What are the features of the true religion? What is the true religion of islam?
We can summarize the common characteristics of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are accepted today as religions based on divine origin, and the points where Islam differs from these are as follows:
- Islam is the most perfect religion: Considering the development process of societies, the latest religion should be the most perfect compared to the previous ones. In this regard, the following is stated in a verse: “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”[1] Just as Islam is the last religion, its prophet is also the last prophet. In comparison to Islam, other religions are in the position of previous religions.
- Belief in Allah: Islam is based on the belief in only one Allah and requires that He be worshiped. It informs us that the realm of beings has been created by Allah. Although Judaism insists on the unity of God, in various periods of history they attributed human qualities to Him, regarded Yahweh as a national God, and even claimed that Uzayr (pbuh) was the son of God. By calling Jesus God and the son of God, the Christians, on the other hand, deified Jesus.
- Belief in angels: Islam requires believers to believe in graceful beings called angels. While the belief that angels are the sons and daughters of God penetrated into other religions of divine origin, Islam rejected such belief.
- Believing in the holy books: According to the Islamic belief, since the time of Adam (pbuh), Almighty Allah sent His message to some prophets in the form of pages and to others, he sent in the form of books. He revealed the Psalms to David, the Torah to Moses, the Gospel to Jesus, and the Qur’an to Muhammad (peace be upon them). The Qur’an was revealed piecemeal in 23 years and has reached the present day without any changes. The other two holy books have been changed by various interventions and since their originals have disappeared, it is no longer possible to verify the copies of the Bible and the Torah from their original text. However, the Qur’an, which came after them, explained the main changes made by human beings in the Torah and the Bible. By following these changed places referred to by the Qur’an, the original message in these books can be discovered. Only then can we talk about a real dialogue among the members of the books of divine origin. This can be nothing but the message brought by Islam.
On the other hand, Jews and Christians do not accept each other’s books, and also reject Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an. In a way, Islam presents the essence and summary of the entire divine message from Adam (as) to the last prophet Muhammad (saw) and approves of them all. It has always kept the door of dialogue open to those who maintain their adherence to previous religions. Islam even regards them as the “people of the book” by keeping them separate from the other people of disbelief.
- Belief in Prophethood: Islam accepts 28 prophets mentioned in the Qur’an and all the unnamed messengers of Allah as a whole. Judaism and Christianity, on the other hand, do not accept the prophet who came after them, making various claims and slander about the prophets, since their religions were altered afterward.
- Belief in the Hereafter: This belief is common to all monotheistic religions. While more emphasis is placed on worldly life in Judaism, and the hereafter and spiritual life in Christianity, Islam has established a balance between the two. “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget your portion in this world.”[2]
- To impose obligations on everyone as much as they can bear: Islam has brought the most measured and easy rules in terms of this world and the hereafter; the material and the spiritual. Islam even abolished or mitigated some of the heavy provisions made in previous religions.
The following is stated in the Qur’an: “On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear.”[3] “Thus, have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.”[4] The Prophet also said: “I was sent only with the religion of the ḥanīf and a religion which is easy.”[5]
[1] Al-Mā’ida, 5: 3.
[2] Al-Qaṣaṣ, 28: 77.
[3] Al-Baqara, 2: 286.
[4] Al-Baqara, 2: 143.
[5] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, V, 266; See al-Bukhari, Imān, 29.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ʿilmi ḥāl) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications