Nature of Islam - 1
Question:-
I understood that Muslims believe that
"Islam" is unchanging, from the earliest prophets until Muhammad. But
you mention the "evolution over time" of religions. Can you discuss
this further?
Comment:-
I will give you a fairly comprehensive answer
but you might not read it with concentration but flit over it.
The theme, purpose or direction of the
Message is certainly the same but its understanding expands.
(1) The purpose of religion is spiritual
development to enhance objective behaviour in conformity with Reality. The
Message is that man should worship only Allah (God, the One and Absolute, the
Self-existing, the source of all things). That is the definition of Religion:-
"Religion with Allah is the
Surrender. those who formerly received the scriptures differed only after
knowledge came to them, through transgression among themselves. And if they
argue with thee, say: I have surrendered my purpose to Allah, and so have those
who follow me. And say unto those who have received the scriptures and those
who read not: Have ye, too, surrendered? If they surrender, then truly they are
rightly guided; and if they turn away, then it is thy duty only to convey the
message." 3:19-20
"Surely pure religion is for Allah
only, and those who chose protecting friends besides Him say: We worship them
only that they might bring us near unto Allah. Lo, Allah will judge between
them concerning that wherein they differ. Allah guides not him who is a liar,
an ingrate.. Lo, I am commanded to worship Allah, making religion pure for Him
only." 39:3,11
"And verily We have raised in every
nation a messenger proclaiming: Serve Allah and shun false Idols. Then some of
them there were whom Allah guided and some of them there were upon whom error
had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences
for the deniers. " 16:36
"And when Allah made His covenant
with the Prophets, He said: Behold that which I have given you of the
scriptures and knowledge. And afterwards there will come unto you a Messenger,
confirming that which ye possess. Ye shall believe in him and ye shall help
him. He said: Do ye agree, and will ye take up My burden in this matter? They
answered: We agree. He said: Then bear ye witness, and I will be a witness with
you." 3:81
"Mankind were one community, and
Allah sent unto them Prophets as bearers of good tidings (gospels) and as
Warners, and revealed therewith Scriptures with Truth that it might judge
between mankind concerning that wherein they differ. And only those unto whom
it was given differed concerning it, after clear proofs had come unto them
through hatred of one another." 2:213
"And lo, this religion is one
religion, and I am your Lord, so keep your duty unto Me. But they, mankind have
broken their religion into sects, each rejoicing in its tenets. So leave them
in their error till a time." 23:52-54
"And verily We have raised in every
nation a messenger proclaiming: Serve Allah and shun false Idols. Then some of
them there were whom Allah guided and some of them there were upon whom error
had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences
for the deniers." 16:36
"Lo, those who believe, and those who
are Jews and Sabaeans and Christians - whosoever believes in Allah and the Last
Day and does right - there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they
grieve." 5:69
(2) Religion is about functioning according
to one's essential God-made nature. Though religions are brought through
Prophets and Messengers of God this is because human beings have
"Fallen" and do not function according to their inherent nature.
"So set thy purpose for Religion as a
man upright by nature - the nature framed by Allah in which He hath created
man. There is no changing the laws of Allah's creation. That is the right
religion, but most men know not." 30:30
"He hath named you Muslims in old
times and in this scripture, that the messenger may be a witness against you,
and that ye may be witnesses against mankind..." 22:78
(3) There are several dispensations of
religion and each has its own formulation, discipline and sets of actions
according to times place and people.
"And we never sent a messenger save
with the language (or language system or formulation) of his folk, that he
might make the message clear for them." 14:4
"Unto each nation have We given
sacred rites which they are to perform; so let them not dispute with thee about
the matter, but summon thou unto thy Lord." 22:67
"Say, O people of the scriptures, ye
have naught of guidance till ye observe the Torah and the Gospels and that
which was revealed unto you from your Lord. That which is revealed unto thee
(Muhammad) from thy Lord is certain to increase the rebelliousness and
disbelief of many of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk. Whosoever
believes in Allah and the Last day and does right, there shall no fear come
upon them nor shall they grieve." 5:68-69
(4) Religion comes in doses each successive
one confirming, rectifying and building on the previous, progressing towards
perfection.
