Quran Garden

Session 349

Chapter 3

Verse 19

a continuation

Indeed, the true religion in the sight of God is Islam. Those who were given the Book did not differ except after true knowledge had come to them, out of envious rivalry among themselves. Whoever disbelieves in the revelations of God should know that God is swift to take account. (Chapter 3, Verse 19)

We should start with the question, If “the true religion in the sight of God is Islam,” then how about all the previous prophets and messengers? How about Jesus, Moses, David, Abraham, peace be upon them all? In the previous session, we explained how the word “Islam” means submission to the One God who created and provided us with all things.  In that sense, Islam is the essence of all the religions of all prophets and messengers.  Listen to God’s words as He relays to us the supplication of Prophets Abraham and Ishmael,

Our Lord, make us both Muslims submitted to You, and our descendants a Muslim community submitted to You. Show us our rites of worship and turn towards us. You are the Ever-Returning, the Most Merciful. (2,128)

And in another verse, the words of Prophet Jacob on his death bed,

Or were you present when death came to Jacob, and he said to his sons, “What will you worship when I have gone?” They said, “We will worship your God, the God of your forefathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac – one God.  We are Muslims submitted to Him.” (2,133)

Lastly, the supplication of our beloved Muhammad,

Say, “My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright religion, the faith of Abraham, a man of pure faith. He was not a polytheist.” Say, “My prayers and rites, my life and death, are all for God, Lord of all the Worlds; He has no partner. This is what I am commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.” (6,161-163)

The spirit of Islam -which is submission to God and harmony with the universe- is common to all heavenly messages; the word Muslims applies to all those who submit to God from the beginning of time till the last Day.  In other words, Islam is not limited to the message and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. 

Here is the distinction, however, in the use of the words “Islam” and “Muslim” across religions.  The words “Islam” and “Muslim” were occasionally used to describe previous heavenly messages and their followers.  As for the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, “Islam” and “Muslim” were the defining characteristics because our beloved Muhammad embodied true and permanent submission to Allah.  His faith is the perfect expression of harmony between man and the universe.  The religion of Muhammad earned the name “Islam” because his message reached the summit of how a true believer should live.  God says in the 3^rd verse of chapter 5,

Today I have perfected for you your religion, completed My blessing upon you, and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as religion.

Islam became the global religion for all people until the end of time.  It was our beloved Prophet Abraham who called us Muslims.  God says,

Strive hard for God as is His due, He has chosen you and placed no hardship in your religion, the faith of your forefather Abraham. This is the way of your father, Abraham. He named you Muslims previously, and in this Book, that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and that you may be the witnesses for Humankind. So establish the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and hold fast to God. He is your Guardian. How excellent a Guardian and Helper. (22, 78)

Take note that the verse specified “He named you Muslims,” and did not say “He described you as Muslims” because a name is something permanent, whereas a description is temporary.  Followers of previous heavenly messages were occasionally described as Muslim, but the followers of Muhammad earned that name.  An adjective only becomes a name when the description takes on absoluteness and permanency.  For example, you may be fair, and you may be generous; but these are only descriptions that may change with time.  Only Allah has the names “The Just” and “The Generous.”

Another interesting observation is that the followers of previous heavenly religions are often attributed to their prophet.  For example, Christians are named so because they are the followers of Jesus Christ, son of Mary.  We, the nation of Prophet Muhammad, do not go by “Muhammadi;” we say, "We are Muslims," and that is a great honor for us.  God says,

Indeed, the true religion in the sight of God is Islam.

The verse continues, “Those who were given the Book did not differ except after true knowledge had come to them.”Here we should ask, why the disagreements between those who have heavenly revelations? If divine religions mean submitting to the teachings of God, and since God is One who maintains justice, then there should be no conflict.  Where did the disagreements come from? Did another god appear to contradict Allah in His kingdom? No, Allah answers, “Those who were given the Book did not differ except after true knowledge had come to them, out of envious rivalry among themselves.”  The key phrase -and the tragic calamity- is that differences only came “after true knowledge had come to them.” Had people differed before knowledge came to them, we would have said, “they are excused; they did not know.”

Divine knowledge came directly from the One God who rules justly; Allah is a constant that never changes.  Worldly whims and desires must have entered religion and became the sources of conflict.  A group adopts one path, while a second group adopts another. 

In any conflict, whether between people or nations, there are only two possibilities.  The first is that one party holds to the truth, while the other deviates towards falsehood.  The second -and most common- possibility is that both parties have deviated towards falsehood.  There are many falsehoods out there, so the options for conflict are limitless.  You will never find two parties fighting each other while both are holding to the truth because there is one truth. 

Let’s take the example of the Jewish people.  Allah sent the heavenly message of Judaism to our beloved Moses.  Despite the many changes people introduced over the centuries, there was a group of Jews who held firm to their true faith.  When the message of Islam was revealed to Muhammad, they rushed to embrace it because they recognized it from their books.  God says in the 157^th verse of chapter 7,

Those who follow the Messenger- the unlettered Prophet they find described in the Torah that is with them, and in the Gospel- who commands them to do right and forbids them to do wrong

God’s message is not vague; it was clearly laid out in the Torah and the Bible.  He says about Prophet Muhammad,

Those to whom We gave the scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know (2,146)

It is of God’s mercy that He gave the glad tidings of Islam in the Gospel and the Torah.  Some held on to it while others concealed it and changed the scripture to match their whims.  God says,

Yet, they are not all alike. There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God’s revelations during the night, who bow down in worship, who believe in God and the Last Day, who order what is right and forbid what is wrong, who are quick to do good deeds. These people are among the righteous (3,113, 114)

Allah treated all fairly.  Those who held to their true faith were guided to the truth when Islam came.  Those who followed their whims were lost.   

God refers to the people of previous religions as “those who were given the Book.” When something is given to you, it means that it came from someone else.  Similarly, the scripture was given; it is not the work of humans.  Had it been the work of humans, they would have differed regarding its content.  Allah gave us a clear book, with no contradictions or disagreements.  He says,

Will they not ponder over this Quran? Had it been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it. (4, 82)

God is warning us that any system of governance produced by humans will create conflicts.  These conflicts can be avoided if we turn to God, the only source that is fair and consistent.  So when you seeconflict within a religion, rest assured that whims got involved, and people started adding and attributing falsehoods to God.