By: Syed Shahzaib Haider
We are born in a circumstance which is not of our own desire. As a rule your family’s religion is your religion in most cases from the very beginning of your existence in this world.
By the time we reach our teen, we get brain-washed that the beliefs of our surroundings are the correct beliefs that everyone should have. However, when you grow up or you’re exposed to other beliefs, you begin to question the validity of your own belief.
One who try to find of truth often reach a point of uncertainty realizing that each and every religion claims to be the one and only correct way for man. I am sure they all encourage people to good but then who is righteous among all of them? All of these religions cannot be right at the same time since each claim all others to be wrong. How will we find out that who is wrong and who is right?
Islam as religion claims to be the one and only true way to God. Which raises a question in non Muslim’s mind that it is no different from other relisions? I assure you that you may only be able to understand the fact that the claim of Islam is completely correct and factual but for that one has to put all his emotions and prejudices aside because both these things may blind you to reality.
I may highlight a few things to make you understand that what makes me think that every person on earth should follow the path of Islam to reach heaven for eternity. If you see the meaning of the word Islam it clearly says Surrender of one’s will to the only true God known in Arabic as “Allah” the name itself is so clear and pure unlike other religion’s name which I may not take out of respect. Secondly Islam was not named after a person or people, nor was it decided by a later generation of man. Islam (submission to the will of God) is the religion which was given to Adam (p), the first man and the first prophet of God, and it was the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind. Further, its name was chosen by God Himself and clearly mentioned in the final scripture which He revealed to man. In the final revelation, called the Qur’an in Arabic it does not claim to be a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) into Arabia in the seventh century, but rather to be a re-expression in its final form of the true religion of Almighty God, Allah, as it was originally revealed to Adam (p) and subsequent prophets.
My Third point, Since the total submission of one’s will to God signify the essence of worship, the basic message of God’s divine religion, Islam, is the worship of God alone. It also requires the avoidance of worship directed to any person, place or thing other than God. Since everything other than God, the Creator of all things, is God’s creation, it may be said that Islam, in essence, 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 are answered. It is worth emphasizing that the basic message of Islam (namely, the worship of God alone) also proclaims that God and His creation are distinctly different entities. God is neither equal to His creation nor a part of it, nor is His creation equal to Him or a part of Him.
The previous presentation has demonstrated that the name of the religion of Islam expresses Islam’s most central principle, submission to God, and that the name “Islam” was chosen not by man, but by God, according to the holy scriptures of Islam. It has also been shown that Islam alone teaches the uniqueness of God and His attributes and enjoins the worship of God alone without intermediaries. Finally, due to the divinely instilled inclination of man to worship God and the signs revealed by God throughout the ages to each individual, Islam may be achieved by all men at all times.
In short, the significance of the name Islam (submission to God), is Islam’s fundamental acknowledgement of the uniqueness of God and Islam’s accessibility to all mankind at all times convincingly support Islam’s claim that from the beginning of time in whatever language it was expressed, 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 guided us, and to bestow on us His blessings and mercy, for He is indeed the Most-Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be on Prophet Muhammad and all the prophets of God and their righteous followers.
The writer is Special Correspondent/Columnist at The Dayspring
