Has there not come to them a Book containing the teachings of the previous scriptures? (20:133)
There are two categories of religions – eastern and western. Let us take the western religions. They are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are known as Abrahamic faiths too. Judaism may be graphically described as the source from which two mighty rivers – Christianity and Islam – flowed out. These three religions emphasise belief in one God, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, Who guided mankind by selecting Prophets and revealing Scriptures like the Torah (Pentateuch), the Psalms, the Evangel, and the Qur’ān, and Who would resurrect mankind and judge every individual on the Day of Judgment and Who has exclusive powers to reward and punish.
ISLAM AND OTHER ABRAHAMIC FAITHS
Islam is the last revealed religion in this category and is distinguished, broadly speaking, from the two preceding religions in the following way:
Islam is more inclusive. Belief in all the Prophets sent by Allah to all the regions of the world is a must for salvation. Muslims cannot choose some Prophets and reject some others. The Jews believe in Moses and reject Jesus; the Christians believe in Moses and Jesus but reject Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him). Disrespect towards a single Prophet will throw a Muslim out of the pale of Islam.
“The Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him from his Lord: each of them believes in Allah, and in His angels, and in His books, and in His Messengers. They say: We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. We hear and we obey. Our Lord! Grant us Your forgiveness; to You we are destined to return.” (2:285)
Attitudinal Reform. The Jews believe that they are the chosen race and the most favoured community and that all Prophets belong to their race only and no Prophet born elsewhere is acceptable to them. It is a historical fact that once upon a time the Jews were the most spiritually advanced community and many eminent Prophets made their appearance in their midst.
The first religious community to be addressed by the Qur’ān is the Jewish community. “Children of Israel! Recall My favour which I had bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me and I shall fulfil My covenant with you and fear Me alone. And believe in the Book which I have revealed and which confirms the Scripture you already have, and be not foremost among its deniers.” (2:40, 41)
Islam rejects their ethnic considerations in religious matters and stresses that Prophethood is grace of God and God bestows His grace upon whomsoever He wills. “He bestows it on whomsoever He pleases. Allah is the Lord of abounding favour.” (62:4)
Islam asks its followers to believe that God is not partial to one community or country and that He has sent guides to all communities. “Allah knows best with whom to place His message.” (6:124) “A Messenger is sent to every people.” (10:47) “You are only a warner, and every people has its guide.” (13:7)
Muslims believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, his miracles, his Prophethood, his Ascension and Second Coming but reject the concept of Trinity, Crucifixion and Resurrection. “Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than an apostle…His mother was a woman of truth.” (5:75) “He shall be highly honoured in this world and in the Next and shall be one of those near stationed to Allah.” (3:45) “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah, and His Word which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not ‘Trinity’: Desist.” (3:171) Jesus refers to ‘My God and your God’. (St. John, 20:17) God of Jesus is God of Muslims too and they call Him Allah. They worship Him whom Jesus worshipped.
Islam’s attitude towards Jesus as a Prophet is in full harmony with the eternal formula of salvation as given in the Second Book of the Chronicles (20:20), “Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” Belief in prophets is emphasised and not belief in the Only Begotten Son of God and his Crucifixion, for prosperity (falah) in both the worlds.
While sending Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, Allah said, “Get you down from here all of you and guidance shall come to you from Me: then whoever will follow My guidance need have no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (2:38) In compliance with this order, Muslims believe in the guidance enshrined in the scriptures and exemplified by the Prophets as described in the Qur’ān.
Islam took the initiative in building bridges of understanding with both Judaism and Christianity and sought a meeting ground with them on the basis of uncompromising monotheism. “Say: People of the Book! Come to a word common between us and you: that we shall worship and serve none but Allah and shall associate none with Him in His Divinity and that we erect not from among ourselves Lords and Patrons other than Allah.” And if they turn away (from accepting this call), tell them; Bear witness that we are the ones who have submitted ourselves exclusively to Allah.” (3:64) The call “we shall worship and serve none but Allah” is just an echo of the statement found in Deut.,(6:13 )and St. Matthew, (4:10) – Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. In spite of this initiative, the attitude of Judaism and Christianity towards Islam is there for all to see.
