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» Islam: The Universal Religion - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Islam: The Universal Religion - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Islam: The Universal
Religion
By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Dear Muslims:
Islam, literally meaning
submission and obedience, is first of all, the religion for the whole universe.
Allah (SWT) says about the final Prophet Mohammad (PBUH): “And We have sent you
(O Mohammad) not but as a mercy for Al’alamin (mankind, jinn and all
that exists”. (21:107). We see that the universe is an orderly universe, a
cosmos, whose parts are linked together and are working together towards the
same purpose and common goal. Everything in the universe is assigned a place in
a grand scheme which is working in a magnificent and superb way. The sun, the
moon, the stars and in fact all the heavenly bodies are knit together in a
splendid system. They follow an unalterable law and do not make even the
slightest deviation from their ordained course. Everything in the world, from
the little whirling electron to the mighty nebulae, invariably follows its own laws.
Even in the human world the laws of nature are quite manifest. Man’s birth,
growth, and the life are all regulated by a set of ‘biological’ laws. All the
organs of his body from the small tissues to the heart and brain are governed
by the laws prescribed for them. This fact is indicated by the Holy Quran:
“He to whom belongs the
dominion of the heavens and the earth, and who has begotten no son (offspring)
and for whom there is no partner in the dominion. He has created everything,
and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements”. (25:2).
Dear Brothers
And Sisters In Islam:
The entire creation obeys laws of God, the Creator and Ruler of the
universe. That is why Islam is, first of all, the religion of the universe, for
Islam signifies nothing but obedience and submission to God, the Lord of the
universe. The sun, the moon, the earth, and all other heavenly bodies are thus
‘Muslim’. So is the case with air, water, and heat, stones, trees, and animals.
Everything in the universe is ‘Muslim’ for it obeys God by submission to His
laws. Even a man who refuses to believe in God, or offers his worship to
someone other than God, has perforce to be a Muslim as far as his bodily
existence is concerned. For his entire life, from the embryonic stage to the
body’s dissolution into dust after death, and every tissue of his muscles and
every limb of his body follow the course prescribed for each by God’s law.
Allah (SWT) says: “The seven heavens and the earth and all that therein,
glorify Him and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise. But you
understand not their glorification..”. (17:44). Thus, in Islam, God, nature,
and man are not remote from each other nor are they alien to each other, and
they certainly are not opposed to each other. It is God Who makes Himself known
to man through nature and man himself, and nature and man are two books (of
creation) through each word of which God is visible. Islam is the name of the
code according to which nature operates without any disobedience, and man is
required, but not forced, to live by using his free will.
Dear Muslims:
Islam, being a word derived from ‘silm’ meaning also salvation and
peace as well as submission, is the expression of God’s grace flowing in the
arteries of the universe. Islam is the Divine system to which all the creation
except man has willingly submitted itself. Islam is the firm, unbreakable rope
stretched from Heaven, to which all creatures hold fast and, by means of which,
man will be able to ascend Paradise . Islam is
a link which connects all creatures into a single unity, and this explains why
it is the religion of universal brotherhood and solidarity.
The principle of Oneness of God in Islam implies the necessity of man’s
being in harmony with the world around him. The vast realm of the universe,
which is in submission to one God only, displays a coherence and harmony of
which the human world is also a part. Although the human world is subject, in
addition to the general laws of nature, to a particular set of laws special to itself,
yet it is also in harmony with other laws governing the rest of the phenomena
beyond it. Man, unlike his fellow creatures who tread the path of nature, is
endowed with the power of free will. He carries the gift of freedom together
with the obligation to harmonize his life with the rest of nature -a harmony
which is also the path of his exaltation and progress. This is the path upon
which God has originated the nature of mankind:
Allah (SWT) says: “So set you (O Mohammad) your face towards the religion
(of pure Islamic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind. No change let
there be in Khalq-illah (the religion of Allah). That is the straight
religion; but most of men know not”. (30:30).
Dear Muslims:
Islam seeks to unite man with the vast domain of being, and strives to
create an absolute unity between the universe and man. Man is the most
essential partner in the realm of existence; and a Muslim is the co-religionist
of all creatures in the universe:
The Holy Quran says: “Do they seek other than the religion of Allah,
while to Him has surrendered all creratures in the heavens and the earth,
willingly or unwillingly, and to Him they shall be returned?”. (3:83).
Dear Muslims:
The religions prior to Islam were not meant to be universal religions.
As far as their fundamental messages and teachings are concerned, the religion
of Moses and of Jesus (PBUT) was not different from Islam, yet neither did
contain complete guidance for all aspects of human life for all nations and
ages. During the countless centuries of human history, when the different
nations of mankind lived in more or less complete isolation, there was no means
of rapid communication between one nation and another, so God sent different
Prophets to the different peoples. Each nation having been separately guided to
the truth by the national Prophets, the time ultimately became ripe for the
World-Prophet (PBUH) to be raised to preach the universal religion. Thus, when
the world was on the eve of becoming one, God raised up the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) to transmit the essential message of all the Prophets, shorn of all that
was of a temporary and limited nature and purged of all the later adulterations
and misinterpretations. God revealed to him (PBUH) the all-embracing religion
as a universal faith, containing the unadulterated message of all the Prophets
(PBUT). He united the peoples of all nations and lands into a single world-wide
brotherhood and gave the world a complete code of life for the whole of
humanity.
Dear Muslims:
The Quran states that the mission of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is a
universal one: “And We have not sent you (O Mohammad) except as a giver of glad
tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not”. (34:28).
Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: The Prophet (PBUH) said: “I have been giving five things which were not given
to anyone else before me: Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening
my enemies) for a distance of one month’s journey, the earth has been made for
me(and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to purify (per
Tayammum),therefore anyone of my followers can pray whenever he is, at the time
of a prayer, the booty has been made Halal to me yet it was not lawful to
anyone else before me, i have been given the right of intercession(on the Day
of Resurrection) and every Prophet used to be sent to his nation only, but I
have been sent to all mankind. (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
Muslims
totally reject the term of ‘Muhammadanism’, a term used of them by non-Muslims.
Muslims do not worship Muhammad (PBUH). Muhammad (PBUH) was neither a god, nor
an incarnation, nor the son of God. He never claimed to be more than a man who
received revelations from God. He did not make Islam, he simply received the
Message of Islam.
Also,
Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said, “My similitude in comparison with the other
Prophets before me is that of a man who has built a house nicely and
beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go round
about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: “Would that this brick be put in
its place!” So I am the last (end) of the Prophets.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
May Allah (SWT) help us to follow His Prophet
(PBUH), bless, guide and forgive us all. (Ameen).
