THE first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word “Islam” means. This religion 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, etc.

Nor was it named after the 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 religion; total submission to the will of Allah.

Islam was not a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in Arabia in the seventh century, it was 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. In the final book of divine revelation, the Qur’an, 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”. (Soorah A1-Maa’idah 5:3)

If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will It be accepted of Him” (Soorah Aal’imraan 3:85) “Abraham was not a Jew nor Christian; but an 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.

Since the total submission of one’s will to Allah represents the essence of worship, the basic teaching of Islam is that one must worship Allah alone and avoid worship of any person, place or thing other than Allah. Since everything other than Allah, the Creator of all things, is Allah’s own 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.

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’an 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’)” (Soorah A1-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 Soorah A1-Faatihah, 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).” (Soorsh Mu’min 40:60)

When the idol worshipper is questioned as to why he or she bows down before the 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 accepts this explanation will also be obliged to accept the logic of idolatry.

However, one who understands the basic message of Islam and its implications would never subscribe to such a concept 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 others.

There are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right path to Allah. All the false religions have one common basic concept with regards to Allah. They claim that either 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.

As God said in the Our’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 “. (Soorah Yoosuf 12:40) It may be argued that all religions teach good things then why it should matter as to which one we follow. The answer is that all false religions teach the greatest evil, the worship of creation which is the greatest sin that man can commit.

Man was created to worship Allah alone as Allah has explicitly stated in the Our’an: “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 forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive (sins) less than that for whom so ever He wishes” (Soorah An- Nisaa 4:48 and 116)

Since the consequences of false religion are grave, the true religion of Allah must be universally understandable and attainable, not confined to any people, place or time. There cannot 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 realizes 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. 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 anyone 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 (Soorah 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.” (Soorah Al-.Maa’idah 5:66)

The question that 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 the whole mankind have the recognition of Allah imprinted on their souls, a part of their very nature with which they are created. In Soorah A1-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”.

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.

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 prophets’ 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.