Eclecticism: Islam does not pay mere lip-service to the Prophets who preceded Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him). Genuine tribute is paid to them by reviving some of their practices which their own followers have neglected. For example, Assalamu Alaikum is considered to be a cultural token of the Muslims. The Arabic expression means ‘Peace be with you’. One has to read the passage (St. John, 20:19) to realise how Muslims have revived Jesus’ practice. “The doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem. It means – In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. This is recited at the commencement of any good activity. Prophet Solomon had this practice. Vide 27:30. “It (the gracious letter) is from Solomon, and it is; In the name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.” The proactive and the perpetual exercise of mercy that the two names of Allah stress is closer in meaning to this Biblical statement: His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 136; also known as the great Hallel) Islam revived and gave it a new lease of life.
Prophet Abraham (unto him be peace) sacrificed a ram instead of his son. Muslims celebrate this sacrifice year after year. The institution of pilgrimage to Makkah had its origin in his initial call.
In Deut. (8:3) and St. Matthew (4:4) it is written “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The supremacy of revelation (wahi – the word of God) over bread is highlighted through fasting or abstaining from bread during the daytime each day in the month of Ramadan in which the revelation of the Qur’ān commenced. As all the scriptures were revealed in Ramadan, fasting is one way of giving thanks to the Lord who showered His mercy on mankind through them.
In the ritual of Islamic worship, sajda is important. Jesus Christ used to perform sajda. “He fell with his face to the ground and prayed.” (Matt. 26:39)
RELATIONSHIP WITH HINDUISM
Among the eastern religions, Hinduism attracts on account of its ancient origin and its strong belief in God. There is the Upanishadic concept of Brahmn (sat-chit-anand) and there is the concept of Vaikunta and of the 10 major Avatars.
In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1-3-28) there is a beautiful prayer – Lead me from darkness to light. One may connect this prayer with the Qur’ānic passage: This is a Book which We have revealed to you so that you may bring forth mankind from every kind of darkness into light, and direct them with the leave of their Lord, to the way of the Mighty, the Innately Praiseworthy, to the Way of Allah to whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. (14:12) By following the Qur’ān and the Prophet, one may be led from darkness to light.
Three roles of God are recognised in Hinduism – creation, protection and dissolution. Islam adds three more major roles to God. He is the Guide, He is the Provider, and He is the Judge. As the Judge, He has uncircumscribed powers to forgive, to reward and to punish ad infinitum.
Hinduism has a beautiful word ‘shruti’ for a scripture heard and recorded. It may be heard from a guru or any other source. The Qur’ān is a Shruti in the sense that it originated from God and transmitted through an angel, and heard and dictated by Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him).
According to Dr N.S. Anantha Rangacharya of Bengaluru, “The Supreme Paramatman has certain outstanding characteristics. He is the controller of all, the ruler of all, the sovereign over all, the lord of all beings, the protector of all.” (Principal Upanishads, Vol.111, p.xxiii) All these characteristics are included in Rabbul Alameen, a designation of Allah. In the Gita, 5:29, God is described as Sarvaloka Maheshwar.
Both Hinduism and Islam stress that there are supernatural forces monitoring the activities, secret or otherwise, of the individuals throughout the length and breadth of the world. This underscores the ethical dimension of the universe and the need for reward and punishment. God is the Eternal Witness.
The Gita says, “Slain you will gain heaven; victorious you will enjoy the earth. Therefore rouse up, O Son of Kunti, resolved to fight.” (2:37) The Qur’ān says, “We shall grant a mighty reward to whoever fights in the way of Allah, whether he is slain or comes out victorious.” (4:74) Both the Books mention ‘slain’ first.
