3. @CoopendIve Offtce for Call & Guidane at Batha, 1995
Olllcclor Call& Guidano 8rthr, 1995
rt
@C*nrrmr"
KIng FIhd NltIonIJ Ubrary Cataloglng.ln- Publication Data
fhg Fild t|ltoml UbnryCrleloglryiln- Publlcation lbtrr
Philis, Bilal
Philis,Bilal
The True religion.
The True religion.
2Op; 12 x 17 em. .
?0p: 12x1 7 c m
ISBN:9960"798-10-0
ISBN: 996().798-10-0
l- lslam
1-lslam 2- lslamictheology
2- Islamic theology 1- title
l- titl€
0 dc
210dc 196ry15
1960115
Legal Depositno: 196(V15
Legal Deposit no: 1960115
ISBN:9960-798-lO-O
ISBN: 9960-798-10-0
COOPERATIVE OFFICE
COOPERATIYE OFFICE
CALL
FOR CALL AND GUIDANCE
GTIIDANCE
BATHA
IN AL- BArnA
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
MINISTRY OF ISLAMIC AFFAIRS.
OF ISI-AMIC AFFAIRS.
ENDOWMENTS. PROPAGATION AND GUIDANCE
AND CUIDANCE
PO. BOX:20824 RIYADH.II46S
PO. BOX:20824 RIYADH.I 1465
i
:~~
T'()30251
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FAX r- 4059387
FAX 4059387
Lecture hall. Tel + Fax: 00966- 1- 4083405
I-ecturehall. Fax: 00966- l- 4083405
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www.cocc.oRc
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@
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etf rights reserved for the Office
prrt of this book may bc II5Cd
No pan of't6is book may be uscd for publicetio,nwithout thc
publication the
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wbich should be addrcsrcdto thc oflicc
rbould bc addressed the office
4. THE TRUEERELIGION N
T H ET R U R E L I G I O
BY
BY
ABU AIIEEHAHBILAL PHILIPS
ABU AMEENAH BILAL PHILIPS
THE RELIGION ISLAII
THE RELIGION OF ISLAM
OF
The first thing that one shouldknow and clearly
The first thing that one should know and clearly
about lslam is what the word "lslam"
understand about Islam is what the word "Islam"
understand
itselfmeans. The religion lslamis not named
of
itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after
after
a personas in the case of Christianity which was
a person as in the case of Christianity which was
namedafterJesusChrist,Buddhism afterGotama
named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama
Buddha, Gonfucianism after Gonfucius, and
Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and
Marxismafter Karl Marx.Nor was namedafter
Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a
tribe fike Judaism after the tribe Judah and
tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and
Hinduism afterthe Hindus. lsfamis the true religion
Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion
of "Allah" and as such, its name represents
of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the the
central principleof Allah's "God's" religion;the
central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the
total submission the will
to Allah "God". The
total submission to the will of Allah "God". The
Arabic word "lslam" means the submission
Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or
surrender one'swill theonlytrueGodworthy
surrender of one's will to the only true God worthyof
worship"Allah" and anyonewho doesso is termed
worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed
" Muslim", The wo:'dalso implies"peace"which is
a "Muslim". The word also implies "peace" which is
the naturalconseguence totalsubmission the
of
the natural consequence of total submission to the
will of Allah.Hence, it was not a new religion brought
will Allah.Hence,wasnot newreligion brought
by ProphetMuhammad(PBUH)I Arabia
by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)I in Arabia in the the
century,but only the true religion Allah
seventh century, but only the true religion of Allah
seventh
in
re-expressed in its final form.
re-expressed its final form.
(l) pcacebe upon
(I) PBUH: peace be upon him.
-1- -
- 1
5. lslamis the religionwhichwasgivento Adam,the
Islam is the religion which was given to Adam, the
first manandthe f irstprophet Allah,and it wasthe
first man and the first prophet of Allah, and it was the
of
religionof all the prophets
religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind.
sentby Allahto mankind.
The name of God's religionrlslamrwas decided
The name of God's religion,lslam_was not decided
not
upon by latergenerations man.lt waschosenby
upon by later generations of man. It was chosen by
of
Allah Himselfand clearlymentionedin His final
Allah Himself and clearly mentioned in His final
revelationto man. In the final book
revelation to man. In the final book of divine divine
revelation, Qur'aan,.
the Allah statesthe following:
revelation, the Qur'aan,. Allah states the following:
#--F# L=;&.rF iirf i;irp
!. *~J;~::}~ ·~.jtF~~·~,js-tF;;H»
! ~ e5i
~~~;£'i~
{6;-ti''F
"Thb day have perfected
"Thl. day heye I perfected your religion for you,
rellglon you,
compleled f,y favour upon you, and have choren
completed My feyour upon you, end heft chosen
lor you lrlem rf rellgfon".
for you ,.Iem e. your religion".
