Chapter 2:How
to Identify the True Religion
Is it not rational to test your faith?
There are thousands of religions in the world.The major religions which have a large number of followers are Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Shintoism, and Sikhism.
How can we identify the true religion when the adherents of all religions claim thattheir 's
is the true one?
This is not difficult. One can search the true religion from the bulk of religions if he is sincere in his research and investigation.
For instance,If
you study all the major religions of the world, the outcome of your unprejudiced research would be as follows:
A. Islam is the only religion which agrees with the human nature.
Allah's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: (30:30).
For example,The
engineers always try to foresee student's concerns in such areas as safety and the environment when they plan to design school buildings. Similarly the laws of Islam are made by Allah Subhanahu taala according to the pattern on which He has created the human beings and the environment in which they were planed to live.
B. Islam is the only religion which never collides with any of the cosmic laws.
HeWho
created the seven heavens one above another: Do you see any fault in the work of Merciful? Turn up your eyes: Can you detect any rift? Then look once more and yet again: your eyes will in the end grow dim and weary. (67:3-4)
The perfect order and harmony in the vast space, visible and invisible to us, following precise laws of motion, proves absolute unity and supreme authority of a single creator.
The multiple laws of nature are closely connected with each other in the continuous working of the universe. There is no gap, no overlapping nor discontinuity. This phenomenon is one of the signs of the unity of the creator. Thus, the laws of religion and laws of cosmos have the same origin and therefore the question of collision does not arise.
C. Islam is the only religion which gives strong emphasis on pondering, reasoning and rational thinking. Islam demands its followers to understand the Holy Quran and then show its applications in practical life. Quran has repeatedly advised the Muslims to ponder, to reflect and to understand its message. Quran has made it very clear that it is addressing to only those people who are intellectuals.
"Thus doWe
explain the signs in detail for those who understand (7:32)
Thus doWe
detail our message for people who have knowledge (7:32)
Here are signs for people who are wise( 30:28
)
Verily there are signs for people who reflect (39:42)
Verily in this are signs for people endued with intelligence. (13:3)
Quran was revealed in Arabic which was the language of Arabs.
We have revealed (Quran) in Arabic so that you may understand (12:2)
Soon after the introduction of Islam in non-Arab countries, the people ofthat countries
translated it into their own language. Many people learned Arabic just to understand Quran.
Christians and Jews who live in English speaking countries also needed a translation of the Bible. But the first English translation of the Bible appeared in the 1380's. Mar tin Luther translated Bible into German language in 1534.
Why the Bible was translated so late into the language of the people?Because the evangelists never allowed to arrange translations and discouraged people to read it in their own language.
Similarly in Hindus, a special group of people known as Brahmans were allowed to read the religious books.
D. Islam is the only religion which totally rejects blind following and irrational arguments. This is a clear sign of a true religion. Quran has condemned those people who follow the footsteps of their forefathers without understanding.
E. Islam is the only religion which never imposes its beliefs on someone to accept it whether or not it appeals to him. Islam demands full understanding of the core concepts before one accepts it "there be no compulsion in religion" (2:256)
There is no need of applying any kind of force or pressure on some one to accept Islam. The logical teachings of Islam attracts people exactly as magnet attracts iron by its innatenature .
"soon
will We show them our signs in the Regions (of the earth and heavens) and in their own souls, untill it become manifest to them that this is the truth."(41:53) Thus, we know many people in the worldwho
have discovered the true religion by their sincere efforts. One such great man was Salman Farsi.
Salman el-Farsi was born in Iran. All his family members and fellow citizens were either Christians or Zoroastrians. Salman was also taught by his parents the basic beliefs and principles of Zoroastrianism. But Salman was not satisfied with Zoroastrism. Histor y tells us that Salman accepted and rejected one religion after the other but remained displeased until he met the Holy Prophet and embraced Islam. Salman was extremely happy and satisfied after meeting the Holy Prophet and discovering the true religion.
