lord.’ But when the moon set, hesaid: ‘Unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely beamong those who go astray.’ When he saw the risingsun in splendor, he said: ‘This is my Lord this is thegreatest (of all).’ But when the sun set, he said; ‘Omy people I am indeed free from your (guilt) of givingpartners to Allah. For me, I have set my face, firmlyand truly, towards Him who created the heavens andthe 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’snatural belief in God and man’s in-born inclination to worship Him, as well as to reinforce thedivine truth in the daily signs revealed by God. Although much of these prophets’ teachingsbecame distorted, portions revealing their God-inspired messages have remained untainted andhave 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” ofJudaism’s Torah which were later adopted into Christianity’s teachings, as well as in theexistence of laws against murder, stealing and adultery in most societies throughout theancient and modern world.As a result of God’s signs to mankind through the ages combined with His revelation throughHis 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 thetrue religion of God, namely Islam, which means total submission to the will of Allah.ConclusionThe preceding presentation has demonstrated that the name of the religion of Islam expressesIslam’s most central principle, submission to God, and that the name “Islam” was chosen notby man, but by God, according to the holy scriptures of Islam. It has also been shown thatIslam alone teaches the uniqueness of God and His attributes and enjoins the worship of Godalone without intermediaries. Finally, due to the divinely instilled inclination of man to worshipGod and the signs revealed by God throughout the ages to each individual, Islam may beachieved by all men at all times.In short, the significance of the name Islam (submission to God), Islam’s fundamentalacknowledgment of the uniqueness of God and Islam’s accessibility to all mankind at all timesconvincingly support Islam’s claim that from the beginning of time in whatever language it wasexpressed, 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 guidedus, and to bestow on us His blessings and mercy, for He is indeed the Most Merciful. Praise beto Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be on prophet Muhammad and on allthe prophets of God and their righteous followers.