What Islam Stands For
What Islam Stands For
What distinguishes
Mohammad (pbuh) from other Prophets?
Mohammad's
(pbuh) mission was for the world as a whole, and for all times; for
Why God
communicated with man through His Prophet?
The work
of a Prophet is not limited.
The mission
of A Prophet does not end with the announcement of this way of life.
The audience
of the Quran and Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was the whole of mankind.
Belief
in Mohammad's (pbuh) Prophethood.
The belief
in the Hereafter (Akhira).
Belief
in the Hereafter divides people into three distinct categories.
Islam
represents a whole civilization.
Islam is not the name of some unique faith presented for the first
time by Mohammad (peace be upon him) who should, on that account, be called
the founder of Islam. The Quran makes it abundantly clear that Islam,
the complete submission of man before God, is the one and only faith consistently
revealed by God to mankind from the very beginning. Noah, Abraham, Moses
and Christ - Prophets who appeared at different tim es and places all propagated
the same faith. They were not founders of faiths to be named after them.
They were each reiterating the faith of his predecessor.
What distinguishes Mohammad (pbuh) from other Prophets? (a) He
was the last Prophet of God; (b) God revived through him the same genuine
faith which had been conveyed by all the Prophets; (c) This original message
was corrupted, and split into various religions by peoples in different
ages, who indulged in int erpolations and admixture. These alien elements
were eliminated by God and Islam, in its pure and original form, was transmitted
to mankind through Mohammad (pbuh); (d) Since there was to be no messenger
after Mohammad (pbuh), the Book revealed to him wa s preserved word for
word so that it should be a source of guidance for all times; (e) The life
of Mohammad (pbuh), and the manner in which he conducted himself, was also
recorded in a unique manner by his companions and by later compilers of
the Traditio n. A more complete and authentic account of the life , sayings
and actions of any Prophet or historical personage, has never been compiled;
(f) In this way, the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet together
became a reliable source of knowing Is lam.
As Muslims, we believe in all the Prophets who preceded Mohammad
(pbuh). But for instruction we turn to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) alone. Not
on account of any prejudice, but because: (a) As the last of God's
Prophets he brought us the latest divine dispensation; (b) the word of
God which reached us through Mohammad (pbuh) is pure divine language, free
of human admixtures, and preserved in its original form. Its language is
a living l anguage, spoken, and whose grammar, vocabulary, idiom, pronunciation
and script have remained unchanged from the time of revelation till today;
(c) As said earlier, we have a complete historical record of the life,
character, conduct, sayings and action o f the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh),
preserved with meticulous care, accuracy and detail. Since this cannot
be said of other Prophets we can believe in them, but we cannot emulate
them.
Mohammad's (pbuh) mission was for the world as a whole, and for all
times; for (a) Its universality has been clearly confirmed by the Quran;
(b) It is the logical consequence of the finality of his prophethood. A
Prophet , after whom there was to be no other , had to be a guide and leader
for all men and for all ages; (c) God has p rovided through him a complete
code which man needs, to follow the right path, and this in itself supports
the concept of finality, because without completeness the need for other
prophets would remain; (d) It is a fact during the last 1400 years no man
h as arisen whose life and work bears even the slightest resemblance to
that of a prophet. Nor has anyone presented a book which could be remotely
considered as divine communication. Still less has there been a man to
claim legitimate authority as a lawgi ver for mankind.
Why God communicated with man through His Prophet? This has to
be examined in the context of the sources of human knowledge. At the preliminary
stage we gain knowledge through empirical observation. At higher levels
comes deductive reasoning accompanied by scientific investigation. Man
is sufficiently well-equipped in these fields not to require direct divine
assistance. Though, no doubt, there is an ever present Divine Will helping
man in his research and innovative endeavors and revealing to him progressively
the mysteries of His creation. Some gif ted individuals achieve, in moments
of rare inspiration, new insights or discover new laws of nature. But there
is another type of knowledge which is beyond the reach of our senses or
scientific study. This sphere of knowledge does not submit to any ins trument
of scientific examination. Philosophy and science can only speculate about
it. Human theories about ultimate realities, based on reason, never achieve
the level of certainty, and their authors, conscious of their limitations,
do not present them as conclusively proved. In respect of these realities
man is dependent on whatever knowledge is communicated to him by God. How
is this knowledge conveyed? Not through the operations of some publishing
house, where books are printed and handed over to each man, with instructions
to read them, and to discover the truth about himself, about the universe,
and about the manner in which he should organize his life. To convey this
knowledge to mankind, God chooses prophets as His messengers. He reveals
th e truth to them and they communicate it to the people.