(SoorahAl-Maa'idah5:3)
(Soorah AI-Maa'idah 5:3)
* q,
"'". //'> /",',. / ........,;.- ""/ //):..
4'^4'J-i, &i*'E; J iy
"(~~~~~~)'-#&c:r",T
"fl Inyonr dedrur a rellglon othcr then '.'em
"If .nyone dellre. e religion other then lrlem
(rubmlulon to AI18h (God) never will It beecceptcd
(.ubm'nlon Alhh (God) nGwrwlll tt be eccepted
ol l{lm" (SoorahAal'imraan3:85)
of Him" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85)
"'~L:~r;: _...
"( '"
·;'~~c;'''''6( ·~1/t.»/' ;'·S~):..
41rJ6,#.,t#;q;{iqfr e-tfisyy
~.J .. rA' .J ..).H:~.:I.t-
) T
"Abnhrm mt nol I Jcr yel r Chrlrllen;
"Abr8h8m w.. not a Jew nor yet e Chrlst'an; but en
uprfghl tulllm." (SoorahAal'imraan 3:67)
upright MUlllm." (Soorah Aal'imraan3:67)
Nowhere in the Bible will you find Allahsayingto
Nowherein the Biblewill you find Allah saying
Prophet Moses' people
Prophet Moses' people or their descendants
descendants that
- 2-
- 2-
6. religion Judaism, followers
their religion is Judaism, nor to the foflowers of
religion is Christianity. fact,
Christ that their religion ls Christianity. In fact,
even name, Jesus!
Christ was not even his name, nor was it Jesusl The
name "Christ" comes f rom the Greek word Christos
from Greek
which means the annointed. That is, Christ is a
means annointed. is,
"Messiah". The
Greek translation of the Hebrew title Messiah".
title"
name "Jesus" on the other hand, is a latinized
name hand, latinized
version of the Hebrew name Esau.
version Esau.
For s im plic it y ' ss a k e ,l w i l l howeverr c o n ti n u e to
For simplicity's sake, I will h o w e v e continue
refer to Prophet Esau (PBUH) as Jesus. As for his
reler Prophet Esau (PBUH) as Jesus.
religion, it was whatt he calledd his followers to.. Like
re l i gion, was wha h e c a l fe h i s fo l l o w e rsto L ike
prophets before him, he called the people
the prophets before him, he called the people to
th e w i l o f Allah; (w h i c h i s
surrender their willl to the willl of Al l a h ; (which is
su rrender t heir wil
Islam) and he warned them to stay away from the
lslam) he warned them stay
false gods of human imagination. .
l a l se gods hum a n i ma g i n a ti o n
According to the New Testament. he taught his
According the New Testament, taught
pray as follows:"Yours willbe
followers to pray as follows:"Yours will be done on
followers
earth as it is in Heaven".
earth as is in Heaven".
THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM
MESSAGE OF ISLAM
Since the total submission one's will
Since the total submission of one's will to Allah Altah
represents the essence of worship, the basic
represents the essence basic
A llah' d i v i n e re l i g i o n l s l a m i s t he
message of Allah'ss divine religion, , Islam is the
me s s age
worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship
worship Allah alone and the avoidance worship
directed any person, place
directed to any person, place or thing other than
thing other than
-3 -
-3
7. Allah.Sinceeverything otherthanAllah,the Greator
Allah. Since everything other than Allah, the Creator
of all things,is Allah'screation;it may be said that
of all things, is Allah's creation; it may be said that
fslam,in essence callsman awayfrom the worship
Islam, in essence calls man away from the worship
of creation and invites him to worship only its
of creation and invites him to worship only its
Creator.He is the only onedeserving man'sworship
Creator. He is the only one deserving man's worship
as it is only by His will that prayers answered.
are
as it is only by His will that prayers are answered. If
lf
man prays to tree and his
man prayersare answered,
praysto a tree and his prayers are answered, it
was not the tree which answeredhis prayers but
was not the tree which answered his prayers but
Allah who allowedthe circumstance$ prayedfor to
Allah who allowed the circumstances prayed for to
take place. One might say, "That is obvious,"
take place. One might say, "That is obvious,"
however, to tree-worshippers might not be.
however, to tree-worshippers it might not be.
Similarly, prayers Jesus,Buddha, Krishna,
Similarly, prayers to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna, to
Saint Christopher, Saint Jude
Saint Christopher, or Saint Jude or even to even
Muhammad, are not answsred by them but are
Muhammad, are not answered by them but are
answered Allah.Jesusdid nottellhisfollowersto
by
answered by Allah. Jesus did not tell his followers to
worship him but worship Allah. As the Qur'aan
worship him but to worship Allah. As the Our'aan
states:
states:
j.J:Jr.qE;ii ;.~~:.*:+{r.r'iJ~T
wlLfu~d~ r-v v.~;.~ rl p
if ii ~~J~~'~}..
