Allah
Al mighty says in the Holy Quran:
"Do not argue with the people of the scripture (Jews, Christians,
and Muslims) except in the nicest possible manner—unless they
transgress—and say, "We believe in what was revealed to us
and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and
the same; to Him we are
submitters." (29:46)
The
concept of God In Islam:
Unique among the religions of the world, the concept of God in Islam
is completely based upon Divine Revelation. Not only is the concept
of God in Islam characterized by purity and clarity, but it is also
not marred by myths, superstitions or man-made philosophical ideas.
In the pure and straightforward teachings of Islam, Almighty God has
clearly revealed His unique nature and qualities to man in the way which
He wants them to be understood. While other religions have either mixed
man-made doctrines with divine revelation, or ignored the divine revelation
almost completely, Islam's concept of God is based totally on what God
has said about Himself. Islam's concept of God can be called pure and
straightforward because there is a clear distinction made between the
Creator and the created. As such, there is no ambiguity in divinity
-- it is made clear that there is nothing divine or worthy of being
worshipped except for Almighty God. In Islam, calling someone other
than Almighty God "Lord" or "Savior" is completely
prohibited because such terms compromise God's uniqueness and because
all of our trust should be put in Almighty God -- who is the Most Merciful
and the Controller of all affairs. The only Creator -- Almighty God
-- is Unique, Eternal and Transcendent above His Creation. Everything
else besides Almighty God -- meaning anything that you can see or even
imagine -- is part of God's creation, and thus not worthy of worship.
Almighty God, as He has described Himself in the Qur'an, is Absolutely
One and "the Most Merciful of those who show mercy". Even
though God is transcendent above His creation, due to His infinite Mercy
He is constantly involved with the affairs of His creatures. Even though
God is infinite, unique and incomprehensible, in the Holy Qur'an He
has revealed Himself in a way suitable to the finite and limited human
mind. By reaching out to man and sending revelations through all of
His prophets, God has allowed Himself to be known through His unique
and most-beautiful attributes. Because the concept of God in Islam was
sent by God specifically for mankind, it appeals to the innate nature
of the human being. Due to this fact, Islam does not ask man to accept
irrational, ludicrous or man-made doctrines about God. The Islamic concept
of God strikes a unique balance between various religions an because
is avoids reducing God to just being some remote and impersonal "First
Cause" or "Higher Power", while on the other hand it
also teaches that a direct and personal relationship with God can be
maintained without believing God to be like His creation or incarnate
in it.
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Direct
Relationship with God:
In other religions, even the ones which claim belief in "One God",
people often approach God through an intermediary, such as a saint,
an angel, the Virgin Mary or Jesus. However, it is only in Islam that
a person is required only to pray to God. Some people also nullify a
truly proper and direct relationship with Almighty God by mistakenly
believing that they have a special relationship with Him simply because
they are members of a certain ethnic group, tribe or "chosen people".
Additionally, in Islam there are no priests or clergy -- each worshipper,
man or woman, has a direct relationship with their Merciful Creator
-- Almighty God. Since God is the Owner and Sustainer of everything,
as well as the only one who can provide true and complete forgiveness,
it is completely futile to try to approach Him through anyone else.
According to the teachings of Islam, praying to or worshipping anything
or anyone besides Almighty God is the greatest sin a person can commit.
Even though other religions believe in God, they nullify this belief
by making the grave mistake of not always approaching Him directly.
Some religions even go so far as to say that human beings, due to their
sinfulness, cannot approach God without an intermediary -- which mistakenly
implies that God is unable or unwilling to forgive human-beings directly.
Islam teaches that Almighty God has the power to do all things and that
no one should ever despair of His mercy. According to the teachings
of Islam, God is always ready to bestow His abundant Grace and Mercy
on anyone who turns to Him in repentance. Even people who used to commit
the worst sin of worshipping others besides God will be forgiven if
they realize what they are doing is wrong and repent. Having a direct
relationship with God, and understanding that He alone deserves worship
and praise, goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God. This
is because once a proper concept of God is established in the heart
and mind, submission to God and complete reliance on Him alone comes
naturally.
