From time immemorial, the human mind has been evolving towards the idea of one God. It is interesting and, at the same time, enthralling for us to observe how mankind has slowly and steadfastly progressed to believe in a Supreme Personality, an irresistible will that pervades the whole universe. At first, they could not grasp this in its entirety as an Absolute Being. Instead of realizing the Supreme Personality, they divided and subdivided the powers, which were manifested in nature in different names of gods and goddesses. It took thousands of years to educate the human mind to the idea of the Unity of God. The awakening of the human mind that there is one and only one God for the entire visible and invisible world, which the human brain can comprehend and which requires the human spirit to understand. The idea of the Supreme Powerful all-pervading God, who is guiding and regulating the entire creation, had its final and highest fulfillment with the advent of the Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The meaning of Islam is submission to the Will of Allah, to make peace with oneself, to the creation, and to the Creator, surrendering the ego to God, and in this way, admitting the Supremacy of the Higher Being and reposing trust in Him for every affair of life. Betterment of oneself in all its aspects, as well as doing good to others, should all aim at pleasing God and God alone.
Islam has not derived its name from any particular person, country, community, or clan, like Christianity from the name of its prophet Jesus Christ, Buddhism from Gautama Buddha, Zoroastrianism from Zoroaster, and Judaism from the name of the tribe Judah (of the country of Judea). Similar is the case with other religions. The word Islam does not convey any such relationship. It is a universal religion aiming at creating and cultivating in man the quality and attitude of Islam. It is an attributive term; whoever possesses this attribute irrespective of caste and creed, country, nation, community, or clan is a Muslim. According to the Quran, it is the natural religion of man. It demands complete submission and obedience to Allah.
Ours is an orderly universe. We find law and order in nature and the human world. This law is manifest from birth until death. As far as physical existence is concerned, it is governed by a set of biological laws. Matter, energy, and life all obey their laws and grow and change, live and die in accordance with the respective laws. The sun, moon, planets, stars, and all other heavenly bodies are knitted together in a splendid system and follow an inexorable law. Everything from whirling electrons to the mighty nebula is obeying its law set up by the Master Planner who is hidden from sight. This powerful, all-pervasive law which governs everything in heaven and earth is the law of God—the Creator and the Ruler of the Universe. As the entire creation obeys the laws of God, in the religion of Islam, therefore, everything in the Universe is Muslim, for it obeys God by submission to His laws.
Even a man who refuses to believe in God is a Muslim as far as his physical existence is concerned, from the embryonic stage to the body's dissolution into dust after death. Now, it appears that there are two aspects of one's life—two distinct spheres of activities. One where he is bound and regulated by divine law, and the other is that he is endowed with reason and intellect. He has the power to think, form judgment, to choose and reject, and to adopt or spurn. He is thus free to choose any faith or ideology he likes. These two aspects coexist in human life. In the first place, like all other created things, he is a born Muslim and bound by the natural laws of God and has to obey it. In the second aspect, he is free to become a Muslim or refuse to do so. In the way a person exercises this free will divides mankind into two groups: that of the believers and of the non-believers. A person who chooses to acknowledge his Creator accepts Him as his real Master, honestly and scrupulously submits to His laws and injunctions, and follows the code He has revealed unto man for his individual and social life, becomes a perfect Muslim and acquires completeness in his Islam by consciously deciding to obey God in the domain of his freedom of choice. By doing so, he is at peace with the whole universe, for he worships Him whom the whole universe worships.
There is another category of man who, although a born Muslim, does not exercise the faculty of reason, intellect, and intuition for recognizing his Lord and Creator and misuses his freedom of choice by disobeying His laws and denying the existence of the Creator. Such a man becomes an unbeliever, in the language of Islam, a Kafir (unbeliever or atheist). Kufr literally means to cover, to conceal; one who denies the existence of God is called a Kafir, as he conceals by his disbelief what is inherent in him and embalmed in his soul. His vision becomes blurred, his own nature becomes concealed from his eyes, the reality becomes estranged, and he gropes in the dark. Kufr is a form of ignorance, pure and simple. What ignorance can be greater than to be ignorant of God—the Creator and the Lord of the Universe? He sees the panorama of nature, the superb mechanism which is ceaselessly working, the grand design as manifest everywhere—but he cannot see or understand the Designer. Kufr also means tyranny, the worst of tyrannies, sheer rebellion, ingratitude, and infidelity. This sort of person spreads mischief in the land, sheds blood, creates unhappiness, violates other men's rights, is cruel, creates disorders and destruction in the world. Such a man would bring disharmony in this life.
Contrary to him, the believer chooses the path of obedience to God. He does not err in distinguishing the right from the wrong. He puts his heart and soul into following the right way and joyfully submits to his Lord and Master. His life will be filled with godliness, piety, righteousness, and truthfulness because he believes that in the life after death, he will have to submit an account of his entire life. His will be a life of purity, piety, love, and altruism. He will abstain from all kinds of evil, hidden or manifest. All the God-fearing, truth-loving men all over the world believe in this natural religion of man, which was given the name Al-Islam in the Quran.
As Islam means obedience to God, it demands that man should know certain basic facts of life and have firm faith in them. It requires that man should have unshakeable faith in God; he should know the attributes of God. The profound knowledge of the attributes of God will make him cultivate the noblest of human qualities to fashion his life in virtue and godliness. Again, he must know the way of living which will please God. If he is ignorant of the likes and dislikes of God, he cannot pursue the right course. Thus, the knowledge of Divine Laws and the Revealed Code of life is essential for each individual. One must know the consequences of faith, belief, and obedience and disbelief and disobedience. The Arabic word, Iman, means to know, to believe, to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt. Faith thus is the firm belief in the Unity of God, His attributes, His law, the Revealed guidance, belief in the angels, in the hereafter, and the Divine Books. One who has this faith is called a Momen (faithful).
Now, to acquire the knowledge of God, one has to accept the teachings of the messengers. From Adam up to Muhammad (PBUH), God has sent in His infinite mercy innumerable messengers like Noah, Abraham, Lot, Ismail, Isaac, Job, Jonah, Moses, Joseph, David, Solomon, Elias, Zakaria, Yahya, Jesus Christ, and many others with divine revelations throughout the ages to show mankind the right path—the path to reach God. Sri Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster are also accepted as the prophets of God. Everywhere we find human beings consulting specialists and taking their advice in different branches of knowledge. In matters of religion also, one should believe what the chosen messengers of God imparted to mankind. Twenty-four thousand prophets of God were sent to this earth. As they had direct contact with God and had been endowed with the correct knowledge, one can accept their words as truth. These persons' sincerity, integrity, trustworthiness, godliness, and absolute purity of their lives, and the wisdom and the force of their messages make one believe that they speak the truth.
The human race began from one man, Adam, and his consort, Eve. From them, the family of man grew and multiplied. All human beings have descended from the earliest pair, Adam and Eve. History and religion have agreed on this point. Adam was also the first prophet of God, as it is stated in the Quran. Those of Adam's descendants who were good trod the right path shown by him, but those who were not good abandoned their father's teachings and gradually drifted away into devious ways by worshipping the sun, moon, stars, trees, rivers, and animals. Some thought that the forces of nature were under different gods and should be propitiated by means of worship and sacrifice. In this way, many forms of polytheism, idolatry, and scores of religions were formulated. This happened when Adam's family spread far and wide and formed different races and nations. Each had formalities and rituals of its own. Forgetting the oneness of God, they became hardened in their devices, evil customs, and ignorance. At this stage, God began to raise prophets from among every people who taught the natural religion of man by worshipping God and avoiding evil ways. They set up the standard of conduct, the right way of living, seeking the pleasure of God, and gave them the laws to be followed and enforced in society. God's true prophets were raised in all countries and from every nation and people. They preached one and the same religion, i.e., worship of one God. All others are later perversions of that original religion, which is called Islam—obedience to God. The methods of teaching and the legal codes are different from each other in accordance with the needs of the time and people. The spirit of the time needed the advent of those prophets to eradicate the particular evil, to reform the people, and bring them back to righteousness.
At first, the laws were simple, but as civilization advanced and life became more complex, those rules also changed for the better. Thousands of years passed in educating mankind and developing them mentally, morally, and spiritually. Man continued to make progress, growing from infancy until reaching the age of maturity. However, men's attitudes towards God's prophets were often strange. They maltreated some, expelled others, and assassinated some. Despite facing all sorts of indignities, opposition, cruelty, and derision, these apostles of God did not cease to preach and eventually succeeded in bringing people back to a simple, noble, pious, and righteous life.
The whole of Arabia was steeped in ignorance, superstition, and sin (as it is called the days of ignorance) when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born. The advent of Muhammad (PBUH) is a historical fact, and the repeated assertions by him as well as what has come in the Quran testify that he is the last prophet of God in the long chain of prophets. The Quran is the Last Revealed Book which has come down from God for the benefit of all mankind. For fourteen hundred years, the truth of the Quran has remained unchanged. It has been kept unadulterated as it came, so it remains until this day. Seekers after truth can easily discern the truth from the historical facts about the religion Al-Islam. As nations came closer to one another, social, moral, religious, cultural, economic, political, and spiritual needs of mankind were awaiting the highest fulfillment of having peace, happiness, prosperity, justice, equality, and brotherhood. This need of the time was again fulfilled by God through His chosen messenger Muhammad (PBUH). He was born in 570 of the Christian Era, and at the age of forty Divine Revelation came to him and he started preaching. He never had any education and was called the unlettered Prophet (of God). But he proved to be a unique philosopher, wonderful reformer, a renowned molder of culture and civilization, an illustrious politician, a great leader, a judge of the highest eminence, and a great statesman. He expounded the intricate problems of metaphysics and theology, he delivered speeches on the principles of the decline and fall of nations and empires-supporting the thesis with the historical data of the past. He taught ethical cannons and principles of culture. He formulated such laws of social culture, economic organization, group conduct, and international relations-all based on Quranic principles that even the eminent thinkers and scholars can grasp their true wisdom after lifelong research and vast experience of man and things.
The revelations came to him during twenty-three years of his prophetic mission, in parts, and were written and collected by the companions of the Prophet. It was he who turned the course of human thought from superstition, love of miracles, and unnatural things towards a rational approach, love for reality, and a pious, balanced life. He eradicated idolatry, man-worship, and polytheism in all its aspects thoroughly and established a firm faith in the Unity of God. He showed the path of spiritual evolution, moral emancipation, and attainment of salvation through active participation in the practical affairs of life around them. He laid the foundation of a moral, spiritual, cultural, and political superstructure for the good of the whole of humanity. He is the world Prophet in the truest sense of the term. He proclaimed himself as a messenger of God only: "I am a human being like yourselves. I have not brought anything to you of my own accord. It has been revealed to me by God. Whatever I possess belongs to God. This message, the like of which the whole humanity is not able to produce, is the message of God. It is not the product of my own mind. Every word of it has been sent down by Him, and all glory to Him whose message it is. All the wonderful achievements which stand to my credit in your eyes, all the laws which I have given, all the principles which I have enunciated and taught-none of them is from me. I find myself thoroughly incompetent in producing such things out of my sheer personal ability and capabilities. I look to Divine Guidance in all matters. Whatever He wills, I do; what He directs, I proclaim." He was a great apostle of God, His messenger to the whole world. His life and thought, his truth and straightforwardness, his piety and goodness, his character and morals, his ideology and achievements all stand as impeachable proofs of his prophethood. Anyone can find out all the truth about him and the Divine Revelation (i.e., Quran) which has come for the entire humanity. It is a very simple religion proclaiming the Unity of God, recognizing and accepting Muhammad (PBUH) as the last prophet of God. In the Quran, it has come: "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favors on you, and chosen the name Al-Islam as your religion." Again in the Quran, we find: "Say (O, Muhammad) verily I am a man like you, divine revelations came to me, verily your God is one God. Whoever desires to meet his Lord, let him do good deeds and let him not associate in worship anybody else with Him.”
A believer ought to have firm faith in the Unity of God, in the Divine Books, and in the Holy Quran as the last of the Books, in angels, in prophets, and in the life after death.
There are five obligatory duties which a Muslim should perform to please God: Proclaim the Unity of God i.e., tawheed, performing five times prayer, paying the poor rate, fasting, and going on pilgrimage to Mecca. The deeper significance of these principles and duties is to ennoble the heart and to elevate the soul to its potential greatness and height. Tawheed breaks any kind of bondage and frees the human soul from any other ties, making perfect allegiance to God. The aim of prayer is to establish a connection between God and oneself, self-discipline, grateful remembrance of God for all the blessings one has in this world, and it removes indecencies and ungratefulness. Fasting controls the self in all its unruly inclinations and has immense benefits; it teaches sympathy and fellow-feeling for the poor and purifies the soul. Zakat, the compulsory tax every year on accumulated wealth for the benefit of the poor, saves one from greed, hoarding, and helps to create social justice and far-reaching benefits for all. Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, visiting the House of Allah and joining in the congregational prayer during the month of Zilhajj, makes one feel the nearness of God within oneself and feels the truth of the brotherhood of mankind.
Faith puts human beings on equal footing irrespective of color. The prophet's saying "There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab" proves the equality of mankind. Faith in God can play a significant dynamic role in the history of Islam as it did before. As human life is comprised of body and soul, faith acts as the driving force to conquer the seemingly unconquerable domain of developments—material and spiritual. The development of the inner self to its unlimited possibilities demands absolute, unshakeable, undaunted faith in God and in the divine Book, which shows the way of life in its multifarious duties and problems. Without faith, higher realization of self is a far cry. In the Quran, Allah says, "La qad Karramna Bani Adama"—"I have exalted mankind." It is up to him to prove his worth as the noblest of creation. Everything in the universe has been subjected to man. It is up to him to realize the dignity of the trust and the significance of his role in conscious effort for the improvement of human beings and making a heaven of the earth by preserving and maintaining God's creation to the highest satisfaction of the Creator.