#Ei v", ;' {r,1; ~-:".",.
"" "" ig
iJ' t!~~~~, . Ji ';»~.J~~~ ~~.J""
6+iKu,
• .-!
ir#" Ju1i'iv *d;l -tt
". , . , ",
* ", "" , .",.
.M
", ...... .,,'" "" ..
q.F;A(,J,I
J "..:t~j~~
,i.E:,
"(~,VM"':! ~
"And behoidlAl18h will "r: "0 J81U8 the son of
bdroldl Alhh wlll np "O J.rur [rr ron
M.ryt Old you ..y !o rncnf Wonfrlp mr .nd my
ilryt Dld rrt to men. Worahlp me rnd
mothrr er godr brlldcl Al18h'?'He wlll rrf Glory
mother •• god. besld. Alhhd'Hr rllt ..':'Olory to
- 4-
- 4-
8. you I could never say what I had no right (to say')"
you could neyer my whsl hrd rlght rey'['
(SoorahAl-Maa'idah- 16.
(Soorah AI-Maa'idah- 5:116.
5:1
Nor did he worshiphimselfwhen he worshipped
Nor did he worship himself when he worshipped
but ratherhe worshipped Allah.This basicprincipte
but rather he worshipped Allah. This basic principle is
is
enshrinedin the openingchapter the Our'aan,
enshrined in the opening chapter of the Our'aan,
known as SoorahAl-Faatihah, verse4:
known as Soorah AI-Faatihah, verse 4:
{-/+,rt[ L5iut]
"You alone do we worship and from you alone dO
wonhlp lrom do
we seek help".
eeek helP".
Elsewhere, the final revelation,
Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the
Cur'aan, Allah also said:
Qur'aan, Allah also said:
c
c:.
~ §J~l);'~r ~~JJ~.J'
4fJ-#.Jx-ri;ri,'4:Jrj)
"And your Lord uYI:"CaIl on Me and I will answer
"And your uyt:"Ctll teand wlll tnlwer
your(preyer)."(Sooreh Mu'mln 40:60)
you(praycr!."($oonh tu'mln {0:60}
It is worth noting that the basic message of Islam is
worth noting that the basic message lslam
that Allah and His creation are distinctly different
that Allah and His creation are distinctly different
entities. Neitheris AllahHiscreation ora partof it. noris
entities. Neither is Allah His creation or a part of it, nor is
part Him.
His creation Him or a part of Him.
His creation Him
- 5-
- 5-
9. This might seem obvious, but, man's worship of
This might seem obvious. but. man's worship of
creation instead
creation instead of the Creator is to a large degree
the Creator large degree
based ignorance this concept.lt is
based on ignorance of this concept. It is the belief that
beliefthat
the essence Allah is everywhere His creation
the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or
that His divine being is was present some asp€cts
that His divine being is or was present in some aspects
His creation,which hasprovidediustification the
of His creation, which has provided justification for the
worship ol creationthough suchworship maybecalled
worship of creation though such worship may becalled
the worship Allahthroughhis creation.How ever,the
the worship of Allah through his creation. However, the
message lslamas brought the prophets Allahis
message of Islam as brought by the prophets of Allah is
worship Alfah and avoid the
to worship only Allah and to avoid the worship of his his
creation either directly or indirectly.
craation either directly indirectly.
In tha Qur'aanAllah clearlystates:
In the Cur'aan Allah clearly states:
,,-:"',t "''''·1 ~t,''''';;·-4 1~ . ( :"';~-:t")..
,;tlrirtJnr::,4+outJ;.{jy
d ~~,~ .J"""..J~'~~' • .J..AJJT
r -M t - " t i l ,
"'~~>. . 4 -
"{
< (
'::","
{--r*-*' "+-+t
~.!J
"FoJ Wc errundly ront rmongrt cvsry peoplc
"For We a..uredly 88ftt amongst every people
a prophrf(wlththocommend)wonhlp mcendavold
e prophet,(wlth the command )wonhlp me and avoid
|rlr godf (Soonh Al-Hehl fE:36|
f.l. gods " (Sooreh AI-Nahl 18:38)
Whenthe idol worshipperis questioned as why
When the idol worshipper is questioned as to why
he she bows down idols created men, the
he or she bows down to idols created by men, the
invariable reply that they are not actually
invariable reply is that they are not actually
worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is
worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is
present within it. They claim that the stone idol is
present within it. They claim that the stone idol is
focal point Allah'sessenceand is in
only a focal point for Allah's essence and is not in
itseff Allah! One who has acceptedthe concept
itself Allah! One who has accepted the concept of
the presence God's being within His creationin
the presence of God's being within His creation in
any way will be obliged acceptthis argumentof
any way will be obliged to accept this argument of
idolatry. Whereas,one who understands the basic
idolatry. Whereas, one who understands the basic
-6-
- 6-
10. message of Islam and its implications would never
message lslamand its implications
of would never
concedeto idolatryno matterhow it is rationalized.
concede to idolatry no matter how it is rationalized.
Those who have cfaimeddivinity for themselves
Those who have claimed divinity for themselves
down through the ages have often based their
down through the ages have often based their
claimson the mistakenbelief that Allahis presentin
claims mistaken belief Allah present
assert that although Allah
man.They merelyhad to assertthat althoughAllah
man. They merely had
accordingto their falsebeliefs, in afl ol us, He is
according their false beliefs, is all of us, He
more presentin themthan in the restof us. Hence,
more present them than the rest us. Hence,
they claim,we shouldsubmitour will to them and
they claim, we should submit will them and
worship them as they are eitherGod in personor
worship them as they are either God in person
God concentrated within the person.
God concentrated within the person.
Similarly, thosewho have asserted godhood
Similarly, those who haveasserted the godhood
the
others after their passinghave found fertile
of others after their passing have found fertile
groundamongthosewho acceptthe falsebeliefof
ground among those who accept the false belief of
God's presence man.One who has graspedthe
in
God's presence in man. One who has grasped the
message lslamand its impfications could
basic message of Islam and its implications could
basic of
another humanbeingunder
never agree to worship another human being under
neveragreeto worship
God's religionin essence a
any circumstances. God's religion in essence is a
any circumstances. is
of the Creatorand the
clear call to the worship of the Creator and the
clear call to the worship
rejection creation-worship anyform.Thisis the
in
rejection of creation-worship in any form. This is the
of
meaningof the motto of lslam:
meaning of the motto of Islam:
~.&~,~,~ ~
{.fii.illiL{}
!:- !:-
"Laa Elaaha lllallaah"
"laa Elaaha IIlallaah"
(There is no god but Allah)
(There is no god but Allah)
-7-
7-
11. I t s r epet it iona u to ma ti c a l l brings o n e w i th i n the
Its repetition automatically yb ri n g sone within the
{o ld of ls lam and s i n c e re b e l i e i n i g u a ra n te esone
fold of Islam and sincere belief fin itt guarantees one
Paradise.e. Thus. , the final l Prophet t off Islam is
Pa r adis T hus th e fi n a P ro p h e o l s l a m i s
re por t edt o hav e' s a i , An y o n e w h o s a y s T h e re i s
"
reported to have'said,d"Anyone who says: :There is
g o d b u A l l a a n d d i e h o l d i n g t h a ( b e t i e will
n o god butt Allahhand diess holding thatt (belief)f )w i l f
no
e n t er par adis e"(R e p o rte b y Ab u D h a rr and
enter paradise" ,(Reportedd by Abu Dharr and
collecteddby AI-Bukhaaree e n d Muslim). .
c o l l e c l e b y A l - B u k h a a r e and M u s l i m )
a
Itt consistssin the submissionnto Allah as one God,
I c ons is t in t h e s u b mi s s i o to A l l a h a s o n e G od.
yi eldingto Him by obeying His commandments, and
yielding t o Him by o b e y i n g H i s c o m m a n d m e n ts,and
th e denial poly th e i s ma n d p o l y th e i s ts
the denial of polytheism and polytheists. .
THE M E S S A G E OF F A L SE R E L IGION
THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGION
T her e ar e s o ma n y s e c ts c u l ts re l i g i ons,
There are so many sects, , cults, , religions,
philosophies, ,and movements in the world,, alll of
p h ilos ophies and mo v e m e n ts i n th e w o rl d a l
whic h c laim t o be th e ri g h w a y o r th e o n l y tru e path
which claim to be the rightt way or the only true path
A llah. c a n o n e d e te rmi n e w h i c h o ne i s
to Allah. How can one determine which one is
if, fact, all are correct?
correct or if, in fact, all are correct? The method by
whic h t he answer can be fo u n d is to clearr away the
which the ans werc a n b e found i s clea away
su per f ic ial differencess in th e te a c h i n g s of the
superficial dif f er e n c e i n the teachings o f
va r iousc laim ant sto th e u l ti m a te tru th , a n d i d e nti fy
various claimants the ultimate truth, and identify
th e c ent r al objec t o f w o r$ h i p to w h i c h th e y cal l ,
the central object of worShip which they call,
d i r e c t l y o r iindirectly. .F a l s e r e l i g i o n s a l l h a v e iin
directly or n d i r e c t l y False religions all have n
co m m on one bas i c c o n c e p t w i th re g a rd s to Al l ah.
common basic concept with regards Allah.
Th e y eit her c laim th a t a l l me n a re g o d s o r that
They either claim that all men are gods or
sp ec if ic m en were A l l a h o r th a t n a tu re iis A l l a h or
specific men were Allah or that nature s Allah or
tthatt A l l a h iis a f i g m e n t o f m a n ' s iimagination. .
h a Allah s figment of man's m a g i n a t i o n
-8 -
-8
12. Thus, it may be statedthat the basicmessage
Thus, may be stated that the basic message of
falsereligion thatAllahmaybe worshipped the
false religion is that Allah may be worshipped in the
is
form of His creation.Falsereligioninvitesman to
form His creation. False religion invites man
the worshipof creationby callingthe creationor
the worship creation by calling the creation
some aspect God. For example, prophet
someaspect of it God. For example, prophet Jesus Jesus
invitedhisfollowers to worship Allahbut thosewho
invited his followers worship Allah but those who
be his followers today calf people
claim to be his followers today call people to
claim
worshipJesus,claiming that he was Allah!
worship Jesus. claimingthat he was Allah!
Buddha wasa reformer who introduced a number
Buddhawas reformer who introduced number
principles the religion India.He
of humanistic principles to the religion of India. He
humanistic
did not claim be God nor did he sugg€stto his
did not claim to be God nor did he suggest to his
followersthat he be an object worship. Yet,today
followers that he be an object of worship. Yet, today
mostBuddhists who areto befoundoutsideof India
most Buddhists who are to be found outside of India
have taken him be God and prostrateto idols
have taken him to be God and prostrate idols
madein their perception his likeness.
made in their perception of his likeness.
By usingthe principle identifying obiect
the
By using the principle of identifying the object of
worship, fafsereligion becomesvery obviousand
worship, false religion becomes very obvious and
the contrivednatureof their origin clear.As God
the contrived nature of their origin clear. As God
said in the Qur'aan:
said in the Qur'aan:
'Hii t .-::" /-:- .j~1 .'" -; ' .... ~I")..
·~~r~ ".~
:; ;: id,l ~~z~.J~~vJ~I.AT
~ LAJ41 _+ oJ Co E-i oelriS [ ]
*
u
iu~r'c~ ift.tt;;u-- i t ~~~j~~-c r--'JTL+t ,J
.',,Jf{t
9l jflal
. I~I:
t. . · "
, ! ,1
.-'" J ~~ Io}!> ~
t. ti .i 1 i l l + ~~{~""
rs4Nl'JJt Jat v tr:J
'J
, l .t.,
...
' "J
,L )
JbJ:~t' (.IfJJ.---rr, (.!uS ~~-q Llj"5yi'J '1
o}tru -;. r,}J ,. ; q[{ n~;;;~i'
itf t. .,!-i,,.1,,-
-^r- I~J • iiI£,..lI I,.rU5-~ ~~.
-, f
,,! / ",jj "~..:i '~t"
{<r;i:f.r6(
'" --.:...> ~ ~ ~..:.J
- 9 --
13. That which you worship besides Him are only
Thal worlhip besides are
names you and your forefathers have invented for
names lorefathers have invenled
which Allah has sent down no authority: The
Allah has sent aulhority:
command belongs only to Allah:
command belongs Allah:
He has commanded that you only worship Him;
has commlnded lhal worrhip
that is the right religion, but most men do not
is rlght religlon, bul
understand".. (Soorah Yoosuff 12:40) )
u n der iland " ( S o o ra h Yo o s u 1 2 :4 0
Itt may be arguedd thatt alll religions steach good
I may be argue tha al religion teach good
thingssso why should itt matterrwhich one we follow. .
thing so why shouldi matte which one we follow
Th e r eply is t hat all fa l s e re l i g i o n te a c h th e g re atest
The reply is that all false religionssteach the greatest
evil, ,the worship of creation. .Creation-worshipp s the
e vi l t he wor s hip c re a ti o n C re a ti o n -w o rs h i is i
g re a t es s in t hat ma n c a n c o mmi b e c a u se i
greatest t sin that man can committ because itt
co nt r adic t t he v e ry p u rp o s e o f h i s c re a ti o n M an
contradictss the very purpose of his creation. . Man
was created to worship Allah alone as Allah has
wa s c r eat ed t o wo rs h i p Al l a h a l o n e a s Al l a h h as
e xplic it ly s t at ed in th e Qu r' a a n
explicitly stated in the Our'aan: :
...rii..- i i t'_lt 1t -
,i0J-'(;~1 /·~r/~ t.~;L~/~
A .,.rrr'-l{r
.5l-VI.rrY
Q1r-l-t~__ ~~~ ~~ lJ*+l.: Alj-Y't
'11(... F
-)1'
"l heye
"I have only created Jlnns and men, that they may
created Jlnnr men,lhat
worshlp me" (Soorah Zaareeyaat) 51:56
worship me"(Soorah Zaareeyaat) 51 :56
Cons equent ly t h e w o rs h i p o f c re a ti o n w h i c h i s
Consequently, ,the worship of creation, , which is
the essenceeof idolatry, ,is the only unforgivableesin.
