One God! One Mankind! One faith!

Islam is not a new faith and Muhammad (pbuh) is not its founder!

Islam is an Arabic word which means ‘obedience’ as well as ‘peace’. The principle proposed by Islam is that one can achieve peace in this world and in the hereafter by submitting his/her will to Almighty God. A Muslim is a person who does that.

Misconceptions about Islam and Muslims:

Many people have a misconception that Islam is a new religion that was formulated about 1400 years ago, and that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the founder of Islam. However, Islam is not the name of some unique religion presented for the first time by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam but he was the last and final messenger of God sent to earth. Almighty God revived through him the same genuine faith, which had been conveyed by all His previous Prophets.

The Quran states that Islam – the complete submission of man before his only Unique Creator – is the only faith and way of life consistently revealed by God to humankind from the very beginning. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, Moses, and Jesus – prophets who appeared at different times and places - all propagated the same faith and conveyed the same message.

What was the message?
1.     Oneness of mankind : The whole mankind is one which has originated from one couple. All human beings, irrespective of their race, color, nation, tribe, language etc belong to the same family.
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer. (Qur'an 4:1)(Allah is an Arabic word that means “The One who is worthy of worship”. In simple term Allah means in Arabic ‘The God’ In Hindi we say Ishwar, in Kannada we say Devaru, and in Arabic we say Allah.)

2.      Oneness of God: Only Almighty God Who is the Creator and Cherisher of this world deserves worship and not His creations. We are asked to worship Him directly without any intercessors. Worshiping any of His creations, making figures for Him, associating anything or anybody in worship with Him etc. are false and are considered major sins as it contaminates the real belief in God which leads to loss of God-consciousness and thus causes spread of evil in the world. Further it creates divisions in the humanity based on the various imagination of God and war between them becomes unavoidable. 

‘Say (O Prophet): Allah is one and the only. He is absolute. He neither begets nor was He begotten. There is none comparable to Him.’ (The Qur’an 112:1-4)
And when My servants ask you, concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. (Qur'an 2: 186)

3.     Accountability of deeds and life after death:

The present world is a temporary one and we are answerable for our deeds. One day, the whole world will be destroyed. Again God will resurrect all of us in order to judge our performance here. That is called the Day of Judgment. Depending upon the weight of our good and bad deeds we will be sent to Paradise or Hell. That will be our eternal abode.

Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion. (Qur'an 3:185)

4. Prophet hood: 

To convey the above message, God selects good souls among men and appoints them as His messengers. They preach the message they receive from God and live as role models for their people. The last one in this chain of messengers is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Earlier prophets were sent to specific regions, but Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is sent for the whole world. Qur'an says God has sent His messengers to all the nations. They are called as Prophets  in Islam and Christianity and as Rishis in ancient India. 

All the Messengers of God reintroduced same faith

These prophets of God were not founders of different religions to be named after them. They were each reiterating the message and faith of their predecessors. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and continuing with Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and Jesus amongst many others (may peace be on them all).

However, Muhammad (pbuh) was the last Prophet of God conveying the same message as all earlier Prophets. This original message had been corrupted and it split into various religions by people of different ages, who indulged in interpolations and admixture. God eliminated these alien elements, and Islam – in its pure and original form – was transmitted to humankind through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Hence, Islam is the culmination of the same Divine religion of God to humankind since the

advent of humanity, purged and purified, from all human adulterations and

restored to its original purity.

Since there was to be no messenger after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Book revealed to him (i.e. the Glorious Quran) was preserved word for word so that it should be the same source of guidance for all times.

Thus the religion of all the prophets was ‘total submission to God’s will’ and one word for that in the Arabic language is ‘Islam’. Abraham and Jesus (peace be upon them) too were Muslims, as God testifies in the Quran 3:67 and 3:52 respectively.

It is mentioned in the Quran, “Surely, We have sent you with the truth, as a

bearer of happy news, and as a warner: And there were never any people, without a warner who did not live among them (in the past)” [35.24]

At the same time, the Quran says, “And the messengers We have already told

you before, and others We have not (told you).” [4.164] It means that some of the Prophets have been mentioned by name in the Quran while of the others there is no mention. Twenty-five messengers are specifically mentioned in the Quran.

It has been narrated by Umama that Abu Dhar said: “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, altogether how many messengers were sent?’ The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘One hundred and twenty four thousand’.” [Mishkat-Ul-Masabih, authenticated by Shaikh Nasiruddun

Albani, Vol. 3, Pg. No. 1599, Hadith No. 5737]

Previous prophets were sent to particular nations

However, all the messengers that came before the last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came with a message that was meant only for a particular period of time.

For example, the Quran says, "And (We appointed Jesus) a messenger to the

Children of Israel:” [3.49]

The fact that Jesus (pbuh) came as a messenger only to the children of Israel is asserted by a similar message is given in the Bible where Jesus (pbuh) says, “I am not sent but

unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Gospel of Matthew 15:24]

Jesus (pbuh) further says in the Bible. “Go not into the way of the Gentiles,

and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost

sheep of the house of Israel.” [Gospel of Matthew 10:5-6]. So Jesus (pbuh)

was sent only for the Jews and not for the whole of humanity.

The last Prophet was sent for entire mankind

However, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not sent only  for the Arabs, but for the entire humankind. The Quran says, “And We did not send you (O Prophet), except as a mercy to all worlds.” [21.107]

“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as one to give them good

news, and to warn them (of the punishment; As a messenger and a guide to

mankind), but most men do not understand.” [34.28].

The earlier prophets were sent to specific lands at specific times when communicational developments as seen today had not become a reality. But Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as a messenger to the whole world as he is the last and final messenger for mankind even unto the advent of the Last Day.

The only faith acceptable by God!

The religion of all the prophets was ‘total submission to God’s Will’ and the one word for that in the Arabic language is ‘Islam’; and the person who does that is a ‘Muslim’.

God says in the Quran that Abraham (pbuh) was a Muslim. “Ibrahim

(Abraham) was neither a Jew nor even a Christian; But he was true in Faith,

and surrendered his will to Allah’s, (like a Muslim) and He did not join gods

with Allah.” [3.67]

It is mentioned in the Quran that Jesus (pbuh) was a Muslim [3.52]. Jesus

(pbuh) also says in the Bible. “I seek not my own will, but the will of the

Father which hath sent me.” [Gospel of John 5:30]. And anybody who seeks

the Will of God is referred to as a Muslim.

Islam is the first religion and the only religion, which is acceptable in the

sight of God. Therefore God says: “If anyone desires a religion other

than Islam (submission to God), it will never be accepted from him; In the

Hereafter, he will be with those who have lost (all spiritual reward).” [3.85]