The Only Way of Life

All religions are from Allah! All religions teach the same thing; to believe in one God, to believe in accountability, to help humanity and spread peace. Assuming thus, would it be right to follow one or all the religions? No, it would not. It would only go to show a person’s ignorance regarding origin of religion itself and its evolution into various forms of faith around the world.

Religion has evolved from the time Allah placed Adam and Eve on this earth. As civilization began to spring all over the globe, Allah made sure that each nation and each time period had their fair share of divine knowledge which Allah sent through His messengers. This process went on for thousands of years, until, Allah thought man was intellectually and spiritually mature enough to receive His last and final revelation.

This world is a test for the hereafter, and for mankind to be able to go through its various stages and challenges, Allah revealed to us His Word through prophet Muhammad (SAW). If we believe the Quran to be from Allah, His unique means of communication with man, then we must look into this heavenly book for answers. Who better to guide us than He who created the heavens and the earth and is the only sole possessor of all knowledge.

There would be many ways to look at the matter, but, as all religions point to the same thing; the coming of the last and final word of Allah, it would be much simpler to jump ahead and pick out our information from the best source available; the holy Quran. I could simply quote a verse from the Quran that says, ‘the only religion acceptable in the sight of Allah is Islam’ and arrest my case. However, it wouldn’t be fair to just stop there without digging a little deeper into the immense pool of wisdom given to us.

Allah is the master and the Lord. He doesn’t need our prayers, He does not rely upon our worship and nor does He need us to help his creatures. On the contrary, we are dependent on His mercy and grace; if we pray, we do it for our own salvation, if we worship it is to show our servitude. Allah does not need our charity; He’s well able to take care of His creation, if we spend we do it in hope to receive reward. All things considered, people generally do good to get into Allah’s good books, and rightly so, for whatever we do, it ultimately should be for the pleasure of Allah.

Sometimes, however, we are deceived and led into believing that all acts of goodness are worthy of reward. Logically, it seems to us, that no matter which ethnic or religious background a person belongs to, he would gain the pleasure of the All Mighty by contributing to the common good of humanity. There’s no doubt that an act of righteousness is always acknowledged and rewarded, for Allah is the fairest of all judges. Hence, recognition, honour and prestige are bestowed upon many in this world. However, to turn our deeds into means of deliverance for us in the hereafter, there’s a little more to our application of the good. The condition is set by Allah; for a good deed to be accepted, it has to have the purity and sincerity, in Arabic known as ‘Ikhlas’, based on our intention, ‘niyat’ that it was done solely for the pleasure of Allah. If the intention lies elsewhere, no matter how noble the act or how worthy the outcome, Allah will simply reject it, for Allah is too proud to accept anything that has been corrupted by a mixture of beliefs or emotions. So, to be able to earn ourselves salvation, we, first of all, have to be crystal clear in our concept of God.

Allah puts a question to us in the Quran, saying ‘do you suppose you would be left alone? You say you believe; would you not then be tested?’ Once we re-establish our faith in one true God, we must endorse it with our endeavors. Saying that we believe is not enough, it has to be proven as our actions are nothing but a reflection of our intentions. Are we then free to choose to live our lives the way we deem appropriate? Certainly not! Allah has set a path for us to follow. There are no two ways about it nor are there any shortcuts, instead, clear instructions for those willing to understand.

Allah is the ‘Always All Forgiving’ and the ‘Repeatedly Merciful’; the two attributes of Allah that appeal to mankind the most. In the Quran Allah says that He would forgive man everything if He so wills with the exception of ‘shirk’, the act of associating partners with Allah. In saying so, Allah has made it binding upon Himself not to show mercy to those who confuse other than Allah to be their God. Allah says in the Quran, ‘worship Allah the way it is His right to be worshipped’, hence, any other fancy of ours is an offense to Allah for which he has no tolerance.

We are reminded repeatedly in the Quran to be ‘mindful’, to ‘think’ about the signs (ayats) and to ‘contemplate’. How is it then, that we can assume all religions to be equally good? Allah says the worst kind of shirk committed is when it is said that Jesus is the son of God. Can we support a religion then, whose very foundation is a means of an insult to our Lord? Similarly, the Jews believe Hazrat Uzair to be Allah’s child, the Buddhists believe in Buddha as the highest diety, the Hindus have multiple gods and so the list of religions, corrupted through the ages, goes on. Can we respect all forms of theological beliefs, knowing they are offensive to Allah?

The last verse revealed to the prophet (SAW) sums it all up. Allah says, “Today I have perfected your religion, and chosen for you the deen of Islam.” Either we continue to delude ourselves into taking all forms of religious ideology as sacred or we accept only that which Allah has perfected for us. In choosing anything other than this, we commit the grave sin of rejecting what Allah has clearly chosen for us. Furthermore, in Surah 3 verse 85, Allah says, “For, if one goes in search of a religion other than Islam (complete submission to the will of Allah), it will never be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the losers.”

We should therefore be sensible about what we ought and what we ought not to believe. We have been given something that is far superior, on the whole beautiful and most progressive; a way of life perfected by Allah Himself. We must take it, pursue it, cherish it, stay firm on it, respect it, and above all, learn to love it beyond all else.