Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim

Islam is the Only True Religion

 

It is a fundamental belief of Muslims that Islam is not only a divinely revealed religion from God, but rather that it is the only acceptable religion and the sole legitimate path to His acceptance. Such a belief is not an abstract, minute theological frivolity, relegated to the more finer points of obscure works, but rather a foundational premise that is explicitly mentioned throughout our Divine Texts and upon which Islam is based. To deny it is simply a repudiation of the foundations of the entire religion. In other words, one cannot seriously and earnestly make such a claim and remain a Muslim.

These are bold claims, no doubt. Many will find them unpalatable. Yet they are claims that are clearly substantiated throughout the entire Qur’an and in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. These beliefs have been held unanimously by all theological branches of Islam, throughout its history. These beliefs also make complete rational sense; in fact to hold the contrary position is illogical. Hence, the salvific exclusivity of Islam is proven extensively by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, ijmāʿ (to such a level that ijmāʿ exists with groups whose opinion does not count), and human rationality (ʿaql).

But before even quoting one verse, this belief can be proven from the very crux of the faith, the testimony upon which the religion stands. The Testifications of Faith, which is the essence of Islam and by which a person enters the faith, states, “I testify that no one is God except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” No one can claim to be a Muslim until he or she believes in both parts of the Testifications of Faith.

For our subject matter, if any person were to claim that another being (Jesus, for example) is worthy of worship, it would be a direct negation of the first half of the testimony, even if he himself were not to worship Jesus. The mere theoretical acknowledgment of the moral permissibility to worship other than Allah contradicts this testimony. And for any person to deny the prophethood of Muhammad sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam is a denial of the second half. Hence, all those who refuse to accept Islam after hearing of it have, by that refusal, rejected both testifications.

 

The evidences from the Qur’an to substantiate this belief are simply too numerous to list here. All the verses that command mankind to worship Allah, or to single Him out in worship, or to submit to Him, or to believe in the Prophet or prophets, or command mankind to be righteous, can be understood as proof for this claim. So too are the hundreds of verses that divide mankind into ‘believers’ and ‘disbelievers’, affirming Paradise for the former and Hell for the latter. Likewise, those verses that criticize the theological doctrines held by Christians, Jews, or idol-worshipers are clear indications in this regard. If one were to compile all such verses, they would number in the hundreds if not thousands.

There are also many explicit verses on this subject matter. Among them is

 

which means: The only religion accepted by Allah is Islam. (Al `Imran, 19).  One of the last verses to be revealed is the famous, “Today, I have completed your religion for you, perfected My favors upon you, and have accepted Islam as your religion (dīn)” (Al-Ma’idah, 6). To claim that Allah accepts a religion other than Islam would contradict these verses, and numerous others.

 

Another verse, revealed in the context of the pagan religion of the Quraysh, states, “To you is your religion, and to me, mine” (al-Kafirun, 4). This verse was revealed in the context of an attempt by the Quraysh to find some type of middle ground between Islam and paganism; the verse delineates that the two religions are too distinct to have any common theological ground. In another verse, Allah explicitly states that both idol-worshippers and the People of the Book are considered disbelievers, “Those who disbelieve, from the People of the Book and the pagans, are of the denizens of the Fire; they shell dwell therein for all of eternity. They are the worst of creatures.” (al-Bayyinah, 6). The verse describes those who reject faith as being either of the People of the Book or of the pagans. In yet another verses (at-Tawbah, 29), Allah once again describes the Jews and Christians as not truly believing in Allah, nor in the true faith (dīn al-ḥaqq). In another verse, Allah states that the Jews and Christians shall never be fully pleased with the Muslims until they embrace their faiths. As a response to this, Allah states, “Say: the true guidance is the guidance of Allah. And if you were to follow their capricious whims (ahwā’) after the knowledge that has come to you, then you shall have no protector or guardian against Allah” (Baqarah: 120). A few verses later, the Christians and Jews are told that it is not their religion, but rather the religion of Abraham, that is the true religion, and included in that is belief in all the prophets. “Thus, only if they believe as you have believed shall they be rightly guided. But if they reject, then they are indeed at odds with you (shiqāq)…” (Baqarah: 137). There are many other verses where the Jews and Christians are chastised for claiming to be following divine truth, or for presuming that they follow Abraham.

Some of the most explicit verses regarding salvific exclusivity occur in the second longest Surah in the Qur’an, Surah Al-Imran. When one takes into account the context in which the Surah was revealed, these verses become even more poignant. The books of hadith, tafsir and sirah all inform us of a delegation of Christians that came from Najran to meet the Prophet. The Prophet spoke to them about Islam and invited them to the faith. It was during their visit that these verses were revealed. Keeping in mind that the verses were directed first and foremost to these Christians of Najran, it is impossible to understand them to mean anything except the salvific exclusivity of Islam. “The only religion accepted by Allah  is Islam,” states 3:19, which is then followed up by the even more explicit 3:85, “Whoever elects for himself a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and he shall be of the losers in the Hereafter.” This is perhaps the most unequivocal and straightforward verse in the entire Qur’an regarding Islam’s belief in its salvific exclusivity.

