by Dr. Musa Qutub
Islam, (submission to the Will of God) began at the onset of creation. All that exists in the Universe submits to its Creator. After the creation of the first human beings, Adam and Eve, and after their descent to Earth from Paradise, God sent Messengers or Prophets to establish a method of Worship and a complimentary code of behavior so that mankind could establish peace and harmony. If mankind chooses to follow these Divine messages and laws it will be successful on Earth and will be rewarded in the Hereafter. If one studies the Divine Scriptures, i.e. Torah, Bible and Holy Qur'an, he will discover that the main themes of these Books are peace among humanity, charity to the poor, prayer, fasting and social morality. This consistent message began with the original Torah, Bible and continued until its completion in the last revelation, The Holy Qur'an. No nation was left without a Messenger of God and all human beings were to follow the last Prophet sent during their time, along with all the previous Prophets. Since they all delivered the same message, to dismiss one of them would therefore go, without speaking, to dismiss them all. During the time of Prophet John, (also know as John the Baptist) mankind was to listen to his message and believe in his prophecies and regard his message as a continuation of the one and same religion. If God were to send three different religious to us, i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, that would infer that His messages contradict one another. The One who created the Universe from nothing would not contradict Himself. There- fore, we can only concur that we, mankind, separated religion into three. God delivered one religion as a whole package. Man separated them and called them by three different names. Muhammad (PBUH) was the seal of Prophet-hood and was sent to all mankinds to purify and remove all manmade alterations in Divine Scriptures. Those who believed in Moses and followed his teachings were Muslims and the same applies to those who followed Jesus (PBUH). If we are to accept God's message as one, all the human race should accept the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Holy Qur'an as a Divinely revealed book and the last to be sent to us. This truth should be declared by saying "La ilaha iiallah, Mohammad-ur-Rasuluilah". The meaning of this is "There is no God but the God and Muhammad is His Messenger." In the Holy Qur'an God has addressed all "People of the Book" and has left no doubt about their unity under one religion. He has complimented them in stages and unifies them in the end. The following are the verses pertaining to this unity. FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL Surah 11, Vs. 47 O Children of Israel! call to mind The (special) favour which I bestowed Upon you, and that I preferred you To all others (for My Message). FOR THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS (PBUH) Surah V, vs. 85-86 And the nearest among them in love To the Believers wilt thou Find those who say "We are Christians": Because amongst these are Men devoted to learning And men who have renounced The world, and they Are not arrogant. And when they listen To the revelation received By the Apostle, thou wilt See their eyes overflowing With tears, for they Recognize the truth: They pray: "Our Lord! We believe; write us Down among the witnesses. TO CLARIFY THAT GOD'S RELIGION IS ONE Surah II, vs. 62 Those who believe (in the Qur'an) And those who follow the Jewish scriptures, And the Christians and the Sabians, And who believe in God And the Last Day And work righteousness, Shall have their reward. Since the Will of God is unity we urge the Human Family to complete their journey in this life by exploring, understanding and comprehending Islam in its simplicity by reading books on the life of Muhammad (PBUH), his teachings and the contents of the Holy Qur'an with an open mind. Islam has received very biased press since the time of the Crusades. Keep in mind that what you are hearing and reading deals with world politics and not the religion itself. A Christian magazine titled "The Plain Truth", Feb., 1984 issue on page 11 states that Islam has grown between the period 1934 to 1984 by 235% as compared to Christianity 47%, and a de- crease in Judaism of 4%. Why the rush? Millions of Americans are without a religion and are seeking a relationship with their Creator. To those who wish to fill the void please feel free to contact our centerand we will be happy to inform them about Islam.
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