"Such of our revelations as We
abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring in its place one better or the like
thereof." 2:106
"This day have I perfected your
religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as
religion Al-Islam." 5:3
"And when Allah made His covenant with
the Prophets, He said: Behold that which I have given you of the scriptures and
knowledge. And afterwards there will come unto you a Messenger, confirming that
which ye possess. Ye shall believe in him and ye shall help him. He said: Do ye
agree, and will ye take up My burden in this matter? They answered: We agree.
He said: Then bear ye witness, and I will be a witness with you." 3:81
According to a reliable Hadith the Prophet
Muhammad is reported to have said that Religion is like a House built gradually
with bricks. He, Muhammad, laid the last brick and completed the house.
(5) Muslims are not worshippers of Muhammad -
they do not, or should not just cling to the last brick but the whole house.
"He (Allah) hath ordained for you
that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which He inspired in thee
(Muhammad), and that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus,
saying : Establish the religion and be not divided therein....unto this then,
summon (O Muhammad). And be thou upright as thou art commanded and follow not
their lusts, but say: I believe in whatever scriptures Allah hath sent down,
and I am commanded to be just among you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord. Unto
us our works and unto you your works. No argument between us and you. Allah
will bring us together, and unto Him is the journeying." 42:13,15
"Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah
and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham,
and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes and that which Moses and Jesus
received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no
distinction between any of them, and unto Him have we Surrendered." 2:136
See also 3:84
"Lo, those who disbelieve in Allah
and His Messengers, and seek to make distinctions between Allah and His
Messengers and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and seek to
chose a way in between, such are disbelievers in Truth; and for disbelievers We
have prepared a shameful doom." 4:151
Question 1:-
Once we accept the idea of religion being
divine *and* flexible it becomes difficult to accept the idea of a prophet with
a quality of "last prophet". It seems to contradict the idea that
religions change as the human environment changes. You certainly won't claim
that seventh century Arabia represents some "final stage" in human
cultural development!
Comment:-
When there is a
series of Prophets, then each of them is the last one until the next arrives.
If it is a developing series that leads towards a goal, then when that goal is
reached it comes to a stop. The Prophet Muhammad is the last in the series of
Messengers until the Day of Resurrection. This might refer to spiritual
regeneration which is connected with the return of Jesus.
Human beings grow
from a fertilised egg through several stages until they become adults then stop
growing. While they are growing they need guidance from parents and teachers.
However, thereafter, they become independent and have to apply what they learnt
to develop further. They cannot do so without this independence.
With the coming and
spread of Islam and its influences humanity has reached a stage where the
guidance is complete (33:40, 5:3), the rectified teaching is preserved (15:9,
41:41-42, 56:77-80). Man henceforth is left to his own responsibility. However,
there is a time for reckoning when the consequences become manifest.
Let me reiterate:-
All the religions brought Prophets or Messengers of God are dispensations of
the same religion. But each (1) rectifies the misinterpretations corruptions
that have occurred owing to mixing with worldly ambitions etc. (2) Each also
formulates things in accordance with the needs of the times and place where it
arises. (3) Each adds something to the previous stage of development - it
expands consciousness. You have to expand your consciousness by interpreting
“prophet” and “brothers” in a larger context than you
have done when you confine them to the Jewish tradition.
The final Prophet
is like the last of the series of teachers in a school or college. Human being
mature and no longer need a parent. They have been given all the necessary
guidance and techniques and fundamental principles for them to apply in the
conduct of life. Mankind now has to take responsibility for themselves. The
spiritual evolution of man has not stopped, but it is now for each individual
to make contact within himself with the source of his soul.
Consider that Islam
is “surrender to Allah”, who comprehends all things known and
unknown, inner and outer. What can there be beyond that?
Critic:-
There is no
explanation why, 1400 years ago, the world was ready for a final prophet.