 

There are also numerous ḥadīths regarding this issue, once again too many to be listed in such a brief article.  Of the most explicit hadiths in this regard is that narrated by Imam Muslim in his ‘Book of Faith’, under the heading, ‘Concerning the obligation to believe in the prophethood of our Messenger Muhammad.’ The Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam is reported to have said, “I swear by Him under whose Control my soul is, no Jew or Christian hears about me, and then dies without believing in what I have been sent with, except that he will be of the denizens of the Fire.” The hadith is quite explicit.; also note that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam attached a condition to this, and that is that the message of his prophethood reach this person.[1]

 

From a rational standpoint, this belief too makes sense. The claim that there are alternative religions acceptable to Allah defeats the very purpose of revealing the message of Islam, and of sending the Prophet Muḥammad salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam. If Christianity, for example, is an acceptable path to achieve God’s salvation, then what was the need to send another prophet, and another Book, and add yet another religion to the many religions on Earth? The claim that other religions are morally acceptable to God is a direct challenge to the very coming of the Prophet Muḥammad salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

As a further rational proof, most religions do hold some type of belief about salvific exclusivity. Logically, they can’t all be correct, as such beliefs are mutually exclusive. If a person claims that God is a father through whose alleged son is the only path to God, and another person claims that to believe God has a son disqualifies you from being on His path in the first place, then there is no common ground for extending salvation to the opposing group (although there might be a lot of common ground on other fronts).

 

 

Iman (Faith-Belief) defined:

Given the aforementioned concerning the central Islamic tenet of salvific exclusivity, it is natural to proceed to define what Iman (belief) is and what it entails.  Just as it is well-established through multiple religious texts that Islam is the only true religion, so it is also known that there are certain matters such that the one who does not believe in them could not be a Muslim.  For instance, one verse near the end of the second chapter contains what means: The Messenger [Muhammad] believes (amana) in what was revealed to him from his Lord, as do the Believers (Mu’minun).  All of them believe (amana) in Allah, His Angels, Sacred Books, and Messengers.  We do not discriminate from among the Messengers of Allah.”[2] (Al-Baqarah, 285).  This verse clearly states that all the believers believe in Allah, His Angels, Books, and Messengers.  Hence, the one who were to deny any of these matters could not be a believer. This explicit verse is further supported by the Hadith of Jibril, when he asked the Prophet what Iman is, and the Prophet,  sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, said: “Iman (Faith) is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Judgment Day, and in Destiny—of both the good and the evil.”

 

Furthermore, the illustrious Imam Abu Hanifah said in his famous work al-Fiqh al-’Akbar, “Islam and Iman are inseparable;they are like the front is to the back.” That is, the person who does not have Iman (Belief) is not a Muslim, and the person who does not have Islam is not a Mu’min (Believer).  The person who is not a Believer (Mu’min/Muslim) is a disbeliever, i.e., a kafir.

 

People of the Book  (Ahlul-Kitab)

The phrase Ahlul-Kitab can refer to both the genuine followers of the previous Messengers, Musa and Jesus or it can refer to those people who later claimed to follow those Prophets (i.e., the Jews and Christians) but committed blasphemy (kufr).

 

Now, the Jews and Christians cannot be called ‘Muslims’ (nor can they Islamically be called ‘believers’, as per the statement of Abu Hanifah) for numerous reasons, some of which was mentioned above.  One general reason why they are not believers is that neither the Jews nor the Christians believe properly in Allah, because they ascribe many unbefitting attributes to Him, such as exhaustion (a doctrine which the Qur’an refutes in Al-Baqarah 2:255), ignorance (Al-Anfal 8:17), having a child (Maryam 19:88-92; At-Tawbah 9:30; Yunus 10:68), being a triune entity (Al-Ma’idah 5:72), incarnation into a human (Al-Ma’idah 5:73), and being in space and time (Ash-Shura 42:11).

Secondly, the Jews and Christians do not even make a pretense to believe in Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wasallam.  To reject even a single Prophet of Allah is disbelief, as mentioned in surat An-Nisa’ (4:150-151), and they refuse to accept the Prophethood of the best of all the Prophets.  The Qur’an commands us to follow the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wasallam,[3] and  says of those who do not believe in the Prophet Muhammad:

 

which means: “And whosoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger – then indeed, Allah has prepared Hell for the disbelievers.” (Al-Fath, 13)

Confusion Regarding Al-Baqarah 2:62

 

Al-Baqarah, 162 means:

 

“Certainly those who believe (amanu) and those who Hadu and the Nasara and the Sabi’ina who believe in Allah, and the Judgment Day and do good deeds, they shall have reward from their Lord, they shall not fear nor shall they grieve.”(Al-Baqarah 2:62)

 

This verse refers to those who held the correct belief in Allah, had Iman, and were genuine followers of their respective Prophets.[4] This Verse does not refer to the Jews, Christians, and Sabeans who ascribe unbefitting attributes to Allah and reject the Divine Message of Prophet Muhammad.

 

These verses should make it all the more clear that Islam is the only religion of salvation.

 

 

Ultimate Destination of the Kafir

 

Just as the Islamic texts are explicit in clarifies the boundaries of of what one must necessarily believe and accept to be called a believer, they also are unequivocal in describing the consequences of dying in a state of disbelief.  The substantiation of this position can be proved through numerous places in the Qur’an, among which are the verses

 

 

which mean, “Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers (kafireena), and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell) wherein they will abide forever.” (Al-Ahzab 33:64-5)   Other verses concerning this issue mean,  “Certainly, those who disbelieve (kafaru) and die as disbelievers (kuffar), upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels, and the humans.  They shall abide in Hell forever never having their torture lessened.”  (Al-Baqarah 2:161-2)

 

And Allah knows best.