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Islam claims to be a divine religion.
In fact, Islam claims to be the only divine religion which exists in its
original shape. It claims to be the religion prescribed by God for man
since man’s inception. It claims to entail the original unadulterated teachings
of God, which were given to all His prophets except only a few laws which
were specific to them.
In the opinion of this writer, Islam
substantiates its claim of being divine on the following bases:
1. Its basic resource book – the Qur’an
–
which was presented through Mohammed – a human being – over a period of
twenty-three years, is absolutely clear of all inconsistencies that all
human works, without any exception, have;
2. Its fulfilled prediction of the
manifestation God’s of Justice upon its direct addressees within the life
time of its presenter; and
3. All its basic teachings are of
the nature of a reminder.
Although each one of these topics requires
extensive details to be fully understood, yet, for an introduction a brief
explanation of each of the given points follows:
a) The Qur’an is Clear of all Deficiencies Inherent
in Human Works
The first among the arguments, on
the basis of which, the Qur’an has substantiated its claim of being
revealed by God is that this book is clear of all such inconsistencies,
which is a permanent feature of all human works1. In fact, I am not aware
of any other book claiming to be revealed by God, which, like the Qur’an,
gives us an objective criterion to judge whether it is truly revealed by
God or not. Even the books of the Bible are not an exception. The Qur’an
has
clearly mentioned:
Had it been from anyone other than God, they
would have found a number of inconsistencies. (4:82)
To fully understand the significance of
this criterion as well as to be able to apply this criterion on the Qur’an,
one should first be aware of some of the common features of all human beings
which translate into inconsistencies and discrepancies in their works.
A human being, in his individual capacity, as well as the human society,
in its collective capacity, do not represent a stagnant phenomena. Both
the individual as well as the collectivity, of which the individual is
a member, is in a continuous process of development and evolution. Every
person, without any exception, goes through a process of evolution and
development in his ability and level of understanding in his information,
in his understanding, analysis and interpretation of phenomena as well
as in the formation and presentation of his ideas. All humans go through
this process of development and evolution. This process, if you would closely
observe, has a tremendous bearing on the life long works of the individual.
You need not go far to fully appreciate this point. You can take any writer
(whether in the field of literature, philosophy, science, history or any
other discipline) and study his development over a period of time. You
shall see that every writer, without even a single exception, is prone
to evolution and development in:
The information available to him;
The style of analyzing the available
information;
The formation of ideas and opinions;
The presentation of his ideas and
opinions;
As a person progresses through the
various stages in his life and encounters these various kinds of, internal
and external, evolutions and developments, the style of his writing, the
formation and presentation of his ideas and the references that he uses
in his writings go through a process of development as well. This, in other
words, introduces a kind of inconsistency and, sometimes, grave discrepancies
in his writings and presentations over period of time.
In addition to these points of evolution
and development, which affect the opinions and ideas propounded by an individual,
another important factor, which affects the validity of the ideas proposed
by the individual overtime is the discovery of new scientific and historical
facts, which were unknown or inadequately known to the individual and due
to which the findings, opinions and ideas proposed by the individual are
rendered redundant.
The life and works of the greatest
and most influential human minds provides adequate evidence to this fact.
Whether it be the great minds of science – including Sir Isaac Newton and
Albert Einstein – or of literature and philosophy every one of them was
subjected to the same individual and collective developments and evolution.
There is not a single exception to this rule in human history. Every individual
has to undergo these, internal and external, developments in life.
The Qur’an, however, claims
to be an exception. It has declared itself to be an exception, not because
Mohammed (sws) – the person, who presented the Qur’an – did not
go through any, internal or external, developments in his life, but because
the real source of the Qur’an – The All-Knowing, All-Encompassing
God – is beyond any, internal or external, developments, evolutions or
inadequacies.
Thus, the Qur’an declares itself
to be absolutely clear of any:
a. Inconsistencies in its literary
style,
b. Evolution and developments in the
proposed ideas and thoughts, and
c. Drawing support for its claims
from such available information, which was later proved to be incorrect2.