Similarly many Hindus, Christians, Jews and adherents of other religions have accepted Islam after their sincere research. We have a long list of such converts. Let me give you one example of our time.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille, a famous French surgeon of our times, is one of them whohas
accepted Islam after his deep research in the Holy Quran. Dr. Bucaille was a Christian by birth
. He wrote a book The Bible, The Quran and Science in which he has scientifically proved that Islam is the only true religion in the world.
Many other learned people have rejected their false religion but could not procure the absolute truth. One such genius was Bertrand Russell. He is ranked by the historians among the greatest philosophers and mathematicians of the 1900's. He has also been called the most important logician (expert in logic) since the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.
Russell was a born Christian but rejected his faith in Christianity. He wrote a book, Why I Am Not a Christian (1927), in which he has exposed the irrationality of his former faith. Russell is an example of spoiled genius. He had detected the falsehood but could not discover the truth.The Basic rules of the Judgment.
Inability to live in harmony with nature
Perfect harmony with nature
False Religion
True Religion
Incompatibility with laws of nature
Unanimity with laws of nature
It is not difficult to ascertain the identity of the true religion and to distinguish it from the false religion.
If we fairly examine the basic concepts and teachings of different religions then we can choose the true religion and reject the untrue religion. Following are the three basic rules of scrutinizing the religion in order to identify the true and false nature of the religions.
1- Compatibility with the Natural laws.
2- Unanimity with biological laws.
3- Comprehensive in contents.
Compatibility with the Natural laws.
The true religion will never clash with the laws of nature.
It is quite obvious. Because if the religion is from God, Who is the sole creator of the universe, then there should not be any conflict between the cosmic laws and the teachings of that religion, as both have the same origin. A conflict will certainly arise between the principles of religion and the natural laws working in the universe, if the religion is not from The Master of the Universe, Who has made the laws of universe.
Today, the basic structure of all religions, except Islam, has been shattered by the bombardment of scientific researchers. Thetruth of the Nature discovered by the scientists have
nakedly exposed the falsehood of fictitious religions.
The polytheistic religions preaching the worshipping of sun, moon, stars, animals and thousands of other such gods can not survive now. The edifice of polytheism has totally collapsed after the discoveries of scientific truths. In 1969, the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts landed on the head of the god (moon) of the polytheists. That was the most shameful day for all the worshippers of moon, when one of their gods was under the feet of man.
Science has dishonored almost all the gods of the polytheists by disclosing their reality. The pioneer of modern scientific adventures is Prophet Muhammad (sws), who cleared the space for moon landing 1400 years ago. History tells us how the Holy Prophet (sws) smashed the whole structure of symbolic gods, which were being worshipped by people. A sincere study can prove that all religions, except Islam, have a direct collision with the established facts of science.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille has identified several scientific blunders in the Bible. He has also certified that there is not a single scientific error in the Holy Quran. Thus, scientific analysis of the religion is an unbiased and reliable approach of identifying the genuine and false religion.
Unanimity with the biological laws.
Another important distinctive characteristic of the true religion is thatits basic principles shows
a complete unanimity with the biological laws of life. If the religion is truly from God, Who is the creator of man, then the religious precept must comply with the natural demands of human body. This rule also invalidates all religions except Islam.
Islam is the only religion which not only allows but educates its followers to take the maximum benefits from the Nature. The Halal and Haram of Islam do not stop us to enjoy anything but regulate our natural instincts to take the full advantage of the uncountable blessings of Allah Subhanu taala. The Holy Quran has made it very clear in the following verse. "Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He has produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, (which He has provided) for sustenance? Say:
They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgment"(7:32) In fact, Quran has condemned those people who unnecessarily avoid halal things and make their life miserable. However, Islam certainly demands from its adherants to exercise self- discipline and avoid what is forbidden even if it attracts them.
Eat clean and halal food that Allah has given you Avoid food that Allah has forbidden for you
Adultery
Pork
Alcohol
Fruits
Meat
Marriage
Kills millions of people
Keeps Healthy & Fresh
Other religions either totally suppress the genuine demands of the body and society or leave them totally free to exhaust their precious energy in the abundance of vast Nature. A few examples of this kind are being cited here to show a marked difference between the Divine religion and man-made laws.
