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By Compiled by Majed S. Al-Rassi

Edited by Dr. Bilal Philips

ach person is born in a religious environment that is not of his/her own

choice. From the very beginning of human existence in this world, they

are assigned the religion of their family or the ideology of the state. By the

time individuals reach their teens they usually accept the beliefs of their

parents or that of their particular society.

However, when some people mature and are exposed to other beliefs

and ideologies, they begin to question the validity of their own beliefs.

Seekers of truth often reach a point of confusion upon realizing that

believers of every religion, sect, ideology and philosophy all claim to have

the one and only correct religion or ideology. There are only three

possibilities. They are either all correct; all wrong or only one is correct and

the rest are wrong. They cannot all be right since all religions are different

from each other in their fundamentals. Furthermore, the majority claim that

they alone are correct and the rest are wrong. On the other hand, to claim

that they are all wrong is to deny that God revealed His will to humankind.

This proposition is absurd to those who believe in a Wise Creator. So, which

religion is the right one and how can the seeker of truth know it? This is the

subject of the booklet in your hands.

In beginning one’s search for which religion is true, one should keep

in mind four things in mind: First, God gave us abilities and intellects to

make the crucial decision: WHAT IS THE TRUE RELIGION? Second,

God, the Most Compassionate, did not leave us to go astray without any

guidance. Indeed, He sent us prophets with scriptures to show us the right

path. Third, seeking the true religion should be the most important thing in

one’s life because the everlasting life to come depends on it.[1] Fourth, one

can determine the true path and make a rational and correct decision only if

emotions and prejudices, which often blind one to reality, are put aside.

I. PURPOSE FOR CREATION

ave you ever wondered about the reason of our existence? Have you

ever wondered why we die, and where we go after death? What will

happen to us in the end? Have you ever asked yourself why God made the

earth and all that is in it under man’s dominion? Why were the night and the

day, and the sun and the moon created? What are we supposed to do during

our lifetime? Were we created just to eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves before

we die? As one poet put it:

“I do not know whence I have come.

I saw my feet walking on the road.

As they please I go and stop.

What am I doing here?

How did the road find me?

I do not know! I do not know! I do not know! ”

God has emphasized in many verses of the Qur’an[2] that He did not

create us without purpose. He said: “What! Do you think that I created

you simply in jest ? And that you would not be returned to Me?”[3]

(23:115) He also said: “What! Does man think that he will be left to

roam at his will?” (75:36) In addition, He said: “Do people think that

they will be left to say: “We believe,” and they will not be held

accountable?” (29:2)

Indeed, God Has created human beings for a purpose and with a purpose:

TO WORSHIP HIM ALONE (Monotheism). He said: “I have not created

the Jinn and humankind except only to worship Me. I don't require

provision or feeding from them. Surely Allah[4] is the All-provider, the

Possessor of all strength, the Firm.” (51:56-58) In fact, all prophets told

their people to worship God alone (Monotheism) and shun worshipping His

creation (Paganism). God said: “I assuredly sent among every people a

messenger with the command: Worship Allah and avoid worshipping

false gods.” (16:36)

upon him). Elaborate definition of Qur'an is explained on page 22.

Prophet Abraham, for example, believed in One God, who had no partner.

Anyone who holds a different understanding of God than this has

contradicted the religion of Abraham and follows falsehood. God says in the

Qur’an: “Those who reject the religion of Abraham make fools of

themselves.” (2:130)

Prophet Jesus was reported in the Gospels to have said: “It is written:

‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’.” (Luke 4:8)

Prophet Jacob also said (in the Quran) to his people: “Indeed, those which

you worship besides Allah are only names that you and your forefathers

have established, for which Allah has sent down no authority. The

command belongs only to Allah. He has commanded that you worship

none but Him. That is the right religion, but most people do not

understand.” (12:40)

II. THE BASIC MESSAGE OF ISLAM

he basic message of Islam is the same message of all the previous

prophets: worship God alone and avoid worshipping anything besides

Him, whether it is a person, place or thing, directly or indirectly. This basic

principle of Monotheism is contained in the opening chapter of the Qur’an,

known as Soorat al-Faatihah, verse 4: “You alone we worship and from

you alone we do seek help.” In (4:37), God also said: “Worship Allah and

do not associate partners with Him.” Muhammad, the last Prophet (mercy

and peace of God be upon him) is reported to have said: “Anyone who

says: There is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and dies holding

that belief will be granted paradise.”[5]

III. PROOFS FOR GOD'S RIGHT OF WORSHIP

Only God should be worshipped because He is the Creator and

sustainer of all that exists. This Great Universe and everything that is in it

cannot be the product of chance, and could not have created itself. Signs

testifying that God is the only Creator can be seen throughout the earth and

in the very soul of each person. God said in the Qur’an: “It is Allah who

created the sky and the earth, and sent down from the sky water by

which He brought forth fruits for your sustenance. He subjected for

you the ships to sail upon the sea at His command, and He subjected for

you the rivers. And He subjected for you the sun and moon in

continuous cycles, and He subjected for you the night and day. And He

gave you all you asked Him for .” (14:32-34)

In the Qur’an, God mentions Prophet Abraham’s search for truth as an

example of how those who follow God’s signs will be rightly guided to the

worship of Him alone; God said: “In this way I showed Abraham the

kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he would have faith with

understanding and certainty. When the night covered him with

darkness, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he

said: ‘I don’t like those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising up, he

said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘Unless my Lord guides

me, I will certainly be among the people who went astray.’ When he

saw the sun rising up he said: ‘This is my Lord, this is the greatest of

all.’ But when it set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free from what

you join as partners with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards

Allah who created the heavens and the earth and I reject those who

associate partners with Allah (in worship).”(6:75-79) Actually, in the

Qur’an God calls people to continuously look at the Universe, as this will

affirm the divine truth of His existence, His greatness and that He alone

should be worshipped.

God alone deserves our worship because only He can answer our

prayers. God says in the Qur’an: “And your Lord says: Call on Me and I

will answer your prayer.” (40:60) Hence, if a human being prays to an idol

and his prayers are answered, it is not the idol which actually answered his

prayers but God. Similarly, prayers to Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Saint

Christopher, Saint Jude or to Prophet Muhammad, are not answered by

them, but are answered by God. Consequently, prayer is an act of worship

which should be directed to God alone.

Indeed, prophets who are worshipped besides Him did not tell

people to worship them. Instead, the prophets warned their people against

doing just that. For example, Islam teaches that Prophet Jesus (mercy and

peace of God be upon him) was a human being who was created by God in

a miraculous way. He was born of a mother, Mary, without a father and he

worshipped God. He was not God, nor was he the son of God. He was

neither one of three manifestations of God as Christians say, nor was he the

son of a prostitute as the Jews say. He told his people (the tribes of Israel) to

worship God alone. He did not tell people to worship either himself or his

mother. Furthermore, Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him)

did not worship himself when he worshipped, rather he worshipped God.

However, those who claim to be the followers of Jesus Christ today worship

Jesus himself, claiming that he is God, and others also worship his mother

calling her ‘the mother of God.’! God says in the Qur’an that He will ask

Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) on the Day of

Judgment: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you tell people: Take me and my

mother as gods besides Allah? Then he will say: Glory to you, I could

never say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would have

known it, You know what is within myself, but I do not know what is

within Yourself. Verily, You alone are the Knower of the unseen. I did

not say to them except what You commanded me; to worship Allah, my

Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness over them as long as I was

among them, but when You raised me up, You were the observer over

them, and You are the witness over all things.” (5:116 - 117)

God emphasizes in the Qur’an that Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace

of God be upon him) was neither killed nor crucified, but God raised him up

into the heavens in body and spirit and he will be returned to the earth

before the end of the world. Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God

be upon him) stated that Prohet Jesus would rule the earth according to the

Islamic law, then he will die on earth like other human beings and will be

buried and resurrected like them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, Prophet

Jesus who was given life, was born from a woman’s womb and circumcised,

ate, slept, went to the toilet, grew up, prayed, and will die, should never be

taken as God as all these characteristics are not the attributes of God, but of

His creatures.

