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A Global Religion
Faten Sabri
We used to hear cabin crew instructions about the importance of taking care of ourselves first and then our children, that were also in danger during the flight.
These instructions are similar to what the priests did when they asked their followers to resort to the Creator directly and avoid approaching them due to the fear of infection after the Corona pandemic. Those who resort to idols in request and worship rushed to sterilize their gods and not approach them due to the fear of infection.
The Creator said:
If you call upon them, they cannot hear your calls. And if they were to hear, they could not respond to you. On the Day of Judgment, they will disown your worship ˹of them˺. And no one can inform you ˹O Prophet˺ like the All-Knowledgeable[1].
As if humans are the virus due to their actions, and Corona is the cure. Until the earth despite its vastness, seemed to close in on humans, and their souls were torn in anguish.
The Creator said:
… until the earth, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on them, and their souls were torn in anguish. They knew there was no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them in mercy so that they might repent. Surely Allah ˹alone˺ is the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful[2].
The Coronavirus is one of the most powerful messages that tell people:
At a specific moment, everyone will turn to the source of his existence (the Creator), willingly or by force. No matter how much we rely on each other and strive to make society happy, there will come a day when we and humanity will not be able to save ourselves. We will feel that we need an Absolute Power, that is absolutely independent and do not depend on anything.
This Power is:
The Creator of Buddha, Ram and Krishna, the Creator of monks, saints, and priests, the Creator of the prophets of God, like Muhammad, Jesus Christ, and Moises, may peace be upon them. It is not permissible to supplicate and demand from the creations.
There is no Trinity, no divinity, no refuge for a prophet. The different races are not required to search for a god of their own, and there is no good or evil god.
When I was young, my father was like a superman to me. He was capable of anything, fulfilling my requests, no matter how great they were to me. I never saw him getting tired of fulfilling my wishes. I never liked to see him tired or sick. For me, he was the hero who never got tired. We often hear the expression, "The woman and the little child think that the man is omnipotent."
Our desire as human beings to have a source of absolute power that humans embodied in the character of Superman stems from an instinct planted in our hearts on the fact that there is a Higher Power different from humans, free of human qualities, and capable of everything.
Just like how the old age, illness, and the death of my father assured me that he is a human being who gets tired, has needs, and dies, also confirmed to me the existence of a Great Power that does not depend on others, is independent, does not get tired, does not have needs, and does not die. That can be only the Creator of all that exists.
That is why I focus on the importance of the genuine concept of the Creator in my lectures and dialogues with Muslims and non-Muslims. The followers of all religions distorted this concept except in Islam. Non-Muslims ascribed to the Creator human attributes such as having a child, getting tired and not knowing, sighing, and regretting. The problem became worse when some religions considered that the Creator would embody an insect, a tree, an animal, or a human being. The worst of all is that they made the Creator the sin itself, exalted be God The Almighty far above that.
A young American once asked me how to balance our urgent need to connect with our Creator to win eternal bliss with the pleasures of this life.
I told him what I heard once: When you have an important exam the next day, do you spend the night thinking about breakfast or the test?
He said: I spend my night thinking about the exam.
I said to him: Life's pleasures are like the breakfast meal, but knowing the purpose of your existence, the source of your presence, and your destiny after death, and communicating with the source of your existence is the test. There is no contradiction between them.
No matter how varied and expensive the breakfast was and how luxurious the restaurant was, it would not occupy the thoughts of those who wanted to pass the test.
The young man said: I like communicating with the Creator directly and not through a priest?
I said to him: It is more than the idea of like or dislike. Your communication with the Creator directly is one of your rights.
The right of the Creator over His creatures is to worship Him alone, and the right of creations is to communicate with Him directly.
It always caught my attention how young people are attached to social media these days, especially before the spread of the use of cameras, and I said to myself: A man may talk to his friend for years without seeing him. He may feel comfortable and harmonious by talking to him occasionally, and when he meets him directly, he will be overjoyed.
As soon as I am asked about the reason behind the strong Muslim's attachment to prayer and his frequent encounter with his Creator daily at any moment, and through the five daily prayers, I mention the following example: When a Muslim communicates with the Creator to repent from sin, thank for a blessing, or seek a need, and acknowledge that whatever bad happened to him was from himself and the good he obtained was from the Creator, he would have achieved the goal of his existence.
Tranquility will fill his soul, and his life will move on with happiness. Therefore, the moment he meets with the Creator after death will be the happiest.
The Creator said:
Say, ˹O Prophet, ˺ "I am only a man like you, ˹but˺ it has been revealed to me that your God is only One God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with their Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord"[3].
A young man in his twenties from Chile asked me about the concept of Pantheism.
I was surprised when he gave me the term in Arabic even though the dialogue was in Spanish.
I asked him about it, and he said: One of my relatives spoke to me about this concept, for I am of Arab-Christian origin.
I was shocked and said to myself: How tough these times are for the youth, in which concepts have been distorted. They cannot differentiate between the reality of their existence and its origin.
I said to him: You can somehow make it square if you have a circular electrical wire. But it is impossible to call it round and square simultaneously. Either it remains circular, or it turns into a square.
A drowning person waiting for a helping hand to save him from death and perishment will not be satisfied with uniting with the seawater as a means to be saved. He is looking for an independent being who will take his hand and lead him out of the situation he lives in, facing the threat of death.
How someone who takes a picture from his phone can unite and become a single thing with the phone and the picture?!
How can someone who plays electronic games be part of the game?
We need a Power greater than all to guarantee our salvation and security after death, not to unite with us and make us both faceless.
The Creator is unlimited and eternal, He is before everything, after everything, and none of His creatures can be equal to Him.
Today, there are demands to admit the validity of all religions and the relativity of truth to raise the slogan of a global religion. I am writing this book to prove that the truth is absolute, whether we like it or not, and religion is one, which is: Acknowledgment of the Creator. He has neither a son nor a partner. The true God does not embody a human form or animal, nor does He unite with his creatures. Everyone must communicate with this Creator directly, not through a saint or priest. And the recognition of the day of Judgment when the Creator will hold people accountable for their deeds. Only this way can we live in peace and have a global religion.
I pray to the Almighty Creator to accept this work from me and make it a source of guidance for all. Ameen.
Robert Powell, who played "Jesus" in the movie" Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), told people to stop worshiping him as if he is the real Jesus[4]. It is common to see many believers in the divinity of Christ displaying Powell's photos in places of worship, schools, offices, cars،, etc.
Some use these images for prayer, while others claim that they bring them good luck.
Many of them don't realize that the person in the picture is not, and could not be, Jesus Christ.
Robert said: "I am here to straighten a fact exasperating me for a while, now seeing numerous people insinuating some handsome white men to be Jesus. Who knows whether he was black or white? It's not about color; it's an almost unforgivable intentional identity mistake."
This story is the most significant evidence that a person is bound to have faith, whether the belief in the true God or any false deity. Both Robert and Christ are false gods.
Christ is a human being, God created him without a father as a great prophet sent by Him, just as God created Adam without a father or a mother, and Robert is a human (an ordinary person).
Does a person accept that someone changes his data in his identity? In this case, he becomes another person in the first place.
A little boy of a British family once asked me: Why does God force us to worship Him when He does not need our worship? Why does He scare us with fire?
I said to him: The Creator is self sufficient, He does need our worship. He asks us to worship Him for our own good. Doesn't your father force you to go to school?
Wouldn't your mother warn you if you don’t tidy up your room?
Doesn't your teacher scare you from failing and threatens you with consequences?
Our lives dwell between dos and don'ts.
Doesn't your father avoid stopping or parking in unauthorized locations for fear of paying a fine?
For example, when we get a pet, we want its obedience for its own good and protection, so we train it and expect obedience. We expect the template from the pet; although we didn't create it, we just bought it. So, what about your Creator? Is He not worthy of your obedience, worship, and submission?
In most aspects of life, we already submit to God: we don't choose our parents; our genes; don't control our breathing, don't pump our hearts, etc. Our Creator wants us to willingly submit to Him in other aspects where He gave us a free choice, to arrive safely.
We live in his land and eat his sustenance. People should reciprocate these blessings with the appreciation of the bounty of the Donor. Otherwise, ingratitude and lack of recognition is an underestimation of the Donor.
A person needs to have faith in a deity, whether the belief in the true God or any false deity. He may call this deity god or name it anything else.
A person’s god may be a tree, a star in the sky, a woman, a boss at work, a scientific theory, or even himself (his own desires). It is necessary to believe in something that follows it and sanctifies it, along with returning to it in his way of life and may die for it; this is what we call worship. Worshiping the true God frees a person from slavery to others.
His request that we worship him is not because he needs worship; he is entirely independent and has no needs, but is for our own good. As our Creator, he knows what's best for us.
The child said: Why do we have to devote some time to worship, isn't our time part of our rights?
I said to him: Who gave you this right in the first place? Is it not the Creator Himself?
When you wish to release your instincts, you tend to be a servant to them (instincts). Yet, God wants you to become a master over them. He wants you to be a reasonable, wise person who manages his instincts. At the same time, you are not supposed to restrict them. It is better to direct them towards upgrading your soul and elevating yourself.
When a father obliges his children to devote some time to studying to have an honorable intellectual rank in the future, everyone respects him and does not accuse him of cruelty.
● The "agnostic" says: I believe in the existence of a Power and Energy in the sky that created this universe.
● When an "atheist" feels intense fear, he turns to the Power in the heaven[5].
● In "Buddhist" traditions, he turns to the Power of the heaven when he hears thunder's frightening sound[6].
● The "Hindus" believe that the Power in the heaven is the only God, to whom they resort when the earthly causes are interrupted[7].
● The "primitive negro” turns to the Power of heaven in danger.
Using the term" Power" in singular form by all of them indicates the implicit recognition of one God.
"There are no atheists in foxholes" is an aphorism used to suggest that times of extreme stress or fear can prompt belief in a Higher Power. It was spread around the time of World War II. This aphorism means that everyone acknowledges the existence of his Creator in times of crisis. A man turns to what he really believes and stops deceiving himself because he has faced real danger.
In 2005, in a clip in an American morning television program about "Hurricane Katrina", the host said: "There are no atheists in the foxholes." The American Atheists organization then requested a retraction of the phrase[8]. This story is evidence that some people are deceiving themselves.
What is the greatest secret of this Power in the sky, which represents the source of existence, to which everyone resorts in adversity, while the Muslim resorts to it in good and bad times?
If everyone resorted to it as Muslims do in good and bad times, humanity would get united.
the Creator is perfect and unique. He is not multiple. Why should He be various? What does God lack to find in another god besides Him?
In an interview I had with a Hindu doctor who defended the concept of Pantheism (a doctrine that regards the universe as a manifestation of God), I told him:
Since God is in everything, what is the meaning of performing rituals to reach "nirvana" and "moksha"? These terms mean to achieve complete unity with God!
So, how do you reach something in you while you are in it?
Why are you keen to get rid of sins, as long as disobedience is within the unity of existence?
How can God Himself be the sin, the murder, and the adultery?
How can a thing be a cause for its appearance if it has not yet appeared in the first place?
What is the difference between the belief in the "universal soul," which is a metaphysical faith, and the belief in a "creator", which is metaphysical faith as well?
However, the first is illogical and insulting to man.
The "universal soul" means that there is no creator or creature. So, who created the "universal soul," and who created the world?
Also, if aliens have created the world, who created the aliens?
If other worlds helped create the world, who made those other worlds?
Therefore, the purpose of human’s existence should be to know the Creator Who is the source of this existence, not to unite with the Creator. This union is illusory salvation for something that does not exist. So, when a non-Muslim criticizes a Muslim for his belief in the unseen, we find, on the other hand, those who adopt very similar ideas by communicating with other worlds after their union with the absolute, by practicing static meditation, according to their claim.
The followers of Man-made religions do not believe in angels, but they do believe in (good and evil spirits), which is unseen[9].
However, the first is illogical and insulting to man as mentioned before, while the second is by reason, logic, and science raises man's status.
An elderly German surprised me with his admiration for Buddhism and his extreme hatred towards Islam؛ arguing that Buddhism is a religion of Inner Peace, while Islam calls for violence.
I said to him: First of all, one of the essential teachings of “Gautama Buddha” is: The theory of causality, (No effect without a cause)[10].
These teachings are consistent with what modern science has brought recently. Scientists say that the universe is expanding, so it has a beginning and an endpoint, and behind the starting point, there is a great reason which gave the first click to the “Big Bang.[11]”
Islam has spoken about the existence of a Creator to the universe and its contents. The Creator created human beings for a specific purpose. Knowing that the Qur’an was never changed, while material science is speculative, empirical, and ever-changing.
I started a discussion with the questioner by making a comparison. This comparison was between the teachings of Buddhism and the teachings of Islam as follows:
Gautama Buddha spoke of only four truths:
Gautama Buddha spoke of the Truth of suffering (the existence of man in this world and the consequences of disability and old age, disease, pain, etc.): Dukkah.
The Qur’an reveals the secret of this fact:
˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving [12].
Gautama Buddha spoke of the Truth of the origin of suffering (lust and attachment): Samudāya.
The Qur’an tells us about the cause and origin of suffering, which is the assignment and the test:
God said:
And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we exalt You with praise and declare Your perfection?”He [Allah] said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know”[13].
And said:
Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, so that We may test them (humankind) as to which of them are best in deeds[14].
He also said:
God is the Creator of all things, and He is the Maintainer of everything [15].
Gautama Buddha spoke of the Truth of the cessation of suffering (giving up the causes of lust): Nirodha.
God said:
And as for those who were in awe of standing before their Lord and restrained themselves from ˹evil˺ desires[16] .
The Qur’an tells us about the reward for those who pass the test:
God said:
And those who were mindful of their Lord will be led to Paradise in ˹successive˺ groups. When they arrive at its ˹already˺ open gates, its keepers will say, “Peace be upon you! You have done well, so come in, to stay forever”[17].
Gautama Buddha spoke of the Truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (by self-control and meditation): Magga.
The Qur’an tells us how to pass the test.
I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except for the purpose that they should worship Me [18].
Gautama Buddha said: Suffering comes in many forms, including old age, disease, and death. Suffering goes further because life is not perfect, and it does not always live up to our aspirations. Man is exposed to complex desires, but even if we achieve them, they do not last, for pleasure does not last, and if it lasts, it becomes boring.
One of his most important instructions is to work diligently to get rid of the cycle of birth (reincarnation) to obtain Inner Peace. In the Buddhist tradition, “karma “refers to action driven by intention (cetanā), leading to future consequences. Those intentions are considered the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in “samsara”, the cycle of rebirth.
The cycle of birth for Buddha is a kind of torment. Man, according to Buddha, will not obtain salvation (security after death) unless he unites with existence.
Buddhism has eight paths to reach the end of suffering:
The first path of Buddhism is Right Understanding – Sammā ditthi. Acceptance of Buddhist teachings about the Truth: The belief that Truth is the guide to man.
The Qur’an tells us that the Creator is the Truth:
Guidance comes only from the Truth that created the existence.
God said:
That is because Allah is the True Reality, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Grand [19].
The second path of Buddhism is the Right Decision: To always be calm and never cause harm to any creature, human, animal, or bird.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:
A Woman entered Hell because of a cat that she tied up & did not Feed, nor did she let it loose to feed upon the vermin of the earth[20].
God said:
Because of that, We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all humankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all humanity [21].
The third path in Buddhism is Right Speech (Sammā vācā): Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip, and abusive speech.
The Prophet, may God grant him peace, said:
There are three signs of a hypocrite: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays his trust”[22] .
The Prophet said as well:
The believer does not insult others, does not curse others, is not vulgar, and is not shameless[23].
And he said:
Have taqwa (fear) of Allah (God) wherever you may be, and follow up an evil deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people[24].
The fourth path of Buddhism is Right Actions (Sammā kammanta): Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing, and overindulgence in sensual pleasure.
God said:
And do not kill anyone whose killing Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause... [25].
The Qur’an is the finest example of human behavior.
Adjusting words:
God said:
…speak kindly to people… [26].
Adjusting gait and voice:
God said:
Do not walk on earth with pride and arrogance. If you walk haughtily on earth, you will not be able to split the earth, nor will your stature reach the mountains in height and elevation. Why then are you so proud[27]?!
And said:
Be moderate in your pace. And lower your voice... [28].
Adjusting gazes:
God said:
And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendor of the life of this world, that We may test them thereby. But the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting[29] .
Adjusting hearing, concerns, and ideas:
God said:
O believers! Avoid many suspicions, ˹for˺ indeed, some suspicions are sinful. And do not spy, nor backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of their dead brother? You would despise that!1 And fear Allah. Surely Allah is ˹the˺ Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful[30].
Adjusting food:
God said:
O Children of Adam! Dress properly whenever you are at worship. Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely, He does not like the wasteful[31].
Adjusting souls:
God said:
O you who believe! Let not one people mock at (another) people. Maybe they (the mocked) are better than the others, and nor women (mock) at other women; perhaps they (the others) are better than themselves. And do not defame one another, nor call one another by nicknames. Evil is transgressed names after the Faith, and whoever does not repent, then such are indeed the wrong-doers[32].
Adjusting statements:
God said:
And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allah). Do not speak without Knowledge[33].
The fifth path in Buddhism is Right Livelihood (Sammā ājīva): Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in intoxicants or weapons.
God said:
Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to their rightful owners; and when you judge between people, judge with fairness. What a noble commandment from Allah to you! Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-seeing[34].
Almighty said:
And do not come near the wealth of the orphan—unless intending to enhance it—until they attain maturity. Give full measure and weigh with justice. We never require of any soul more than what it can afford. Whenever you speak, maintain justice—even regarding a close relative. And fulfil your covenant with Allah. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will be mindful [35].
Also said:
…give full measure and full weight and do not diminish to men the value of their things. Do not make mischief in the earth after its reform. This is better for you if you are believers”[36].
The sixth path of Buddhism is Right Effort (Sammā vāyāma): Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states, preventing them from arising in the future, always striving for all that is good, and staying away from that which is evil.
God said:
As for he who gives and fears Allah (5) And believes in the best [reward], (6) We will ease him toward ease. (7) But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need (8) And denies the best [reward], (9) We will ease him toward difficulty[37].
The Seventh path of Buddhism is Right Mindfulness (Sammā sati): Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings, and states of mind. Never surrender to Joy or Sadness Meditation.
God said:
So that you may not grieve for what has come out of your hand, nor be happy (brag) with what is given to you. And Allah does not love any of the arrogant and boater[38].
The eighth path in Buddhism is Right Concentration (Sammā samādhi): Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness. This development is only by following the previous rules and reaching the stage of complete Peace, “Nirvana” which is the union of the creature with the source of existence. But is the union with the existence logical in the first place and provides Inner Peace and delivers from torment?
Who created the existence in the first place?
Without an answer to this question, we will not have any Inner Peace. The person, in this case, spins in a vicious circle.
● There is no Inner Peace without recognizing the source of existence and communicating with this source (the Creator) directly (not through a priest or a saint).
● There is no Inner Peace unless we know our destination after death. We will not get the answer except from the one who gave life.
● There is no Inner Peace without knowing the purpose of our existence.
Life’s journey is like a train journey; the train passenger will not enjoy his journey unless he knows his destination and the point from which the train departed.
Knowing the starting and ending point is a great and lofty goal that every human must strive for. The primary purpose of life isn’t to enjoy a temporary sense of happiness but to achieve Inner and Deep Peace through knowing and worshiping the Creator. Achieving this aim will eventually lead to eternal bliss and true happiness. So, if this is our goal, we will go through every trouble to achieve it.
The questioner asked: How does a Muslim obtain security after death and achieve Inner Peace?
I said to him: The Muslim obtains Inner Peace by:
● Recognizing the source of his existence.
● Knowing the purpose of his existence.
● Knowing his destiny after death.
● Establishing the direct connection with the source of his existence (The Creator).
● Doing good deeds and taking reasons.
Only in this case can he attain security after death.
Humans cannot achieve this beautiful meaning unless the Creator is independent of His creations. Humans can achieve this meaning as well by having faith in the Day of Judgment and, therefore, punishment or reward.
The well-known orientalist Voltaire says[39]:
“The faith of the Last Day alone is enough to create a moral framework in society.”
God asks His Messenger Muhammad to convey to humankind the means of salvation:
Say (O Muhammad ): « I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is One God. So, whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord»[40].
God told us about the destination:
˹Allah will say to the righteous, ˺ “O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, well pleased ˹with Him˺ and well pleasing ˹to Him˺. So, join My servants, and enter My Paradise”[41].
The questioner said: What is Islam’s interpretation of human suffering?
I said: Whenever you encounter evil, you must ask yourself the fundamental existential question: Why are we here?
God created us to test us. He explained to us what is good and what is evil, then He gave us the freedom to choose between them. What we encounter in life; crises, injustice, affliction, disease, and poverty is one of two paths:
Either to increase closeness to God, or a path to infidelity and atheism.
You have to choose between them.
He said: Is there absolute justice?
I said: Yes, in the hereafter, not in this world.
This world is not a paradise, so how can the criminal and the wicked deserve it? As we see in our lives, many people are criminals.
The Creator will not reward the criminal for his crimes. The Creator has decreed Paradise for those who deserve it. Because not everyone deserves it, and humans have no right to object to any evil, disease, or problem that afflicts it.
Before objecting to any evil, a person must ask himself, if he wanted this world as Paradise, what did he do to deserve it? Paradise will be won later by those who deserve it, as the matter is nothing but a process of sorting out the ranks and levels of people. The Creator did not exclude anyone from affliction, even the prophets[42].
This world is a short time in our real long-life journey.
We may see part of justice in this world, but absolute justice will be in the hereafter only.
Modern science declared not long ago, that there was a beginning and an end to the universe. Knowing that science is constantly changing. This result is the truth that the Islamic religion brought fourteen centuries before science: The acknowledgment of the existence of a Creator of the universe and the inevitability of meeting the Creator after death for Judgment, which refutes the philosophy of reincarnation.
All that exists in the universe is under God's possession and domination. He has comprehensive knowledge, prevalent power, and absolute control. Everything is subjected to His Absolute Knowledge and Will. The Sun, planets, and galaxies have operated in precision without fail since God created them. This same precision is applied to human creation. Perfect harmony and order between body and soul show that God never puts the souls of human beings into the bodies of animals. God never let him wander between plants and insects (reincarnation), in case the person will never know what his past was in his previous life.
God made the human being civilized innately, gave him mind and knowledge, and assigned him vicegerent of earth and commander over other creatures.
God will never humiliate human beings. Day of Judgment, Heavens [Paradise], and Hellfire represent the Justice of the Creator, when sins and good deeds of humans are weighed as the Creator said:
Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it[43].