The work of a Prophet is not limited. He has to explain, according
to what is revealed to him, the relationship between God and man and man
and man as it factually is, and as it actually should be. He has to prescribe
a moral code, enunciate the principles of culture and civilization, lay
do wn the mode of worship, establish a frame-work of belief, and define
the moral imperatives, which must govern our life. The Prophet determines
the rules which should form the basis of social and cultural relationships,
economic, judicial and political de alings, matters of war and peace and
international affairs. The Prophet does not transmit merely a code of rituals
commonly regarded as 'religion.' He brings with him a whole system of thought
and action which is called Al-Deen in Islamic terminology.
The mission of A Prophet does not end with the announcement of this
way of life. He has to guide the people who follow him, explaining
to them the implication of the Islamic creed, the moral code, the Divine
Injunctions, and the form of worship that sustains the whole system. He
has to demonstrate, by practice, the faith he preaches, and his life should
be a model which people may be able to follow to organize their own lives.
He must give training to the individuals and the Muslim society as a whole
to prepare them for practical participation in the evolution of Islamic
culture and civilization. The believers must grow under his guidance into
an organized community engaged in establishing the Islamic system of life
so that God's word should prevail over all other words. Every prophet had
the same message, and it is a fact of hist ory that Mohammad (pbuh) succeeded
in establishing the Kingdom of God on earth, as it is in the heavens.
The audience of the Quran and Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was the whole
of mankind. At no time was the invitation of the Quran addressed to
the people of any particular race, color or language. The Quran always
calls upon the "progeny of Adam" or "mankind" to accept Islam. The specific
instructions and injunctions are meant for those w ho have come to believe
in Islam, and the are always addressed as "those who believe." That the
message of Islam was universal in character is provided by the fact that
those who accepted the message acquired equal rights and status as believers,
regardl ess of all the differences of origin. The Quran says, "The believers
are all like brothers." The Prophet announced, "Listen! You have one God
as you have one father (Adam). There is no distinction between an Arab
and a non-Arab. There is no preference for the black over the light-skinned,
or the light-skinned over the black. There is distinction only in the submission
of God. The most virtuous among you is the most honorable in the eyes of
God."
Belief in one God. Not just the conviction that He exists or
that He is one - but that He alone is the Creator, Master, Ruler and Administrator
of all that exists. The universe exists because God Wills it to exist,
it functions because God Wills it to function, and God pro vides the sustenance
and the energy which everything in the universe requires for its existence
and growth. All the attributes of Sovereignty reside in God alone. He alone
possesses all the attributes of Divinity. He vies the whole universe, and
all th at it contains, in a single instantaneous glance. He has direct
knowledge of the universe, and all that is there in the universe. He knows
not only its present, but its past and its future as well. This omnipresence
and omniscience is an attribute of G od alone and of no other. There was
none 'before' Him and there is none 'after' Him. He has been there always
and will be there always - eternal and abiding. All else is transient.
He alone is eternally living and present. He is no one's progeny and He
has no progeny. Whatever exists, besides His self, is His own creation,
and no other can identify himself in any manner with the Lord of the universe,
or claim to be His son or daughter. He is man's single Deity.
The Islamic concept of God. (a) God alone is the real Deity and
no one other than God has any right to be worshipped by man; (b) God alone
has authority over the forces of the universe, and He alone can fulfill
or frustrate man's hopes. Man should turn to Him alone in prayer. He s
hould never imagine that prayers can be addressed to anyone but God; (c)
God is the master of man's destiny and no one else can interfere with the
fate of others or with his own fate. Man's hopes and fears must, therefore,
be directed only to God; (d) Go d is the Creator of the world and He alone
has complete and direct knowledge of the reality of man and of the world.