th e es s enc idol a try i s th e o n l y u n fo rg i v a b l si n.
dies in t h i s s ta te o f i d o l a try h a s s e a l e hi s
One who dies in this state of idolatry has sealeddhis
On e
fate in the nextt life. . This is nott an opinion,, butt a
fa te in t he nex life T h i s i s n o a n o p i n i o n b u
revealed fact stated by Allah in his final revelation to
revealedfact stated Allah final revelation
ma n:
man:
A..~-//
.Ici(<- / / 'bi,(*t.+'!'-ii1i5-{-,1iilF
...r '"r t / " -- " ""Jo .// /".-" "',Jo • ../ ..- ..,;-:; ):..
'II(~~~~'~ 0J.)l.~'LftA20~'jd.u011'
aLL;iFl-€U'i
10 -
- 10 -
14. "Yerlly Alleh wlll nol lorglvc lhe folnlng of
"Verlly Allah will not forgive the Joining
pnilnen wlth Hln, bul He mry lorglue (rlnr) lerr
pertne,. with Him, but may forgive (.In.) I•••
then thel for whomroevcr Ho wlrher"(Soorah An-
than that whomsoever H. wl.he."(Soorah
Nisaa4:48and 116)
Nisaa 4:48 and 116)
THE UNIVERSALIWOF ISLAII
THE UNIVERSALITY OF ISLAM
Since the consequences false religion are so
Since the consequences of false religion are so
Allah must be universally
greve,the true religionof Allahmust be universally
grave, the true religion
understandable and attainable, conlinedto any
understandable attainable, not confined any
and
people,place time. There can
people, place or tim€. Therecan not be conditions
be conditions
beliefin man,as saviour etc.,for
like baptism, belief in a man, as a saviour etc., for a
like baptism,
enter paradise. Within the central
believer to enter paradise. Within the central
believer
principle lslam and in its definition, (the
principle of Islam and in its definition, (the
surrender one's will God) lies the roots
surrender of one's will to God) lies the roots of
Wheneverman comes the
Islam's universality_ Whenever man comes to the
lslam's universality.
realizationthat Allah is one and distinct from His
realization that Allah is one and distinct from His
creation,and submitshimselfto Allah,he becomes
creation, and submits himself to Allah, he becomes
Muslim in body and spirit and is eligible for
a Muslim in body and spirit and is eligible for
paradise.Thus, anyone at anytime in the most
paradise. Thus, anyone at anytime in the most
remoteregion the world can become Muslim,
remote region of the world can become a Muslim, a
followerof God'sreligion,lslam,by merelyreiecting
follower of God's religion, Islam, by merely rejecting
the worship of creationand by turning to Allah
the worship of creation and by turning to Allah
(God) alone.lt should be noted however,that the
(God) alone.lt should be noted however, that the
recognition and submission
of toAllah requiresthat
recognition of and submission to Allah requires that
right and wrong and such a
one chooses between right and wrong and such a
one choosesbetween
implies accountability.Man will be held
choice implies accountability. Man will be held
choice
- 11 -
- 11 -
15. responsible his choices,
for and,as such,he should
responsible for his choices. and. as such, he should
try his utmost to do good and avoid evil. The
try his utmost to do good and avoid evil. The
ultimategood beingthe worshipof Allahaloneand
ultimate good being the worship of Allah alone and
the ultimateevil being the worshipof His creation
the ultimate evil being the worship of His creation
alongwith or instead Allah.
of Thisfact
along with or instead of Allah. Thisfact is expressed
isexpressed
in the final revelation follows:
as
in the final revelation as follows:
~. r, rt :i 16 .'~/ '~,/~/r~ .~.,-;}..
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{GiiirYj d;,3;rj'+-;,4
"Verlfy thor who belleve,thole *f,o foffow the
"Verlly thOle who believe, those who follow the
Jewlrh (Scrlplurerl, lhe Chrlrtloneend lha Srblanr
Jewish (SCrlpturel), the Christians and the Sablans
any belleyo Allah rnd lhe larl dey, and wort
any who believe In Allah and the la,t day, and work
rlghteournerr shall have their reward with their
rlghteousne.. rhall heue lhelr reward wlth thelr
Lord;They wlfl oyercome leer grlel ,,
Lord; They will not be overcome by fear nor grief"
(So,crah
(Soorah Al-Bagarah2:62).
AI-Baqarah 2:621.
L.tri ~n.= .. 'l ,.~~~r"" ~.·:ti >il.>~'''''''}..