The New Testament states that Jesus Christ taught his followers to

pray to God saying: “Our Father [6] who art in heaven, hallowed be your

name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in

heaven.” (Luke 11:2 / Matthew 6:9-10) Also, he taught that only those who

submit to God would inherit paradise: “None of those who call me ‘Lord’

will enter the Kingdom of God, except one who does the will of my

Father in heaven.”(Matthew 7:21) Prophet Jesus also pointed out that he

himself submitted to the will of God: “I cannot do anything of myself. I

judge as I hear and my judgment is honest because I am not seeking my

own will but the will of Him who sent me.” (John 5:23)

In fact, there are many reports in the Gospels that show that Prophet Jesus

made it clear to his followers that he was not God. For example, when

speaking about the final hour, he said: “No one knows about that day or

hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son [7], but only the Father.”

(Mark 13:32)

Buddha, was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic

principles in the Hindu religion practiced in India. He did not claim to be

God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be worshipped. Yet, today

most Buddhists have made him their God and they prostrate themselves

before idols representing his likeness. In brief, from the perspective of the

object worshipped, all religions today [except Islam] invite people to the

worship of creation!

God’s attributes point to the fact that God alone deserves

worship. He is One, without relatives; He has neither father, son, mother

nor wife. He is the Eternal Absolute. He neither gives birth, nor is He born,

and there is nothing like Him. He is perfect in His knowledge, in His power,

in His will, in His mercy and in all His other attributes. God is all-powerful

and perfect, while human beings are weak and imperfect. That is how He

defined Himself and how all prophets defined Him.

Another proof that God alone deserves to be worshipped can be

found within the human soul. Islam teaches that all human beings have

imprinted on their souls an awareness of God and a natural inclination

towards worshipping Him alone imprinted on their souls. In the Qur’an,

God explained that when He created Adam He caused all of Adam’s

descendants to come into existence and then He took a pledge from all of

them saying: “Am I not your Lord? To which they all replied: Yes, we

testify to it.” God then explained why He had all of humankind bear

witness that He is their Creator and only true God worthy of worship: “That

is in case you, humankind, may say on the Day of Resurrection: Indeed

we were unaware of this.” God further elaborated on this point saying: “It

is also in case you may say: It was our ancestors who made partners

with Allah, and we are only their descendants, will you then destroy us

for what those liars did?” (7:173) Hence, people who associate partners

with God in worship cannot claim on that day that they had no idea that

Allah was the only god who deserved to be worshipped.

Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him) reported

that God said: “I created my slaves upon the right religion, but devils

made them go astray.”[8] He also said: “Each child is born in a state of

Islam. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.”[9]

Thus, Islam is the birthright of every human being, since every child is born

with a natural belief in the existence of God and an inborn inclination

towards worshipping Him alone. Just as the child submits to the physical

laws which God has imposed on the physical world, in the same way its soul

also submits naturally to the fact that God is the only Lord and Creator. But

if their parents are following a different path, the child is usually not strong

or aware enough to recognize the truth or resist the will of the parents. In

such cases, the religion which the child follows is one of custom and

upbringing. But God, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, will not hold

him to account or punish him for following a false religion before he

reaches the age of reason and is exposed to the pure message of Islam.

IV. THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS

alse religions, on the other hand, all teach the worship of creation

(Paganism) in one way or another. Some religions call to idolatry

indirectly while proclaiming God’s unity, while others openly call to the

worship of other gods besides God or along with God, instead of calling to

the worship of God alone (pure Monotheism). Idolatry is the greatest sin

that a human being commit because it equates the Creator with the creation

and diverts worship from the Creator to the creation. It also contradicts the

very purpose for which humans were created; the worship of God alone.

One who dies in a state of idolatry has sealed his or her fate in the next life.