The referred verse of the Qur’an
has
stressed that if a mortal had written the Qur’an, then it would
have contained all such inconsistencies which all human works contain.
While analyzing the Qur’an,
it should be remembered that Mohammad (sws) was not an educated person.
Throughout his whole life, his literary presentation consists only of the
Qur’an.
He neither presented any book before the Qur’an, nor one after it.
He was never seen practicing poetry or oratory, even by the closest of
his acquaintances. He was known to be a quiet person with high moral standards.
After living the first forty years of his life in a small town – where
every individual personally knew every other individual – he started presenting
a book of a literary standard which astonished the Arabs -- Arabs who were
proud of their literary legacy and silenced the eloquence of their revered
and venerated poets and orators. This book did not only influence the contemporary
literati of the Arabic language but, even after fourteen centuries, it
is still considered the standard of excellence of the Arabic language.
Continually being revealed in varying circumstances: ranging from debate,
persecution, migration, peace, war, victory, loss, conquest and stability,
no variation can be found in either the quality of its language or the
focus of its message. This book laid the foundations of one of the largest
creeds in history and is still believed to be in its unaltered, original
form and language – which is in keeping with God’s promise of saving it
from all alterations till the end of time. All the revolutionary discoveries
and developments in man’s information about scientific and historical facts
during the past fourteen centuries which have rendered the works of even
some of the most profound human intellects redundant has remained unable
to even seriously challenge the presentation of an unlettered Arab fourteen
hundred years ago.
b) Fulfillment of the Prediction Regarding the Manifestation
of God’s Justice
Since the beginning of his ministry,
Mohammad (sws) presented himself not only as a Prophet (Nabi), but
also a Messenger (Rasul)of God3.
The Qur’an declares that Mohammad (sws) is not merely a deliverer
of God’s message, but is also a sign of God’s Justice. It says that that
Mohammad (sws) is in continuation of the chain of Messengers of God which
include well known names like Noah (sws), Abraham (sws), Lot (sws), Moses
(sws), Jonah (sws) and Jesus (sws) and which has now ended at Mohammad
(sws). Thus, like the previous nations in which God sent His Messengers,
the rejecters among the direct addressees of Mohammad (sws) shall also
be subdued and disgraced in the life of this world. The polytheists among
these rejecters shall be completely annihilated and shall not be allowed
to live.
Thus, at the very beginning of his
ministry, with hardly any followers, the Prophet (sws), on the authority
of God, unequivocally predicted that his rejecters, if they persist in
their rejection, shall have to face the wrath of God, not only in the Hereafter
but also during the life of this world. He declared at a time when even
his survival seemed quite unlikely that God shall bestow His blessings
upon the believers and shall grant them rule in the land.
A close look at the sequence of events
during the life of the Prophet (sws) shows that each subsequent day of
his life brought him closer and closer to the fulfillment of this prediction.
Finally, after the conquest of the capital town of Makkah and with
the ultimatum of the punishment of death to the polytheists and that of
subjugation to the rejecters from among the monotheists, this prediction
was finally fulfilled.
However, in view of some of the fulfilled
prophesies and accurate predictions of people who are not believed to receive
divine revelation4, one may
ask: Why should this fulfilled prophesy be considered as evidence of the
fact that the prophet in question is divinely guided? The answer is quite
simple. It is not merely a case of a fulfilled prophesy, but the fulfillment
of a prophecy made in the name and on the authority of God. A person who
makes a false prophesy in the name of God is not just an ordinary liar,
but one who ascribes lies to God. It is because of this reason that the
Bible had declared, many years before the advent of Mohammed (sws):
But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously
in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak
in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And you may say in your
heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken? When a
prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about
or come true, that is the thing, which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet
has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy
18: 20 – 22)
Besides this, the Qur’an also makes
a few other predictions, all in the name and on the authority of God; it
was only a matter of time before all these predictions came true.