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,-,,,,, #-' ", ." .... ~
4.'oft::rvrt#ry3
~5J::!t;;t::~~=-;~
"lf only they hed rlood by thc lew,lhe Gorpcl, rnd
"If had .tood the law, the Gospel, and
ell the reyelellon lhet wer rnl lo thcm lrom thclr
all revelation that wa, ..nt to them from their
Lord, ihay would havc cnfoycd hrpplncr from cvcry
they have enjoyed hIIpplnea every
dde. Then lr frum rmong thcm r prrty on thc rfghl
.'de. The,. II from among them a party on the right
- 1 2 --
- 12
16. courre; but meny ol Urcm follow te coullc lhrti b
course; but many of them follow cou.... h I.
evil.". (Soorah AI~Maa'idah 5:66)
oyll.". (SoorahAl'ltiiaa'idah5:66)
RECOGNITION
RECOGT{ITIOilOF ALLAH
The questionwhich ariseshere is, "How can all
question which arises here is, can
people expected believe in Allah given their
people be expectedto believe Allah given their
varying backgrounds,societies and cultures?For
varying backgrounds, societiesand cultures? For
people be responsible for worshipping Allahthey
peopleto be responsible worshipping Allah they
all have to have accessto knowledge of Allah.The
all have haveaccess knowledge Allah. The
final revelation teachesthat all mankind have the
final revelationteaches that all mankind have the
recognition Allah imprintedon theirsouls, parl
recognition of Allah imprinted on their souls, a part
their very naturewith which they are created.
of their very nature with which they are created.
fn Soorah Al-A'raaf, Verses 172'173; Allah
In Soorah AI-A'raaf, Verses 172-173; Allah
explainedthat when He createdAdam,He caused
explained that when He created Adam, He caused
all ol Adam'sdescendants come into existence
to
all of Adam's descendants to come into existence
and took pledgefrom them saying,Am notyour
and took a pledge from them saying, Am II not your
Lord? To which the, ell replied, " Vel, we t..tlfy to 11;'
Lorf? wlrlch thry rll npllrd' Ycr' wctrdlfy lU'
Allah then explainedwhy He had all of mankind
Allah then explained Why He had all of mankind
bear witnessthat He is their croatorand only true
bear witness that He is their creator and only true
God worthy of worship. He said, "Th.l wrr In ctt
God worthy of worship. He said, "Thet ••• In ce..
fou (menklnd) rhould rry on thr dry of
you (mankind) should uy on the day of
Rolunrctlofi, "Urtlly rr uflr umwrlf ol rll lhb."
Resurrection, "Verlly we ..... Ullll..... of all thla."
That is to say,we had no idea that You Allah,were
That is to say, we had no idea that You Allah, were
our God. No one told us that we wereonly supposed
our God. No one told us that we were only supposed
-- 13 --
13
17. to worshipYoualone.Allahwenton to explain Thrt
to worship You alone. Allah went on to explain Th.t
'10 fn crrf you riouE *f, "Glrltlnfy lt wrr
ll wm rho In «:8. . you .hould uY. "Certalnly It w••
It w•••
our rncfrlorr who mrdr prilnrrr (Wllh Alleh) and
our anee.to,. who m.de Pltrtne,. (With AII.h) and
we rre only lhclr dtrccndenb; wlll You thrn dcrtroy
we are only their detcendllntl; will You then destroy
ur for whet lhom fhn dld?" Thus, every chitd is
u. for what tho.. II.,. did?" Thus, every child is
born with a natural belief in Allah and an inborn
born with a natural belief in Allah and an inborn
inclinationto worshipHim alonecalledin Arabicthe
inclination to worship Him alone called in Arabic the
" Fitrah".
"Fitrah",
lf the child wereleft alone,he would worshipAllah
If the child were left alone, he would worship Allah
in his own way, but alfchildrenare affectedby those
in his own way, but all children are affected by those
things around them, se€n uns€en.The Prophet
things around them, seen or unseen. The Prophet
(PBUH) reported that Allah said, "l created my
(PBUH) reported that Allah said, "I created my
servantsin the right religion
servants in the right religion but devils made them
devils madethem
go astray". The Prophet (PBUH) atso said, ,,Each
go astray". The Prophet (PBUH) also said, "Each
chifd is born in stateol "Fitrah", then his parents
child is born in a state of "Fitrah", then his parents
makehim Jew, Christian Zoroastrian, way
make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian, the way
the
an animal gives birth normal offspring. Have
an animal gives birth to a normal offspring. Have
you noticed any that were born mutilated?"
you noticed any that were born mutilated?"
