Introducing Islam, as a way of life and as a divine principle.
Islam is a divine principle, a way of life, and a way of
being for everything in creation.
Islam has always been non-sectarian, non-denominational. Everything in creation
submits to God's will and therefore follows this divine principle of Submission
- Islam. As a person who submits (a Muslim), I do not follow or acquire labels,
rather I follow and adhere to principles. The actual act of
submitting one’s life to the will of God.
To see an elaborate picture of Islam, look at the water cycle. When water
evaporates, condensates, and precipitates in its cycle, it is being a Muslim,
in the sense that it is submitting to the laws which God has ordained for it.
You can apply this to all of the "laws of nature", what science calls
the "laws of nature", are actually laws which God has ordained, where
all of creation naturally submits to these laws as ordained by God. (see Quran, 3:84, 3:165, 7:55, 24:42). Therefore, the laws of nature,
the laws of thermodynamics, the laws of gravity, the
laws of physics, all of this is Islam – submission to God’s will. In essence,
everything in creation glorifies and worships God.
Unlike the rest of creation, there is for us, ‘la iqraha
fi-deen’ - no compulsion in religion - unlike the sun
and the moon who have no choice but to submit to the laws that God has ordained
for them, we as humans are to use an advanced intellect granted to us by God in
order to comprehend what the Quran calls "truth distinct from
falsehood" in the very same verse - 2:256. Upon comprehension of the
inevitable truth - that God exists, in order to refrain from hypocrisy, i.e.
understanding the authority and existence of God, but despite such a
comprehension failing to submit; that in
order to refrain from such hypocrisy, we need to voluntarily submit to the
commandments and laws which God has ordained for us.
This is the basic understanding of what Islam actually is, ie.
a divine principle ordained for all of God's creation;
however it gets better. Every Prophet or Messenger of God who has ever step
foot on God's green earth has always taught this divine principle, i.e.
Islam-Submission, and according to the Quran, has been Muslim.
- The same did
Abraham enjoin upon his sons, - and Jacob also - saying, 'O my sons, truly
Allah has chosen this religion/way/principle for you; so let not death overtake
you except when you are a Muslim.' (2:132)
- And they say, 'Be ye Jews or Christians, then you will be rightly guided,'
Say, 'Nay, but follow ye the religion of Abraham who was ever inclined to
Allah; he was not of those who associated gods with Him. (2:135)
- Do you say that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob and his children
were Jews or Christians? No! do you know better
than Allah? (2:140)
- 'Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim and he
joined none in worship with Allah (3:67)
To make a long story short, Jesus never said to his
disciples to be Christians of Christianity, Moses never told the Tribes of
Israel that their religion is ‘Judaism’; in fact this phrase, which takes the
suffix ‘ism’ after the word Judah, literally means the theology (ism) of Judah
- Judah being one of twelve tribes of Israel. And finally, Prophet Muhammad (sa) was NOT the founder of Islam!
So in other words, God nor his Prophets, did any of
them give us labels. None of them gave foundation to any sect or religion, but
all taught the divine principle of Islam - submission and obedience to one God.
One will notice for example, that the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (sa) was neither Jewish or Christian, but like Abraham was a
devout Muslim who associated nothing with Allah (swt).
In the above verses of the Quran, starting with 2:140 you
will notice that the children of Jacob (
- ‘He has
prescribed for you the religion which He enjoined on Noah, and which We have
now revealed to thee, and which We enjoined on Abraham and Moses and Jesus:
'Establish obedience to Allah in the earth, and be not divided therein.'
(42:14)
This verse of the Quran clearly shows that all of the
Prophets of God that have ever been sent have brought one single universal ‘deen’. People automatically assume that the Arabic words
'Islam' and 'Muslim' are labels for those who follow Prophet Muhammed (sa) and the Quran.
Absolutely not. Islam and Muslim are not labels, nor did Allah (swt) or prophet Muhammed (sa) give us labels. The Arabic words have meaning, and the
meaning of these Arabic words are submission (islam)
and one who (mu) submits (slim). This is not
exclusive to only those who come and believe after Prophet Muhammed
(sa), but in fact are used in the Quran as an adjective
and concept attributed to all believers and prophets since creation.
So in other words, Islam is not a religion that was
founded by our beloved Prophet (sa), rather it has
always been a universal concept and a divine principle co-existing with God.
Submission to the one true God, that's all Islam is. The tribes of
Therefore, the Jews in the time of Moses were muslim (those who
submitted to God’s will) by practicing the shariah that was given to them.
However, the Torah and all previous laws and shariats that came were time-specific
and tribe-specific laws. When Prophet Muhammed (sa) was revealed the Quran, their shariah became abrogated with a
perfect and complete shariah
meant for the entirety of mankind. Now, in order for one to submit to God's
will, one would have to implement the Quran. The Torah and Quran do not promote
different religions, they both promote submission (islam)
to God's will.
One must therefore see the difference between ‘deen’ and ‘shariah’. The ‘deen’ is one. The ‘shariats’ have
been different according to time-period and tribal covenant. In creation, birds
have a different ‘shariah’ than lets say horses or
camels. But they follow the same deen and principal.
They are still submitting to the laws which God has ordained for them. The
solar system follows a different ‘shariah’ than
water, but their deen is still Islam – submission to
God’s will. So therefore, the tribes of
Bullet Points:
* The phrase “non-practicing Muslim” is a complete
oxymoron. Obviously you can’t be non-practicing and be submitting to God at the
same time. Therefore the statement contradicts itself, proving once again that Islam and Muslim are not labels.
* Allah (swt) calls Islam a ‘deen’, which literally means a ‘way of life’, but can also
mean ‘judgement’, as in malikiy-yom-ad-deen (master of
the day of judgement, not master of the day of
religion). Therefore Islam is not to
be seen as a ‘mazhab’, ‘madhab’,
religion, ideology, or theology at all.
* If the Prophets of God did not bring sectarianism, who
did?
Keep in mind that the purpose of all prophets and
messengers of God was to bring unity, not cause division. In other words, the
prophets of God did not divide from anyone nor did they create division. Rather
it was the people through their rejection and rebellion against the prophets of
God, who divided themselves from the truth. This is where the following verses
come into play:
- ‘He has prescribed for you the religion (deen)
which He enjoined on Noah, and which We have now revealed to thee (O Mohammed),
and which We enjoined on Abraham and Moses and Jesus: 'Establish obedience to
Allah in the earth, and be not divided therein.'
- And they (the people) did not become divided but until
after knowledge had come to them, through jealousy and resentment among
themselves. (42: 13 and 14)
Also see this verse:
- And if they believe as you have believed, then they are rightly guided; but
if they turn back, then they are creating a schism, and Allah will
surely suffice thee against them, for He is All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
(2:138)
The first verse is recited immediately after Allah (swt) said in the prior verse that all prophets of Allah
came to establish 'obedience to Allah' and 'be not divided', noting the fact
that being ‘not divided’ is in fact and act of ‘obedience to Allah’; then in
verse 14, it is stated that THEY (people) became divided. The third verse
clearly proves that if the people believe as you, Muhammed
(sa) believe, then they are
rightly guided, but if they reject you, then THEY are creating a schism. In
other words, the Prophets of Allah (swt) are not the
founders of sects, PEOPLE are the ones that divide themselves from the truth
and create schism.
RECAP:
* Allah (swt) has given ALL prophets and ALL
messengers ONE “deen” – Islam.
* No Prophet of God belonged to any sectarian religion AND no prophet of God
gave foundation to a sectarian religion. Prophet Mohammed (sa) was NOT the founder of Islam.
* Jesus, who was al-Masih, despite being rejected by
the Jews, never formed his own religion or sect. Nor did he acquire any
sectarian label despite the mass rejection. The label Christian, historically is
understood to have a derogatory origin and was used in a tone of mockery toward
the followers of Jesus before being adopted in
* All sects and sectarian religions are man-made. The beauty of Islam is that
it is not named after any person, place, thing, or tribe; it is a word whose
meaning is universal and describes the very reason for our existence. This is
what makes Islam different from all sectarian religions, such as Hinduism,
Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Bahaism and
Christianity, which have all been named after someone or some tribe.
* Islam has always existed and is not limited to human beings. Everything in
creation follows the divine principle of Islam. Every Prophet and Messenger of
God was a Muslim. Islam and Muslim were never labels, nor are they supposed to
be labels today; Claiming to be a Muslim is no different than claiming to be a Mu’min (believer); In order to be a Mu’min,
which is not a label, you have to actually believe.