This is not an opinion, but a divinely revealed fact stated by God in the

Qur’an: “Verily, Allah will not forgive joining of partners with Him, but

He may forgive sins less than that for whomsoever He wishes.” (4:48 &

116)

Man should not worship other than God because it makes no

sense to worship the creation which is weak in nature, and neglect the

Creator who controls the whole Universe! God says in the Qur’an: “Do they

attribute to Me partners who created nothing but are themselves

created? They can neither help others nor can they help themselves.

And if you call them to guidance they will not follow you. It is the same

for you whether you call them or you keep silent. Certainly, those

whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like yourselves. So call

upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful. Do they have

feet with which they walk, hands with which they hold, eyes with which

they see? Or do they have ears with which they hear?” (7:190-195)

The following is an example of a sign revealed by God to a man to

show him the error of his idol-worship.

In the southeastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South America, a

primitive tribe erected a new hut to house their main idol Skwatoo,

representing the supreme God of all creation! The following day a young

man entered the hut to pay homage to his god. While he was prostrating to

what he had been taught was his creator and sustainer, a mangy, old and

flea-ridden dog slunk into the hut. The young man looked up just in time to

see the dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol. Outraged, the young

man chased the dog out of the temple, but when his rage died down, he

realized that the idol could not be the Lord of the Universe. God must be

elsewhere, he concluded. As strange as it may seem, the dog urinating on

the idol was a sign from God for that young man that his idol does not

deserve to be worshipped. This sign contained the divine message that what

he was worshipping was false. It liberated him from slavishly following his

traditionally learned worship of a false god. As a result, this man was given

a choice: either to seek the true God or to continue in the error of his ways.

V. GOD AND HIS CREATION

slam emphasizes that God and His creation are distinctly different

entities. God is neither a part of His creation nor is He mixed in with it.

His creation is neither equal to Him in His attributes nor a part of Him.

Indeed, God is the Most High; He is above all creation, above the heavens

and above His Throne, as He informed us about Himself in the Qur’an and

in the previous scriptures. This might seem obvious, but man’s worship of

creation instead of the Creator is to a large degree based on ignorance or

negligence of this fact. The wrong belief that the essence of God is

everywhere in His creation or that He is a part of His creation, has provided

justification for the worship of God’s creation. Philosophical idol

worshipers justify their idolatry by saying that they do not actually worship

the stone or metal image, but God who becomes concentrated in it during

their rituals of worship! They claim that the stone idol is only a focal point

for God’s essence and is not itself God! Anyone who accepts the concept of

God being present in any way within His creation will be obliged to accept

this argument in justification of idolatry.

Actually, those who have claimed divinity for themselves down

through the ages have often based their claims on the mistaken belief that

God is present in humans. Taking this belief one step further, they claim that

God is more present in them than in others, and that other humans should

therefore submit to them and worship them as God incarnate or as God

concentrated within their person. Similarly, those who have asserted that

others were God, after their deaths, have found fertile ground among those

who accept the false belief of God’s presence in man.

Some idol worshippers try to justify what they are doing by saying:

“We treat idols as mediators and intercessors between us and God.” This is

also an incorrect belief because God does not need mediators between Him

and people. He hears everything and knows all the needs of His creation. In

fact, this argument reduces God to the level of His creatures who often use

intermediaries to achieve their goals. In hundreds of Qur’anic verses God

invites humans to have a direct relationship with Him without any mediator

or intercessor, and He prohibits them from worshipping anything other than

Him under any circumstance or for any justification. God, the Most Wise,

did not prescribe for people religious rites that would affect the direct

relationship between Himself and humans, such as baptism confession, or

belief in man as a savior, or as an intermediary. Indeed, God is too great and

perfect to will a thing that would lower Himself to a level of weakness and

inferiority. To claim that God humbled Himself and took a human form is to

claim that He became feeble. And to claim that He decided to die means that

He decided to be as weak as His weakest creature. It also means that those

who were alive when He died would have been superior to Him!