Celibacy
Celibacy means to refrain from lawful sexual relations for religious reasons, i.e., not to mar ry for the sake of God's pleasure.
Christian and Buddhist monks and nuns view celibacy as a religious ideal. By law, all Roman Catholic priests must remain celibate i.e. they must remain unmarried throughout their lives. In Eastern Churches, married men can become priests, but bishops must practice celibacy. One can ask a valid question: why the pope, bishops, nuns, who also have the natural sexual desires like other human beings, are not allowed by the religion tomarry ?
If marriage displeases God, then why has He created the whole system of sexual reproduction? Why all living creatures including humans have been created by God with special sex organs to perform the sexual act?
If God does not approve of sexual relations for men and women, then why the basic process by which God has created more and more humans entirely depends on sexual relationship. The reproductive systems of males and females in humans and in other kinds of living species have been specially designed by God to produce, nourish, and develop their respective offspring.
If the ideology of celibacy were to be an ideal example to be followed by mankind as a manifestation of their devotion towards God, then it would seriously repress the Divine Scheme of creation.
If all the adherents of Christianity follow the lifestyle of Pope, who must be regarded by his followers as the most ideal person, then the whole Christian world would be wiped out within one generation. Also, all Christians recognize Hazrat Ibrahim (as), Hazrat Musa (as) and many other prophets as messengers of God. All these prophets had wives and children. Thus, this religious practice of Christianity and Buddhism brings a direct collision with God's plan and His mechanism of pro-creation. This is an antithesis of Divine Religion. Islam not only allows the marriage institution but puts special emphasis on it.
The Holy Quran says;
"Marry women of your choice". (4:3) The Holy Prophet (sws) has shown disapproval of remaining unmarried or delaying marriage unnecessarily. The Prophet has said:
"Marriage is my sunnat whosoever diver ts from my sunnat is not of me." There are many other hadith of the Holy Prophet (sws) and Imams to this effect.
Slaughtering of animals
Similarly, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists do not eat meat and consider slaughtering of animals for their meat as cruel and inhuman. We can analyze it rationally whether slaughtering of animals is cruelty or not.
We know that there are many animals that eat chiefly meat (Carnivos). Such animals have an inborn tendency and biological make-up to prey on plant-eating animals (herbivores). God has given these animals extremely sharp bladelike shearing teeth, strong jaw muscles and other necessary facilities of hunting. If hunting, slaughtering and eating of meat is a cr uel and barbarous act then why the Most Kind and Merciful Godhas
created carnivores which can not eat anything except meat.
Millions of goats, sheep and cows are being slaughtered every day for eating purposes. But there has never been any shortage ofthese
halal animals.Thus, eating meat can not be regarded as a barbaric act. However, Islam stresses on moderate eating of animals meat and strictly maintains regulation regarding the welfare of all living species.
Comprehensiveness of the religion
Lastly, the true Divine religion can easily be recognised by its ability to guide the mankind in each and every sphere of his life.
The war between Islam and the adherents of all other religion is on the issue of comprehensiveness of Islamic teachings.
They argue that religion is a private thing and it should not come out to inter fere with the social and official works. Several times a practicing Muslim encounters such provoking remarks;Don't
bring your religion in office, please keep it in the mosque or in your house. These people do not know one basic thing about Islam and that is the comprehensive nature of Islam. Unlike other religion, Islam covers each and every aspect of human life and therefore demands its followers to observe its teaching in every sphere of their life.
Thus, a careful analysis of religions can help every person of rational thinking to differentiate between the true and untrue religion
CORE CONCEPT
The aim of this lesson is to enable you to identify your faith in a rational way.Blind following and inheriting the father's religion without real understanding of the faith has no value in Islam.
The primary criterion of Emaan laid down by the Holy Quran is: to testify and intellectually recognize the basic contents of the faith. The fulfillment of this basic condition demands sincere efforts to acquire useful knowledge and to do some research. This is why, acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every male and female Muslim.
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Author: Sayyid Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri
