Islam: The Essence and Culmination of Revealed Religions

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Islam: The Essence and Culmination of Revealed Religions

(Yahya) Donald W. Flood


Muslims believe that the essential purpose for which mankind was created is the worship of God. As He said in the Qur'an,
"And I did not create the jinn [i.e., a type of creation, created by God from fire] and mankind except to worship Me" (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:56)
Related to this, a well-known Islamic scholar from the West says, "The most complete system of worship available humans today is the system found in the religion of Islam, The very name 'Islam' means 'submission to the Will of God'. Although it commonly referred to as 'the third of the three monotheistic faiths, it is not a new religion at all. It is the religion brought by all the prophets of God for humankind. Islam was the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.''[1]
In addition he states, "Since there is only One God, and humankind is one species, the religion that God has ordained for humans is [essentially] one... Human spiritual and social needs are uniform and human nature has not changed since the first man and woman were created.”[2]
Uncovering the fact that the message of God has always been the same, I realized it is the duty of all human beings to seek the truth and not just blindly accept the religion that their society or parents follow, According to the Qur'an,
"You worship besides Him not except [mere] names you have named, you and your fathers, for which God has sent down no authority..." (Surah Yusuf, 12:40)
Regarding fitrah [i.e., the inherent nature of man to worship God prior to the corruption of his nature by external influences], Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said,
"Every child is born on Al-Fitrah, and his parents convert him to Judaism or Christianity or Magianism. As an animal delivers a perfect baby animal, do you find it mutilated?"[3]
Furthermore, God says,
“So direct your face [i.e., self] toward the religion, inclining toward truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of God upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of God. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know." (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:30)[4]
Moreover, I learned there no other religion acceptable to God besides Islam, as He clearly states in the Qur'an: "And whoever desires other than Islam as a religion, never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." (Surah Al-Imran, 3:85).
I deduced that man might neglect the guidance of God and establish his own standards of living. Ultimately, however, he will discover it is only a mirage that alluded him.

[1] The Purpose of Creation, Dr. A. A. B. philips, p. 49, Dar Al-Fatah, Sharjah, UAE, 1995. See Qur’an 3:67; 3:84.

[2] Ibid . p. 50.

[3] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, Hadith No. 467.

[4] Also see Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:170; Surah Yunus, 10:19; Surah Luqman, 31:21; Surah Az-Zukhruf, 43:23; Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:6; Surah An-Najm, 53:23.