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Unique
Concept of Worship:
According to the teachings of Islam, everything that a human being does
with the pure intention of pleasing God is an act of worship. Due to
this, Islam has an all encompassing concept of worship unlike any other
religion. Almighty God has revealed in the Holy Qur'an that His purpose
for creating human beings was to worship Him and Him alone. Like other
religions, Islam has required acts of worship, however worship in Islam
is not limited to rituals. Since Islam is an all-encompassing religion
with guidance for all aspects of life. almost every action in a Muslim's
life becomes an act of worship if it is done to build a better relationship
with God. Since man's purpose in life is to worship and submit to God,
worship in Islam has been defined by God Himself in an all-encompassing
way. This is special uniqueness can also be seen in the fact that most
other religions only require formal worship once per week, while Islam
requires it five times a day. Even more importantly, all rites of formal
worship in Islam are based on Divine revelation, while the modes of
worship in other religions are a mixture of Divine revelation, man-made
traditions, opinions of clergymen and religious councils. Additionally,
in Islam acts of worship such as prayer and fasting have been described
by God and His Prophet in such detail that it gives human beings a feeling
of assurance that the way they are worshipping God is pleasing to Him.
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Based
on Authentic Sources
The preservation of the scripture of Islam -- the Holy Qur'an -- is
unique among world religions. No other religion has a scripture which
is both as old and as well-preserved as the one possessed by Muslims
today. Even scholars who are hostile to Islam admit that the Qur'an
that exists today is exactly the same as the one that existed in the
time of the Prophet Muhammad. Even though many people mistakenly assume
that the Qu'ran (also spelled Koran) was written by Muhammad, it is
actually the literal Word of God. Not only was Muhammad known by his
people to be unable to read and write, but the Holy Qur'an clearly and
repeatedly exclaims that it is from Almighty God - the Lord of the Universe.
Unlike other religions, the followers of Islam have always considered
their scripture to be the Word of God in toto. The scriptures of other
religions are made up of writings that were not considered to be scripture
until many years after they were written - the letters of (St.) Paul
are a good example of this. Additionally, the Holy Qur'an has always
been in the possession of the common believer, and as such was circulated
very widely. In this way, Muslims know that their scripture is authentic,
unlike other so-called "scriptures" which are still claimed
to be scripture even though their authors are unknown. The Qur'an also
remained pure and authentic because unlike other scriptures, it was
written down and memorized in the lifetime of the prophet that it was
revealed to. Also, its wide circulation prevented scholars, clergy and
religious councils from deciding what should and should not be part
of the scripture -- since it was already in the hands of the people
in its complete form. It has always amazed people to find out that the
entire Qur'an was not only memorized word-for-word by hundreds of the
companions of Prophet Muhammad, but that it has been memorized verbatim
by thousands upon thousands of people until this very day in its original
language of Arabic. It was only natural for Almighty God to preserve
the scripture revealed to Prophet Muhammad, because he was the last
Prophet and Final Messenger of God. In short, the Qu'ran is a unique
scripture that has come down to us in its original form and unique language.
Due to its pristine teachings and unquestionable authenticity, the Qur'an
removes the need for man to wonder for himself how to worship and please
God, since God Himself has clearly described these things.
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An
Eternal Message:
Islam has just as much meaning and is just as applicable to people living
in today's "modern world" as it did for people living 1400
years ago. Since the message of Islam is eternally true it is also very
robust, and as such still has a strong spiritual impact on millions
of people living in the world today. The Pure Monotheism of Islam, as
well as its universal brotherhood, strong morals and positive outlook
on life, is still very relevant and meaningful to modern man. The continued
relevance and applicability to both the spiritual and worldly life of
human beings from all around the word is just one of the many proofs
of the Divine origin of the message of Islam. Unlike the teachings of
other religions, the teachings of Islam don't need to be updated or
watered-down in order to appeal to a human being living in today's troubled
world. Since the teachings of Islam are both spiritually true and eternally
practical, they can be lived and implemented in the daily life of a
person in order to make their life more fulfilling. In short, unique
among world religions, Islam has not had to sacrifice its integrity
in order to be both applicable to "modern life" and to have
enough spiritual impact to change people's lives.
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A
Complete Way of Life:
Islam not just a "religion" in the traditional sense, because
it is not just confined to acts of worship, morality and other aspects
of personal piety. The teachings of Islam, even though they do cover
religious rituals and morality, also encompass all other aspects of
life. The Prophet Muhammad's mission encompassed not only spiritual
and religious teachings, but also included guidance for such things
as social reform, economics, politics, warfare and family life. Thus
due to the diversity and success of Muhammad's mission, Muslims have
clear guidance from God and His Final Prophet on all aspects of life.
This goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic belief that Almighty God does
not leave human beings without guidance in their daily lives -- thus
His guidance is all-encompassing. Due to God's wisdom, and because Islam
is the final revealed religion, the guidance that God has sent is applicable
for all times and for all places. This can be seen in the fact that
the guidance for some aspects of life is much more broad and flexible
than others. Additionally, in the Qur'an, Almighty God has revealed
to mankind that the purpose of our creation is to worship and remember
God in all aspects of our life, and to follow His guidance in everything
that we do. Thus Islam does not accept a secular view of government
and society, but only one based on the Law of God. Nor does Islam leave
it to human beings to decide what is right and wrong, good and bad,
moral and immoral based on their whims, desires or man-made idea. In
short, Islam does not teach people to "Render unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's" because, according to Islam, everything belongs
to God. Like all of its other teachings, Islam's view of other religions
is balanced, realistic and moderate. Islam doesn't view other religions
as being either completely true nor completely false, but believes that
all true religions were at one time divinely revealed. However, over
time the teachings of the various religions, due to a variety of reasons,
have become distorted and mixed with made-man ideas. But nonetheless,
Muslims are required to be tolerant of other revealed religions since
the Qur'an clearly says: "Let there be no compulsion in religion".
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Moderation:
The teachings of Islam, since they are divinely revealed, are balanced
in all of their aspects. Even though Islam is an all-encompassing way
of life, it preaches moderation and rejects extremism. On the one hand,
Islam does not preach complete rejection of all worldly pleasures in
view of the life hereafter; and on the other hand it does not teach
that earthly life is just for pleasure and enjoyment. In Islam, wealth
and worldly pleasures can be partaken of in this life as long as they
are enjoyed in a way that is in obedience to God. However, Muslims are
taught to keep in mind that the life hereafter is their ultimate goal,
and therefore one should be charitable and not become too attached to
worldly things. By maintaining a balance between man's spiritual and
physical needs, the teachings of Islam are best suited for the needs
of human beings in particular and society in general. Since Islam is
based on clear guidance from God, it rejects all man-made religious
excesses, such as certain forms of monasticism where people try to completely
"reject the world" and other forms of extreme self-denial.
Islam teaches that human beings have responsibilities at all levels
-- to other individuals, to their families and to society as a whole.
By maintaining a unique balance between the physical and spiritual,
and between the individual and society, Islam maintains a balance in
all directions.
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A
Positive Outlook:
Most people will agree that having a strong self-esteem and a positive
outlook on life is conducive to achieving happiness and success. Unique
among the religions of the world, Islam's view of both the nature of
the human being and the purpose of life are extremely positive. Islam's
view of the nature of the human being is balanced. On the one hand they
are not viewed as being inherently evil, but on the other they are not
considered to be perfect - nor are they expected to be so. According
to the teachings of Islam, every human being, man or woman, is born
with a clean slate and is equally capable of both good and evil. Since
God has bestowed limited free-will on human beings, they will ultimately
be held responsible for their actions. Believing that "salvation"
is based on "faith alone" reduces human life to a near meaningless
and fatalistic existence. The teachings of Islam make it clear that
human beings, since their nature is basically good, are capable of positive
action in this life, and that the best way to achieve a balanced, happy
and fulfilled life is complete submission to Almighty God. Certainly,
no person can completely submit to God by simply wanting to do so, but
by first realizing that none has a right to be worshipped and obeyed
except for Almighty God, and then making a reasonable effort to follow
God's commands, all human beings can fulfill their reason for existence
- which is to worship God alone. . The Holy Qur'an tells us that "man
was created weak" and thus falls into sin often. On the other hand,
man is not to think of himself as so evil and corrupt so as to despair
of God's mercy. As a recourse to this, and since Islam condemns self-righteousness,
a pious life can only be lived by trusting in God -- since there is
no power or strength except through God. As such, spiritual felicity
is achieved by a combination of both faith and action. As such, the
most righteous person is not one who thinks that repentance is unnecessary,
but the one who admits and realizes his mistakes - and then repents.
According to the word of Almighty God as revealed in the Holy Qur'an,
mankind is God's trustee on earth; and as such the life of this world
is a test, not a punishment. Even before God created the first man,
He knew that he would sin, however God created man in spite of this.
According to the Qur'an, God has bestowed on human beings a great trust
and given them dignity. It is only by worshipping Almighty God, directly
and without intermediaries, that a human being can fulfull their true
innate nature and purpose of existence. In short, Islam is realistic.
It portrays human beings just as they are and the life of the world
just as it is. Since the outlook of Islam is divinely revealed is not
based on wishful or negative thinking, but simply on reality. Islam
also has a positive view of mankind in general, since it teaches that
the best person in the sight of God is the one who is most God-conscious.
In this way the truth of Islam and the universality of God's message
transcends all of the barriers of race, nationality, ethnic group and
economic status.
Credits:
The above info was extracted from:
http://www.muslim-answers.org/Introducing-Islam/unique.htm