Therefore, the worldly life is the beginning of an eternal journey that a person resumes after death.
Islam considers that our existence in this world is for a supreme goal and purpose: God Almighty's acknowledge and worship Him by having a direct connection with Him.
God said:
Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is moved away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful[44] .
In an interview with a group of Buddhist youth who adopt the concept of reincarnation.
I told them: No school or university administration accepts that anyone except its students completes the exam for themselves when the time of the exam is over. Life is your exam paper.
Why are infants not born with the same mental abilities as adults?
Why are the numbers of beings constantly increasing? Isn't it supposed to prove the number of beings based on the concept of reincarnation?
Why does no one remember his past life?
Wasn't there a time without a universe?
Wasn't there a time that contained a universe without beings?
Wasn't there a time that contained a universe of few beings?
Why does a Hindu perform religious rituals to calm the souls of the dead (shrada)? As long as the soul moves from one body to another?
Does not the doctrine of reincarnation justify committing crimes because it is claimed by its believers that man will inevitably be saved in a second birth, and he has to enjoy this birth?
Tree spirits are different from human spirits, so how does the human spirit choose the image of trees?
If we accept that the human souls chose the bodies of the animals, and became changeable in their origin, then the torment would be for the changed image, not for the souls of erring human beings.
Trees and animals are a blessing from the Creator for man to benefit from in his worldly needs. If they were a penalty for people's sins through the incarnation of human souls in them, then it is as if human sins have become an inevitable necessity to invest in trees and animals. The doctrine of reincarnation necessitates that people misunderstand the poor, the sick, and the disabled as if they had reached this bad state because they had committed sins in the previous life, which leads to social cast.
Where was the starting point: birth, human, or animal?
If it is the first, what is the good deed that he brought at the beginning of childbirth?
And if it was the second, what was the evil he committed?
This life is not suitable to hold the criminal accountable, as the maximum punishment for him in this life (which is: capital punishment) is nothing but retribution for one victim. Then, what about the rest of the victims?!
It is excellent and commendable behavior when someone exposes himself to death to save another person's life (defending him). Are a person's good manners enough to make him put himself to death to save another person?
Is it logical for a person to lose his life to adopt good manners without being rewarded? Or that man sacrifices himself for the sake of the Creator and awaits His reward. The Creator has urged humans to do so. There is no doubt that the logical answer is that a person sacrifices himself for what God Almighty has urged him to do.
So, witnessing the defects in this life and injustice between people makes it unbelievable that this life will end with the unjust people getting away with their actions and the oppressed not being paid back. There is a comfort in the idea of the existence of resurrection and the Hereafter and retribution. Undoubtedly, the person who knows that there will be a judgment on actions won't be left without guidance, encouragement, and intimidation, which is the role of religion.
If a person throws a coin and it falls in his hand on one of its sides (head or tail), everyone will say it happened by chance. Still, if we know all the factors associated with this action, we would predict with a high probability the result. Such as the density of the substance, for example, air humidity, temperature, air pressure, the height from which it will fall, the force at which the person tossed this coin, and when it falls, what effect will it have on his hand, the pressure that will fall on his hand and the force of the rebound.
Our ignorance of these factors is what everyone calls a “coincidence”. If we limit all these factors, and this can be done in scientific laboratories, there will be no coincidence in that case. Coincidence cannot create the universe because it is not the main cause but rather a secondary result that depends on the availability of other factors (the existence of time, space, matter, and energy) for something to be formed by chance in the first place.
The word "coincidence" cannot be used to explain anything because it is absolutely nothing.
Today, the entire world is talking about a book by 20 philosophers and scientists that has caused a sensation in France. This book is currently one of the best sellers in France despite its size and relatively high price. It was co-authored with twenty leading scholars and philosophers. Thus, it is a collective work.
The newspaper "Figaro" wrote about this immediately after its publication, saying: This is a great incident. Finally, astrophysical science comes to prove God's existence.
All these scientific discoveries conclude that the universe has an entirely definite beginning, meaning that it was created. Also, if it had a start, then this means that there is a reason or cause for this beginning. Thus, the most logical conclusion leads us to believe that there is an intelligent source behind the phenomena, which is the existence of a higher power that moves everything from behind the curtain, who gave the first click to the big bang and the world's creation.
In a nutshell, all this proves the existence of a great Creator of the universe. All these discoveries and theories follow one another over the twentieth century[45].
One day, an American atheist told me: The faith in a Creator's existence disrupts the mind and contradicts science and logic.
I replied: The role of the mind is to logically reason and judge matters and then approve them. The inability of the mind to reach the purpose of man's existence, for example, does not nullify his role but instead allows religion to tell him what he was unable to comprehend. So, religion tells him about his Creator, the source of his existence, and the purpose of his existence to establish understanding, judgment, and belief. Based on this information, the recognition of the existence of the Creator did not disrupt the mind or logic.
I also told him: It is the idea of denying the existence of the Creator of the universe that contradicts reason, logic, and modern science, not the faith as you think.
British researcher Sabbour Ahmed says[46]:
“Science is based on mathematics and logic. Science cannot explain the mathematics on which it is based in the first place.” and he says:
“The source of human rationality was and still is a fundamental problem for atheists who admitted their failure to reach it. We can obtain the scientific method through the source of human sanity. Therefore, in the same way, that science cannot explain the basics on which it is built, it cannot explain the origin of logic and reason.
The atheist then resorts to taking an unrealistic position using an anti-scientific approach and claims it to be the best workable model they came up with, but they have no right to claim it is the correct model. The existence of a universe creator is the only explanation for rationality: the ability to think, contemplate the universe, practice science, calculate, conclude, weigh things, and discover the laws of the universe created by the Creator, etc.”
The atheist- who follows Darwin's theory again said[47]:
Give me proof of the existence of the Creator.
I said: This question is a fallacy because the term evidence indicates the rationality that the followers of Darwin's theory failed to prove its meaning, not even its source through their theory. The conception of rationality is confirmed only by the presence of a Creator. Rationality has no meaning except with the existence of the Creator.
Asking for evidence of the Creator's existence stems from logic and rationality. Atheists use rationality, which can only be proven by the Creator's existence, to ask about the evidence for this Creator's existence. But the question itself is evidence of the Creator's existence.
There are many irrefutable beliefs, such as our belief that the world is real. Thus, we cannot refute the belief in the existence of the Creator of the universe because He is the explanation of reality itself and is not based on a conclusion from reality that does not need an explanation.
The famous philosopher Aristotle said[48]:
“If you question every belief, you will not have knowledge. There are things that you must admit to being true, which are the foundation upon which everything later is built.”
A person can use his logic and reason to become an atheist, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, etc.
However, what makes man distinguish between right and wrong is the ability to comprehend the source of this reason and logic. And the ability to know the valid attributes of this source. (God is one, He is not embodied in the image of a human being, idol, or a stone and has no child, He is omnipotent, omniscient, etc.). In addition to the ability to realize the explanation of this rationality that we possess. This ability distinguishes us from the rest of the creatures whose value exceeds what man needs for survival and procreation.
Darwinists attributed interdependent systems to a random nature to avoid mentioning the Creator.
Although they never admit it, atheist scientists refer to the Creator by other names (Mother Nature, Laws of the Universe, Natural Selection "Darwin's Theory," etc...) in desperate attempts to escape the logic of religion and belief in the existence of a Creator.
The Creator said:
These ˹idols˺ are mere names that you and your forefathers have made up a practice God has never authorized. They follow nothing but ˹inherited˺ assumptions and whatever ˹their˺ souls desire, although ˹true˺ guidance has already come to them from their Lord[49].
From what I also previously heard[50]:
Atheist philosophers of biology, including the American biologist and philosopher “Alex Luzmberg”, say as they declare their failure:
Natural selection does not explain the truth; it only explains procreation and survival.
They also say: All we have to explain biochemistry, biology, anatomy, and linguistics is only reproduction and survival. Therefore, we cannot trust our rationality because we have no explanation for it.
Charles Darwin wrote a letter to his friend William Graham in 1881 saying[51]:
"I have a terrible doubt whether the convictions of the human mind, which evolved from the minds of inferior beings such as the ape, are of any value or deserve the slightest confidence. Can a person trust the convictions of the mind of an ape? If there are convictions in such a mind."
The problem with Darwinists also arises when they want to explain right and wrong beliefs (truth and falsehood).
They say: For example, some mushrooms are poisonous, and some are not. A person can survive and live under the false belief that all kinds of mushrooms are toxic. He cannot differentiate between poisonous and non-poisonous. He cannot distinguish between true and false because rationality is not geared toward truth but rather toward survival from the Darwinian point of view.
How can we trust our rationality when our rationality is not directed toward the truth but only toward procreation and survival? Thinking is a quality that revolves around truth, not about survival and procreation.
The Darwinists, by their admission, faced the problem of the human rationality source as mentioned earlier and wondered, how does an inanimate, metaphysical matter appear in the tangible matter that leads to rationality?
How does rationality arise from a random, irrational source? And they acknowledged that their theory does not answer this question as we mentioned and could not give an explanation for it. How can an atheist trust his mind and logic when his mind did not help him know the source of his sanity?
Here, the Darwinists ran into a problem, which is the source of human sanity.
The animal is also sensible in its search for its food, place of residence, and so on, but it does not possess the ability to think that would enable it to distinguish between right and wrong.
Rationality distinguishes man, which is a gift from the Creator of the universe to him, and it is the secret of assignment. The followers of this theory had only two options:
Either they consider themselves irrational and indistinguishable from any animal or inanimate based on their theory. Or to admit a source outside the scope of nature. A metaphysical source, independent of itself, which has created their rationality.
Without the reality of the Creator's existence, there is no mind for man to reason. The several attempts conducted to know the source of man's rationality and logic through the theory of random selection, which is blind to anything right or wrong, have failed.
Therefore, the only explanation of our existence is the existence of a Creator, whose existence was proven according to the book published recently.
Dr. Abd Alwahab El-Massari says[52]: "God is the one who gives values their meaning. God is the one who gives existence its meaning. Without Him, existence has no meaning, values have no meaning, and its alternative is absurdity, meaninglessness."
In 1872, researcher “George Smith” made a discovery that shocked the world. While studying a tablet from the relics of the Mesopotamian civilization, he found a story that was known to him. When he succeeded in reading the text and deciphering its symbols, he realized that the tablet contained an Iraqi tale (mentioned in Gilgamesh) similar to what was mentioned in the Old Testament (Genesis) about Noah's Flood.
The stories about the flood exist in ancient Sumerian texts, Greek, Mesoamerica, China, North America, and the eastern part of Colombia. One of the oldest and most exciting stories is in Indian mythology. Although some differences exist between them, they bear remarkable similarities compared to the story of Noah's Flood.
God said:
And build the Ark under Our ˹watchful˺ Eyes and directions, and do not plead with Me for those who have done wrong, for they will surely be drowned. So he began to build the Ark, and whenever some of the chiefs of his people passed by, they mocked him. He said, "If you laugh at us, we will ˹soon˺ laugh at you similarly. You will soon come to know who will be visited by a humiliating torment ˹in this life˺ and overwhelmed by an everlasting punishment ˹in the next˺." And when Our command came and the oven burst ˹with water˺, We said ˹to Noah˺, "Take into the Ark a pair from every species along with your family—except those against whom the decree ˹to drown˺ has already been passed—and those who believe." But none believed with him except for a few[53] .
The Indian tale exists in several sources. While the first story is in the Vedas (Shatapatha Brahmana), we find it in a later story in the Puranas, including in the (Bhagavata Purana) and (Mestaya Purana), as well as in (The Mahabharata).
Regardless, all of these stories come to one conclusion; they agree on the central character of the flood, "Manu Vivasta." in parallel with the Prophet of God Noah, peace be upon him.
"Manu" is described as a righteous and virtuous man. The story says that there lived that time a saint named "Manu." Through his direct relationship, communication, and obedience, he attained the rank of righteousness in the sight of the God of heaven as they believed.
God said:
Indeed, We sent Noah to his people ˹saying to him˺, "Warn your people before a painful punishment comes to them"[54].
They spread throughout the earth, including India and Sindh, to apply the doctrine of monotheism after the flood. According to them, "Manu" had three sons before the flood, "Charma," "Shirma," and "Yapeti/Yafiti." On the other hand, Noah also had three sons, "Ham," "Sam," and "Japheth."
Monotheism means to believe in one God Who has no son or partner and have a direct connection with Him, not through any priest or saint.
Prophet Noah's ark was saved with the believers inside it and was the rebirth of Pure Monotheism as a religion of all people. People started their lives and taught their children to worship God alone, not through any priest, idol, or saint. But later on, many people followed their desires and went far from the prophetic teachings.
While God mentioned many of the prophets and messengers that He sent to different nations by name in the Qur'an (i.e., Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, Ismail, Isaac, Joseph, etc.), He did not mention others. Therefore, the possibility that other famous religious teachers were prophets of God, cannot be outrightly negated. Such as the Hindu Lords Rama, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, etc.
God said:
"And We have already sent messengers before you [Muhammad]. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign [or verse] except by permission of God. So when the command of God comes, it will be concluded in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose [all]"[55].
He also said:
And messengers that we have mentioned to you before, and messengers that we have not mentioned to you…[56].
Many claims that the similarities between a Qur'anic story and a Hindu or Buddhist legend are evidence that the Qur'an copied the tales of the ancients. The similarities between the stories are evidence of the story's validity. The existence of the legend does not mean that there is no valid origin for it, which the Holy Qur'an brought.
It is said: There is no smoke without fire. A hundred years ago, science was far from the Qur'an. Science began to get closer and closer to the Qur'an, even though science is changing and the Qur'an never changed.
By this measure, we can prove the authenticity of the Qur'anic stories, which came to correct myths and give the actual stories.
An atheist once told me: We atheists believe in empirical science. If a new scientific theory refutes an old one, we accept it. This situation applied to historical stories as well.
While you Muslims are fanatic about your old book. You do not accept any scientific or historical information that contradicts it.
I said to him: What's best for you to get the correct information straight away? Or does it remain for life searching for the truth, shifting from one scientific theory to another or from one myth to another?
At the beginning of the last century, the difference between Quranic facts and scientific theories was vast. During these years, empirical science is getting closer and closer to the Qur'an, although the Qur'an has not changed, and science is constantly changing.
What does that indicate?
Almighty says:
If you are in any doubt whether it is We Who have revealed this Book to Our servant, then produce just a surah like it, and call all your supporters and seek in it the support of all others save Allah. Accomplish this if you are truthful[57] .
This verse presents a challenge to find any error in the Qur'an.
The source of the Qur'an for us is the Creator who originated the universal laws that scientists are trying to discover.
The Creator is the witness to the universal events as well.
Therefore, the Quranic scientifical facts and Quranic historical events stories are accurate because they came from the source that established the universal laws and testified to the life events on earth.
He is the First and the Last, the Most High and Most Near, and He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things[58].
The scientific method came from a Muslim named "Hassan Ibn Al-Haytham," about 800 years before Galileo. He is the first scientist ever, according to the west.
Secular historians such as "David Hillenburg" admit that the scientific method came from the Islamic world.
British researcher "Sabbour Ahmed," says[59]:
Philosophically, there are several roots of knowledge:
● Science gives us the root of knowledge.
● Philosophy.
● Self-proven facts.
"Philosophically, nothing in science-based upon induction can challenge something based upon deduction. "
He says:
"If what is based on intellectual exhortation conflicts with textual and deductive evidence, then we must choose the deductive."
The researcher continues:
"We believe that the faith in the Creator is not based on logic, but rather it is an innate belief that is supported by logic."
"The belief in the Qur'an is based on logic. Therefore, it must contain things that can be tested and refuted."
"If science comes with a theory that the Qur'an did not talk about or that contradicts a scientific fact mentioned in the Qur'an, then, of course, the Muslim will start thinking and researching, but all that science can do is to develop workable scientific theories models. This is based on scientific research."
Philosophically, scientific research cannot be a substitute for textual evidence.
For example:
"Bachelors are unmarried. Nothing in observation can challenge that. It is something that's not based upon observation. The circle is not square. And so on."
"In the same way, the faith in the Qur'an stems from the fact that the Creator challenges us to find any faults that we did not find."
"The Qur'an rejects blind faith by following the religion of the ancestors."
"These important points that the Qur'an presented, and many important points in the sayings of the Messenger, peace be upon him, give us a strong evidence and certainty that this Qur'an is from God."
Accordingly, if a person comes up with something related to science, I say to him:
You have come up with something related to scientific research, which is theoretical but has not yet been proven, and I have strong deductive evidence. Therefore, what motivates me in this case to believe something empirical and leave an accurate text according to my earlier explained factors. All that I can say is: that maybe what you came up with is correct.
This philosophical criterion has nothing to do with religion. It applies even to non-religious matters that are based on reliable textual evidence, any opinion cannot be challenged by scientific theories.
The researcher continues:
“For example, there is a great debate among philosophers about human rationality and logic.
Where did human rationality come from? How does inanimate matter affect tangible matter and lead to rationality? Nothing comes out of nothingness. How do we get our rationality from irrationality?”
The believer says in this case that the Creator created the universe and its contents. The Creator gifted humans with this rationality to give them the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
While from the natural perspective of an atheist, there is no reason to believe in rationality.
The atheist philosopher "Thomas Nagel," despite his atheism, had the same position as the believer. He has written a book called "Mind and Cosmos," published by Oxford University.
Thomas said:
"Nothing that Darwinian-thinking evolutionary biologists do makes me change my mind to accept it. I have deductive evidence that the human mind can be logically trusted."
He says:
"The Darwinian claim that life came from random mutations and genetic errors to give us a chance of survival is worthless. "
He also said:
" You may live on false beliefs without being able to differentiate between right and wrong based on this theory."
We understand from the above that Darwin's theory for the philosopher "Thomas" contradicts his belief that his mind is trustworthy.
He formally rejected Darwin's theory because it did not reach the strength of his deductive evidence.
There is a consensus among scholars and philosophers of modern science that empirical science is inductive. It does not depend on textual evidence.
They know that religious, metaphysical doctrines can be arrived at by deduction.
For example, we are all sure that our world is real. No one can prove this fact using an experiment. This fact is a metaphysical belief that science depends on but cannot prove.
An American once asked me: Many scholars say that every age should write history from its point of view; Because the appreciation of each era for what is important and meaningful to it differs from the assessment of the other age. Each generation tries to see the past through its interests and the prevailing ideas.
I said to him: This is true, but this does not negate that events have one reality, whether we like it or not. The history of human beings that is subject to distortion and inaccuracy of events and is based on whims is not like the historical documentation of the Lord of the universe, which is very accurate past, present, and future, because He is the witness to it.
God said:
The Romans have been defeated in a nearby land. Yet following their defeat, they will triumph. within three to nine years. The ˹whole˺ matter rests with Allah before and after ˹victory˺. And on that day the believers will rejoice[60].
These verses talk about the defeat of the Byzantines at the hands of the Persians in the Battle of Antioch. It was a promise to the Muslims that the defeat would turn into a victory for the Byzantines in a few years. Their victory was necessary for the Muslims because the Romans were Christians and were considered followers of a heavenly religion. In contrast, the Persians were followers of Zoroastrianism, a pagan religion. The battle took place in the area around the Dead Sea (it is located in the Jordan Valley). Today, the satellites observed that the area around the Dead Sea, which is the closest to the lands occupied by the Romans at that time, is also the lowest on earth.
The only possible explanation is that the Prophet Muhammad received a divine revelation from God, the Creator of the universe. About seven years after the revelation of these verses, God's promise of victory for the Romans in the Qur'an was miraculously fulfilled.
Dr. Gary Miller (Abdulahad Omar), a mathematician, Christian theologian, and former missionary, says [61]:
"Every author begins his book by apologizing for the mistakes that occurred in his book, and there is no author in the world who dares to write a book and then say: This book is free of errors, but the Qur'an, on the contrary, begins in Surat Al-Baqarah with the challenge of being free of errors."
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah[62].
The case of authorship applies to all holy books of people of other faiths, except for the Qur'an, for example, Many writers continued writing the Old Testament. The last was the writer of the Second Maccabees Conclusion [15/39-40], the last Book of the Catholic Old Testament.
He said:
"Which if I have done well, and as it becomes the history, it is what I desired: but if not so perfectly, you must pardon me. It is always harmful to drink wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other. So, if the speech is always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended."
In an interpretation of the book "Songs of Songs," we read in its introduction:
"Who composed it and when? Why was it collected? If it is true that its presence in the Bible law was only a coincidence, how did it gain its place? It even found its role in the Jewish Passover rank later! It's difficult to determine the page order of the Book with repeated verses, topics, pictures, and situations…."
As for the New Testament: It is just written stories.
Luke says in the introduction to his Gospel (1/1-4):
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. They were handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the first. With this in mind, since I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
This text states:
● Luke reminds people to "compose" stories about (biography) of Jesus and their point of view.
● Luke's goal was to write a letter to his friend "Theophilus" to know the certainty of the words.
● Luke declares that he did not see Christ, as he is only the reporter.
God said:
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction[63].
Gary Miller says after reading this verse from Surah An-Nisa:
"One of the well-known scientific principles at present is finding errors or investigating errors in theories until they are proven correct. The amazing thing is that the Qur'an has been calling Muslims and non-Muslims to find errors in it 14 centuries ago."
Miller says:
"There is no book in the so-called religious scriptures that speaks in this way. All the other books are a collection of information. These books always tell you if you want more information, you can read Book X or Book Y because this information came from it."
And he says:
"Unlike the Qur'an, which supplies the reader with the knowledge, then it tells you this is new information and even asks you to verify it if you are hesitant about the authenticity of the Qur'an. This way of challenge cannot be from a human mind. The astonishing thing about the matter is the people of Makkah at that time, used to hear it and hear the challenge, despite that they never said: This is not new information. They never said: We know from where Muhammad came with this information."
The funny thing is that the leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses and leader Charles Russell predicted the end of the world in 1914, and that was based on a prophecy in the Old Testament. When the year passed and the world still existed, he extended the matter to the following year and then to 1918. Then his successor extended the prophecy Until 1925; despite the successive failure of these prophecies, the group maintained its cohesion thanks to its enormous financial capabilities[64].
Religious leader William Miller claimed by preaching in 1831 that the end of the world as we know it would occur with the second coming of Jesus Christ in 1843. It attracted 100,000 followers who believed they would be taken to heaven on the alleged date. When a prediction of 1843 failed to materialize, Miller recalculated and decided that the world would indeed end in 1844. The follower, Henry Emmons, wrote: "I have waited every Tuesday, and dear Jesus has not come. I prostrated for two days without any pain, sick with disappointment.[65]”
Has witnessed the far and near to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Qur'an.
The Messenger of the Creator said:
When Khosrau perishes, there will be no (more) Khosrau after him, and when Caesar perishes, there will be no more Caesar after him. By Him in Whose Hands Muhammad's life is, you will spend the treasures of both of them in God's Cause[66].
The matter took place exactly as he said, peace be upon him, for there was no other Chosroes after Khosrow. When Caesar's state was destroyed, no other state replaced it.
And he said:
You will attack Arabia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack Persia, and He would make you conquer it. Then you would attack Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it[67].
It is known that Egypt was one of the countries of the Romans. The Prophet Muhammad spoke about the conquest of Egypt specifically. He urged for kindness to its people in honor of Hagar, the mother of the Prophet Ishmael and the wife of the Prophet Abraham, as she was from the land of Egypt. He informed that the people of Egypt would embrace Islam and help control the land.
The Prophet said: You will conquer Egypt, a land where Qirat (a measure of weight and area) is used. When you conquer that land, you have to treat its people kindly since they have a right of kinship upon you. And when you see two persons fighting for the space of a brick, then get out of that [68].
A Japanese Buddhist once told me:
Buddha's teachings depend entirely on non-violence towards any creature. Therefore, Buddhism does not adopt the concept of retribution like Islam.
There is ˹security of˺ life for you in ˹the law of˺ retaliation, O people of reason, so that you may become mindful ˹of Allah˺[69].
And he said: Buddhism encourages its followers to refrain from harming, injuring, or killing other creatures. The criminal's punishment should be rehabilitation only.
Then he said: Buddha said:
"If someone offends me, I will repay him with love on my part. The more evil on his part, the more goodwill on my part."
The Japanese also said: It is not permissible for a Buddhist monk to kill, even in self-defense.
Buddha said: "If Bandits cut you off with a two-bladed saw, and you just think to respond to the aggression, then you have not followed my teachings in this case."
I said to him: Imagine that you went home and found your whole family murdered by a person. Then that person was arrested and put in prison for a specific period, eating and enjoying the prison facilities you are funding through the taxes you are paying.
How would you tolerate this?! You will probably either end up going insane or falling into an addiction to forget your pain. If this same situation happened in a country practicing Islamic legislation, the case would be completely different.
The murderer will be brought in front of the family of the murdered. They will decide whether to take revenge through retribution, which is justice itself or take the "Deyaa," which is the money that the murderer must pay for intentional killing to the family of the murdered, or give pardon, which is much favored as mentioned in the Qur'an.
God said:
…But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful[70].
And said:
.. But if the offender is pardoned by the victim's guardian, then blood-money should be decided fairly and payment should be made courteously. This is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. But whoever transgresses after that will suffer a painful punishment[71].
I also said:
Concerning the love of enemies, there is no assignment beyond capacity according to the world constitutions.
God said:
Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford… [72].
God also said:
So be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you. And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are ˹truly˺ successful[73].
The Creator knows what man is capable of because He is his Creator and knows his nature.
God said:
Does the one who created all creation not know of the secret and that which is more inconspicuous than the secret? He is The Kind to His servants; The Aware of their affairs. Nothing is hidden from Him in that regard[74].
Scientifically, it is impossible to control hate and love emotions. Man has been naturally disposed to love who does good to him and hate who harms him.
Does a person love who killed his son or who raped his wife?
Islam offered us a logical alternative to the commandments of Buddha:
God said:
O, believers! Stand firm for Allah and bear true testimony. Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do[75].
In the sense that a person's hostility should not lead us to wrong him, but treat everyone with justice.
Islam does not require us to love who wrongfully assaults us but instead asks us not to oppress him.
God said:
O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Be they rich or poor, Allah is best to ensure their interests. So do not let your desires cause you to deviate ˹from justice˺. If you distort the testimony or refuse to give it, then ˹know that˺ Allah is certainly All-Aware of what you do[76].
For example, I remember that I liked someone's book very much. I was sure of this book's usefulness to humanity.
I was subjected to a great injustice by this writer to the point that I cried.
Someone took advantage of this situation and asked me to vote against the book as I was a committee member to accept the oppressor's book to ensure the publication.
So I remembered this noble verse:
O, believers! Stand firm for Allah and bear true testimony. Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness.
Then, I voted for his book. This is what makes me proud of the teachings of my great religion.
Almighty said:
Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond ˹to evil˺ with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend[77].
Did religion come to provide man honorable or humiliating life? A person is honored by practicing his religion. Do I apply my religion to get humiliated?
God's commands are a source of honor and dignity.
God says:
... but do not exceed the limits. Allah does not like transgressors[78].
But before that, stand up, and don't let anyone insult you.
Fight in the cause of Allah ˹only˺ against those who wage war against you,...[79].
Self-defense is a universally legitimate right. The penalty for Killing in self-defense is reduced according to man-made laws.
God said:
You ˹believers˺ will surely be tested in your wealth and yourselves, and you will certainly hear many hurtful words from those who were given the Scripture before you and ˹from˺ the polytheists. But if you are patient and mindful ˹of Allah˺—surely this is a resolve to aspire to[80].
God also said:
The reward of an evil deed is its equivalent. But whoever pardons and seeks reconciliation, then their reward is with Allah. He certainly does not like the wrongdoers[81].
And said:
Be gracious, enjoin what is right, and turn away from those who act ignorantly[82].
The questioner said: Indeed, the teachings of your religion are tremendous and logical.
He continued: Buddha warned us of bad intentions in requesting things, by the human desire for the empowerment of oneself. A corrupt purpose controls a person's demand for something. In this case, a person does not get a clear intent between the goal he seeks and conceals and the goals that push him, but he still can't achieve them. Therefore, he is forced to hide his desire to achieve them.
I said: This is what the final Messenger Muhammad said:
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions. Every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So, whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for [83].
The "Dalai Lama" is considered the Pope of the Buddhists, so to speak, just as Francis is the Christian Pope. His word is heard not only in Tibet but throughout the Buddhist world.
This religious leader believes that the specificity of Islam that distinguishes it from others lies in the solid relationship that binds the Muslim to his Lord. The divine transcendence is accompanied by God's closeness to the believer, as the Qur'anic verse says:
Indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein[84].
Thus, God is near and far at the same time. Islam requires its adherents to believe in God's infinite and eternal nature. Every depiction of God is forbidden because that encourages the worship of idols, which Islam forbids. Therefore, there are no pictures in Muslim places of worship. One of the features of this religion is that the Muslim completely surrenders himself to the Divine Will and submits to it without discussion. Hence the word "Islam."
But the important thing about Islam that caught the attention of the "Dalai Lama" is the emphasis in the Holy Qur'an on mercy and tolerance. He was surprised that every Surat of the Qur'an starts with this verse: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
However, the current image of this religion is that it is a religion of cruelty, violence, and terror! Why? Before the "Dalai Lama" answers this question, we note that he stops at Surat Al-Fatihah (the opening); even mentions it fully translated. He expresses his admiration for the words "The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" mentioned more than once.
The "Dalai Lama" stops at this point more than others because the concept of pity or compassion is the principal value in the Buddhist religion to which he belongs. As he said, a faith that calls for compassion and mercy for people and creatures can only be great.
From here came the secret of his admiration for Islam, his surprise and astonishment when he got to know it for the first time.
He believed that it was a religion of violence, beating, and killing, so he found the exact opposite. He says that he only discovered Islam late, and he was surprised by what he found and admired him most. His first visit to an Arab Muslim country was in 2005 when he was welcomed with open arms in Jordan. He was impressed by the call to prayer, which is very loud from the mosques.
On one occasion, a Muslim scholar told him: "He who kills an innocent person cannot be a true Muslim. Killing an innocent soul is forbidden in the Qur'an.
…whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors [85].
The "Dalai Lama" says that it is the strict literal interpretation of the relatively few verses in the Qur'an that deludes people into that Islam is an exclusively violent religion[86].
During my conversation with a Buddhist regarding the speech of "Dalai”, he said:
The “Dalai” said:
"Oh people, listen and be aware. There is no one truth in the world, but several facts and religions."
The “Dalai” added: "All religions forbid murder, lying, theft, gossip, and vice and call for noble morals. Consequently, all religions have a common moral core, regardless of their rites, rituals, and beliefs."
Then the Buddhist added: I support the Dalai and say all religions are true, and there is no absolute truth.
I said: Are you sure of that?
He said: Yes.
I said to him: You have now made an absolute statement – and this in itself confirms the existence of the absolute.
He said: The absence of absolute truth is the only truth. A person can believe what he likes as long as he does not impose his opinions on others. There is no absolute meaning but rather an imposed meaning.
I said: How can someone who does not believe in truth or any absolute, and does not have a reference, pass a judgment on something else?
Your statement itself is a belief about what is right and wrong, and you try to impose it on others. You adopt a standard of behavior and force everyone to abide by it, thereby violating what you claim to hold – a self-contradictory position.
He said: Tolerance is the only absolute, and intolerance is the only evil. The insistence by you Muslims that your belief is the absolute truth is considered against tolerance and is even considered the greatest crime.
I said: Tolerance is respecting the freedom of choice that God has given to all. Fairness to a non-Muslim is in dealing with him justly and not underestimating his right.
On the other hand, tolerance is not recognizing the wrong behavior itself and accepting it as right. The existence of various theories and convictions among people does not mean that there is no single absolute truth.
I also said: Before discovering the tallest mountain in the world "Mount Everest," what was the tallest mountain in the world?
He said: The answer depends on each person's information, culture, and environment.
I said: Your answer is not logical. People's ignorance of a particular piece of information or their conviction of a specific concept does not change the fact that there is true, original, unaltered information that does not change.
"The mount Everest" is the tallest in the world, even if this information was discovered recently, even if all humans are ignorant of it.
No matter how many people's concepts and perceptions of the means of transportation I use daily, it does not negate that I own a black car. If the whole world believes that my car is red, this belief does not make it red; there is one fact that it is a black car.
Even if the entire world agrees on its invalidity, the correct is clear, and the error is as clear as the sun, even if all human beings acknowledge its validity.
Some take this view simply because they want to abdicate responsibility for their actions. The existence of an absolute truth means the certainty of the ultimate principles of right and wrong. Therefore the commitment toward these principles. This responsibility is what you avoid.
The truth is absolute, and the religion is one:
● Acknowledgment of the Creator Who has no son or partner.
● The Creator does not embody in the form of a human or animal.
● He does not unite with His creatures.
● Communicating with this Creator should be done directly, not through a saint or priest.
● There is a day of Judgment when the Creator will hold people accountable for their deeds.
The Buddhist said: Why is the absolute truth with Muslims? Why is the absolute truth not with the Hindu, who says that the Creator comes to the earth in Krishna's form?
Or with the Christian who says that the Creator comes to earth in the form of Christ?
I said to him: Because the Muslims have the "common terms" between all. The belief in the Creator is a fact that is accepted by all, even if they deny it.
Everyone resorts to the Creator (the Power in the heaven) in adversity, including atheists and Buddhists.
As for the incarnation of God, it is an illogical concept that does not befit the majesty of the Creator. The embodiment is a mystery, as the believers in it admit, while the religion of God should have no secrets in it.
God has the ideal, the player of electronic games does not become a part of the game inside his phone. The Creator controls everything from outside the universe. He created time and space for us humans.
Most Indian and Chinese religions are based on the teachings of their founders. They do not claim to follow direct revelation.
Hinduism is not known to have a founder as it is a traditional, inherited philosophy.
● "Buddhism" goes back to "Siddhartha Gautama ."
● "Jainism" to "Vardhamana."
● “Sikhism” to “Guru Nanak.”
● “Confucianism” to “Confucius. ”
● "Taoism" to “Lao-Tze."
Islam is a religion based on revelation.
God said:
Say, “I am not the first messenger ever sent, nor do I know what will happen to me or you. I only follow what is revealed to me. And I am only sent with a clear warning” ( Al-Ahqaf:9).
All previous religions are based on worshiping more than one deity, while Islam is distinguished by worshiping the One and Only Creator.
The pure monotheistic view of Islam is what separates it from these religions.
There is no trinity or divinity for a prophet. Other races are not required to search for a god of their own. There is no good or evil god, similar to what is found in Zoroastrianism.
By looking closely at peoples' beliefs, we discover that most nations that have religious heritage and various religious symbols still believe in the existence of a Creator of the universe, who they resort to in times of adversity. We find that humans are innate to search for absolute justice and the inevitability of a day of Judgment for human beings to be held accountable for their actions.
Every child is born sinless. Everyone can call upon their Creator without any intermediary. If the child is left alone without parents or any teachings, he will grow up worshiping the Creator alone. At the age of puberty, he will be responsible for his actions. He chooses to remain monotheist, worship his Creator alone, or change his natural religion and take a wrong path by praying to God through an intermediary (Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Idols, Muhammad… etc.).
The Creator said:
Say: "O people of the Scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah the same, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah." Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims"[87] .
I remember a lovely comment from an elderly German when I explained to him the definition of Islam. He said to me: This is a new religion that I have not heard of before. It is logical and can unite humanity. I live among Muslims, but I have never understood Islam in this way.
I said: This is the old, new, and eternal world religion from the time of Adam; peace be upon him till the last day for humans on this earth.
This Religion is:
Believing in God (the Creator), He has no partner or son. He does not incarnate in any of His creations or any idol. He created Prophet Jesus without a father, as He created Prophet Adam without a father or mother, as He creates but begets not. Also, humans need to directly connect with Him, not through any idol, priest, saint, grave, Prophet, or family member of any Prophet.All human beings must also believe in all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad, including Moses and Jesus Christ. May the blessings of God be upon them all.
If all people applied this religion, humanity would have united.
Muslim respects Non-Muslims freedom of choice. The Muslim does not oppress the non – Muslim or steal him and does not diminish his right. Still, he does not recognize his incorrect faith as a true religion, because the true religion is one, and the Creator is one.
If some Muslims today fail to follow the teachings of their great religion and do not correctly take knowledge, this is due to their human weakness.
The Muslims' failure to convey the correct message of Islam, their lousy treatment with non-Muslims, or their scientific backwardness after they were the pioneers of material science and its founders, does not change the fact that the religion of Muslims is correct.
The Austrian philosopher Leopold Weiss, who converted from Judaism to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Al - Assad, said[88]:
"The love of domination did not prompt the concern for the spread of Islam; it had nothing to do with economic or national self-aggrandizement or with the greed to increase Muslim comforts at other people's cost. It has never meant the coercion of non-believers into the religion of Islam. It has only meant the construction of a global framework for man's best possible spiritual development as it means today. According to the teachings of Islam, acknowledging morals enforces the responsibility to work according to these morals. A mere Platonic discernment between right and wrong, without the urge to promote right and destroy wrong, is gross immorality. Morality lives and dies with the human endeavor to establish its victory upon the earth."
Many people wonder about the importance of the phrase that a Muslim always repeats, which says: Thank God for the blessing of Islam.
Where some people say:
What is a Muslim proud of? What is the advantage that Islam has over other religions?
We tell them:
The Muslim praises his Creator for having guided him and enabled him to worship Him alone, for he does not worship a tree or a stone, nor does he worship a person or an animal—the true Muslim resorts to his Creator directly and not through a saint or priest.
The true Muslim does not resort to the saint's graves and does not ask and seek forgiveness from the Messenger or any of the Messenger's family.
A Muslim is proud of his direct communication with the King of Kings. A Muslim is proud of being free from the enslavement of the creation.
There was a rare visit from three monks from a Buddhist temple in Thailand. A diplomatic delegation accompanied them from the Thai embassy—the monks dressed up in similar to the Muslim pilgrimage clothes, but orange. At the beginning of the visit, the delegation instructed us that the monks do not shake hands with women. Also, when it came to taking the memorial photo with me inside the mosque as a tour supervisor, I was supposed to kneel with the embassy staff. At the same time, the monks remain standing. They consider the monks in a higher position than everyone else.
I said to them: About shaking hands, I do not shake hands with men, but as for the photo, I will only be standing since I only kneel to God. If you don't like that, I will come out of the picture. So they agreed. They took the photo for us. I was standing beside the monks at a distance while the embassy crew sat on the ground.
One of the monks, who was the most fluent in English, asked me: What are your religion's teachings?
I told him: The teachings of our religion are similar to those of your religion, but we follow them fully, and you shortened them.
He said: How is that?
I told him: The commandments that you have regarding respect for human rights, including non-killing and respecting neighbors' rights and kindness to the poor, are found in the teachings of every religion on earth, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, and they are also in Islam.
However, the difference between Islam and other religions is that other religions marginalized and ignored the first commandment yet kept the rest.
He asked: What is the first commandment?
I told him: The belief in One God, to whom all resort in adversity.
He asked: Do you mean Gautama Buddha?
I told him: No. I mean the Only Truth and Power in the sky, the Creator of Buddha himself and all human beings, to Whom all seek refuge when they exhaust all means to save them from crises.
I then said: When an intense fear of thunder happens, doesn't the Buddhist resort to the Power in the sky to seek protection?
He said: Yes. But what is the evidence that this was among the commandments that we follow?
I told him: The evidence is that you practice it unintentionally. Buddha taught you the religion of Islam by admitting that death is inevitable and giving you a description of the eternal life in which there is neither death nor pain, which is what you call "Nirvana."
One of the famous scholars, Arthur Lily, says: "The following words were carved in stone: (What Buddha's disciples thought about God, the soul, and the future of man) 'We recognize and believe in God, who is a being worthy for this (faith).'[89]"
He said: But Buddha is a god.
I asked him: Does God say about Himself, I am not the first Buddha, and I will not be the last Buddha[90]?
Gautama Buddha did not demand any of his followers to worship him as a god or worship anything or any other person. Also, "Gautama" used the word "Buddha" in the context of the word "prophet," meaning a person who is enlightened by a divine revelation.
Buddha said: Everyone should believe in the next Prophet (Maitreya)[91].
The word "Maitreya" or "Meta" in the Bali language and related terms used in Burmese, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese have the same meaning.
It is the same word "Rahmat" in Arabic, which means "Mercy", where God Almighty referred in the Noble Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to the worlds[92].
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds[93].
He said: Wondrous! Do you assert that Buddha was a messenger of God who predicted the coming of your Prophet?
I told him: We can never be sure; God never mentioned the name of Buddha in the Qur'an, but we see that there are striking similarities between religions; this does not exclude that its source is one, which is the Creator, and they differed due to human distortions.
The Qur'an repeatedly affirmed that God sent messengers and prophets to all nations to recall the worship of One Creator and mentioned the names of some, and others did not.
He asked: Is there evidence of Muhammad's prophecy in the books of Hinduism too?
I told him: Yes. Narashansa, or the praised person (Muhammad), is a Karma: Prince of Peace or Expatriate, and he is safe, even among a group of sixty thousand and ninety enemies. He rides the camel, and his chariot touches the sky.
Narashansa, "The man of praise," refers to the Prophet Muhammad. The actual meaning of the Arabic word "Muhammad" is: "the praiseworthy man." It is not known exactly how many enemies the Prophet Muhammad had at that time, but it has been proven that there were thousands[94].
When the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Yathrib, he went on a camel.
I also said: There are many others.
God said:
Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of God to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in God and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in God and His words, and follow him that you may be guided [95].
The visit ended, and they requested copies of the Qur'an's translations in the Thai language, and they thanked us very much.
Since the time of Adam, the father of humans, the Creator has chosen the pious among his people as a messenger to them whenever the message of the previous Prophet was distorted and they deviated from the straight path and differed among themselves by worshiping other than their Creator, and to provide them with satisfactory answers to the existential questions that revolve in their minds (the source of their existence, the purpose of their existence and their fate after death).
We surely sent a messenger to every community, saying, "Worship Allah and shun false gods." But some of them were guided by Allah, while others were destined to stray. So travel throughout the land and see the fate of the deniers[96]!
The message of the messengers is summarized as follows:
● There is no god except The Only God, the Creator, and Sustainer of the whole universe and its contents.
● Pray only to Him and no others. Pray like what the Prophet did. Don't pray to the Prophet himself.
● Believe and follow the messengers (of that period). (The messengers prophesied the coming of the last Prophet- Muhammad, and urged their followers to believe in him and follow him if they reach his time).
● Do good and avoid evil. Preparing to meet the Creator after death for Judgment and then reward or punishment.
Just as peoples' values, morals, and aspirations were similar, they also shared the origin of religion, and there was evidence of that from their sacred books despite their distortion. In contrast, the seal of these books - the Noble Qur'an - was preserved from distortion.
Some similarities can still be detected that prove that the core of each of these books is the same, and that they are all sent from the same source, but they were corrupted and they diverted from the original message.
Your God is One God
In Islam
(Qur'an 112)
Say, "He is Allah, The One and Only, Allah the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
In Christianity/Judaism
(Bible, Mark 12:29)
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord, our God, is one Lord."
(Bible, Isaiah43:11)
"I am the Lord; there is no savior besides Me."
(Bible, Isaiah 46:9)
"I am Lord, and there is none else; there is no god besides Me."
In Hinduism
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2-1)
"He is One only without a second."
In Sikhism
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib, vol:1, Japuji verse:1)
"There exists but one God, who is called The True. The Creator."
In Zoroastrianism (the religion that was practiced in Persia in the pre-Islamic era)
(Dasatir, Ahura Mazda. Refer to Yasna 31:7&11)
"He is one; He is without an origin or end. He has no father or mother, wife or son."
In Buddhism
Due to ignorance of the true concepts of the teachings of Buddha, many Buddhists believe that in Buddhism, there is no place for the belief of God. But many theologians found proof that Buddha emphasized the faith in One God and that he prophesied the coming of Prophet Muhammad.
(Quotation from Book title "India in Primitive Christianity" - Page 85)
"Much longing after the things (of this life) is disobedience, I again declare; not less so is the laborious ambition of dominion by a prince who would be a propitiator of heaven. Confess and believe in God, who is the worthy object of obedience. For equal to this (belief), I declare that ye shall not find such a means of propitiating heaven. Oh, strive ye to obtain this inestimable treasure."
{A famous scholar, Arthur Lily, says that the following was seen as an inscription on a stone. (What Buddha's disciples thought about God, spirit, and man's future)}.
Don't Make an Image of God; Nothing is like Him
In Islam
(Qur'an 42:11)
"[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing."
In Christianity/Judaism
(Bible, Exodus 20:3-5)
"You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them.
In Hinduism
(Vedas, Svetasvatara Upanishad: 4:19, 4:20, 6:9)
"Of Him, there are neither parents nor lord."
"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
"There is no likeness to Him."
Worship Him Alone
In Islam
(Qur'an 18:110)
"Say (Muhammad), I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your God is one God. So, whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone."
In Christianity
(Mathew 4:10)
"Jesus said to him: away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
In Hinduism
(Yajurveda 40:9)
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti (created things like an idol, stone, etc.)."
An elderly Latino once asked me: Who created the Creator?
I said: This common question is meaningless. It is similar to the question: Who baked the baker?
He said: If we accept the existence of a Creator for the sake of argument, then this Creator should be complex in structure because this universe is complex, so its Creator would require an even greater explanation.
He also said: The concept of the Trinity is closer to the truth than the oneness of the Creator.
I told him what I heard once: The philosopher and agnostic “Anthony Kenny “says:
" Atheist's argument about the complexity of the universe is a direct indication of the complexity of the Creator is a fallacy. The electric razor, which comprises many different parts, serves fewer functions than the cut-throat razor, which is made up of one part. The cut-throat razor cuts your throat and cuts a fruit."
The questioner said: The Trinity's proof is that God in eternity and before He created the universe had attributes. If He was only one, His qualities would be disrupted. Therefore, He had to be three in one to be merciful, give sustenance, and interact through the three within Him.
I said: I am, for example, a good speaker. Therefore, when I decide to be silent, does this speaking trait disrupt inside me.
He said: Does not the concept of God in Islam, Who is the Eternal, Self–Sufficient, contradict God's need for human existence to have mercy on them and forgive them?
I said: God has a Will. He does not have a need.
He said: Why does the Creator not incarnate in any of his creatures?
I said: How is it possible to accept mating a human with a cow or another animal to give birth to a half-human and half-animal for animal nature to become one of the human forms? (i.e., animal nature is the embodiment of the human image).
Certainly،, this is a moral decadence and underestimation of the human being whom God blessed and honored.
What about if the matter is related to the Creator, the Unique, Glory be to Him?
How is it possible for the divine nature to converge with the human nature or whatsoever, for the human nature to become the embodiment of the divine image?! The human born of a woman, who needs care, will end up dying and being buried like other creatures.
Indeed, this is a belittling of the Almighty God.
He said: You believe that the Creator has a hand. Is this not an embodiment?
I said: As a human being, I have a hand, and the door has a hand, but the difference between them is vast. By this analogy, we say that the Creator is not like humans.
The Almighty:
The Originator of the heavens and the earth. He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs of animals, through which He multiplies you. There is nothing like Him. He is the Hearing, the Seeing [97].
Islam calls to honor the Creator from imperfections and shortcomings.
A Hindu with a Ph.D. once told me:
What prevents Him from descending in an animal or human form if God is omnipotent?
I answered him with what I had heard once and liked:
When God descends in a human being form, he will abandon His attribute of divinity. There is a big difference between the Creator’s attributes and the creature's attributes. If you were told that the air became an airplane in New York, would you believe that?
The air has nothing to do with the plane. The air quality is entirely different from that of the plane, so one cannot choose the image of the other.
He said: We worship statues to have mental focus while worshiping the Creator and avoid mind wandering to worldly things.
I was shocked by this man's words who attained this high degree of knowledge.
I said to him: Do you look at the tree to focus on your absent father? The tree has nothing to do with your father. How about God Almighty? The difference is vast between these weak statues and God the Mighty, the Owner, the King, possessed of might and honor.
I also said: In any way, is this a kind of focus or distraction? If the worship of idols is for focus only, why do you take care of them and decorate them, spend thousands of money on them, and come to worship them from faraway places?
A person may think of an issue where he forgets about everything around him, even though he does not have a moral image.
I recalled then the words of God Almighty:
Have they not travelled throughout the land so their hearts may reason, and their ears may listen? Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts in the chests that grow blind[98].
God also said:
...they have hearts they do not understand with, eyes they do not see with, and ears they do not hear with. They are like cattle. In fact, they are even less guided! Such ˹people˺ are ˹entirely˺ heedless [99].
When God placed the need to worship Him in human instinct, He guided him to the way of worship through the prophets and messengers. He did not leave them at their whims to do what they wanted.
God causes man to be begotten out of the essence of a humble fluid. So, what is the purpose of man's existence?
How can he communicate with his Creator?
What is his fate after death?
Man can’t get answers to these questions according to his reasoning and comprehension without the guidance of God Almighty.
Islam has dealt with this problem. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says what means:
Perfection in prayer can be achieved by worshiping God as if you see Him. If you cannot achieve this state of devotion, then you must consider that He is watching you" [100].
Then the Hindu said: Life return to the idols after reciting the hymns.
I said: This is an illusion. It has nothing to do with the truth.
If we accept for the sake of argument that life returns to them after reciting the hymns, they start to walk, speak and act as they want. Can then a person create life in the first place? So far, none of your scholars has claimed to restore life to something with no life.
Benefit and harm are by the Will of God Almighty.
Therefore, whoever thinks that these statues can benefit him is delusional.
He said: Have you not seen through youtube channels the statue's tears and the flowers scattered from their hands?
I told him: I am surprised by a man in your scientific position who believes in these methods of deception. These methods are a way to earn money by deceiving people.
The Creator responds to these:
O humanity! A lesson is set forth, so listen to it ˹carefully˺: those ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah can never create ˹so much as˺ a fly, even if they ˹all˺ were to come together for that. And if a fly were to snatch anything away from them, they cannot ˹even˺ retrieve it from the fly. How powerless are those who invoke and those invoked[101]!
It is wrong to introduce Islam by saying that Islam means to believe in one God and just stop there. We have to explain in order to have deeper understanding. Islam means to believe in One God and directly connect with God, the Creator. Nothing is like Him.
He does not come to earth in any animal or human form; He has no image known to humans. Our minds can only imagine objects, people, and situations based on past experiences and memories. God is beyond our perception and cannot be comprehended.
Whenever we sin, we repent to Him directly. We ask Him to solve the problem directly when we have a problem. When we feel blessed, we have to thank Him directly. The faith in One God already exists in many religions.
It was even the faith of the disbelievers of the tribe of Prophet Muhammad. They believed in One God. When they were asked about worshiping the idols, they said they worship idols to make them closer to God. So, their problem was not with the faith in One God. Their problem was with having a direct connection with Him.
The Creator said:
Indeed, sincere devotion is due ˹only˺ to Allah. As for those who take other lords besides Him, ˹saying,˺ "We worship them only so they may bring us closer to Allah," surely Allah will judge between all regarding what they differed about. Allah certainly does not guide whoever persists in lying and disbelief[102] .
The ignorance of the Creator's genuine concept led to confusion of minds and, thus, the resort to atheism.
Let's imagine that it is rumored among people that the writer of this book has reached the moon and roamed space, so whoever knows her well will not believe this information and will make fun of her because they know very well that she is afraid of boarding a plane.
God has the highest example, so whoever knows the genuine attributes of God will not believe these human and animal attributes people ascribed to him.
Causation is a law for us who live in space and time. God, who created space and time, is necessarily transcendent concerning both. It is an error on our part to think that either binds Him. God created the law of causation, and we cannot consider Him as a subject to the law He made. Therefore, God does not change. He created the time, so He does not subject to time.
God does not go through the same stages of time that we go through, does not get tired, and does not need to put Himself in a physical form or descend to earth.
Therefore, we cannot see God in this life because we are trapped in time and space while He transcends both. For example, a person sitting in a windowless room can only see the room's interior. To see outside, he must leave the room; that is to say, he must overcome the room as a hindrance to seeing the outside.
Although the Creator is all-powerful, He does not do what does not fit His majesty; exalted be He above that.
God has the ideal: even though a high-ranking cleric can go out naked in public, he does not do so because this behavior does not fit his religious position.
Existence as we see it (the universe and man) must be fully understood by who created it. Therefore, the Creator's attributes must not be on the same level or lower than His creations' attributes. Absolute Perfection is the attribute of the Absolute Generator, Who absorbs all existence. Who creates and directs its laws. Knowing the Creator begins with understanding the human himself (who knows himself knows his Lord). It is only after realizing the greatness of the Creator Who created the human soul and this cosmic existence that we fully realize that all that exist are incomplete and limited compared to the creative Creator.
Therefore, our qualities are different than the qualities of our Creator.
God said:
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ "He is Allah—One ˹and Indivisible˺; Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺. He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him" (Al-Ikhlas)[103].
We understand from the above: The Creator does not come to earth in any human form, animal, or idol. Humans must worship Him directly without any priest, saint, idol, or intermediary.
Islam emphasizes the infallibility of the prophets from error in what they report about the Creator. There is no infallibility of a priest or saint.
It is completely forbidden in Islam to resort to someone other than the Creator in seeking help and request, even if the request is from the prophets themselves. The demand from the Creator Almighty is an honor and, from others, humiliating.
Is it reasonable to equate the king and the ordinary people by demand?
God said:
To Him [alone] is the supplication of truth. And those they call upon besides Him do not respond to them with a thing, except as one who stretches his hands toward water [from afar, calling it] to reach his mouth, but it will not reach it [thus]. And the supplication of the disbelievers is not but in error [i.e. futility... [104].
The Almighty said:
Say (oh Muhammad), "I have no power to benefit or protect myself, except by the Will of Allah. If I had known the unknown, I would have benefited myself enormously, and no harm would have ever touched me. I am only a warner and deliverer of good news for those who believe"[105].
The distinguishing feature of the religion of Islam over the rest of other religions is the Creator's attributes, which is a universal concept shared by all, and no one disagrees with it.
In human law, violating the king's right is not equal to other crimes. How about the right of the King of kings.
God's right over His servants is to worship Him alone, and the right of His servants is to have a direct relationship with Him, thus, obtaining safety in this world and the hereafter.
It suffices to imagine that you give someone a gift, and he thanks another person and praises him. God has the highest example. This situation is similar to what humans do with their Creator. God has given them countless blessings, and they, in turn, give thanks to others. And the Creator, in any case, does not need them.
Should I ride on his back instead of on the plane if the airport porter points me to the gate?
Suppose, for example, if I made a television myself, do I need to be shaped into a television image to know the correct mechanisms and the incorrect ones?
Instead, I will give instructions for its operation to make it easy for everyone to use this device.
Giving the Creator's right to one of His creatures is one of the greatest sins. If I take a chaplain or a saint between the Creator and me means that I gave them the Creator's right.
The human perception that the Creator embodies in His creatures gives the Creator creatures qualities while He is above them. The Creator is different from His creation.
For example: Is cutting a tree in half and cutting the body of a small child in half lead to the same result? Of course not. The value of human traits is higher than the value of plant traits.
The value of the Creator's attributes is higher than the value of the creation's characteristics. In addition to that, God's attributes are unlimited because He is unlimited; that's why the punishment for the one who takes mediators in his relationship with the Creator is eternal.
Islam is:The belief that there is no god but the Creator alone, Who has no partner or son. He is the Creator and Provider of the entire universe and what it contains. The Creator created Christ without a father and created Adam without a father or a mother.
When we are generous and rich, we invite others to food and drink because we want to fulfill our generosity. God is the most generous, the most merciful. He created us to bestow His blessings on us and provide His mercy if we sincerely obey Him and comply with His command. All beautiful human attributes are derived from His attributes. Knowing that a person uses his attributes for a need. The Creator has no need but Will.
He created us and gave us the ability to choose. Either we choose the path of obedience and worship, or we deny His existence and choose the way of rebellion and disobedience. This ability to choose is undoubtedly a greater degree of honor for a man than the compulsion to obey, which leads to false happiness.
God created us to worship Him as He is the Master of the universe.
God said:
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me[106].
Oh, Man:
You did not exist, then you were, and you knew that you did not create yourself, nor did anyone similar to you created you.
If I have not created myself with certainty, and someone with confidence did not create me, then the third possibility remains the only option, namely that He Who made us is not like us.
If the one who created us is similar to us and characterized by our qualities, we would also be able to develop those who are like us.
The language might not be able to express the meaning precisely. And even the human mind is incapable of knowing the nature of the great Creator. Between language and reason in their places, we can come out with absolute truth, namely that who created us and created the universe and its laws discovered by modern science, He is not as we are.
If we cannot avert the harm for ourselves and we cannot save ourselves and our loved ones from doom, we cannot find ourselves because the matter is beyond our control.
We don't know what's happening inside us, and even human anatomy specialists are amazed at the fantastic work and creativity that goes into the human body.
The Creator said:
Is it that they are created by none, or are they themselves the creators[107]?
If we had created ourselves, we would have made it complete, lacked nothing, strong, and did not need the universe's contents. We could then sustain ourselves and our loved ones and eliminate death because preservation is easier than creation.
The point here is that man should look at himself first before he becomes conceited away from the truth. Despite how technology developed around us, we still cannot develop ourselves into mortal creatures or even be independent creatures who don't need food, drink, air, or even not going to the restroom.
Man tries hard to search the whole universe for happiness and continuance in life, although he knows that he cannot travel to the moon without special suits and in special spacecraft for fear of death.
Say, "Be you stones or iron. Or [any] creation of that which is great within your breasts." And they will say, "Who will restore us?" Say, "He who brought you forth the first time." Then they will nod their heads toward you and say, "When is that?" Say, "Perhaps it will be soon"[108].
When a father gets a call from the emergency room of a particular hospital telling him that his only son had a terrible accident and his life is in danger, they ask the father to donate part of his body to save his son's life. The father will go quickly, without hesitation, and without doubting the doctor's experience, not even at the efficiency of the equipment, the nurses' competence, or the accuracy of the construction of the hospital building. A father does not go to study organic biology until he has donated part of his body to his son.
If a person is concerned with knowing the source of his existence and the place to which he will return after death with this level of danger, he himself will be saved.
What is the value of this life compared to infinity?
The atheist doesn't know who his Creator is. He doesn't know His mercy. He doesn't know that, in any case, God did not make this world permanent. This world is temporary, and everything in this life is limited by time; when its time finishes, it dies, or it ends.
Neither are the good things of this world everlasting nor the bad things eternal. We are here for a short time, and we are being tested. Those who pass this test will find an unlimited world that is perfect and permanent, and those who fail this test shall see there are consequences for their sins and corruption.
According to mathematics, any number compared to infinity is zero. So, this life is zero; we live in the zero because if I lived 100 or 90 or 200 years, eventually, I will leave this life. So actually, compared to the eternal life with the Creator, we are here in the zero.
We have to understand the wisdom behind natural disasters and the suffering that the natural disasters bring out the best in some people by displaying elevated human values and charity. The suffering of the righteous comes with promises of a great reward and blessings from God.
Let us say you knew God and believed in His existence; you realized that He is more merciful than your parents, and you acknowledged that God Almighty Has a Paradise that extends over the skies and the earth. Do you prefer losing faith in Him, His mercy, and His everlasting Paradise over this worldly life? Would you choose zero over infinity?
It is not logical to judge a play without continuing it to the end or to reject a book because you did not like the first page.
We either live longer than others and lose what we have (children, money, and parents), or we die before them and leave everything behind.
Although an atheist knows for sure that he may suddenly die anywhere and anytime, when some ask him:
● Where do you come from?
● Where are you going?
● Why are you here?
He still answers:
We came from nothing, and we are nothing, and we will become nothing.
● I do not know.
● I'm not interested.
● Maybe I'll know later.
● I don't care.
Why don't we apply the universe's most straightforward law and the axiom of life to realize the source of our existence: "Nothing comes from nothing"?
Dr. Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri says[109]: "The world today is experiencing a crisis of forgetting the essence of the matter, so the world stands without a fundamental pillar, which is the reference. Humans lost their memory, and human memory is what makes a person human. Through memory, we learn and become history. We know good and evil through memory, and we know truth and falsehood; therefore, we base our lives on this basis and choose between good and evil. If we forgot the essence of life, our lives would be suspended between heaven and earth."
Dr. El -Messiri also says[110]: "God (the Creator) is the basic foundation for everything, the basic foundation for communication between people, to ensure that the truth is true. If humans forget God - Who is the foundation of the universe - everything ends."
And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they who are ˹truly˺ rebellious[111].
During my travels around the world, I noticed that everyone was interested in demanding human rights, animal rights, and women's rights until they ended up with homosexuals' rights, who have nothing but abnormal tendencies that transcend the laws of the universe. Does my inclination to travel and roam, for example, give me a right over the state to support me financially and morally to achieve my desires and tendencies, even if they are natural?
Regardless of the apparent contradiction in human behavior in this regard, they have forgotten the fundamental right, which is the right of the Creator Who created them, formed them, and gave them freedom of choice. They also ignored to claim their right to communicate with the Creator directly.
Say, Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which God has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason [112].
And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best until he reaches maturity. And give full measure and weight in justice. We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity. And when you testify, be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative. And the covenant of God fulfill. This has He instructed you that you may remember [113].
Religion is a set of relations, ethics, and values that bind a human with his Creator and the community around him.
First: Concerning the relationship with the Lord of the universe (the Creator).
Second: Concerning organizing human relationships.
The previous God’s commandments stressed preserving rights, especially the Creator's right, by devoting bondage to Him. This point covers the relationship between a human and his Creator. God also commanded that the right of parents remains preserved by being benevolent to them and protecting the rights of children to have a decent life.
He prohibited getting near evil deeds and killing a human soul for no legal right. Also, God commanded us to preserve the money of orphans, be just when weighing, just when talking and acting, and fulfill commitments, primarily the commitment with the Lord of the universe.
These commandments exist in other religions worldwide, but through my conversations with non-Muslims, I surprisingly found out that they remember all commandments except the first one. When I ask them to mention these commandments, they often begin from the third commandment. Their excuse is that they always forget the first and second commandments. The first and second commandments state the importance of worshiping God alone (Monotheism) and staying away from polytheism. This situation is proof that ignoring these commandments is done intentionally through religious scholars and foundations to gain mundane and political benefits.
A Buddhist from Thailand once asked me:The teachings of Buddhism urge a person to be responsible for his actions and act according to his conscience. At the same time, Islam says that a person's actions are preordained since he was in his mother's womb, making the Muslim indifferent, set back, and rely on God.
No misfortune can happen, either in the earth or in yourselves, that was not set down in writing before We brought it into being- that is easy for God[114] .
I said: Our deeds are foreknown to God in His Record, but they are not preordained for us against our will. They are only preordained in His Prescience. In the same way, we may foresee in the light of the knowledge of our children's characters that they will make a wrong choice before they actually make it. We did not impose their choice upon them against their will, even though we may have expected that choice. God preordains the intentions and hearts of man; if these are evil, man will come to evil; if good, good will be his fate. Predestination does not contradict freedom of choice, as God predestines us based on His complete knowledge of our choices and intentions.
Man, in his freedom, may act contrary to what satisfies God, but he cannot do anything in contradiction to His Will. God granted us the freedom to transgress against His wishes (we disobey Him), but He gave no one the freedom to transcend His Will. Our experience further affirms this freedom that it is impossible under any pressure to compel the heart to accept anything it does not want to. We can force anyone through threats and force them to stay with us, but no pressure can make them love us. God has safeguarded our hearts from all forms of compulsion and coercion. This is why God judges according to what is in the heart and rewards according to the intention, which is visible to no one but Him.
Man has freedom of choice in relation to what he knows and controls; he is preordained with regard to what he does not know or control. The judgment follows responsibility.
Thus, God will not judge us for our physical appearance, our social status, or tribal affiliations, nor will He punish us for what is beyond our capacity.
Belief in the existence of the Creator is a commitment and responsibility. Faith makes the conscience vigil and urges the believer to hold himself accountable in every minor and major. The believer is responsible for himself, his family, neighbors, and even passersby.
He takes reasons and puts his trust in God. I do not think that these are the characteristics of opium addicts that are stigmatized by believers today. Atheism calls its followers to materialism, marginalizing their relationship with their Creator by rejecting religion, abandoning responsibilities and duties, and urging them to enjoy the moment they live regardless of the consequences. Hence, they do what they like in a state of safety from worldly punishment, believing that there is no divine account. There is no resurrection or judgment.
I remember having an arduous debate with an Arab secular:
where he said: It is the human being who has the right to determine natural rights.
I said: Imagine that you were a guest of someone who owns a massive house with nicely furnished rooms, dining table, kitchen utensils, etc.
The question here: Do you have the right to eat at his dining table, use his kitchen utensils, or break any furniture without his permission?
Of course, this act will be reprehensible for every sane person because you acted on someone else's property without his permission.
The question now: If the house owner allows you to control the house's assets, do you have the right in this case?
Of course, the answer according to the mind is different here. The mind will answer with acceptance.
But why is the answer different here?
The answer differed because the concept of "right" is completely linked to "ownership."
The wise and just owner (man) is the only one who has the right to control his assets. In addition, the owner is the only one who has the authority to give others the right to manage his property. Without the owner's permission, any act of the home's assets is considered an act reprehensible for sane people. The mind builds on the fact that this universe has a Creator who created it from nothingness, and the attributes of perfection characterize this Creator.
The question here: Does the mind tell us that this universe was created only by this Creator? Or is it also owned by this Creator?
The Creator is also the Owner.
for example: When I make something by myself, people will immediately understand that I am the owner of this invention.
If the mind judges man-made inventions to their inventors with ownership, what about the creation of the universe? In this case, the creation will be greater because God created it from nothingness, so the ownership of the Creator is the Absolute Ownership.
Since the Creator is the Owner of what He created, then the Creator of this world is the only one Who has the authority to establish the rights regarding His property.
We understand from the preceding that rights must be based on what the Creator defines for humans through communicating with them through the Messengers.
An old British once asked me: What is the evidence that the Creator communicated with His creation through the Messengers?
I said: Each human being has a strong instinct to know his/her origin and the reason for their existence. Instincts always drive the human being toward knowing their founder. When someone is born, and he/she doesn't find their parents, they get this intense need to see them as if they were the reason for their existence.
If a person built a building, then abandoned it without making it appropriate for accommodation, we would undoubtedly judge this person as unwise and unstable, as God is ideal. There must be wisdom behind creating the heavens and the earth and exploiting them for human service.
We understand from this that the declaration of human rights without considering the existence of the Creator is control of others' property. Therefore, it is reprehensible, incomplete, and lacks logical, rational value and wisdom.
From what I read and caught my attention:
In Paris, on the tenth of December 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard that all peoples and nations should work for. (Freedom of expression, the right to education, property ownership, etc.).
These rights seem rational and logical but are mentioned without any clear evidence.
While it is validated according to them in two ways.