Only He can guide man through the complicated course of life and instruct
him regarding good and evil. Since God alone is the Creator an d the Master
he has exclusive authority over the universe and man. It is an act of blasphemy
for man to become independent or claim authority over other men. His law
has the status of the supreme law. Man can legislate subjects to His Supreme
law.
Belief in Mohammad's (pbuh) Prophethood. God conveyed His message
to man through Mohammad (pbuh). This took two forms: (a) God revealed the
Quran to the Prophet in his own language; (b) The Sunnah of the Prophet
which is an unerring guide to man in respect to all that is permissible
and all tha t is prohibited in the eyes of God. Without this belief in
the Prophet, belief in God would become a mere theoretical proposition.
It is the example of practical leadership and the ideological guidance
provided by the Prophet, which transforms belief in God into a culture
and a civilization, and enables man to evolve a way of life. We get through
the Prophet not only rules of guidance, but a complete scheme of values
and a practical code of conduct. No one can be a practicing Muslim unless
he believes in the prophethood of the Messenger and follows his life example
as he believes in God.
The position of the Prophet. The Prophet is no more than a servant of God. He was to make people servants of God and not servants of himself. At least seventeen times a day Muslims recite in prayers: "I bear witness that Mohammad (pbuh) is a servant of God and is His prophet." The Quran leaves no doubt that the Prophet is but a human being and has no share whatsoever in Divinity. The Prophet is neither superhuman nor is he free of human weaknesses. He owns no treasure of God, nor does he possess knowledge of the unknown to make him all knowing like God Almighty. Leave alone being able to benefit others or cause them harm, the Prophet (pbuh) cannot do so even in respect of himself. The precise task of the Prophet is to communicate the message of God. He has no powers to make people righteous and faithful. Nor can he call to account those who refuse to believe, and he certainly has no power to punish them for their disbelief. Mohammad (pbuh) is one of the Prophets of God, and above that he has no status. He cannot by himsel f prohibit or permit any thing. Without a mandate from God he cannot legislate for the people. He has to strictly conform to Divine commandments. Islam ensured that the believers should not turn the Prophet into a demi-god. Some of the earlier prophet s suffered this fate at the hands of their followers. They attributed all kinds of supernatural powers to their leaders and made them into God's equal or progeny or incarnation. By discouraging such exaggeration, Islam has established the true position of the Prophet as follows:
No one can claim to be a believer without believing in the Prophet. He who obeys the Prophet, in fact, obeys God. God has not designated any Prophet except to be obeyed according to His will. The path of the Prophet is the path of Divine guidance. Wh atever the Prophet ordains must be accepted, and whatever he instructs to avoid must be avoided. The Prophet clarified this when he said: I am a mortal like you. In matters revealed to me by God, you must obey my instructions. But you know more about your own worldly affairs than I do. The Sunnah of Mohammad (pbuh) is, in fact, an exposition of the purpose of the Quran, and this exposition too was conveyed to the Prophet by God Himself, as the author of the Quran. The Prophet's explanation of the Qu ran enjoys Divine Sanction, and no one else can interpret the Quran in a way which may be in conflict with or repugnant to the explanation given by Prophet. God declared the life of Mohammad (pbuh) as a model life. Before deciding any matter Muslims mus t ascertain whether any analogous matter was decided earlier by God and His Prophet, and if a precedent exists they must follow it.
God conveyed, through the Prophet to mankind, not only a supreme law
but also a permanent scheme of values. That which is good, according to
the Quran and the Sunnah, is good for all times, and that which is evil,
shall remain evil forever. In this la w no amendment, deletion, addition
or abrogation is possible unless some person or community decide to renounce
Islam.