Comment:-
A religious
dispensation caters not only for the times in which it arrives but also for the
future which it helps to form. Not only were the Arabs trading far and wide but
the time had come for the world to be united through the interaction between
peoples and their cultures and the diffusion of ideas. There is little doubt
that Islam has had a reforming impact on Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, sometimes
creating new sects, and through these on the cultures of the world and on World
History and is and will continue to have such an effect.
Question
2:-
Your previous answer implies that members of
other religions should leave their old religions and become Muslim. Quran 7:157
also implies this. But what happens when a Jew hears this and looks into his
Bible and sees commandments like Sabbath and Passover mentioned again and
again, all over the Bible, OT and NT, frequently described as an "eternal
sign"?
Comment:-
The Quran tells us:-
"It is He who has sent down to you
the Scripture with truth, confirming what was revealed before it, and has
revealed the Torah and the Gospel before this for the guidance of mankind, and
has revealed the Discrimination (Criterion)." 3:3
"And if they had been steadfast in
the Torah and the Gospel, and what has been sent down to them from their Lord,
they would surely have nourishment from above them and below them. Amongst them
are a people who are moderate, but many of them are of evil conduct." 5:66
"Say: O people of the Book! You have
no ground to stand on till you stand fast by the Torah and the Gospel, and what
is revealed to you from your Lord." But what has been revealed to you from
your Lord will of a surety increase many of them in rebellion and disbelief.
Vex not thyself then for a people who disbelieve." 5:68
"Verily, those who believe and those
who are Jews, and the Sabaeans, and the Christians, whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day, and does what is right, they shall not fear, nor shall they
grieve." 5:68
It is a question of studying and interpreting
and practicing their scriptures correctly. The Quran confirms the past
scriptures but rectifies the misunderstandings. The Prophet Muhammad always
judged people by the religion they followed. We also read:-
"Unto every nation have We given
sacred rites which they are to perform; so let them not then dispute about the
matter, but summon you unto your Lord; verily, you (Muhammad) indeed follow
right guidance." 22:67
"And unto you (Muhammad) have We
revealed the Book in truth, verifying what was before it, and preserving it.
Judge then between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their lusts
(prejudices, fantasies), turning away from what is given to you of the truth.
For each of you have We appointed a Law and a traced out Path. Had Allah
pleased He would have made you one nation, but that He may try you by that
which He has given you. Therefore, vie with one another in virtue. Unto Allah
will you all return, and He will then inform you concerning that wherein you
dispute." 5:48
As to the Quranic verse you referred to, we
read:-
"Those who follow the Messenger - the
unlettered Prophet - whom they find mentioned in their own Law and Gospel. (See
Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 and John 14:16) bidding them what is just (reasonable) and forbidding them what is
wrong (evil, unreasonable, stupid); and making lawful for them what is good
(pure), and making unlawful evil (impure) things. He releases them from their
heavy burdens and yokes which were upon them. So it is those who believe in him
and honour and help him and follow the Light which has been sent down with him
- it is they who are the successful (or shaall prosper)."
"Say: O you people! Verily, I am the
Messenger of Allah unto you all, of Him whose is the Kingdom of the heavens and
the earth, there is no God but He! He gives life and death. So believe in Allah
and His Messenger, the unlettered (or not learned, unsophisticated) prophet, -
who believes in Allah and in His Words - then follow him that per chance (or
possibly) you may be guided."
"Amongst the people of Moses is a
section who guide with truth, and thereby act justly." 7:157-159
What the verses are pointing out is that
Muhammad (saw) is like the other Prophets instructing what is spiritually good
and forbidding what is evil, that he is a Universal Messenger. He should be
recognised as such and the instructions he brings should be obeyed. It also
affirms that some of the difficulties that were imposed on people in the past
have been lifted. This can be regarded as referring to the numerous rituals and
rules as well as obscure, complex and hard to understand doctrines, requirements
of asceticism and monasticism, and burdens of guilt feelings. This dispensation
of Islam has simplified and demythologised religion to a large extent.
"Allah will not require of the soul
beyond its capacity. It shall have what it has earned, and it shall owe what it
deserves. "Our Lord, condemn us not, if we forget or miss the mark; Our
Lord, load us not with a burden as Thou hast loaded those before us. Our Lord,
impose not on us what we have not strength to bear, but forgive us, absolve us,
and have mercy on us. Thou art our Sovereign, then give us victory against the
faithless!" 2:286
"And strive in the cause of Allah,
with the effort which is His due. He has chosen you, and has not laid upon you
any hardship (or hindrance) in religion - the faith of your father Abraham. He
has named you Muslims of old and in this (Scripture), that the Messenger may be
a witness against you, and that you may be witnesses against mankind."
22:78
"Allah desires for you what is easy,
and desires not for you what is difficult. "2:185
"Allah does not lay on any soul a
burden beyond that which He has granted it; Allah brings about after
difficulty, ease." 65:7
"And their word was only to say:
Lord, forgive us our sins and wasted efforts; and make firm our footing, and
help us against the faithless folk!" 3:147
"But whoever desires the Hereafter,
and strives for it with the necessary effort, for such, their striving shall
find favour." 17:19
What Islam requires is not that which is
difficult but that which is more effective. However:-
"And that man shall have nothing but
what he strives for, and that his striving shall be seen. Then shall he be
rewarded for it with the fullest reward; and that your Lord is the final
goal." 53:39-43
Questioner:-
Passover, as Jews understand and celebrate
it, has no place in a universal religion, and doesn't exist in Islam. The idea
of commemorating God's resting after the work of creation, is unacceptable in
Islam. A Jew wonders how he can obey commandments like these in an Islamic environment,
or abandon them and not find himself guilty.
Comment:-
Each dispensation of religion is formulated
differently and has its own set of practices. This is determined by the needs
of he time, place and people. They are specifics like different medicines, but
the general principle underlying them is the same.
The question to be answered is: What is the
purpose of the Passover ritual? Is it not symbolising salvation, the release of
the spirit from bondage? And what is the significance of supposing that God
rested on the 7th Day of Creation? Is it not that people should devote
themselves to the service of God. From the Islamic point of view creation was
completed on the 6th Day but God then mounted the Throne - i.e. He devoted
Himself to the administration and maintenance the Universe. Muslims are
required to set aside time five times a day to prayer.
In the case of Christianity they have the
concept of "sons of God" which is defined in their scriptures as
those who are led by the Word or Spirit by God. But because Christians
misunderstand and take the phrase literally, Islam has changed it to
"Servants of God". They have baptism and Muslims have ablutions,;
they have the sacrament of the bread and wine which is meant to symbolically
take in Christ, the Word of God, while Muslims take in the Quran, also the Word
of God.
Islam is the Universal Religion because it
accepts all the Messengers or Prophets and Scriptures. It confirms past
religions as presented by their founders and rectifies the misunderstandings
that have later occurred in them. Though it is the Universal Religion it also
has a Specific application that is different from the others. But it is not
difficult to see that the Specific Version also contains the Universal as the
above quotations show and the Universal obviously contains the Specific. As I
indicated before, the Universal Islam is compared to a house built of many
bricks, but Specific Islam consists of the last brick that also completes the
house. In this sense conversion to Specific Islam is conversion to Universal
Islam. Its formulations and practices tend to be more comprehensively
effective.
Critic:-
To sum
up:- Islam does not have any adequate answers to the following problems:-
(1) The combination
of two contrasting beliefs, that religions tend to evolve and that religion
stopped evolving 1400 years ago.
(2) That everyone,
including all those who are at present non-Muslim monotheists, should
become Muslim, abandoning their own traditions.
Comment:-
(1) Revealed Religion
as brought by the Prophets is meant to facilitate Human Spiritual Evolution.
This has not stopped. As human beings evolve their understanding of Religion
will also evolve. But the essence of Religion remains the same. It is
Universal. That is: God is Eternal and so is the goal that human beings should
evolve. Once this is clarified nothing else need be added. There is nothing
difficult about understanding this.
(2) If human beings
have evolved and their religion has also evolved then it is necessary for human
beings to follow the latest dispensation of Religion. But in so far as the
basic nature and purpose of religion is understood there is no conflict between
religions. This, too, is not difficult to understand. But see Quran 5:68, 69
quoted above.