The first way is: Alert on their usefulness and impact. For example, it was mentioned in the Human Rights document: "The common people aspire to the emergence of a world in which the individual enjoys the freedom of speech and belief, and to be free from fear and poverty, along with its compatibility with the nature of human beings, their inclination, and their necessity for it.”
The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the theorists of the idea of natural rights, says: "Freedom is a part of the nature of man, and man cannot give up his nature."
But are these methods of deriving a conclusion correct and logical?
What is meant by right? The right is the fixed and active principle, which is abhorrent not to be observed by everyone without exception, such as dealing with justice, fulfilling the covenant, keeping the trust, etc.
Accordingly, the first way to infer rights through the statement of their benefits is not rationally correct. Just because human interests are beneficial to a particular person or group does not mean that it is one of his rights, and others must admit it.
Just because an idea is in my favor does not mean it is correct.
And not just because I have some interests; they should be considered natural rights binding on others.
Concerning the second method, which is inferring rights through their compatibility with the tendency of human beings, here we ask an important question:
Is mere psychological inclination to something considered a justification for claiming it and considering it a right?
I found during my travels that in some African countries, people tend to urinate in public. Does this tendency give them the right over others to support them and defend their movement?
Is the thief's tendency to steal one of his rights?
The human inclination to a particular idea does not make it correct. Instead, it is always and forever needed to provide rational and logical proof that accurately explains an answer to this question. Why does a person have a right over others that they must respect?
It is not sufficient to answer this question by saying that it corresponds to his nature and inclination, so everyone must observe it.
An American lady once asked me: Why don't you Muslims recognize gay rights?
I told her: Do you recognize the right to practice incest?
She said: No, I do not. This behavior is disgraceful and affects the mental integrity and sanity of the community. I told her:
Why? Are you the one who decides what kind of rights are allowed and affect mental integrity or not?
More than a hundred years ago, the death penalty was the penalty for homosexuality. They reduced the penalty later to a life sentence. The reduction reached a few years in prison until it reached a small fine, then allowed to the extent that it is considered a legitimate and supported right, then defend it and punish those who attack it.
Who would later prevent humans from following the same policy with incest?
I have recently seen a video of a brother and sister claiming their right to establish a marital relationship and officially register their marriage.
We need a stable system that does not succumb to the whims of humans, from the Creator of human beings Himself, who knows their nature and what works for them and what is not.
There are philosophical problems regarding the concept of human rights and natural rights.
What is the concept of a" human being"?
Is it the creature in his mother's womb before birth?
Or is it a newborn child? Is the madman a human? What about the disabled?
Why are rights restricted to human beings only?
For if there is a natural right for every being, then these rights must include the rights of all creatures without exception.
Animals' rights, insects, plants, and even bacteria and germs, must be considered.
And if we accept that some vegetarians abstain from eating animal meat on the pretext of animal rights, why not demand the right of animals trapped in gardens, insects that are exterminated with pesticides, and even germs that are killed with toothpaste.
Failure to observe these being's rights violates the basic rule on which the theory of "natural rights” was built and is even considered a crime.
The Creator, the owner of this universe, is the one who determines the type of animal we can eat and the animal we cannot eat. What is not helpful is that we must get rid of it, and what is useful is that we must take advantage of it.
So, back to the main question:
Who gave man the right?
Is man the one who gave the right to man?
Where does this right come from? If it is proven that he has no right to establish rights, then what is the alternative?
The religion of Islam established human rights 14 centuries ago:
O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous among you. God is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware [115].
Religion says that we have to have a direct connection with the Creator.
● There is no god except The Only God, the Creator, and Sustainer of the whole universe and its contents.
● Pray only to Him and no others (not through priests, saints, Idols, etc.).
● Believe and follow the messengers (of that period, including Jesus and Moses). (The messengers prophesied the coming of the last Prophet- Muhammad, and urged their followers to believe in him and follow him if they reach his time).
● Do good and avoid evil.
Equality between human beings is a moral peculiarity. It is not a natural, material, or mental truth. People from a physical, natural, or mental perspective are undoubtedly unequal. Some are tall, and others are short, including white and black. It is only based on the belief in the Creator that humans can claim equality. Human beings are equal only if the man is a creature of God.
God says:
O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord, Who created you from a single soul, and from it, He created its mate, and through both, He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah—in Whose Name you appeal to one another—and ˹honour˺ family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you[116].
Ali Izetbegovic says[117]:
"Ethics, as a natural phenomenon in human life, cannot be explained rationally, and perhaps this is the first and practical argument of religion.
Either the ethical behavior is meaningless, or it has meaning through faith in the existence of God. There is no third choice. Either we drop morals as a heap of fanaticism or include in the equation a value that we can call "immorality.”
If we include the condition of immortal life, there is a world other than this world, and God exists. The moral behavior of man has meaning and is justified".
What I read and liked to share[118]:
"When an atheist denies the existence of God because of the existence of evil, he is contradicting himself. Atheists admit that they do not believe in the existence of God, claiming that they believe only in what is material and tangible. Therefore, they deny the unseen world (angels, jinn, heavenly messages, prophets, and miracles). On the other hand, they recognize the substance "nature."
By their admission, nature or matter (environment) is entirely neutral. Nature is not subject to evil's inevitability or the inevitability of good. Let alone be subject to or a source of morality. So, if the man is the son of nature, he is purely materialistic. He who lacks something does not give it to others.
Why was a man not also neutral about good, evil, and morals?
How can an atheist be proud of his morals while nature, by his admission, does not know morals, according to his claim?
The moral concepts that an atheist is proud of are a gift from the Creator, Who the atheist denies His existence, the gift which was planted in us to make us able to receive His message through the messengers.
As for the mind, we communicate by it with the unseen world and the material world:
● Metaphysical – an essential part of the mind is abstract – so we understand the heavenly messages.
● Materialistic: To reconstruct it according to the dictates of the heavenly moral message[119].
The British atheist "Richard Dawkins" say[120]:
"Nature is not evil, but unfortunately, it is indifferent. This fact is one of the most difficult lessons for man to comprehend. It is difficult for us to admit that all things are neither good nor evil, neither merciful nor fierce, it is indifferent to all human sufferings, for nature has no Goal."
Some religions explicitly adopt the caste system in terms of religiosity.
The system divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (the Hindi word for religion, but here it means duty). (Brahmins,Kshatriyas,Vaishyas, Shudras).
All the religions of India believe in "karma" (the condition of a man of wealth and poverty depends on the work that he did in his previous life). Therefore, the caste system is adopted by them. Castes are rigid social groups characterized by hereditary transmission of lifestyle, occupation, and social status.
In addition, Judaism is based on ethnicity: The children of Israel (Prophet Jacub) are: "God's Chosen People."
Islam is distinguished from other religions by the absolute equality between the children of Adam.
A Jew once asked me: Did God not say about you in the Qur'an: You were the best nation ever raised for humankind?
Therefore, you believe in ethnicity just like the Jews.
I said to him: This verse was revealed based on God's prior knowledge that Muslims will preserve His message, enjoin good and forbid evil. It is not based on racial discrimination, as the number of Muslims increases daily from all races and nations.
for example: The principal of a particular school can nominate a student from the school for a scholarship and recommend him by saying: He is the best student I have.
This praise and nomination are based on the principal's prior knowledge of the student's excellence and diligence, not on ethnicity. Considering the difference between the Creator's absolute knowledge and limited human knowledge.
You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah. Had the People of the Book believed, it would have been better for them. Some of them are faithful, but most are rebellious [121].
The Messenger of God said in his farewell sermon:
O people, your Lord is one, and your father Adam is one. There is no favor of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, and neither white skin over black skin nor black skin over white skin, except by righteousness. Have I not delivered the message? [122].
…Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord and that he will indeed reckon your deeds [123].
While traveling around the world, some people's strange use of some terms to identify themselves or others always caught my attention.
I remember facing funny situations because of the housemaid's definition of her friends, cousins, and people from her village as her brothers. One day I jokingly told her: What an enormous number of brothers and sisters you have, you are fit to form a soccer team.
I do not, of course, deny human brotherhood, but the Islamic religion taught me that clarity and putting things straight in their correct positions is the base for a healthy life that is based on the truth that Islam came to establish on earth.
That is because Allah (God the Creator) is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood, and because God is the Most High, the Grand[124] .
Islam came to establish the truth regarding the Creator of the universe first, and then establish the truth regarding the creatures.
Believing in God (the Creator), He has no partner or son. He does not incarnate in any of His creations or any idol. Also, humans need to connect with Him, not through any priest or saint.
Say, 'Tell me about your partners [you ascribe to God] whom you invoke besides God? Show me what [part] of the earth have they created. Do they have any share in the heavens?' Have we given them a scripture so that they stand on a manifest proof thereof? Rather the wrongdoers do not promise one another [anything] except delusion[125].
The verse here indicates that worshiping someone else apart from God includes claiming that they are deities, while God must be a creator. The proof that He is the Creator is either witnessed by what He created in the universe or by witnessing God's inspiration, Who proved to be the Creator.
So, if this claim does not have evidence from the creation of the universe, nor have proof from the Creator's words, then the claim is necessarily null.
Some Arabs believed that the smart man had two hearts. If one of the Arabs got angry at his wife, he would tell her, " You are like my mother.”
Other Arabs adopted a son from another family and attributed him to themselves as their biological son, similar to what people do in the West nowadays.
So, Almighty God judged all these claims as mere words of the tongue, and it is against the truth.
God did not place two hearts inside any man's body. Nor did He make your wives whom you equate with your mothers, your actual mothers. Nor did He make your adopted sons, your actual sons. These are your words coming out of your mouths. God speaks the truth, and guides to the path[126] .
The previous examples show the difference between truth and falsehood, for truth reflects actual knowledge that matches reality, and falsehood is an illusion.
Islam urges to sponsor of an orphan and encourages the sponsor of the orphan to treat the orphan as he treats his children. Still, it preserves the right of the orphan to get to know his biological family, preserve his right to his father's inheritance, and avoid the mixing of lineages.
The story of the Western girl, who accidentally learned after thirty years that she was an adoptive daughter and committed suicide, is the most significant evidence of the corruption of the adoption law. If her adoptive parents had told her the truth from childhood, they would have had mercy on her and allowed her to search for her family.
That is why it was necessary to define each member of society correctly, whether they were brothers, cousins, friends, strangers, etc.
Today, homosexuals are demanding to abolish the so-called language bias. They claim that language contains pronouns that refer to the male differently from females.
They prefer to unify pronouns to facilitate their abnormal life matters, which is a violation of the laws of nature.
We, as Muslims, are forced to open the door to discussion to convince the corruptors that the language is not unjust, but has put things in perspective, that God created males and females in this life who have different physiological natures.
Homosexuals demand the unification of pronouns, gender, and identity so that a person finds himself one day not knowing whether he is being treated by a male doctor or a female, or what's the person's identity that's speaking to him, or the gender of the person sitting next to him. So, we find ourselves defending the cosmic constants created by the Creator, which are initially from the axioms.
I remember the story of the French language teacher. She was an African from Benin, adjacent to Lagos, where we stayed. After the lecture, I told her that I needed a housemaid who could speak French for my kids, and I could practice the French language with her. I was surprised when she replied: I am ready to work for you!
I told her: You are my teacher, and you have my all respect!
She said: You are very kind, but I need this job. You know that I come from Benin, adjacent to this city, and I need a place to stay. I will clean the house for you in the morning and work in the center in the evening. Also, I noticed that you are very friendly even though your Holy Book (Qur'an) never talked about love, nor even about the love of the Creator to His servants. How can He love them while He tests them and restricts His provision?!
I replied to her: Regarding the place you need to stay, you are welcome with no job and free. We already have an annex for the workers, and you can share the dorms with them. Regarding what you've said about the Qur'an, have you ever read the Qur'an?
She replied: No, but I have heard about it.
I told her: If you read the Qur'an, you will see what is mentioned in it about the mercy and love God has for His servants. But God's love for His servants is different from the love humans have. Love, in humans' case, is a need that the loving person seeks and finds in the beloved, but God does not need us, humans. He is the source of love and generosity, kindness, and mercy. The love comes from the Powerful to the powerless, comes from the Free of need to the needy. The love comes from the Competent and Mighty to the helpless, from the Most Great to the humble. The love which comes with sagacity and wisdom.
She asked: How come?
I replied: Wouldn't you bring your child to the operation room to have his/her stomach opened? Wouldn't you fully trust the doctor's insight, his love for your baby, and his consideration to save him/her from the illness?
She replied: How come He loves His creations while He limits their freedom and doesn't permit them to do whatever they like? Have you never heard about individualism? Have you ever heard about this evolving concept, which means that individuals' decisions should be based on their benefits and pleasures?
The individual is the focus of attention, so the individual's interests should be above the nation's considerations and the society's and religion's effects. Besides, people should not be prohibited from gender transition; they should be able to do whatever they like and wear and behave in public the way they want to, as the street is everyone's.
I said: Do you allow your children to do whatever they wish because you love them? Would you let your little son jump out of the window or play with an electric cord?
I also told her: Your statement that the street is everyone's is correct, but your understanding of it is wrong. If you were living with a group of people in the same house, would you ever accept one of the house members to urinate in the hall on the same concept that the house belongs to everyone? Would you ever accept living in this house with no laws and rules to govern it?
A human who has complete freedom becomes an ugly being, as it has been unquestionably proven that the human cannot handle this kind of freedom.
Individualism can never take the place of collectivism regardless of the individual's power or influence. Community members are classes that cannot survive without each other and can never be independent. Some of them are soldiers, doctors, nurses, and judges.
How can any of them outweigh their benefit and personal interest over others to achieve their happiness and be the focus of attention?
She said: How can we achieve happiness then?
I replied: The meaning of happiness in individualism is victory, domination, and the possession of technology. But in Islam, true happiness is a content heart, a successful marriage, a spacious house, a good neighbor, and a comfortable vehicle with sharing and cooperation.
Although the Islamic Civilization was formed by a mixture of different people and tribes, it produced accountability and reward systems and duties and rights. The person is punished for his crimes, but he is also rewarded in other cases. Islam liberated the individual from his previous prejudices and led him to his pure inner-self to live like an honest, social civil who lives in a community, respects its laws, and appreciates his intellectual potential and ability to coexist beautifully with others.
A nation that aspires to progress and builds a higher goal emerges from the concept of a single identity. Everyone has ideas and capabilities, but applying these ideas requires teamwork, and thus everyone is equal with whatever they present. So, Islam has offered the perfect relationship of the individual with his society.
I proceeded: The individual is only a tiny and integral part of society; this makes a peaceful and secure society. If the balance between classes is disturbed, conflicts will arise, leading to dissatisfaction in society. Money is no longer the highest standard that distinguishes its owner from others, nor the power or leadership of the world is recognized because of money.
The leader in the Islamic government is not evaluated by the money he possesses. Still, by the knowledge, morals, and justice he has, these were the qualities with which they were able to advance and achieve victories one after the other.
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:
The example of the believers regarding mutual love, affection, and fellow-feeling, consists of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole-body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever [127].
She said: Individuality is directly related to homosexuality, so why do you not like homosexuals? Their tendencies are a natural genetic issue and tendency, and we must respect them. As I know, it is a genuine genetic issue, and we must respect it.
I asked her: Would you respect a thief's tendency to steal? It is an inclination too, but it is an abnormal inclination in both cases. It's against the human instinct and aggression against nature; it should be rectified.
God created humans and guided them on the right path. He also gave him free will to choose between the path of righteousness and the way of evil.
And shown them the two ways ˹of right and wrong˺[128]?
So, we find that homosexuality was rarely seen in the societies which prohibit it. At the same time, the percentage of homosexuals is high in the ambient, which permits and encourages such behavior. The surrounding ambient and teachings determine the probability of one being homosexual[129].
God glory be to Him said about the people of Prophet Lot peace be upon him:
And Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you commit lewdness no people anywhere have ever committed before you?" "You lust after men rather than women. You are an excessive people." And his people's only answer was to say, "Expel them from your town; they are purist people"[130] .
This verse assures that homosexuality is neither inherited nor relates to genetic code composition, for the people of Prophet Lot were the first to innovate such an obscenity; this is in line with an eminent scientific study that ensures that homosexuality has nothing to do with inherited genes.
The identity of a human being is continually changing. For example, it could vary according to their watched channels, used technologies, or liking for a soccer team, as globalization made them so complicated.
A betrayer is now portrayed as someone with a point of view. A homosexual is described as a normal-behaving person who thoroughly enjoys legal rights that enable them to participate in public debates. Also, it is assumed that we must advocate for them and strengthen ties.
Superiority now is for the technology holder. Hence, if a homosexual has the power sources (technology), he or she will surely pass his convictions; this causes spoilage in the relation of the human being, society, and the Creator.
With a direct correlation between individualism and homosexuality, human nature, to which human beings belong, is dispersed, and the Family's concepts were dropped.
Then, the Westerns started setting up resolutions to get rid of individualism; keeping this perception will undoubtedly cause the loss of modern man's accomplishments. It will cause the failure of the notion of Family.
So, till now, the Westerns have been suffering from a population decrease. This population decrease has led to the attraction of immigrants.
Believing in God and respecting the laws created for us, and the determination to follow His instructions and avoid wrong deeds is the way to happiness in the worldly life and the hereafter.
Muslims have recognized the equality between women and men in terms of humanity, along with the innate rights based on religious teachings in talking about the language injustice, and global demands for gender unification, male and female denoting nouns. Muslims as human beings, also oppose this equality in terms of physical and morals.
As realistic individuals, we believe in the existence of physical differences that require the division of labor in a manner consistent with the difference according to creation.
Otherwise, if we look at equality in everything, the result will inevitably deteriorate women's psychological and moral condition. The distinction between men and women elevates women and preserves their dignity.
I remember here a conversation I had with a Buddhist visitor who had asked me, saying: Can a Muslim woman wear short clothes?
I told her: Muslim women are human beings, they are not different from your women, but they are clever, and they can distinguish between rights and duties and give priorities, and strike a balance in applying these terms, which women all over the world have been unable to do.
She said: What do you mean?
I told her: The Muslim woman understood "privacy" well. When she loved her father, brother, son, and husband, she understood that their love had privacy, so her love for her husband and her love for her father or brother required her to give everyone his right. Her father's right, such as respect, for example, is not the same as her son's right, such as care and education, and so on. She understands well when, how, and to whom she displays her adornment, for she does not dress in her encounter with a stranger as she does with a relative and does not appear in the same manner to everyone.
I also said: A Muslim woman is a free woman; she refuses to be captive to the whims of others and fashion. She wears what she sees as appropriate for her, makes her happy, and satisfies her Creator. Can't you see how the western woman has become a captive of fashion?! Suppose style came out this season for women to wear tight pants. In that case, all women will automatically wear them even if the pants aren't suitable for their figure or they aren't comfortable wearing them.
I told her: Isn’t it scary to you how the woman was turned into a commodity?! There is almost no commercial without a half-naked woman; this gives an indirect message of the deteriorating value of the woman in this age.
The woman sends a message to the world by covering up her beauty. A statement that she is a human with value honored by God. By dealing with her people must judge her according to her knowledge, beliefs, and ideas, not her physical appearance.
In the United States of America, the American (he/she) have to submit their applications free of a personal photo while applying for a job, so that the committee can judge the person according to his/her experience and competence.
I also told her: The Muslim woman has understood human nature and that she needs to cover up her body from strangers to keep herself and society from getting hurt. I don't think you could deny that all women who are used to showing off their bodies wish that all women wear the headcover when they get old.
She said: That's right.
I asked her: Have you read about women's death and distortion rates during plastic surgeries? What do you think forced the woman to go through this suffering? This beauty competition has been imposed upon her instead of an intellectual one. This situation has made her lose her actual value in society and her life.
She said: Well, has Islam given women equality with men?
I told her: The Muslim woman is looking for justice, not equality.
Equality with the man has made her lose much of her power and value.
She said: How is that?
I told her: Suppose you have two sons, one of them is four years old and the other is 12 years old. And you wanted to buy pants for each of them, for equality here is achieved in that you buy them two pants of the same size, which causes the suffering of one of them, but justice is to buy each one of them the appropriate size, and thus happiness is achieved for all.
I told her, continuing: Women are trying at this time to prove that they can do everything that a man does. However, the woman loses her uniqueness and privilege in this case, as God created her to do what a man cannot do.
It has been proven that the pain of pregnancy and childbirth is one of the most severe pains. Religion came to give the woman the required honor as compensation for this fatigue, giving her the right not to bear the responsibility of alimony and work. She does not have to share her private money with her husband, as is the West. While God did not give the man the strength to bear the pain of childbirth, he gave him the ability to work hard, for example.
She said: But I like to work hard to prove my worth, and I can do it just like a man.
I said to her: Well, you can work and toil, but in the end, you are the one who will also put the babies, take care of them and nurse them because the man, in any case, cannot do this, and this is a double effort on you, you could have avoided it.
She said: Did Islam give her the right to education?
I told her: Islam made education an obligation and not just a right.
Islam also gave the woman the right to divorce, the freedom to dispose of her money and keep her family name after marriage, and this right is what many women in the world lack.
Many do not know that if a Muslim woman wants to claim her rights through the United Nations and give up her rights in Islam, it will be a loss because she has more rights in Islam. Islam achieves the integration for which men and women were created, which provides happiness for all.
A young German woman asked me about the status of a Muslim woman, and I told her:
A British study that the Starch Center for Scientific Research recently conducted confirmed the classification of Saudi women as the third most beautiful women after Hungarian and Polish women[131].
In announcing this result, the study relied on the Saudi girl's tenderness while maintaining an enormous amount of modesty evident in her behavior and her superior ability to interact with fashion without losing any of her modesty. In this regard, all her requests are met. There is always someone who serves her. She has her own allocated money provided by her parents without her having to work, and she gains attention from her family members. This attention remains even after she moves to her husband's house.
The researcher described the Saudi girls, who represent the status of women in Islam, as "queens of the world," proving this by saying, "The queen does not drive the car, but there is someone who takes care of that." The study added that Saudi girls take great care of their beauty, good looks, and grace.
"Christopher Gulayel," who prepared the research, points out that Saudi women are veiled, and the sun cannot affect their skin, which keeps it fresh.
It is noteworthy that this research study came under "The World's Most Beautiful Girls."
Regardless of the adherence of the Saudi girl in particular or the Muslim girl in general to this beautiful image of decency and dignity that the report describes or not, her adherence to the religion's teachings remains the most appropriate choice for her. The Creator knows women's nature and what suits them, exalts their status, or lowers their position.
In addition, I want to add that the Muslim woman also achieved balance in her relationship with her Creator by worshiping Him alone without associating anyone with Him; this means she prays and supplicates directly to him, not through a priest, saint, or any other intermediary.
