By Hafidh Saif Al-Rawahy

At the time of the revelation of the Qur’an, there were already many religious groups, each claiming to be the only one on the true path to God and that salvation could be attained solely for its followers.  Each group’s criterion of truth was based on the character of the rituals, ceremonies, customs, and manners it observed, which resulted in each group condemning the other, thinking that they alone were on the right path bearing the truth, and the rest were deluded from the right path and truth. Thus, such an attitude results in hatred and enmity among them, which in turn leads to warfare and bloodshed in the name of God.

The Qur'an was delivered over fourteen hundred years ago by the Creator to mankind through His last prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him), presenting to the world at large the principles of unity in God, unity in mankind, unity in religion, and unity in revelation.

Religion in the Qur’anic language is referred to as “Deen,” which translates as a “way of life,” in compliance with God’s guidance. It is submitting to the will of God in obedience to His beneficial laws. Islam is not a religion to be paid lip service only; rather, it is an all-encompassing way of life that must be practiced continuously. It is a complete way of life where everything related to human existence is covered from birth to death, living in complete submission to the will of the One who created man in the first place. God says in the Qur’an, “The only way of life (or Deen) accepted by Him is a total submission to His way (that is Islam)” [Qur’an 3:19]. “No compulsion in religion” [Qur’an 2:256], as the Qur’an insists, is a bedrock principle of Islam, and therefore, this total submission to God’s way should be done willingly, not coerced in any way.

Once we humble ourselves, rid ourselves of our egoism, and submit totally to the Creator and to Him exclusively in faith and in action, we will surely experience peace in our hearts, which in turn brings peace to our external conduct.

According to the Qur’an, Allah revealed the “code of law” and the “way to God” to all His messengers from time to time over the ages. The “way to God” (which underlies and defines the religion) was fundamentally one and the same, particularly in the articles of faith such as the belief in the Oneness of God, the belief in the Day of Judgment, the submission to the divine will of God, the belief in personal accountability on the Day of Judgment, and the link between faith and righteous deeds for salvation. But they differed in the details of the “code of law” (which underlies and defines devotional practices) depending upon the stage of human social development and life circumstances [Qur’an 5:48]. The people of all the prophets were required to submit to the “code of law” and “way to God” as revealed to their prophets. In other words, they were required to be Muslims, following Islam as defined above. The Qur’an is the final revelation to mankind and defines the final, divine “code of law” and “way to God"—the final religion that is Islam.

The Qur’an wants to emphasize this truth and, at the same time, bring light to man’s negligence of internal devotion to God and living a righteous life. Instead, variations in the “code of law” or outward form of observance had been idealized and made the basis of differences among mankind. The Qur’an proclaims in clear terms that all prevailing religions, as originally delivered, upheld the same truth of monotheism: recognizing one God, submitting to His will, and living a righteous life.

It seems that when the world opened before man in the first stage of his history, man was compelled, by his very nature and the situation in which he found himself, to believe in the existence of an almighty being who must have created all that he beheld around him. It was only in subsequent stages that man began to assign qualities or attributes, on the analogy of his own, to the almighty being. It was thus a retrogressive turn from his initial belief in God. To put it in simple terms, Adam was created with light within, but his progeny deviated from the path, losing the gift of light that had been given to their ancestors and letting in darkness instead. The Qur’an refers to this: “Mankind were at first of one religion only, and then they fell to variance” [Qur’an 10:19]. In another verse, it says, “Mankind were first of one religion, and God sent prophets as comforters and warners, and He sent down with them the word of truth that it might decide the disputes of men” [Qur’an 2:13].