(3) Islam is
understood by expansion of consciousness. Islam has universalised the
understanding of Religion. It sees religion as a universal phenomenon. Whereas
Jews cling exclusively to Moses and Christians to Jesus, Islam recognises all
Prophets and their Messages.
Assertion:-
Muhammad was a very
respectable, honourable Prophet of Christianity, trying to bring Christianity
to the Arabic people. He was adamantly following the Christian teachings that
the Apostle Paul had introduced in the Damascus area, years earlier.
Abu Bakr and his
cronies were the people who "invented" Islam. Their motives were to
avoid any alignments with the Western Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic
religious organization. They DID NOT want to come under subjection to the Western Roman Empire by reason of having
embraced the Roman Catholic religion or any variant of Christianity.
The most convincing
"evidence" is that Muhammad always turned to his Christian friends when
he needed advise or assistance. Those Christian friends would not have been
supportive of Muhammad had he indeed been teaching the things the Quran
attributes to him.
Comment:-
It has been pointed
out innumerable times that the teachings of the Quran are the same as those of
Jesus (saw), but that both differ from the teachings of the Christian Churches. Particularly, there is no
doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus, Trinity or Vicarious Atonement in the
teachings of Jesus or the Quran.
So if you think of
Christianity as that which Jesus (saw) was teaching then certainly Muhammad
(saw) was teaching the same thing. Both, however, were not teachings their own
ideas but what they heard. You can see this from:-
"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is
not mine, but his that sent me." John 7:16. And compare this with John 16:13-14 and with Deuteronomy 18:18 and what the Quran says
about the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (saw).
But if by
Christianity you mean what the Churches teach then certainly Muhammad was not
teaching Christianity but rectifying the corruptions and misunderstandings of
it, just as the Quran claims.
It is clear that
the followers of Jesus did accept Islam, but the followers of Paul did not. And
no doubt some of these will also continue to propagate their false prejudices
in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Critic:-
Thanks, Hamid, for
your response. Please understand that I'm not trying to stir up an argument.
I'm simply searching for information that will, hopefully, give me a deeper
level of understanding. Can you offer any insights as to why the Biblical New
Testament writers, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, James, Peter and Jude, who compiled the
original New Testament writings should be considered as unreliable? These
writers were contemporaries of Jesus and had an abundance of first hand
experience and information, direct from Jesus. They compiled their individual
writings while geographically separated from each other, and definitely not in
a position that would enable them to work out some kind of conspiracy. Yet, they are all in
reasonably close agreement, with no major conflicts.
Comment:-
I am sure you know
that these writings all differ and sometimes even contradict each other. They
are reports by third parties or even fourth and fifth persons, and not the
words of Jesus. They consist mostly of their own opinions or interpretations.
There are numerous Gospels not included in the Bible and those included in the
Bible have been selected under the Roman Emperor Constantine and by a Church
that was suppressing and persecuting other versions.
Critic:-
The Quran and
Hadith were not written for several hundred years after Muhammad's death, and were the result of
several years of revision and
re-working to get everything into a state of relative harmony. How then
may we conclude that the New Testament writers got so much information wrong
and the Koran/Hadith writers got it all precisely right?
Comment:-
The Quran was
memorised and written down verse by verse by many people as the revelations
took place. These verses were collected and compiled into a book later. That
does not mean that the book does not contain the original revelation. There is
no evidence that there was any protest that something was left out or added.
The Quran continues to be memorised to this day and is transmitted orally as
well.
The Quran is
originally a revelation and then a recitation and then a book. We take the
Quran to be that revelation. As a recitation it has certain rhythms and effects
on receptive minds and we are concerned with these. Alteration or adulteration
would noticeably change these. As for the Book - it is only a vehicle. It is
true that the arrangement of the verses is not the same as the order in which
the revelations took place. The revelation took place in relation to its
relevance to circumstances. These do not now take place in the same way or
order, but nevertheless people can still find verses that provide them guidance
in the circumstances they find themselves in.
Firstly, There was
a difference in attitude:- As the verses of the Quran were revelations, they were
regarded as sacred. They were collected just as uttered without embellishment.