We find that many nations and civilizations have failed to achieve this balance.
While the nation of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, raised his status and his mother, Mary, to the point of divinity, the followers of Moses, peace be upon him, refused to recognize Christ as a messenger of God.
The Muslim achieved the required balance. He believed in, respected, and valued Christ by believing his valid message and worshiping God as all previous prophets worshiped Him.
Several news sites recently reported the tragedy of a 31-year-old Australian girl who works as a women's swimwear designer[132].
This girl used her so-called freedom by posting pictures of her in a bikini swimsuit.
However, her Instagram photos were met with ridicule and severe attack for her apparent increase in weight, which does not match Western standards for the ideal female figure.
The English Daily Star newspaper published the news under the headline:
A social media activist defied the abusers who demanded her to cover her body by posting her real photos in a bikini, which was described by the abusers as disgusting pictures.
This behavior is a clear message that the West sends to a woman: When we give you the freedom to show your body, we want to see a beautiful sight with specifications and standards that we set for our enjoyment.
The same news made it clear that the Australian girl "Kareena," the heroine of our story, believes that people have a distorted idea of what real women look like, and this is due to the unnatural standards of beauty found on storefronts and in pornographic films.
The British newspaper "The Independent" also recently published about the tragedy of a 27-year-old American girl[133]. She had an embarrassing experience when she was banned from riding a party bus because of her weight. She tells her story, saying that she was deeply offended when she received a message from the party organizers that they had strict appearance standards.
It becomes clear to us now that the racism of the West – claimed to be urbanization- sends an indirect message to women of their low value to the West.
This incident reveals the truth of the myth of the free Western woman. It explains that the freedom of the Western woman is linked to the pleasure of the Western man, who sets it up for women to walk under different names such as fashion, slim body, sexy body, etc.
We can all read about statistics of death and disfigurement rates that occur from plastic surgeries.
What urged the woman to go through all this torment? They forced her to get involved into beauty contests instead of intellectual ones, making her lose her actual value and even her life.
I'll mention here a comment made by a German older adult when I spoke to him about the importance of a woman's veil, where he said:
You want to deprive us men of the pleasure of looking at beautiful women.
I said to him: So you are not calling for a woman's freedom, but for the privilege of accessing her body.
History has not known a nation that honored women and raised their status like the Islamic nation.
A questioner from Mexico asked me about the importance of the Muslim woman's head covering.
I told him: The head covering is like what the nuns of your churches wear.
He said: No, the situation is different. Nuns do not marry.
I told him: It's amazing. Can't a woman be religious and married at the same time? It is these ideas that alienate people from religion.
The presence of contradictions in some religious concepts in other religions is one of the reasons that lead to an aversion to religion and drives people towards science alone.
One of the main features that drive people towards religion is its balance and moderation, which are apparent in Islam.
The problem with other religions which have been distorted from the correct religion is that they are either:
● Purely spiritual and call their followers to monasticism and isolation. As it is found in the teachings of Gautama Buddha and the scholars of Christianity and Hinduism today.
● Totally materialistic.
Which lead to the aversion to religion in general in previous nations. Extremism, fanaticism, and inflexibility are mere features that have been forbidden in the true religion. In various verses, the Qur’an has called for kindness, tolerance in treatment, mercy, and forgiveness.
God said:
So, by mercy from God,[O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude[in speech]and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So, pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon God. Indeed, God loves those who rely[upon Him][134] .
And said:
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly]guided[135].
The fact that everything is permissible is a principle in religion, though there are some enumerated prohibitions that are clearly mentioned in the Holy Qur’an which no one disputes.
God said:
O children of Adam, take your adornment [i.e., wear your clothing]at every mosque, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess, Say,“Who has forbidden the adornment of [i.e., from]God which He has produced for His servants and the good[lawful]things of provision?”Say,“They are for those who believed during the life of this world, exclusively[for them]on the Day of Resurrection.”Thus, do We detail the verses for a people who know, Say, “My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with God that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about God that which you do not know [136].
The religion has considered radicalism and inflexibility without authentic proof as a satanic action that the religion revolts.
God said:
O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good on the earth, and follow not the footsteps of Satan. Verily, he is to you an open enemy, He (Satan) commands you only what is evil and sinful, and that you should say against God what you know not[137].
And said:
Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by God. And whoever takes Satan as a protector instead of God, has surely suffered a manifest loss[138].
Originally, religion comes to ease a lot of restrictions that people impose on themselves. During pre-Islam ignorance, there were some highly detested practices such as female infanticide, permitting certain types of foods for males while forbidding them on females, and prohibiting females from the inheritance. Also, fornication, drinking alcoholic beverages, eating the money of orphans, eating the dead, usury, etc.
We find as well in some people’s legislation and rules that have been falsely related to religion to force them upon people. This has deviated people from differentiating between the correct religion that meets their innate needs, and the traditions and customs inherited from ancestors, leading people to replace religion with science. The correct religion relieves people's suffering and puts rules and legislation that aims to ease their lives.
God said:
...God intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you…[139].
God wishes to lighten (the burden) for you and man was created weak[140].
...and do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, God is Most Merciful to you[141].
...and do not throw yourselves into destruction, and do good. Truly, God loves the good-doers[142].
...,who enjoins upon them what is right and prohibits them from what is wrong and makes lawful for them what is good and forbids them from what is evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them,...[143].
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away [144].
During the Prophet's time, three men talked about worship, and one of them said: I will offer the prayer throughout the night forever. The other said: I will fast throughout the year. The third said: I will keep away from women and will not marry forever. Prophet Muhammad came to them and said:
Are you the same people who said, so-and-so? By God, I am more submissive to God and more afraid of Him than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep, and I also marry women. So, he who does not follow my religious tradition is not from me (not one of my followers)[145].
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds[146].
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to Abdullah Ibn Amr:
O, Abdullah! I have been informed that you fast during the day and offer prayers all night. Abdullah replied: Yes, O Allah's messenger! The Prophet said: Don't do that; fast for a few days and then give it up for a few days, offer prayers and sleep at night, as your body has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you, and your guest has a right on you[147].
The world's civilization was based on the sciences and culture of Muslims. At the beginning of the Renaissance, Europeans and others transferred everything that fell under their hands of Islamic sciences and knowledge into their languages. There were centers of civilizational radiation, such as Andalusia and Sicily, where Europeans used to receive knowledge at the hands of Arab and Muslim scholars.
“Richard Cook”, American lawyer, politician, and former Governor of Texas, says [148]:
"Europe owes a lot to Arab Spain. Cordoba was a shining lamp for science and civilization in a period when Europe was still mired in filth and primitiveness. Islamic rule in Spain made it the only country that escaped from the dark ages."
The French writer “Gustave Le Bon” talks about the universality of Islamic civilization, saying[149]:
"The merit of Arabs and Muslims in the field of civilization was not limited to themselves, as they had a great impact in the East and West, as they owe them in their civilization. This influence is specific to them alone. They are the ones who refined by their moral influence the barbarians."
“Taqi al-Din al-Shami “is the inventor of the first steam engine and the discoverer of steam power as a moving force. He put the first model of the steam engine in 1552. Years later, he made the first steam turbine around 80 years before the Italian “Branca” and the steam engine 140 years before the Europeans. Even James Watt's model for the first steam engine, you find its elements and components at “Al-Jazari” and T”aqi Al-Rased”, and “Al-Muradi Al-Andalus.”
When the Muslim Arabs reached the peak of civilization, the West was still discussing the final result of the famous conference: Is a woman a human or an animal? Some of them said: She is a demon.
In France, in 673, a European conference was held on determining the legal nature of a woman, whether she is a human or an animal. If she is a human, does she benefit from all rights? After vigorous discussions, they unanimously stated that women are human beings, but they do not benefit from rights. this conference was followed by several similar conferences in Europe[150]!
By the Islamic civilization's preoccupation with collecting the authentic sayings and actions of the Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, and its preoccupation with memorizing the Noble Qur'an has done well with its Creator. It has thus, preserved a religion that puts the Creator’s relationship with His creatures in the right place. In contrast, other human civilizations have mistreated the way they dealt with their Creator.
Some people have worshiped others apart from Him. Other people disbelieved in Him. They have dealt in ways far from what He deserves in Glory and Grace.
A true Muslim doesn't mix between matters. He knows how to establish a balance between ideologies and sciences, along with differentiating between:
● Civilization elements are represented in the ideological and mental evidence, morals, and ethics.
● Civil elements are represented in scientific discoveries and industrial achievements.
The Muslim deals with these elements in a framework of faith and morals.
● The Greek civilization believed in God but denied His Oneness and described Him as a god who does not benefit or harm.
● The Persian civilization before Islam worshiped the sun, prostrated to fire, and sainted it.
● Hindus stopped worshiping the Creator and worshiped created gods, which are incarnated in the trinity that is composed of the three gods: “Brahma” the creator, “Vishnu “who preserves the universe and “Shiva” who destroys the universe.
● Buddhism denied the Creator and worshiped a created god (Buddha).
● The Sabian civilization were people of the book (have divine revelation), but then denied their Lord and worshiped the stars and planets, except for some Muslim monotheistic groups that are mentioned in the Qur'an.
● The civilization of the pharaohs had peaked in monotheism during the time of king “Akhenaten”. Yet, civilization still symbolized God in some of His creations, like the sun, which was the main symbol of God for them. After that, disbelieving in God also reached its peak in the time of Moses; peace be upon him when the Pharaoh claimed to be god and the only legislator.
● The Arabic civilization stopped worshiping God and worshiped idols instead.
● Christianity denied the Oneness of God and worshiped Jesus, peace be upon him, along with his mother. Some of them believed in the trinity represented in three co-eternal con-substantial persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
● The Roman civilization denied the Creator before Christianity and gave partners to Him in Christianity by worshiping idols and symbols of power.
● The Jewish civilization rejected God and chose a god of its own. They also worshiped the calf and gave the Creator human attributes in their book.
While these civilizations have decayed, the previously explained Christian and Jewish turned into atheist, communistic and capitalistic civilizations. These two civilizations dealt with God and life based on an ideological and intellectual context considered backward-minded, brutal, and characterized by immorality. However, they have peaked in civil, industrial, and scientific developments, which are not the basis for assessing a nation's development[151].
The correct civil development standards that should be used to assess nations depend on mental evidence and how these nations deal with God, life, Man, and the universe. A proper civil development should lead to God's correct way and His relationship with His creations, putting this relation at its appropriate level. We conclude that the Islamic civilization is the only truly developed civilization because it merely achieved this required balance.
The discoveries of Muslim scholars were approved during the Middle Ages. The Muslim scholars used to worship God with their knowledge and come close to Him without showing any contradiction between material science and religion. Instead, many Muslim scholars were scholars in religious sciences and men of knowledge simultaneously. There is no conflict between the discovery of universal laws and the worship of the Creator, Who set these laws.
This fact is attested by those water wheels used to rotate mills and cane presses, press grains and seeds, and raise water for irrigation.
Muslims have used the energy of water and air on a large scale. There was a close relationship between theoretical sciences and their technical applications in practical life, including the design of cities, irrigation facilities, dams, buildings, machinery, and others.
In the era of Islamic civilization, engineers and technicians followed the scientific method in their work, started drawing plans under challenging cases, and then made a miniature model of what they intended to implement.
"J.G. Crowther", who was one of the founders of science journalism, says[152]:
"It was normal after they were assured of their military strength and their beliefs of faith - meaning Muslims - to turn to constructing wonderful cities and studying the culture of the civilization that testified to them. The Muslim Arabs were a new nation without a previous scientific heritage, so they read the intellectual heritage of the ancients with open minds without backgrounds hindering them. Therefore, other cultures (Latin, Greek, Hindi, and Chinese) were all equal to them. One of the results of this mentality of thirst for knowledge among Muslims is that they have already become the true founders of the universal concept of knowledge. It is one of the most important features of modern science."
But forgery and falsification of facts and violation of the principle of scientific honesty in transmission occurred. The discoveries and inventions were attributed to the uninitiated. Let alone the books that were stolen, destroyed, or burned during the fall of the Islamic countries. This is similar to what the Tatars did in Baghdad and the Crusaders in Andalusia and elsewhere.
A Christian Arab once said: Look at the backwardness of Muslims and the spread of atheism in Muslim countries.
I said: You are talking about individuals. According to global statistics and international recognition, Islam is the fastest-growing religion.
However, some Muslims' turning away from their true religion and inability to spread Islamic principles appropriately have increased the percentage of atheists and skeptics in recent decades.
People in the West advanced with science and knowledge when they left the wrong beliefs based on the distorted religion and took the method of science and logic. Still, with their approach to science in a proper way, they lost the values, morals, and purpose of their existence by neglecting to embrace the correct religion.
He asked: How do non-religious countries develop and religious countries go down although God loves the latter (religious countries)?
I told him: Does the school headmaster reward his son who failed with a success certificate because he is his son?
Some rules and norms must be followed. Based on these sets, we define who succeeds and fails. However, this does not affect that the headmaster loves his son more than anyone else. Indeed, he (the son) is who carries his name (headmaster) and will be his only heir.
I also told him: The universe is like a school; it has its laws and norms.
By applying the universal laws, the disbelievers achieved materialistic and technological progress. They established sound political systems and robust educational and pedagogical systems with methodological standards.
This materialistic progress is only for those who apply the Divine norms; this proves that worldly success doesn't favor a white or a black.
"justice" is one of God's names and “injustice” is one of the ugliest acts God warned us, humans, from committing, but a disbeliever still won't be given the reward of the Hereafter, which is only for God's servants and lovers.
French writer “Gustave Le Bon” says[153]:
"The civilization of the Arab Muslims has introduced the brutal European nations into the world of humanity, for the Arabs were our teachers, and the universities of the West knew no scientific resource other than the works of the Arabs.
The Arabs are the first to teach the world how freedom of thought is compatible with the integrity of religion, so they are the ones who taught the Christian peoples, or tried to teach them tolerance, which is the most precious of human qualities."
As this French writer witnessed, the so-called conflict between science and religion in Islamic civilization did not appear as an issue; instead, the natural scientists, astronomers, and mathematicians considered themselves in worship.
Religion in the middle ages has become exploited to achieve personal goals and objectives and to pressure people, which prompted many countries to adopt the so-called "secularism" approach, that is, the separation of religion from the state.
Islam views life as it should be. People aspire to a balanced religion that meets the indispensable spiritual needs and does not marginalize the material needs of man.
Religion calls for moderation, the principle emphasized by the final heavenly religion. The seal of the Prophets “Muhammad “came to correct the distortion that previous nations made. This distortion led to distorting the concept of religion and linking it to spirituality only and thus, led to the spread of myths, which distract people from religion altogether.
If we wish to recover the glories of the past, it is necessary to correct the situation and rearrange the priorities.
People often wonder about Islam's advantage over the rest of the religions that exist among all nations. We can get the answer once we know the purpose for which the religion of Islam came to establish.
Islam came to establish justice on earth.
It is the religion that all the prophets of God brought to all nations; the correct faith that most followers deviated from by sanctifying their prophets and the righteous among them led to the emergence of many religions.
But what justice?
Justice that puts things right and gives everyone his right.
● Giving the Creator (the Power in heavens) His right by worshiping Him alone, bearing witness that He is the One. He has no parents, no child, no equal. Knowing and understanding that God (Creator) is beyond incarnating in the form of humans, animals, idols, etc.
● Giving every human his right to communicate with his Creator directly, personally, without any intermediary (priest, saint, idol, etc.). Seeking refuge when needed and in adversities directly in the Creator, not in any prophet, including the final Prophet of God Muhammad.
● Establishing equality among humans and helping humanity get rid of abhorrent racial intolerance. There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab except for piety.
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you. Indeed, God is Knowing and Acquainted [154].
● Providing freedom of choice to allow people to choose their religion and practice its rituals freely.
Let there be no compulsion in religion, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood. So whoever renounces false gods and believes in Allah has certainly grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing [155].
● Ending oppression and injustice on earth.
What caught my attention was a phrase by the Italian writer “Laura Veccia Valerie” in which she says[156]:
“It is sufficient that wars, which are the utmost necessities of human life, have become, thanks to Muhammad, less brutal and cruel. He used to ask his soldiers not to kill an older man, a woman, or a child, not to demolish homes that were not taken as military strongholds, not to destroy the means of life, and not touch the fruit of trees and palms.”
I was amazed at the truth that this writer acknowledges in her speech about the reality of wars, which was a necessity of life, according to her.
It seems that war has intertwined human civilizations to this moment. Therefore, since human civilization has witnessed many wars, both local and international, day by day tried to make them less brutal and barbaric.
History and scriptures tell us that the prophets of God, Moses, David, and others fought their enemies.
I remembered at that time the story of the Prophet's companion "Jaafar bin Abi Talib" when he described the condition of the Arabs before Islam. Where he said to the “Negus”, King of Abyssinia[157]:
"O King! we were plunged into ignorance and barbarism. We adored idols. We lived in unchastity. We ate the dead bodies, spoke abominations, disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighborhood were neglected; we knew no law but that of the strong. Then Allah (God) raised among us a man of whose lineage, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were aware, and he called to the Oneness of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us the worship of idols. He urged us to speak the truth. To be faithful to our trusts, merciful, and regard the rights of the neighbors, kith, and kin. He forbade us to speak evil of women or eat the substance of orphans; he ordered us to flee from the vices, abstain from immorality, offer prayers, render alms, and observe fast. We have believed in him, accepted his teachings and injunctions to worship the Creator, and not associate anything with Him. We have allowed what He has permitted and prohibited what He has not allowed. For this reason, our people have risen against us.
They have persecuted us for making us forsake the worship of Allah (the Creator) and return to the worship of idols and other abominations. They have tortured and injured us until finding no safety among them; we have come to your country and hope you will protect us from oppression.”
We understand that the Arabian Peninsula was without security, laws, system, courts, and rights. For example, they were launching wars continuously over trivial matters, as happened in the “Al-Basous “War. The “Basus War” was a 40-year war between two cousin tribes in Arabia of Late Antiquity, which was started by killing a camel.
On the other hand, the international arena at that time – so to speak – was known to deal with religious minorities with excessive opportunism, as the “Nestorians” emigrated fleeing from the persecution of the “Byzantines” and sought refuge in the Persian kingdom.
People under Roman persecution were deprived of the most fundamental right, religious freedom.
Based on these and other facts, it was not possible for Muslims under the Roman Empire to worship freely. "Farwa al-Jadamy" was crucified because of his conversion to Islam.
It was clear that the Roman state would not tolerate Islam as a religion. This case was in Egypt and elsewhere, where people were oppressed and acquiesced to exclusion.
It is recognized that the concept of sovereignty did not know stability in its present form at that time, so the expansion in other lands was not a defect on the scale of the Middle Ages.
Therefore, in the case of the Islamic conquests, it was an inevitable solution if they wanted to secure freedom of worship for Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula or abroad and also if they wanted to call to Islam freely and without obstacles.
At the time of the Prophet's mission, international relations could not bear the emergence of a third power from the Arabian Peninsula. There were several narrations of “Heraclius' s” fear of the Muslims.
These factors motivated the Persians and the Romans to attack the Muslims.
“Khosrow” sent two men to fetch the Prophet and bind the companion whom the Prophet sent with his message to “Khosrow”. When “Khosrow” tore up that message, the “Ghassani” governor in Syria killed the Messenger of God's Messenger.
Beyond any doubt, these behaviors were a declaration of war, which led to the battle of “Mu'tah”. Rumors began to invade the city, preparing the “Ghassanids” to attack it, and that was through measures taken by the hypocrites and "Abu Amer", the monk residing with Caesar of Rome at that time. Therefore, fighting was the only option for Muslims.
British historian “Arnold Toynbee” said[158]:
"When the Europeans entered the Americas and Australia, they exterminated the Red Indians and the original inhabitants of Australia. When the Muslims entered Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, not a single soldier entered with them but spread Islam with their morals. Indonesia is the largest Islamic country globally with 300 million Muslims."
The relationship between religion and the state in the Middle Ages (476-1453AD) was a relationship of interests. The politician took advantage of the cleric and obtained his role's legitimacy from him. In contrast, the cleric benefited from the politician, licensing his religious authority and domination over the hearts of his followers and guaranteeing the continuity of his religious institution through gifts and funds.
With the advent of Islam, Islam dismantled this relationship, giving more space to thought and logic, relying on the principles of religious freedom, and providing evidence in defining the role of religion in public life, especially in its political aspect.
For example: In a famous decree, "Abu Bakr al-Siddiq," the first Caliph, told his military commander[159]:
“Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for guidance on the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You should not mutilate dead bodies. Do not kill a woman, a child, or an aged man. Do not cut down fruitful trees. Do not destroy inhabited areas; do not slaughter any of the enemies' sheep, cows, or camels except for food. Do not burn date palms nor inundate them; do not embezzle (e.g., no misappropriation of booty or spoils of war) nor be guilty of cowardliness. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.”
Before the Geneva Conventions were codified more than a thousand years ago, most of the essential points of protection they provide already existed in Islamic teachings.
Many of the restrictions imposed by Islamic law on combatants are more significant than what is required under international humanitarian law, especially in non-international armed conflict.
When Human Rights Watch organized meetings with civil society leaders in the Muslim world to discuss the protection of civilians, they said[160]:
“We have not encountered arguments claiming that Islamic law follows different standards.”
As “Joe Stork”, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the organization, said[161]:
“People were asserting the congruence between international humanitarian law and Islamic law, and perhaps they were exaggerating this congruence.”
Someone once told me: The wars in Islam were to force non-Muslims to embrace Islam.
I told him: Who forced the Tatars to convert to Islam while they were the victors in the battle?
Does the victor embrace the religion of the vanquished?
Did the Copts of Egypt not welcome the Muslims and consider them liberators from the persecution of the Romans and helped them to get rid of this persecution?
Who restored his churches to the Coptic Patriarch in Egypt and lifted the injustice imposed on him by returning him to his work when the Romans persecuted him?
Isn't the companion "Amr ibn al-Aas" who recognized by this noble act the freedom of religion that he learned from the Messenger of God Muhammad?
The questioner said: But the Muslims have imposed the tax (Jizya) on the Copts.
