The True Religion

موضوع: The True Religion الجمعة مايو 31, 2013 11:23 pm

The True Religion
The True Religion Mecca2

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 (saws) 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'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".
(Qur'an Al-Maa'idah 5:3)
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah (God) never will It be accepted of Him"
(Qur'an Aal'imraan 3:85)
"Abraham was not a Jew nor Christian; but an upright Muslim."
(Qur'an Aal'imraan 3:67)
Nowhere
in the Bible will you find Allah saying to Prophet Moses (as) 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 Latinised version of the Hebrew name Esau.
For
simplicity's sake, I will however continue to refer to Prophet Esau
(as) 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'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')"
(Qur'an 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'an, known as Qur'an 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)."
(Qur'an 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 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 Our'aan Allah clearly states:
"For We assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet,(with the command) worship me and avoid false gods ".
(Qur'an 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-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 methods 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 ".
(Qur'an 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 Jinns and men, that they may worship me"
(Qur'an 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".
(Qur'an 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 shall have their reward with their Lord; They
will not be overcome by fear nor grief."
(Qur'an 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".
(Qur'an 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 Qur'an 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 (saws) reported that Allah said, "I created my servants in the
right religion but devils made them go astray". The Prophet (saws) 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).
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 Prophet’s (saws)
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 Muhammad, his Family, his
companions, and those who rightly follow them.

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