To conclude, all false religions have in common one basic concept

with regard to God; that God and His creation are one. They either claim

that all men are God, or that specific men are God, or that nature is God, or

that God is a figment of man’s imagination or that man is a mediator

between people and God. Thus, it may be said that false religions invite

humans to the worship of creation instead of the Creator by calling the

creation or some aspect of it ‘God’.

VI. THE RELIGION’S NAME

nother evidence that Islam is the true religion can be identified by the

meaning of the word “Islam” itself. Basically, the word ' Islam ' is an

Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience. As a religion, Islam

has two meanings; general and specific. Islam in general, refers to the

religion which God revealed to all prophets: The worship of God alone

 (Monotheism) and the avoidance of Paganism. This explains why in the

Qur'an all prophets call themselves Muslims.[10] However, the word Islam

also specifically refers to the religion that was revealed to Prophet

Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him). None of the ‘previous

religions’ were given specifically their name by God, except for this last

religion - Islam.

Islam was not named after a person or a group of people, nor was it

decided upon by later generations of humans. Indeed, the name Islam was

given by God Himself as is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an in many verses

(e.g. “Indeed religion with Allah is Islam.”[3:19]). On the other hand,

Christianity was named after Jesus Christ (by its followers), and Judaism

after the tribe of Judah. However, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible

that the religion of the followers of Prophets Isaac and Moses and their

descendants is called Judaism, or that the religion of the followers of

Christ[11] is called Christianity. In other words, the names ‘Judaism’ and

Latin. Jesus is the English equivalent and Latin form of the Greek ‘Iesous’, which in

 ‘Christianity’ had no divine origin or approval. It was not until long after

Jesus' departure that the name Christianity was given to the religion of those

claiming to be his followers. The same applies for Buddhism, which was

named after Gautama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, Marxism

after Karl Marx, and Hinduism after the Hindus and so on.

VII. THE SIX ARTICLES OF ISLAMIC FAITH

Islamic belief is based on the following six fundamental articles of faith:

1. Belief in God. This includes the following beliefs:

Belief in God’s existence. The existence of man and the

entire universe is not a mere accident or the product of

chance. This universe and everything that is in it manifests

and points to the realization of a Creator.

Belief that God is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Owner of the

Universe and its contents, the provider of everything, the

Giver of life and the Causer of death.

Hebrew is ‘Yeshua’. ‘Christos’ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew ‘messiah’, which

means ‘the anointed’.

Belief that God is the only One who has the right to be

worshipped.

Belief that God’s names and attributes are unique to Him.

2. Belief in the Angels

Angels are creatures created by God for specific functions in this

world. They are normally invisible and they have no free will; they do as

God commands them. They are not to be worshipped. Angel Gabriel was

responsible for taking revelation to the prophets. Two angels are assigned to

every human being to record their good and evil deeds. Another angel

accompanies each human being encouraging him/her to do good deeds.

Others blow the human spirit into the fetus when it reaches the end of the

fourth month and others take the human spirit at the time of its death by

God’s permission. There are other angels that have other responsibilities too

many to enumerate in this small booklet.[12]

 3. Belief in the Scriptures

This article of faith refers to belief in all the scriptures revealed by

God to His messengers in their original form. These scriptures form the

enlightenment which the messengers received to show their people the right

Al-Othaimeen, published at Alhidaayah, U.K..

path of God. All the revealed books call to the worship of God alone and

avoidance of worshipping other than Him or others besides Him. However,

due to the difference between nations in time and locations, there was some

difference in the canonical teachings (Law) between scriptures according to

the wisdom of God.

Muslims believe in the previous books mentioned in the Qur’an: the

books of Abraham (Suhuf), the Scripture of Moses (Torah), the Psalms of

David (Zaboor) and the Gospel of Prophet Jesus (Al-Injeel). However, long

before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon

him), they had all been lost or distorted by later generations over the

centuries. They were polluted with myths, superstitions, idolatry and

irrational philosophical beliefs, carrying contradicting thoughts. Hence, the

original scriptures are no longer in existence. A brief historical review, for

example, of the evolution of Christianity from pure monotheism into tritheism

within the first 400 years after Jesus’ departure clearly illustrates this

process of degeneration.[13]

The Qur’an

However, God, the Most Compassionate, didn't leave man to go

astray without an unadulterated reference. Indeed, He revealed the Qur’an

and promised to preserve it as the final revelation for humankind for all

times. It is the word of God which He revealed to Prophet Muhammad

(mercy and peace of God be upon him) through the Angel Gabriel. It was

revealed in parts over a period of 23 years. The Prophet Muhammad (mercy

and peace of God be upon him) dictated the revelation to his companions

who wrote it down during his lifetime on palm leaves, parchments, bones,

flat stones, etc. In addition, the Qur'an was committed to heart by many of

Prophet Muhammad's companions. One year after the death of Prophet

Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him), the first Caliph, Abu-

Bakr, instructed the Prophet’s companions to collect the whole Qur’an in

one volume. The third Caliph, Uthman, prepared several copies from the

original text and sent them to the major centers of Islamic Civilization.

From that time onwards, more than 1400 years ago, the same Qur’anic text

has been in use with the exact wording, order and language (Arabic). Not a

single word from its 114 chapters has been changed since it was revealed.

Indeed, God promised in the Qur’an to preserve it forever. He said: “Verily,

I have sent down the Qur’an, and indeed, I will guard it from

corruption.”[14] (15:9)

An essential point to understand about the Qur’an is that it is a

miracle both in its revelation and content. At the time of the revelation and

since, there have been those who have denied the divine and miraculous

nature of the Qur’an saying that Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be

upon him) was either taught by others or that he wrote it by himself! In

order to counteract this claim, God lays down a challenge to the whole of

humankind saying: “ If you are in doubt concerning what I have

revealed to My slave (Muhammad), then produce one chapter like it

and you may call on your helpers beside Allah, if you are truthful.”

(2:23) These are from the prophecies which the Qur’an foretold as no one

from the time of the Prophet (mercy and peace of God be upon him) until

this day has been able to produce the like of one chapter or even a verse of

the Qur’an.

4. Belief in the Messengers of God

This article of faith addresses the belief that God conveyed His

message through selected human beings. These individuals, called prophets

and messengers, were selected by God to be examples of how the scriptures

were to be understood and implemented. God sent to every nation a

prophet(s) to convey the message that He alone was to be worshipped and

any thing worshipped along with Him or besides Him is false. The Qur’an

mentions the names of only twenty-five of the prophets while indicating that

many others were not mentioned by name. The first of these prophets was

Adam and the last was Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon them

all). Every prophet was sent to a specific people for specific periods of time

except Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him) who

was sent to all people until the Final Hour. The proofs that Muhammad

(mercy and peace of God be upon him) was a messenger of God are more

than a thousand; all are mentioned in his biography. The greatest proof is

the miracle of the Qur’an, which couldn’t have been conveyed but by a

messenger. Indeed, mention of Prophet Muhammad’s coming can be found

in the books of the Bible in spite of the changes which have taken place in

their texts (See Deut. 18:18, 18:15; Isaiah 29:12; Songs of Solomon 5:16;

John 16:12-14 & John 14: 15-16).

5. Belief in the Last Day

Islam teaches that this life is but a test of conduct for man to see

whether or not he will follow the commands of God. In the Hereafter,

people will be resurrected and stand before God for a just reckoning of their

worldly deeds and actions. People with good deeds will be generously

rewarded and warmly welcomed to the heavens of God. However, those

with bad records will be punished and cast into Hell. People have been

given knowledge of right and wrong, instinctively and through revelation,

and they must choose their path in this short life. Their choices in this life

will ultimately determine their places in the eternal life to come. God says in

the Qur’an: “Whosoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it,

and whosoever has done an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” (99:7-8)

Belief in the Day of Judgement implants in man’s heart the

consciousness of God, impelling man and society at large to obey Him

sincerely without any external pressure.

6. The Belief in