I told him: If they imposed the (jizya) on the Coptic warrior only but not on his family members, it was a tiny amount in reality compared to the amount of jizya (poll tax) they were paying on behalf of all family members exorbitant sums to the Roman State. (Jizya) is in return for protection and exemption from waging wars with them, and it is similar to the tax approved by international law today in return for providing services and protection from the state to its citizens. Dutch historian “Reinhardt Dozy” said[162]:
“The majority of Christians in the East belonged to various sects. These sects had been subjected to persecution and assistance from the Constantinople government, which exhausted its followers. When Islam came – and because of its tolerance and brotherhood – it gave them complete freedom to remain in their religion, shaded them with its protection, and equalized them in rights of different sects. Since they were obliged to pay heavy taxes to the Roman Emperor, Islam exempted them from it and imposed only a tribute, moderate, don't tire anyone.”
I told him: Didn't Calif Omar “Ibn Al-Khattab”, after his complete control over the city of Jerusalem, refuse to pray in the Church of Sepulcher so that Muslims would not think that it was a permission to convert the church into a mosque?
Is not the key of this church in the custody of a Muslim family to this day[163]?
A member of this family says[164]: “My family has been honored with this sacred mission since 1187, when the Conqueror, “Salah al-Din”, followed in the footsteps of Caliph “Omar Ibn Al-Khattab” after liberating Jerusalem from the hands of the Crusaders. He wrote with his hand the assurance of safety to the people of Aelia (known as al-ʿUhda al-ʿUmariyya). A covenant shows the tolerance of the Islamic religion, which gave the Christians a covenant that guaranteed to practice their religious rituals in Jerusalem.”
The practice of non-Muslim rituals in accordance with the 'Umar's Covenant was subject to conditions, including: “Not to harbor spies in their churches or homes, not to deceive Muslims, not to strike their bells except lightly in the hollow of their churches, not to display the cross on them, and not to raise their voices in prayer or to read in their churches, along with other conditions.[165] “
The questioner said: Isn't what the Muslims did to replace colonialism with another?
I told him: At that time, the rule of the Islamic state was not colonialism, as the Muslim conqueror's group turned into a group guarantor of the Jews' and Christians' rights. This means that the ideal situation required Muslims to monitor and protect the Jews and Christians and grant them full citizenship in its contemporary sense. This, on the scale of the Middle Ages, is a very significant advance.
The non-Arab nations that embraced the religion of Islam still celebrate the holidays of Muslims because of their firm adherence to the religion of Islam.
The nations that succumbed to colonialism made decolonization day a national holiday (the holidays of evacuation and independence in Arabic countries, the Islamic world, and others).
We must understand that colonialism is economic and strategic exploitation for the benefit of the colonial state. That is why we see the colonial countries rose at the expense of the colonies.So, there is a vast difference between the conditions of the two parties.
For example, We note the peoples' reactions after the end of the colonial era (France and Algeria, Egypt and Britain, India and Britain, and so on). As for Muslims, the basis of their conquest is the inclusion of others into their world (sharing the same rights and obligations), with disparities in the application tainted by human defects, which in later eras sometimes took a political character due to human weakness.
It is worth noting here the importance of differentiating between the ideal religion of Islam and the non-ideal Muslims. But no pluralism in the absolute truth, which states:
True religion is one religion: To believe in the Creator, Who has no partner or child. The Creator does not incarnate in a human, animal or an idol form. Humans have to worship Him alone, not through a priest or saint.
God said about the true religion:
The Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him from his Lord: each of them believes in God, and in His angels, and in His Books, and in His Messengers. They say: We make no distinction between any of His Messengers [166].
Islam is based on accepting all God's prophets and messengers.
God said:
Say, [O believers], We have believed in God and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him[167].
Andalusian (Sephardic) Jews considered their right to live in the Ottoman Empire after their expulsion from Andalusia in 1492 as a real gain that gave them life and the opportunity to preserve their religious values and provided the opportunity for Andalusian traditions and culture to be transmitted to Turkish lands.
“Maurice Levy”, member of the Council of Endowment Associations and representative of the endowment institutions for religious minorities in the Republic of Turkey, said[168]:
“Spain exiled the Jews in 1492 to the Ottoman Empire, which granted them the right to live on its lands.”
On the occasion of the 527th anniversary of the exile of Jews from Andalusia to the Ottoman lands, “Levy” added: “The Ottomans’ granting of the Jews the right to live on their lands constituted an important opportunity for the Mousavians through which they were able to preserve their religious values.”
Levy pointed out that the Jews faced great difficulties that threatened their lives and existence during the Christian expansion towards Andalusia in the Middle Ages. During that era, their stay in Spain would have exposed them to death or forced them to change their religion. Said[169]:
“The Jews lived safely in Andalusia for several centuries under the “Umayyad” state. Until the fall of Andalusia into the hands of the Spaniards, they suffered the extermination campaigns that pushed them to flee to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire pillars were built according to the Islamic civilization perspective.”
He continued: “Jews were open to working in light of cultural diversity, mastered different professions, coexisted well with Christians and Muslims, and cooperated with artisans, soldiers, artists, and farmers; all of this gained their importance within the society of the aspiring Ottoman Empire for development.[170]”
He pointed out that the Ottoman Empire also did not issue any law nor did any practice targeting and harming the Jews and that the Jews, in turn, worked to develop themselves to be valuable members of the state.
Isn’t this treatment stemming from the noble teachings of Islam?
A beautiful comment is repeated by non-Muslims who hear about Islam for the first time, as they say: We did not know that religion on the earth calls its followers to worship the Creator directly, without a saint, a priest, or any mediator.
A religion affirms that the Creator is the One and Only, Who has no partner nor a child and He does not incarnate in a human being, animal, or idol form.
They say: We used to think that Muslims worship Muhammad, Christians worship Christ, Buddhists worship Buddha, and Hindus worship Krishna.
We were looking for a religion that says:
The Creator is the One and the Only; worship Him alone, which is the religion of the prophets of God, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ.
Therefore, We understand from this comment that there is an urgent need to deliver true religion to all nations. But with giving everyone the right to choose religion and the freedom to practice man's religious rites without killing, terroring, or bloodshed. This is what only the religion of Islam provides in particular.The Muslims were not obliged to take up arms and fight except to protect themselves and ward off aggression.
Muhammad, the Messenger of God, stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, calling by good advice without fighting or bloodshed. He and his companions were weak and subjected to torture and abuse to turn away from their religion; this did not distracted them from Islam but gave them an insistence on following the truth. Therefore, if there is a compulsion existing, then that is in preventing the Muslims from spreading the message of Islam.
Islam entered the Prophet's city – without any fighting. Their masters got convinced of Islam. When the Prophet offered Islam to them, they pledged the first and second pledges of "Aqaba," then sent "Musab bin Omair" to them, who worked hard to invite the people of Medina until most of them embraced the religion of Islam. They endured trials and persecutions for its sake.
Muslims did not initiate most Islamic wars and invasions in the Prophet's era. For example. The Polytheists invaded Muslims in “Badr”, “Uhud”, and “al-Ahzab”.
As for the invasions of the Jews and the conquest of “Makkah”, “Mutah”, “Tabuk”, and others, they were a discipline for those who betrayed contracts, violated covenants, and began to attack. When the Messenger of God entered Makkah victorious, while his enemies trembling with fear, he asked: What do you think I will do to you? They said: An honorable brother and an honorable nephew. He said: Go, you are free. Why didn't the Prophet kill them all or force them to embrace Islam if it was his goal to murder and coercion?
Muslims often engaged in unequal battles in numbers and equipment, where their opponent was overwhelmingly superior. For example, in the Battle of Mu'tah, we find that the number of Muslim soldiers was about three thousand men. In contrast, the number of the infidel army was two hundred thousand fighters, not to mention the superiority in war equipment. Does the army begin to impose its right on this large crowd?! Did three thousand Muslims strive to impose Islam on two hundred thousand people?!
Beliefs do not settle in the hearts under the pressure of the sword and oppression at all. But instead are established by persuasion and clear argument. If the people had embraced Islam under compulsion, they would soon have rebelled against it and left it. The truth is that history bears witness that Muslims are the most adherent to their religion, despite the persecutions and wars they suffer in many parts of the world, even in our time.
It is well known that there is an Islamic population in Southeast Asia, in countries that the conquering Muslims did not set foot on, such as the Philippines and Indonesia. It is worth noting that these constitute the majority of Muslims in our time.
Many Muslims are in Europe and the America, countries that the Muslim conquerors did not enter. There are Muslim minorities in all non-IMuslim countries, and they adhere to Islam.
Muslims entered Nubia under the leadership of "Abdullah bin Abi Sarh." They also entered parts of West Africa under the leadership of "Uqba bin Nafie." West African countries are represented in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Chad, and Cameroon. All of these countries have a Muslim majority. They adhere to their religion despite all the media distortion of the religion of Islam at present.
We hear daily about large numbers embracing the religion of Islam in non-Muslim countries until it has been proven by international and non-Islamic official statistics that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world these days.
In the study of “Dr. Mahmoud al-Sayyid”, we read[171]:
"Korgoz," ruler of Persia by "Ajtay Khan," embraced the Islamic religion at the end of his reign. After "Barakat Khan" of the Golden Horde 654 AH – 666 AH embraced the Islamic faith in the first real victory of Islam, especially after the great majority of his people followed him. Although all men of his armies were Muslims, they were Mongols, and this was followed by closer political ties between "Barakat Khan" and "Baibars," the Sultan of Egypt. Both of them allied themselves against the Hulagu family in Persia.[172]”
The Almighty says:
There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path [173].
The Almighty says as well:
Had your Lord so willed, all those who are on the earth would have believed. Will you, then, force people into believing[174]?
Someone might say: Why did Islam allow fighting in the first place? If the reason is not to force people to convert to Islam?
The answer to that is:
● Stopping the injustice and helping the oppressed.
● Confronting those who prevent people from being informed of the need to worship the Creator alone directly without an intermediary.
● Defending themselves.
● Confronting those who prevent them from embracing their true religion and practicing religious rituals.
● Fighting those who prevent Muslims from conveying the message.
● Purifying the earth from the atmosphere of temptation so that people worship God, the Lord of the worlds alone, will be facilitated.
● Establishing the Oneness of God in the land of God among the servants of God. Worshiping God liberates humans from every servitude to others that humiliates them.
Evidence for this is that God Almighty allowed fighting but did allow killing; fighting is only a confrontation with those who came to fight.
Fight in the way of God those who fight against you but do not transgress. Indeed, God does not like transgressors [175].
That is why "Rabi Ibn Amr" said to Rustam, the Persian king[176]:
“Indeed, God has sent us to guide you from worshiping the creation to worshiping the Creator of the creation. And to guide you from the constriction of this world to the vastness of this world. And from the oppression of the religions to the justice of Islam. Whoever refuses to accept the religion Islam, we accept the Jizya (tax) from him, and if he refuses giving the Jizya, we will fight him until we attain victory.”
He means to fight the one who insists on fighting, but not the one who insists on maintaining his religion, paying the tax, and respecting the rights of Muslims and others.
There is a big difference between the two cases.
God says:
Fight against them ˹if they persecute you˺ until there is no more persecution, and ˹your˺ devotion will be to Allah ˹alone˺. If they stop ˹persecuting you˺, let there be no hostility except against the aggressors [177].
To clarify this, we say:
● If you want to cure a person of alcoholism, you must keep him away from the place of alcohol.
● If you want a person to repent of adultery, do not make him live among brothels.
● When you want to make people healthy, you must provide them with a healthy and clean environment.
● Fighting in Islam intended to give way for people to choose between worshiping God and leaving polytheism or staying true to their religion with conditions.
These conditions include paying the tax by providing them with an atmosphere of faith that helps them to have freedom of belief and the ability to differentiate between truth and falsehood.
God Almighty said:
There is compulsion in religion. Rightness is distinguished from wrongdoing[178].
We can find a summary of all of the above in the following non-Muslim sayings:
The Lebanese Christian writer "Amin Maalouf "[179]:
"If my ancestors were Muslims in a country conquered by Christian armies, instead of being Christians in a country conquered by Muslim armies, I do not think they could have continued to live for fourteen centuries in their cities and villages, keeping their faith. What happened to the Muslims of Spain and Sicily? They disappeared to the last, were massacred, deserted, or baptized by force. In the history of Islam, since its beginnings, there is a special ability to coexist with the other."
He continues: "At the end of the last century, there was among the residents of Istanbul, the capital of the main Islamic power, a non-Muslim majority consisting of Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. Can we imagine, in the same era, that half of the population of Paris, London, Vienna, or Berlin would be from Non-Christians, Muslims, or Jews? Even today, many Europeans are surprised to hear the call of the prayers in their cities.”
“Jonathan Brown” is an American university professor and researcher in Islamic studies.
He is the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and the Law. He converted to Islam in 1997. His lecture refutes the slander that Islam was spread by sword and coercion and shows that sword and violence were the hallmarks of Western civilization, not Islam[180]!
We understand from the above that Islam came to achieve and establish justice on earth: Worshiping the Creator of the universe alone and supporting the oppressed.
A religion that came with this goal will spread at lightning speed, without coercion or violence, because it is the religion that souls yearn for. The rapid spread of this religion is the reality that the world is witnessing today.
One day, a French secularist asked me: Why not separate religion from the state? Why not let human thoughts and points of view be included in references, similar to western societies? Why not completely separate religion and people's lives, similar to the case of the French community.
I replied smiling: You mean references depending on the human's whims and mood swings?
Islam is a system of life, not separated from life.
Islam is a legislative concept from which it emanates a system of life that regulates all relationships.
● A person's relationship with himself. (Food, clothing, and morals).
● The relationship of man with others. (Contracts and dealings).
● Man's relationship with his Creator. (Beliefs and rituals).
The state in Islam is not a religious state understood in Western thought.
Instead, the Islamic concept has no class, monasticism, or sanctity for human actions.
It is a state whose primary duty is to serve people's interests.
It is not a civil state that separates religion from life. Instead, it is a human state that applies legal provisions.
From what I heard:
When God said:
Establish prayer[181].
He also said:
Fulfill your obligations[182].
When God said:
Give alms[183].
He also said:
Fulfill your obligations to them during the term of the treaty[184]. (foreign policy).
When Prophet Muhammad said:
Take your rituals from me[185].
He also spoke of the economy and public property. (Oil and gas)
Prophet Muhammad said:
Three things cannot be denied to anyone: water, pasture and fire[186].
I said: We need divine legislation that suits humans in all their cases and doesn't change because of inconsistent human thoughts and mood swings, similar to what happened when usury and homosexuality were allowed.
We need legislation that the people in power don't impose at the expense of the vulnerable like Capitalism, nor do we need Communism that opposes the innate human need for possession.
I continued: The French experiment resulted from the dominance and alliance between the church and the state. This alliance was over the minds and destinies of the people in the Middle Ages.
The Islamic world hasn't faced this problem due to its logical and applicable system.
I remember a Latin person once asked me about the difference between the Islamic system, Capitalism, and Communism.
I said: Capitalism has given man a free method of living and has claimed that following this path will lead to happiness and satisfaction. But what happened is that man found himself deteriorating in a society classified by class in which people either live in extravagant wealth, which has been established by unfairness to others, or in poverty and suffering for the moral people. Communism, on the other hand, canceled all social classes and tried to establish firm principles. But this caused more poverty and pain, leading to more revolutionary societies than others. As for Islam, it has achieved moderation. It is the moderate nation that has offered humanity a great balanced doctrine that is praised even by the enemies of Islam.
But unfortunately, there are Muslims who haven't followed Islamic morals properly.
I continued: Concerning the freedom of ownership, private property is the main principle in Capitalism, while in Socialism, public property is the main principle.
In Islam, several types of ownership are allowed:
● Public ownership is general to all Muslims, such as inhabited lands.
● The state owns the state property. For example, natural wealth, which includes forests and minerals.
● Private property is acquired only through investment work in a way that does not threaten public welfare.
He asked: What about a free economy?
I replied: In Capitalism, a free economy has no boundaries. Socialism, on the other hand, completely confiscates a free economy.
In Islam, a free economy is acknowledged but is limited within certain boundaries:
● Self-determination emerges from the depths based on Islamic education and the spread of Islamic concepts in society.
● Objective determination is legislation that forbids certain practices such as usury, gambling, cheating, etc.
He said: Do you acknowledge Democracy?
I said: We have what's better than Democracy.
We have Consultancy.
He asked: What's the difference?
I answered: Democracy is when you consider the opinion of all family members no matter their age or how badly their experience would affect the family. Both views of a kindergarten child and a wise older adult would be equal during decision-making.
On the other hand, the consultancy system depends on the opinions of experienced members; they get to decide what is beneficial and what isn't.
I added: The difference between the two systems is noticeable. Valid evidence that proves the deficiency found in the democratic system is that some countries have given legitimacy to practices that oppose human nature, customs, traditions, and religion, such as homosexuality, fornication, usury, and other abhorrent practices, just because the majority has voted for such practices.
With many voices calling for moral decay, Democracy has helped by participating in creating immoral societies.
I continued: The difference between the Islamic Consultancy system and Western Democracy is the source of sovereignty in legislation.
In Democracy, sovereignty starts with the people and nation. As for the Islamic Consultancy system, sovereignty starts from God Almighty the Most Glorious. It's not the result of human thoughts. Humans can just build upon the godly legislation. They also have the right to jurisprudence in whatever is not included in the heavenly legislation, as long as it's within the religious framework of what's permitted and forbidden.
Islam looks at life as it should be. People are looking for a balanced religion that meets their spiritual needs, a religion that is indispensable and, at the same time, doesn't marginalize their worldly needs.
Islam calls for moderation, which is the concept that has been strictly stressed in this final heavenly religion. God sent this Islamic legislation through the last messenger Muhammad to correct the errors previous nations had made, leading to the distortion of the religion concept by only putting it on a spiritual path. This distortion has resulted in superstitions that have completely driven people away from religion.
In addition, religion has been manipulated to achieve personal objectives by being used as an instrument to pressure the people. This manipulation has led to many people following Secularism and total separation between religion and the state.
And by providing Islam for interconnection and harmony between reason and religion, reason and transmission (the Qur'an and Prophet sayings), mind and heart, there is no enlightenment, no renaissance, no progress, no beauty, and no actual knowledge except with Islam. Islam has succeeded, which means: The faith in the Creator of the universe, Who has no partner or child. People have to worship Him alone without a priest, a saint, an idol, or any intermediary.
The religion of Islam succeeded as a method, while Capitalism and Communism failed. No orientalist studied Islam and its civilization - whatever his stance on it - but admitted that Islam is a religion and a state. However, Muslims' distance from their true faith and their inability to properly spread the principles of Islam has contributed in recent decades to an increase in the percentage of atheists, skeptics, and bewilders in the world. Humanity began to disbelieve in all beliefs due to humanity’s ignorance of the true religion and the corruption of human's beliefs.
I was once making a presentation in the German language about Islam to a large group of Germans who were visiting our center by saying Islam is:
The faith in the Creator. The Creator has no child or any partner. He does not embody any of His creatures. He created Jesus Christ from a single woman and created Adam from dust. Muslims have to directly connect with Him by worshiping Him directly without any intermediary (priests, saints, prophets, idols, etc.).
One of them asked me: If Islam is as simple and logical as you are saying, why do Muslims cause all these political problems?
His question was in front of the group, and I had to deal with it so his attack would not ruin the calm dialogue.
I told him immediately: I will die alone. I will be resurrected alone. I will meet my Creator alone, without my family and money.
I shall meet God with answers to three questions: who is your God, what's your religion, and your Messenger?
God will be waiting for my answer:
● The Creator is my God.
● My religion is to believe in Him and worship Him alone without any mediator.
● My Prophet is Muhammad, the last Messenger.
By recognizing Muhammad as His last Messenger, I have acknowledged all messengers before him (Jesus Christ, Moises, etc.). This acknowledgment is an obligation to every Muslim.
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah (the Creator) and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination [187].
Say, ˹O believers, ˺ "We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us; and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants; and what was given to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. And to Allah we all submit [188].
I told him: You too, along with every person on earth, will meet God alone. Life is short, as death comes suddenly.
When will we learn to differentiate between political problems and religion?
Isn't it time for us to learn how to decide our priorities?
The man calmed down, and the group applauded.
After that, I told them: I want to ask you all a question.
Every nation and people have habits, traditions, whims, and novelties.
I continued: How can a simple person like me here, or another in China, or Germany or in South America or Africa, primarily differentiate between the simple religion of God and the traditions and whims of the place where he is before reading any religious book?
They tried to guess, and after they failed to give me the correct answer, I told them: You all know something called common sense. So, anything logical is from God, and anything complicated is from humans. They all laughed hard, and some of them applauded again.
I told them: For example, if a religious scholar, Muslim, Christian, or Hindu, said to you that the universe has a Creator, One and Only, without any partner. He does not come to earth in humans, animals, a stone or an idol form. We have to worship Him alone and resort to Him alone in hard times; this is the religion of God.
If a religious scholar, Muslim, Christian, or Hindu, told you that God incarnates in any form; we have to worship and resort to Him through a person, prophet, priest, or saint; this comes from humans, so don't listen to him.
I continued: For instance, it is enough for you to visit India and say that the Creator is One between the crowds. They would then reply in harmony, yes, the Creator is One. This is really what is written in their books.
But they disagree, fight, and could even slaughter each other over one point, which is: The form and shape that God comes through to earth. For instance, the Christian Indian says: God is one, but He incarnates in the trinity (the father, the son, and the holy spirit). The Hindu Indian says God comes in the form of an animal, a human, or an idol, in addition to his own trinity.
I told them: If you think carefully, you will find that all problems and differences exist between religious sects and religions because of the mediators humans put between them and their Creator. Even atheists would unintentionally pray to the Power in the heaven whenever they encounter a difficult situation.
For instance, Catholic and Protestant sects, Hindu sects, etc., all disagree about how to communicate with the Lord, not on the concept that the Lord (the Creator) himself exists.
If they all worship the Lord directly, they would be united.
Say (O Muhammad): O people of the Scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but God, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides God. Then, if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims [189].
I continued: In addition to this, you must know that the religion of God is clear and logical with no mysteries in it.
If I want to convince you that Muhammad is a god you must worship, I should put so much effort into convincing you, and you will never be convinced. You might ask me: How is Muhammad a god while he eats and drinks like us?
I would end up saying: you are not convinced because it is a mysterious concept; you will understand it when you meet God. This example proves that the right religion of God must be free of mysteries. Mysteries only come from humans.
I added: The religion of God is also free of charge. Everyone has the freedom to pray and worship in the houses of God, without paying any subscription to get a membership. The rule of having to register and spend money in any place of worship is made by humans.
However, if any religious scholar told me that I should pay charity directly to people to help them, the rule comes from the religion.
In God's religion, people are equal, like the teeth of a comb. There is no difference between Arab or non-Arab, white or black, only piousness.
If you were told that this mosque, church, or temple is for whites only while black people have a particular place, then humans created this rule.
