The religion of islam

[AL-ATHRAM]

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 Allath re-expressed in its final form.
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(1) PBUH: peace be upon him.


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'aan, Allah states the following:


"This day have I pertected your religlon 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 religlon other than lslam (submlesion to Allah (God) never will it be accepted
of Hlm" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85)


"Abreham was not a Jew noryet a Christian; butan 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 rafer 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 willbe done on earth as it is in Heaven"

[AL-ATHRAM]

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 tharn

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'aan
states:

"And beholdl Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of
Maryl Did you say to men, Worship me and my
mother as gods besides Allah?'He willsayGlory 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 worshlp 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)."(Soorah 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 Hinm

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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 may becalled
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'aan Allah clearly states:

"For We assuredly sent amongst every people
a prophet,(with the command)worship me and avold
false gods" (Soorah AI-Nahl 18:36)


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:


لا إله إلا الله

"Laa Elaaha Illallaah"
(There is no god but Allah)

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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 ii, 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'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 Qur'aan:

"I have only created JInns 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 forglve the jolning of partners with Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that for whomsoever He wishes"(Soorah An- Nisaa 4:48 and 116)

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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 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:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آَمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (62)


"Verily those who belleve, those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), the Christians and the Sabians any who belleve in Allah and the last day, and work righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord;They will not be overcome by fear nor grief "
(Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:62).


وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَأَكَلُوا مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ مِنْهُمْ أُمَّةٌ مُقْتَصِدَةٌ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ سَاءَ مَا يَعْمَلُونَ (66)


" 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)