The Gita says that Avatars come to establish dharma (Dharma Samsthapanarthaya). (4:8) The nominal phrase is transformed into an imperative sentence in the Qur’ān which says that Prophets are ordered to establish Deen. Aqeemuddeen. (42:13)
However, there are differences. Islam does not accept the doctrine that God becomes incarnate to kill the wicked, to protect the good and to establish dharma. God has a different mechanism for the purpose. “We took vengeance upon those who aced wickedly. It was incumbent on Us to come to the aid of the believers” (30:47) According to Islam, God does not become a child or a man or a woman or a student of anybody. God does not worship any other person or an idol. He receives the worship of others as He is Siddhopaaya. God is not subject to tiredness, sleep, death or sexual reproduction.
The question of attaining perfection through many births does not arise in Islam. The concept of the migration of the souls from body to body is totally alien to Islam. There are only two lives – one life springs from the womb and another from the grave. According to Islam, the reward or punishment will be eternal in the next world. This runs counter to the statement in the Gita, 9:21, “Having enjoyed the vast world of heaven, they return to the world of mortals on the exhaustion of their merits.”
THE QUR’ĀN AND THE PROPHET
The Gita says: Let the scriptures be your authority in deciding what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. (16:24)
This instruction can be followed in matters about which the scriptures are unanimous. It becomes difficult when two scriptures disagree within the same religious tradition. Still more difficult it becomes, when two scriptures of two different religious traditions contradict each other on matters of vital import. God cannot be accused of guiding two different communities in two mutually contradictory ways. It is safe and wise to follow the last scripture, i.e., the Qur’ān.
There are millions who refuse to give the status of a scripture to the Qur’ān and look upon it as a classic case of plagiarism. Some seek the patronage of the judiciary to ban it, as they are convinced that its influence is far from salutary. Against this negative publicity, the Qur’ān says:
“And let it never happen that the unbelievers might turn you away from the revelations of Allah after they have been revealed to you. Call people towards your Lord and never become one of the unbelievers. And do not invoke any God beside Allah. There is no other God but He. All will perish but He. To Him belongs the command. And to Him shall all of you return.” (28:87, 88)
“Do they not ponder over the Qur’ān? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would certainly have found in it much inconsistency.” (4:82)
“Certain it is that either we or you are on right guidance or in manifest error.” (34:24)
“In what discourse after this (Qur’ān) will they, then, believe?” (77:50)
“Beyond doubt it (the Qur’ān) is from the Lord of the worlds.” (10:37)
“Did you ever consider: If this Qur’ān is indeed from Allah and you still deny it, who can be in greater error than he who goes far in fiercely opposing it?” (41:52)
There is opposition to Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) and he is looked upon as a false Prophet. Jesus Christ predicted about the appearance of false Christs and false prophets and some see the fulfilment of that prediction in the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Divine blessings and greetings to him). Jesus’ prediction says that the false Prophet would claim to be the Christ, and it is obvious that a non-Jew cannot claim to be the Christ. So the prediction must be about the Jews who would claim to be the Christ. Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and peace to him) made it clear that Jesus was the Christ and he and his followers believe in Jesus Christ as a Prophet and a Servant and a Sign of God (The Qur’ān, 21:91) They say that Jesus is the last Jewish Prophet and no Jew after him can claim to be the Messiah.
Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) was not a Jew and the label of false Christ cannot be applied to him. It is as much necessary to believe in him as a Prophet as it was for the Jews to believe in Jesus Christ even though they had the teachings of Moses and other Prophets with them. Jesus tells the followers of Moses, “If you believed Moses, you would follow me, for he wrote about me.” (St. John, 5:46) When a new divinely ordained Prophet appears, it is the religious duty of the addressees to believe in him. Jesus says to the Jews, “Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (St. John, 3:5) This is an invitation to believe in John the Baptist, who baptised with water and in Jesus Christ, who baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts, 1:5) Belief in Moses alone will not do. John and Jesus should be followed too. Similarly, it is now necessary to believe in the last and latest Prophet sent to guide mankind.
Allah reassures Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) in these words: We have sent you to mankind, (O Muhammad) as a Messenger, and Allah is sufficient as a Witness. He who obeys the Messenger thereby obeys Allah; as for him who turns away, We have not sent you as a keeper over them! (4:79, 80)
After this supreme testimony Muslims cannot but hear and obey.