I told them: Honoring women and raising their status is an order from God, but oppressing them is what humans choose to do.
One of them asked: Then why is the Muslim woman is oppressed in some places?
I said: If the Muslim woman in some counties is oppressed, the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian women are in the same place. This oppression is the culture of people; it has nothing to do with the true religion of God.
I added: The right religion is always compatible and in harmony with the natural disposition.
For instance, any smoker or alcoholic asks his kids to stay away from smoking and alcohol because he is deeply convinced about the danger they cause to health and the community.
For instance, when the religion forbids alcohol, this is an order from God. But if the religion forbids milk, it is not logical; everyone knows that milk is good for health. God's mercy and kindness in his creation allowed us to eat good things and prohibited us from eating bad things.
Another example: head-cover for women and decency for men and women are orders from God, but the details of colors and designs are from humans. The rural atheist Chinese woman and the Swiss Christian rural woman are both committed to covering their heads because decency is a natural disposition.
Terrorism, for instance, is common in different forms in the world, among sects of all religions. I lived in Africa for a long time, and I know that Christian denominations kill and practice horrific forms of oppression and violence in the name of religion. They represent 4% of the world's Christian population. While who perform terrorism in the name of Islam represent 0.01% of the Muslim population. Terrorism is not limited to this but is also common among Buddhists, Hindus, and other religions.
This way is how we can differentiate between right and wrong before reading any religious book. The way media highlights bad examples of Muslims and good examples of non-Muslims is unjust. It is unacceptable that they call the Muslim who kills others a terrorist while they call the non-Muslim who kills others mentally ill.
I once told a French journalist during a conversation about the same issue: In media, you play a dangerous role in misreporting the image of Islam through your continuous persistence in publishing these bad examples of Muslims.
He said: Excuse me, but we only publish the truth, not fake news.
I said: I don't claim that your news is fake. I'm saying that when you allocate an article in your news magazines to talk about bad examples of Muslims, you should allocate another article to talk about others. When you call the Muslim killer a terrorist, you should also call the non-Muslim killer a terrorist.
He said: A lot of what you are saying is correct.
Nothing in Islam's teachings leads people to atheism; there are no mysteries or ambiguities in Islam that confuse the mind. Islam is simple and solid. The teachings of Islam are summarized as follows:
● Islam teaches that the universe has one God. He is the Creator of the universe and what it contains, and nothing is like Him. The Muslim must worship his Creator alone by communicating with Him directly upon repentance from sin or seeking help, not through a priest, saint, or mediator. God is the Most Merciful to His creatures, more than a mother to her children, so He forgives them whenever they sincerely repent to Him. It is the Creator's right to be worshiped alone, and man's right to have a direct relationship with his Lord.
● Islam teaches that the Creator does not come to earth in human, animal, stone, or idol form. He has neither a partner nor a child. God the Almighty sent many prophets like Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad to spread monotheism. God created Jesus without a father and created Adam without a father or mother. So, God creates but does not give birth. He instructed us to worship Him and go to Him alone as the prophets worshiped Him. The Muslim must worship God as Jesus did but must not worship Jesus himself. He also must worship God like what Muhammad did but must not worship Muhammad himself.
● Islam teaches that the belief in the Creator is based on the fact that things do not appear without a cause or by chance, not to mention this vast inhabited material universe and its creatures who possess an intangible consciousness and obey the laws of non-material mathematics. In addition, we need an independent, immaterial, eternal source to explain a finite, material universe.
● Islam teaches that God is Perfect; He does not need to die for us. He gives life and death. God does not become incarnate in any way. So, He did not die in the person of Jesus Christ, nor was He resurrected. He saved His Prophet Jesus and protected him from the crucifixion as He helps and protects His chosen believers.
● Islam teaches that the lesson God gave to all humanity when He accepted Adam's repentance for eating the forbidden fruit is the first instance of God's forgiveness to humanity. There is no issue of the original sin; every soul bears the burden of its corruption. The lesson shows the merciful nature of God. People are born free of sins; they are held accountable for their sins after reaching puberty or maturity.
● Islam teaches that humans cannot be blamed for sins they did not commit, nor they can gain salvation for not attempting to be good. One's life is a test, and each soul is responsible for its actions. God gave man life and gave him the will to test him. Man is only responsible for his actions. The human being has the freedom to choose only within the limits of his knowledge and capabilities. The judgment follows responsibility. Thus, God will not judge us for our physical appearance, social status, or tribal affiliations. Freedom with strife is more honorable to man than slavery with happiness; judgment and reward are meaningless without choice.
● Islam involves believing in all the messengers God sent to different people in different eras without differentiating between them; denying one of God's prophets violates Islam. The belief establishes a powerful common bond with people of other faiths.
● Islam involves believing in all earlier revelations of God (Abraham's scriptures, the book of David, the Torah of Moses, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Islam teaches that the original message in all sacred texts is Pure Monotheism (believing in one God "the Creator," and directly connecting with Him). Unlike the Divine scriptures that preceded it, the Qur'an is not kept in the hands of any particular group or Muslim clergymen, which could have led to its misinterpretation or alteration. The text of the Qur'an is still in its original language (Arabic) without any change, distortion, or alteration, and it is still preserved as it is until our time. It will remain so, as God promised to keep it till the end of the time. It is available to all Human beings. It's known by heart to a large number of Muslims. Current Qur'an translations in multiple languages are nothing but a translation of the Quran's meanings to make it easy for non-Arab Muslims to learn the Qur’an. The Prophet Muhammad's teachings were transmitted through confirmed chains of authenticated narrators.
● Islam teaches that all that exists in the universe is under God's possession and domination. He has comprehensive knowledge, prevalent power, and absolute control. Everything is subjected to His Absolute Knowledge and Will. The Sun, planets, and galaxies operate in precision without failure ever since they were created. This same precision applies to humans' creation.
Perfect harmony and order between body and soul show that God never puts human beings' souls into animal bodies. He never lets them wander between plants and insects (reincarnation), in a case in which the person will never know what his past was in his previous life.
God made the human civilized innately, gave him mind and knowledge, and assigned him vicegerent for earth and commander over other creatures. God will never humiliate human beings.
● Islam teaches that the true religion of God is always in harmony with human nature. It is one religion, easy, understandable, and straightforward. It is suitable for every time and place. The plurality of religions results from mediating between the Creator and humans in worship. The key to humanity towards harmony is when people worship the Creator directly without an intermediary ( not through a priest, saint, or mediator). All believe in Muhammad, the final Messenger, and follow his teachings; hearts will unite on one religion.
● Islam teaches doing good deeds and avoiding bad ones. Such as the parents' right to be kind to them. The children's rights by providing them a decent life and preserving the orphan's money. Observing correct measures, weighing with justice, and not cheating the balance, justice in words and deeds, the fulfillment of covenants, the prohibition of committing immorality or even approaching it, and the prohibition of killing the human soul unjustly. All these values are innate moral principles. Therefore, people are naturally and instinctively aware of these values.
● Islam teaches that treating each other with good manners to benefit humanity and reconstruct the earth does not substitute believing in the Creator and adherence to universal morals under religion's umbrella. The reconstruction of the earth and good manners are not the purpose of religion, but they are means. The purpose of religion is to tell the human about his Lord, then to his source, path, and destiny. The excellent end and future are only achieved by obtaining God's satisfaction. The way to that is through the reconstruction of the earth and good manners.
● Islam teaches that there is no priesthood in God's religion, and faith is for all. People are equal, like the teeth of a comb before God, so there is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab except in piety and good deeds.
● Islam teaches that one of God's greatest attributes is 'The All-Wise'; He does not create anything in vain, exalted be He! He creates things for reasons that reflect His Great Wisdom. He created us to have mercy on us and to give us happiness. All beautiful human qualities are derived from His qualities. Our existence in this world is for a noble goal: knowing God Almighty, turning to Him by repentance, and seeking His direct help.
● Islam teaches that benevolence is the basis, while evil is the exception. Organized things like beauty, joy, and love will disappear unless something brings them from the outside. Therefore, without the Creator bringing together these random phenomena that manifest in beautiful things, everything will collapse.
● Islam teaches that the Creator established the laws of nature and the laws that govern them. It protects itself when environmental corruption or imbalance appears, and it maintains this balance to reform the earth and continue living better. Therefore, what benefits people and life is what stays and remains on the earth. When calamities occur on earth, such as diseases, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and floods, God's names and attributes are manifested, such as the Strong, the Healer, and the Protector; for example, when He heals the sick or preserves the survivor, or His name, the Just, in the oppressor's punishment and the sinner. His name, the Wise, is evident as well in the trials and tests of the non-sinner, for which he is rewarded If being patient and tortured If he complains. So, the person knows the Lord's Majesty from calamities, similar to how he knows the Attributes of Beauty from gifts. If a person only knows Divine Beauty, it is as if he did not know God, the Exalted.
● Islam teaches that what permitted calamities is God's Will. God's Will is related to absolute wisdom, and absolute wisdom is related to absolute good, as there is no absolute evil in existence. The worldly life that a person lives is only a moment compared to eternal life. He then forgets all that he suffered in this world with one dip in the bliss of paradise, as this worldly life is the beginning of an eternal journey that man will resume after death by resurrection and Judgment, and then the reward.
● Islam teaches that man in his freedom may act contrary to what pleases God, but he cannot do anything in contradiction to His Will. God granted us the freedom to transgress against His wishes (we disobey Him), but He gave no one the freedom to transcend His Will. Our experience further affirms this freedom. It is impossible under any pressure to compel the heart to accept anything it does not want to. We can force anyone through threats and force them to stay with us, but no pressure whatsoever can make them love us. God has safeguarded our hearts from all forms of compulsion and coercion. God judges according to what is in the heart. He rewards according to the intention, visible to no one but Him.
● Islam teaches that the greatness of Islam is in its simplicity and universality. Islam's name is not connected to any person, place, or particular group but reflects humans' relationship with their Creator (submission to God).
● The teachings of Islam include:
● Performing ritualistic prayers to keep the connection with the Creator.
● Fasting Ramadan (the ninth month of the lunar calendar) to develop God-consciousness, better self-control, and appreciate God's blessings.
● Giving a specific percentage of certain types of a person's saved wealth annually, reaching the poor people to keep economic balance in society, purify the wealth, and revive the economy.
● Performing the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime symbolizes all believers' unity regardless of their classes, backgrounds, cultures, or languages.
● Islam teaches that some people believe it is enough to be kind and charitable to other human beings. It makes no sense for an employee to keep his relationship with his colleagues perfect while ignoring his manager's relationship. Our relationship with the Creator should be the best in our life.
● Islam teaches that many people go through a search and doubt period before finding a path to the Creator; they are like a lost child searching for his mother. Once they start the relationship with God, they finally find peace.
● The Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Middle East use the word "Allah" to refer to God, which refers to The Only True God. The word Allah was mentioned in the earlier version of the Old Testament 89 times. (Refer to Genesis 2:4, Book of Daniel 6:20 Hebrew and Arabic Bible). The word 'Allah' appears in the original Sanskrit text. (Reg Veda - Book 2 hymn 1, Verse 11).
● The reference of God to Himself as WE or US in many verses of the Qur'an denotes Grandeur and Power in Arabic. In the English language, this is known as the royal WE, where a majestic plural pronoun is used to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a monarch. For the avoidance of doubt, the Qur'an has consistently reminded us of the SINGULAR pronoun in reference to God, when called upon by His servants.
● The Qur'an is the last sacred book sent by God, but not the only book, as Muslims believe in all the earlier revelations of God (the scriptures of Abraham, the book of David, the Torah of Moses, the Gospel of Jesus, etc.). Muslims believe that the original message in all the sacred books is Pure Monotheism (unifying God in worship).
The opportunity still exists as long as man is alive. It is the opportunity to believe in the Creator and worship Him alone.
Accepting embracing the religion of Islam is easy and simple. All that must be done is:
Bearing witness to God with Oneness, and to His Prophet Muhammad with the message, and to act according to it, by saying a sentence known as the testimony of faith, which is:
I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but the Creator alone without a partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and final Messenger.
I bear witness that all God's messengers are Truth.
I bear witness that Heaven is Truth and Hell is Truth.
● The True Message of Christ, in the Qur'an and the Bible. 2017. Published in English and translated into 18 languages.
● The Original Concept of God. 2018. Published in English and translated into seven languages.
● Why Islam? 2019. Published in English and translated into 13 languages.
● Eye on Truth. 2020. published in English and translated into four languages.
● Why Religion? A Journey from Memory. 2021. Published in Arabic and translated into English.
● Atheism: Proclaiming Success or Failure? 2021. Published in Arabic and translated into English and Spanish.
● Is the Qur'an the Word of God? 2021. Published in Arabic and translated into English.
● Why Religion? 2021. Published in German and translated into Spanish.
● Question and Answer on Islam. 2021. Published in Arabic and translated into English.
www.islamhouse.com
www.quranenc.com
www.fatensabri.com
[1] (Qur’an. Sura Fatir. 35:14).
[2] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Tawba. 9:118).
[3] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Kahf. 18:110).
[4] https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2019/11/20/flashback-actor-robert-powell-says-stop-worshipping-me-i-am-not-the-real-jesus/
[5] Http://www.kaheel7.com/ar/index.php/2012-12-04-18-20-16/1550-2013-12-06-17-24-34
[6] https://youtu.be/j2XxN8vZ1Cg
[7] The general conclusion reached by the research committee is that the majority of Indians believe in a firm belief in one higher being—encyclopedia of the Story of Civilization, Will Durant, Vol. 3, p. 209.
[8] https://www.atheists.org/flash.line/weir2.htm
[9] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article
7088057/amp/Most-atheists-agnostics-BELIEVE-supernatural-underlying-forces-good-evil.html
[10]https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/study-materials/buddhist-concepts/the-simultaneity-of-cause-and-effect.html#:~:text=Buddhism%20teaches%20that%20the
[11] https://livre.fnac.com/a16108992/Michel-Yves-Bollore-Dieu-La-science-Les-preuves
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2021-10-10-when-science-believes-in-god--a-new-book-that-turns-old-convictions-about-science-and-faith-upside-down.H1eeeuaeBK.html
[12] (Qur’an. Sura. Al-Mulk.67 :2)..
[13] (Qur’an Sura Al-Baqara.2:30).
[14] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Kahf.18: 7).
[15] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Zumar.39 : 62).
[16] (Qur’an. Sura Alnazya’at.79:40).
[17] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Zumar.39:73).
[18] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Dhariyat.51: 56).
[19] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hajj. 22: 62).
[20] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[21] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Ma’idah.5:32).
[22](Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[23] ((Narrated by at-Tirmidhi).
[24] (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi).
[25] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Isra. 17:33).
[26] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 83).
[27] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Isra.17: 37).
[28] (Qur’an. Sura Luqman.31: 19).
[29] (Qur’an. Sura Taha.20:131).
[30] (Qur’an. Sura Hujurat.49:12).
[31] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A’raf.7: 31).
[32] (Qur’an. Sura Hujurat.49:11).
[33] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Isra. 17: 36).
[34] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa.4: 58).
[35] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Anaam.6:152).
[36] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Ar’af.7:85).
[37] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Layl.92:5-10).
[38] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hadid.57:23).
[39] Windeland, history of philosophy. Page 496.
[40] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Kahf.18:110)..
[41] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Fajr:27-30).
[42] Citation. https://fb.watch/ba2zErGFFG/
[43] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Zalzala. 99:7-8).
[44] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3:185).
[45] https://www.vaughaoday.ca/a-book-thntat-aims-to-prove-the-existence-of-god-through-scientific-evidence/
[46] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkKHyivwGmz36qGgXnZHjQ
[47] A theory states that the origin of man is a result of random mutations, meaning the simplest successive errors in the genetic material.
[48] https://iep.utm.edu/aristotle/
[49] (Qur’an. Sura An-Najm.53 : 23).
[50] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkKHyivwGmz36qGgXnZHjQ
[51] https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/DCP-LETT-13230.xml
[52] https://youtu.be/dw9Y4awv0Go
[53] (Qur’an. Sura Hud. 11: 37-40).
[54] (Qur’an. Sura Noh. 71:1).
[55] (Qur’an. Sura Ghafir. 40:78).
[56] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa. 4: 164).
[57] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah. 2: 23).
[58] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Hashr. 59:3).
[59] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkKHyivwGmz36qGgXnZHjQ
[60] (Qur’an. Sura Ar-Rum. 30:2-4).
[61] The Amazing Qur'an. Dr. Gary Miller.
[62] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2:2).
[63] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa.4:82).
[64] Penton, M. J. "Apocalypse Delayed the Story of Jehovah's Witnesses." 2nd ed. ed. Toronto, Ont.; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. 45-46. Print.
[65] https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/william-miller.html
[66] (Sahih Muslim).
[67](Sahih Muslim).
[68] (Sahih Muslim).
[69] ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah. 2: 179).
[70] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Taghabun. 64: 14).
[71] ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2 :178).
[72] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 286).
[73] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Taghabun. 64: 16).
[74] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Mulk.67: 14).
[75] ( Qur’an . Sura Al-Ma’idah.5 :8).
[76] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Nisa.4: 135).
[77] (Qur’an. Sura Fussilat.41: 34).
[78] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 190).
[79] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 190).
[80] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3:186).
[81] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Shura. 42:40).
[82] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf.7: 199).
[83] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[84] (Qur’an. Sura Qaf.50 :16).
[85] ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Ma’idah.5:32).
[86]https://aawsat.com/home/article/275871/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B0%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%84%D9%85
[87] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3 :64).
[88] Islam at the Crossroads. Muhammad Al - Assad.
[89] Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg.217 and 218 (from Ceylon sources).
[90] Quote from the book "India in Primitive Christianity", p. 85.
[91] "Arshagyanam”(Page282).
[92] Prophecy on The Coming of Prophet Muhammad in Other Scriptures – Zakir Naik.
[93] ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Anbia’.21:107).
[94] Atharva Veda،Book (Kuntap Sukta) book 20 Hymn 127 verses 1-2.
[95] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf. 7:158).
[96] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Nahl.16:36).
[97] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Shura.42 :11).
[98] (Qur’an. Sura Hajj. 22: 46).
[99] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf.7: 179).
[100] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[101] (Qur’an. Sura Hajj. 22: 73).
[102] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Zumar. 39: 3).
[103] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Ikhlas).
[104] (Qur’an. Sura Ar-Ra'd. 13: 14).
[105] (Quran. Sura Al-A'raf.7:188).
[106] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Dhariyat. 51:56).
[107] (Qur’an. Sura. At-Tur.52 : 35-36).
[108] (Qur'an. Sura Al-Isra. 17:50-51).
[109] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw9Y4awv0Go
[110] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiECSuQHpQg
[111] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hashir. 59:19).
[112] (Qur’an. Sura Al-An'am.6:151).
[113] (Qur’an. Sura Al-An'am.6:152).
[114] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hadid.57:22).
[115] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hujurat.49:13).
[116] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa .4: 1).
[117] Between East and West. Ali Izzat Begovic.
[118] Healing to what in the chests. Dr. Haytham Tala’at.
[119] Healing to what in the chests. Dr. Haytham Tala’at.
[120] The River Out of the Garden of Eden. Richard Dawkins.
[121] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran. .3:110).
[122] (Musnad Aḥmad.Sahih).
[123] (Musnad Aḥmad.Sahih).
[124] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Hajj.22:62).
[125] (Qur’an. Sura Fatir. 35:40).
[126] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Ahzab.33:4).
[127] ( Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[128] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Balad. 90:10).
[129] https://kaheel7.net/?p=15851
[130] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf.7: 80-82).
[131] https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012%2F04%2F17%2F208336
[132] Daily Star English news paper. .Influencer defies trolls who tell her to cover up.
[133] woman shares ‘embarrassing’ experience being denied entry onto a party bus because of her weight. independent news.
[134]( Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3:159).
[135] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Nahl.16:125).
[136] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A’raf.7: 31-33).
[137] ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara.2:168-169).
[138] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa. 4:119).
[139] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Baqara.2: 185).
[140](Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa.4: 28).
[141] (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa.4: 29).
[142] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Baqara.2: 195).
[143] (Qur’an. Sura Al-A’raf.7:157).
[144] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[145] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[146](Qur’an. Sura Al-Anbia’.21:107).
[147] (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
[148] City of Peace. Richard Cook.
[149] The Civilization of the Arabs. Gustave Le Bon.
[150] https://www.jstor.org/stable/2539503
[151] Abuse of capitalist and communist civilization to God. Ghazi Inaya.
[152] The Story of Science. J.G. Crowther.
[153] The Civilization of the Arabs. Gustave Le Bon.
[154] (Qur’an. Sura Al - Hujurat.49:3).
[155] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara.2:256).
[156] The Beauties of Islam. Ahmad Yusuf Al-Sayed.
[157] https://jdcurdu.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/seerah-level3.pdf
[158] The history of Civilization. Arnold Toynbee.
[159] https://www.alsirah.com/the-life-of-muhammad-pbuh-a-timeline/
[160] https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/ar/2014/04/24/lshry-lslmy-wqwd-lhrb#
[161] https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/ar/2014/04/24/lshry-lslmy-wqwd-lhrb#
[162] Views on the History of Islam. Reinhardt Dozy.
[163] https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1392598
[164] https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1392598
[165] http://iswy.co/e140ib
[166] (Qur’an. Al -Baqarah. 2 :285).
[167] (Qur’an. Al -Baqarah. 2 :136).
[168]https://arabicpost.net/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/2019/08/02/%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%B3-%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85/
[169]https://arabicpost.net/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/2019/08/02/%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%B3-%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85/
[170]https://arabicpost.net/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/2019/08/02/%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%84%D8%B3-%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85/
[171] The Tatars and the Mongols. (p./150-154).
[172] TheTatars and the Mongols (pp./150-154).
[173] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 256).
[174] (Qur’an. Sura Yunus. 10: 99).
[175] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara.2:190).
[176] https://archive.org/details/SeerahBiographyOfTheProphet/Ar-Raheeq%20Al-Makhtum/
[177] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara. 2:193).
[178] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara. 2:256).
[179] Deadly Identities. Amin Maalouf.
[180] http://hadith.net/en/post/49685/jonathan-a-c-brown/
[181] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Baqara.2:43).
[182] (Qur’an. Sura Maida. 5:2).
[183] (Qur’an. Sura Al- Baqara.2:43).
[184] (Qur’an. Sura At- Tawba. 9:4).
[185] (Sahih Muslim).
[186] (Sahih Ibn Majah).
[187] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara. 2:285).
[188] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqara. 2:136).
[189] (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3:64).