Thus, it is believed, on the basis
of the fulfilled predictions of the Qur’an which it made in the
name and on the authority of God, that the person presenting the Qur’an
received
God’s revelation.
c) The Nature of the Basic Teachings of the Qur’an
The Bible says:
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among
you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes
true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other
gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them’. You shall not listen
to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your
God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:1–3)
As is evident from the cited verses of
the Bible, the nature of a person’s teachings also plays an important role
in whether his claim to Prophethood should be considered with any gravity
or not.
The Qur’an has termed its basic
teachings, a ‘reminder’ for man. A reminder about things and concepts,
which deep inside, he is already aware of, yet, due to the influence of
the external world – his society and surroundings – he tends to forget.
The basic belief that Islam wants its followers to ascribe
to and all the basic moral values on which Islam lays the foundation of
its laws and teachings are part of man’s nature as well as that of the
teachings of all the prophets of God. It is primarily due to this reason
that Islam considers man to be aware of these teachings, even though he
may, at first, not seem to have knowledge of this awareness. Islam declares
its teachings to be in accordance with the nature on which God has created
man.
The basic belief of Islam is the belief
in one God only. A merciful, just, wise, knowledgeable and powerful God.
This belief, according to Islam, is not only part of man’s nature and his
sapiential sense, but is also evident from the physical creation of God,
which one can easily observe around oneself. The belief in Prophethood
and the belief in a day of judgment are both corollaries of the belief
in the one God, Who possesses the stipulated attributes. All inborn sense
of morality and ‘good’ is also a manifestation of these basic attributes
of the Creator in man. All moral teachings of Islam are based on and an
application of the universally acknowledged moral values of justice, truthfulness,
honesty, helping the weak, freedom in one’s personal matters, modesty etc.
Islam, on the foundation of these basic beliefs and values,
guides man to the path which would develop and maintain his relationship
with his Creator, on the one hand, and with his fellow human beings, on
the other.
Thus, Islam – a system of beliefs
– based on the natural inclinations of man has presented itself as the
only true religion based on divine revelation on the aforementioned three
bases.
What Should be the Criteria of Evaluating Islam?
Islam does not give a separate set
of criteria for its own evaluation. Islam considers man’s faculty of understanding
to be his most outstanding quality. It greatly advocates the use of one’s
faculty of reasoning, evaluating, analyzing and understanding in finding
the truth. It wants its addressees to use these faculties in analyzing
and evaluating its own contents as well. Thus, Islam, its contents and
its claims should be analyzed and evaluated on the bases of common sense
and understanding.
This process of evaluating any religion that claims to
be based on divine revelation, in my opinion, should entail:
1. Evaluating the relevance as well
as the correctness of the arguments, on the basis of which, that religion
claims to be revealed by God5;
2. Evaluating the particular religion’s
introduction to God6 and its
bases;
3. Evaluating the concept of that
religion regarding the purpose of the creation of man in the light of the
basic attributes of God;
4. Evaluating the relevance as well
as the purpose of God’s revelations with special reference to the purpose
of creation, in the light of the basic attributes of God;
5. Evaluating the arguments given
for adherence to the basic articles of faith, and the relevance of these
articles of faith with the basic attributes of God;
6. Evaluating the ethical and moral
values promoted by that religion and the basis of these values;
7. Evaluating any interpersonal and
personal laws propounded by that religion in the light of:
a. The basic
attributes of God;
b. The basic
purpose of creation;
c. The basic
target of divine revelation; and
d. The basic
ethical and moral values promoted by that religion.
8. Evaluating the overall coherence
of the complete structure of that religion and to see whether any of its
teachings are in contradiction with any others. It may be added that this,
in my opinion, should be a sequential process. It should start from the
first point and sequentially move forward. In this way, any problems in
the structure of the religion under consideration, will be more easily
and objectively determinable.
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