The belief in the Hereafter (Akhira). Denial of the Hereafter
is the denial of Islam even though one may have belief in God, in the Prophet,
and in the Quran. In its detailed form, this belief is composed of the
following essential elements; (a) Man has not been unleashed on the earth
as an irresponsible savage. he is accountable to God for his actions. Today's
life is only a test and an examination. At the end we will all be called
upon to render a complete account of our acts of commission and omission
to God; (b) The time for accounta bility is fixed by God. The tenure allotted
to mankind, on this earth, shall terminate on doomsday, when the present
order will be replaced by another. The whole human race will rise once
again in the new world; (c) That will be the time when all will a ppear
before God Almighty, and everyone will face the consequences of this personal
acts in his individual capacity; (d) the judgment will rest not on God's
own knowledge alone. The requirements of due process of justice will be
fully observed. A comple te record of the action of every individual, without
the slightest alteration, will be put in the open Court, and evidence,
of different categories will be presented to prove what was done by man
in private or public, and the motives which inspired his co nduct; (e)
There will no undue intercession . No one will be able to shift his burden
to another. Man will stand by himself helpless and alone and render his
account, and await the pronouncement of the judgment, which shall be in
the power of God alone ; (f) The judgment will rest on one question: Did
man conduct himself, in submission to God, in strict conformity with the
truth revealed to the Prophets, and with the conviction that he will be
held responsible for his conduct in life on the Day of Judgm ent? If the
answer is in the affirmative, the reward will be Paradise, and if in the
negative, Hell will be the punishment.
Belief in the Hereafter divides people into three distinct categories. First, there are those who do not believe in the Hereafter and regard life on this earth as the only life. Naturally, they judge good and evil by the results which manifest themselves in this world. If an action produces beneficial results it is good, a nd it brings about harmful results it is evil. Quite often the same action is regarded as good when the results are good and bad when its results are bad.
Second, those people who do not deny the Hereafter, but who depend on the intercession or atonement of someone to absolve them of their sins. Among them - there are some, who regard themselves as God's chosen people, who will receive only nominal punish ment however grave their sins. This deprives them of the moral advantage which they could have derived from their belief in the Hereafter. As a result they also become very much like the people who deny the Hereafter.
Third, are those people who believe in the Hereafter in the form in
which Islam presents it. They do not delude themselves that they have any
special relationship with God, or that anyone can intercede on their behalf.
They know that they alone are res ponsible for their actions. For them
the belief in the Hereafter becomes a great moral force. A person who has
the conviction that he is fully accountable for all his actions finds a
permanent guard, stationed within himself, who cautions him and admoni
shes him whenever he deviates from the right path. There may be no court
to summon him, no policemen to apprehend him, no witnesses to accuse him,
and no public opinion to press him, but the guard within him is ever on
the alert, ready to seize him when ever he transgresses. The consciousness
of this inner presence makes man feat God even wen he is all by himself.
Should he succumb to temptation, and violate the law of God, he is ever
ready to offer sincere regrets, and to enter into a firm contract wi th
the future that he will not repeat the mistake. There can be no greater
instrument of moral reformation nor any better method to help man to develop
a sound and stable character. It is for this reason that Islam attaches
great importance to the belie f in the Hereafter, and without it even the
belief in God and the Prophet is not sufficient for men's guidance.
Islam represents a whole civilization. Islam provides moral guidance in all walks of life. That is why Islamic values are not for the ascetic who renounces the world, but for him who actively participates in different spheres of life, and works within them. The moral values which people look for in convents, monasteries, and cloisters, are presented by Islam right in the current of life. Heads of governments, governors of states, judges, members of the armed forces and police services, elected representatives of the people in the parliament s, leaders of finance, trade and industry, college and university teachers and students alike receive guidance to organize their lives according to the principles of Islam. There is no distinction in Islam between private and public conduct. The same mo ral code which one observes at home applies to one's conduct in public. Every institution of society and every department of Government must conform to the laws of Islam. Politics must be based on truth and justice. nations should deal with one another on the basis of mutual recognition of rights, and due discharge of obligations. When man decides to submit to the will of God, and accepts His law as the supreme law, and organizes his life and laws in accordance with the revealed moral code, on the pri nciple of accountability of God, the equality and character of his life cannot be limited to the precincts of prayer halls. It must extend itself to every sphere of this work as a man of God.
This, briefly, is what Islam stands for. This is no dream or Utopia.
The Prophet of Islam, and his companions, developed and established a complete
model of Islam on this earth for mankind to follow.
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