The Gospels on the
other hand, whereas they do contain words uttered by Jesus, are mostly
commentaries and opinions. In fact we do not know the exact words uttered by
Jesus, though we know that he said that his doctrines were not his but he said
what he heard from God. These revelations that were probably in Aramaic are not
known. Nor did Jesus differentiate between revelations and his own adaptations.
The Hadith do not
contain revelations, but reports by others about the doings and sayings of
Muhammad (saw). In that respect they are like the New Testament. But there is a
difference - (1) they are not narratives but records of what someone saw or
heard. (2) Much research has been done to establish the genuineness of those
records.
However, a study of
the sayings of Jesus (which Muslims regard as the Injil, the real Gospel - not
the writings by others in the NT) shows us that Jesus did not teach his own
Divinity, nor Trinity, nor Vicarious atonement. They do not teach Christianity
as now taught. In fact, that would be a contradiction of the teachings of Moses
whom Jesus, as a Jew, also accepted as a Prophet of God. And he certainly also
forecast the coming of another Prophet like himself. The Quran is, therefore,
recognised by us as rectifying the corruptions or misunderstandings of
Christianity, and not only because it claims to be doing so.
Secondly, a study
of the Quran shows us that it is a wholly comprehensive self-consistent system
of ideas and instructions that also incorporate the Essential Teachings of
other religions including that of Moses and Jesus in a harmonious manner. That
being the case, each part or aspect of the Quran supports and reinforces the
others. From this point of view it makes no sense to suppose that the Quran has
undergone any change in its meaning and significance. But people with different
sets of partial knowledge may certainly come to different ideas about it.
Thirdly, many
Christians at the time of Muhammad recognised that Muhammad was a Messenger of
God and converted to Islam. They either understood the teachings of Jesus
differently from today or were willing to rectify their beliefs. It is highly
unlikely that they understood the teachings of Jesus in the same way as the
majority of Christian Churches understand them today.
Critic:-
I quite agree that
Christianity might have been understood differently in the past. But I don't
know where to draw the line. All Christians, as far as I know, regard Jesus as
God incarnate. All Muslims, as far as I know reject this and regard Jesus as
nothing but a prophet. This is the main barrier between Christians and Muslims.
If this barrier could be removed or somehow resolved there would be a MUCH
better state of harmony between the two religions.
The question I have
here is, was Muhammad a Muslim, or did those Christians recognize him as a
Christian Messenger of God?
Comment:-
Muhammad (saw) was
a Muslim in the same way as Jesus was a Muslim; that is they both surrendered
to God.
Unfortunately the
NT does not have a good description of the concept of God except that:-
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God" John 1:1
This only makes
sense if the final phrase was "the Word was God's"
"All things were made by Him and without him
was not anything made that was made." John 1:3
Islam agrees that
all things were made by the Word of God. But do Christians really think that
Jesus literally made the Universe?
"No man hath seen God at anytime; the only
begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
John 1:18
This makes sense if
"only begotten Son" refers to the Word of God. Jesus was on earth and
was seen by other human beings. It cannot refer to Jesus who like others was
born of woman. But he did declare God.
As for the phrase "the Word was wade flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld his glory the glory AS OF the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:4 - It is not the glory of the
only begotten. Note that these are not the words of Jesus and that symbolic
language is being used. We call a Policeman or Judge an embodiment of the Law.
But do we take this literally?
The Quran describes
Allah in a most comprehensive manner to dispel any misunderstandings. He is
self-sufficient and all pervasive - He is omnipotent, omniscient and
omni-present, Infinite, Eternal and Absolute. He is One without parts. This
cannot possibly be a description of any Messenger including Jesus.
No doubt more
primitive people did not understand the concept of God and mistook their kings,
Caesars or Pharaohs as gods. But even here the more enlightened took it to mean
that they represented God on earth because of their power. In Islam it is the
Messengers that are taken as representing God on earth. Indeed, some Christians
at least understand that Jesus is "Emanuel" not God.
The controversy,
therefore, rests on understanding of the language used.
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