(Collected Al-Bukhaaree Muslim).SO,justas
(Collected by AI-Bukhaareeand Muslim). So,just as
and
the child submitsto the physicallaws which Allah
the child submits the physical laws which Allah
has put in nature,his soul also submits naturally to
has put in nature, his soul alsosubmitsnaturally
the fact that Allah is his Lord and Creator.But, his
the fact that Allah Lord and Creator. But,
parents
parents try to makehim follow theirown way and the
make him follow
chifd is not strong enough in the earlystagesol his
child strong enough early stages of
life to resist or oppos€ the will of his parents.The
life resist oppose parents.
religionwhich the child followsat this stageis oneof
religion which follows stage
- ' 14 -
- '|4 -
18. custom and upbringing andAllahdoesnot holdhim
customand upbringing and Allah does hold him
to accountor punishhim for this religion.
account punish him this religion.
Throughoutpeople'slivesfrom childhooduntil
Throughout people's lives from childhood until
the time they die, signs are shown to them in all
signs to in
regions of in their
regions of the earth and in their own souls, souls,
until becomes clearthatthereisonly onetrue God
until it becomes clear that there is only one
(Allah). lf the peopleare honest with themselveg,
(Allah). If the people are honest with themselves,
rejecttheir falsegodsandseekAllah,the waywiflbe
reject thei r fa lse gods and seek Allah, the way will be
made easy for them but if they continuallyreiect
made easy them but they continually reject
Allah'ssigns and continueto worshipcreation,the
Allah's signs and continue worship creation,
more difficult will be them escap€. For
more difficult it witl be for them to escape. For
example, in the South Eastern region of the Amazon
example, the South Eastern
in region the Amazon
jungle in Brazil, South America, primitivetribe
jungle in Brazil, South America, a primitive tribe
hut housetheir main idol Skwatch,
erected a new hut to house their main idol Skwatch,
erected neyv
representing supremeGod all creation.The
the
representing the supreme God of all creation. The
following day young man enteredthe hut pay
following day a young man entered the hut to pay
homageto the God,and whilehe was in prostration
homage to the God, and while he was in prostration
to what he had beon taught was his Creator and
to what he had been taugh"t was his Creator and
Sustainer, mangyold flea-ridden dog walkedinto
Sustainer, a mangy old flea-ridden dog walked into
the hut.The young man lookedup in time seethe
the hut. The young man looked up in time to see the
dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol.
dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol.
Outraged, the youth chased the dog out
Outraged, the youth chased the dog out of the the
but whsn his rageclied down hs realizedthat
temple, but when his rage died down he realized that
temple,
the idol could not bs theLordof the universe.
the idol could not be the Lord of the universe. Allah Allah
must be els€where.he now had a choice to act on
must be elsewhere. he now had a choice to act on
and seekAllah,or to dishonestly
his knowledge and seek Allah, or to dishonestly go
his knowledge go
-- 15 --
15
19. alongwith thefalsebeliefs histribe.As strange as
along with the false beliefs of his tribe. As strange as
mayseem, that was signfrom Allah that young
it may seem, that was a sign from Allah for that young
man.lt contained withinit divine guidance what
that
man. It contained within it divine guidance that what
he was worshipping was false.
he was worshipping was false.
Prophets weresent,as wasearliermentioned, to
Prophets were sent. as was earlier mentioned, to
every nation and tribe to support man's natural
every nation and tribe to support man's natural
belief in Allah and man's inborn inclination
belief in Allah and man's inborn inclination to
worshipHim as well as to reintorce divinetruth
the
worship Him as well as to reinforce the divine truth
in the daily signs revealed Allah.Although,in
by
in the daily signs revealed by Allah. Although, in
most cases, much of the prophets' teachings
most cases, much of the prophets' teachings
becamedistorted,portionsremainedwhich point
became distorted, portions remained which point
out right and wr6ng. For example, the ten
out right and wrong. For example, the ten
commandments the Torah,theirconfirmation
of in
commandments of the Torah, their confirmation in
the Gospels and the existence laws against
the Gospels and the existence of laws against
murder,stealing and adulteryin most societies.
murder, stealing and adultery in most societies.
Consequently, everysoul will be held to account
Consequently, every soul will be held to account
for its belief in Allah and its acceptance the
for its belief in Allah and its acceptance of the
religion lslam; totalsubmission the will of
of the to
religion of Islam; the total submission to the will of
Allah. .
Allah
We pray
We pray to Allah, the exalted, to keep us on the
Allah, the exalted, keep
ri g h pat h t o whic h H e h a s g u i d e d u s a n d b e s tow
rightt path to which He has guided us,, and to bestow
Him, is incleed
on us a blessing from Him, He is indeed the Most
us blessing
Me r c iful. P r ais an d g ra ti tu d eb e A l l a h th e L o r d
Merciful. Praiseeand gratitude be to Allah,,the Lord of
the worlds, and peace and blessings
the worlds, and peace and blessings be on prophet
Muhammed, his Family. ,his companions, ,and those
Mu ham m ed,his F a m i l y h i s c o mp a n i o n s a n d th ose
who rightly follow them.
wh o r ight ly f ollow th e m.
16 -
- 16 -
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