ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS
(COMPARTIVE STUDY OF WORLD FAMOUS RELIGIONS)

The significant objective that lies behind all the religions of the world is the formation of the unity,a unity which provides the right perspective on ultimate truth.However all the religions are not the pieces of the same puzzle or we can say that they are not the alternative paths to the same destination.

For the proper development of human life man needs two kinds of things , resources to maintain life and knowledge of the principles of individual and social behaviour to enable man to have self fullfillment and to maintain justice and tranquility in human life.To provide for the spiritual ,social and cultural needs the Lord of the universe raised His prophets among men and revealed to them the code of life which can guide man's steps to the right path.There is a presence of many religions in the world whith their own beliefs and dogmas.Each religion is the continuation of same truth delivered to the mankind by the prophets especially assigned for this task of teaching the Truth regarding the existence of the universe and the mankind.
The various forms of religions and there central objectives have been discussed in the following lines.

BUDDHAISM:
Buddhism revolves around the central figure of the Buddha.The nature of Buddha himself is regarded in different ways by different people, and there are a great number of legends that surround his existence. To some he was simply a very wise man with great things to teach. Buddhism is essentially focussed upon the recognition that the ego is illusory, thus allowing freedom of the self in the emptiness that is Nirvana. Essentially, it is about trancending material needs and wants to enlarge upon spiritual growth, which is seen as an essential movement towards the ending of personal and human suffering.

HINDUISM:

Hinduism is the European name for the Sanatama Dharma, ‘the Eternal Law’. The name hindu comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, meaning ‘river’. In time the land beyond the river became known as the Hind, and the people who lived there known as Hindus.Hinduism is best regarded not a single dogmatised set of principles, as much as a cacophony of diverse interpretations of reality, heavily based on a unique pantheism-polytheism. Divine identities remain very much a local phenomena, and even the main Hindu deities sourced from the Rig Veda can have differing attributes according to different areas. On top of that every tribal geography included its own local divinities into the Hindu pantheon, resulting in an extraordinary range of divine figures and images, many of which may share similar features.However, despite the remarkable range of differences, and the superficial lack of homogeniety in Hindu worship, there remains an established and highly regarded core of beliefs and principles enshrined in the main Hindu texts.

Hinduism is an exploration of reality itself, and seeks to recognise a relationship between the nature of Divnity and the nature of the soul. Ultimately that which is Divine is gender-neutral, Hinduism acknowledging at its heart that its plethora of anthropomorphised figures are nothing more than metaphors for an altogether more mysterious reality. It is the nature of the Hindu not simply to recognise this, but to ascertain what the Ultimate Truth of this mystery is, through meditation and contemplation.

JUDAISM:

Belief founded by Abraham, a Hebrew chieftain originally from the Babylonian city of Ur. Tradition. He taught his people to worship one God, YHWH (Yahweh, or Jehovah). It's chief writings are contained in the Torah, which reveals the will of god as stated in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), as well as the Talmud, which contains the Rabbinical religious and civil laws.

CHRISTIANITY:

The central figure of Christianity is Jesus Christ,a jew who came into this world by the immaculate conception to the virgin Mary.His birth is celebrated at christmas with hymns and gife givings.Christians believe that jesus Christ is the son of God and lived his life without sin.During his lifetime, Jesus performed many miracles and spoke to many people about his father in heaven. He was arrested for claiming to be God's son and was hung on the cross by the Romans at age 33. Christians believe that the suffering and death upon the cross which this sinless man endured paid for the sins of all mankind, and because of Jesus' actions, salvation can be achieved by anyone who believes in him.

Following his death, Christians believe that he rose from the grave (celebrated at Easter) and returned to the earth, appearing to his followers and telling them of the kingdom of God to which he was going. He also promised his disciples that he would return one day to bring all believers with him to that kingdom, to enjoy eternal life in the presence of God.

ISLAM:

Islam is an arabic word which denotes submission,surrender and obedience.As a religion islam stands for complete submission and obedience to one God,Allah .He is Omnipotent,Omnipresent and the Sustainer of the world and mankind.

The basic Islamic concept is that the entire universe is created by God whom Islam calls Allah and who is the Lord and Soveriegn of the world.It is the firm belief that He created man and appointed each human being a fixed period of life which he is to spend upon the earth.Allah has prescirbed a certain code of life for him but at the same time conferred on man freedom of choice whether or not he adopts code as the actual basis of his life.One who chooses to follow the code revealed by God becomes a Muslim (believer) and one who refuses to follow it becomes a kafir non believer).
A man joins the fold of Islam by honestly beleiving in and professing faith in the unity of God and Prophet of Muhammad (PBUH).
thus teh basic articles of Islamic faith are the belief in the Unity of God,belief in the Prophethood of Muhammad(PBUH) and the belief in the life after death as well as man's accountability before God on the day of judgement.

ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS:

Islam does not deny Truth to other religions but says that later followers adultered that Truth by their own inventions and that was why God sent Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) to purify God's religion.Each religion manifests the some aspect of the same truth but the emphasis may difffer according to the need of man of that period or age or race.Islam is the religion for all and that is the most comprehensive manifestation of that Truth and it provides a complete way and a perfect equilibrium.

The second fact about Islam's relationship with other religions is the chronology stated in teh Quran.Islam is the line of all religions whose prophets belonged to the family of Abraham.The Juduac tradition that started with Abraham's son Issac came to an end with Jesus who was the last prophet in family tree.Muhammad (PBUH) was the descendent of the other son of Abraham ,Ismail.Prophets in other lines among the descendents of adam have been hinted at but not reffered to except Noah as examples in Quran.But as the quran clearly states that tehre is not a single human habitation on the face of this earth where a Prophet has not emerged and where God has not sent His messenger to guide people,a Muslim cannot deny truth to religions belonging to this tradition.all that he can point out is the adulteration of that Truth,the mixing up of the word of God and the word of man,its non preservation in its original form.
The world has also suffered at the hands of the one sidedness of many religion and ideology.Some has laid stress on the material side of life and has ignored the material and mundane aspects.They have looked upon the world as an illusion ,a deception and a trap.

Islam ,however has different view reagrding this ideology..It does not any seperation between "material" and "moral","mundane" and "spiritual life" and enjoins man to devote all his energies to the reconstruction of life on the healthy and moral foundations.It teaches that moral and material powers must be welded together and spiritual salvation can be acheievd by using material resources for the good of man in the service of just ends and not by living a life of ascetisim or by running away from the challenges of life.

Thus the unique features of Islam establishes itself as a religion of man,a religion of today and a religion of tommorow.These aspects have appelead to the hundreds of thousands of people in the past and the present and have made them affirm that Islam is the religion of Truth and the right path for mankind and will continue to appeal them in near future.

Describe the dignity and superiroity of islam with proof as compared to other religions;

RELIGION AND ITS ROLE IN HUMAN LIFE:

The concpet of religion is based on the belief that there exisits an all embracing ,transcedental,moral law and that we human beings are bound to submit to its commands.Religion can be defined as faith in one God and to develop a sense of responsibility for the formation of thought and belief and for the promotion of morality as well as the establishment of harmonious relations with the members of the society.So the concpet of religion can be understood in the wide aspects.

For the proper development of human life man needs two kinds of things,first are the resources to maintain life and fullfill the material aspects of the individual and society and knowledge of the principles of individual and social behaviour to enable man to have self fullfillment and to maintain justice and tranquility in human life.The Lord of the universe has provided for both of these in full measure.To cater for the material needs of man He has provided nature with all kinds of resources,which lie at the disposal of man.To provide for his spiritual ,social and cultural needs He raised His prophets from among men and revealed to them the code of life which can guide man's steps to the Right path.

MYSTERY OF LIFE:

Man has always been unable to provide an explaination of the mystery of life ,the mystery of birth and death,the mystery of infinity and eternity.For the understanding and attainment of knowledge man strives for reasoning to solve the mysteries that are present around him in the various forms of their existence.For the proper understaniding and concievement of the secrecies of life religion plays a significant role.It helps man to build up his individual conciousness and through its revelations makes it easier for him to understand the conception of his existence.

EXISTENCE OF VARIOUS RELIGIONS:

The concept of religion in human civilization has always been present since its advent.Howver it is difficult to number all the religions as not much information is available regarding their basic conceptions and their followers .However the major religions which still reatain their presence in teh world include Hinduism,Judaism,Zorostinism,Christianity and Islam.These religions are the major religions of the world carrying within themselves the most important aspect of the code of life.On close observation we may realize that all these religions have one feature of morality in common and they preach of the building up of the principles of life among each other on pure harmonious grounds.

However,the religions like Budhasim and Christianity there are no practicle applications that ahs been advised by its preachers.Hinduism too builds its notions on the divisions of humanity.All these and other religions ,failed to flourish well beside their certain apprecaible features as they were not the true picturization of all the individual,collective,social,moral,political aspects of humanity.Unlike other religions islam can be regarded as a perfect form of religion as it has provided its followers a complete embodiment of teh conducts and principles of life.

The religion of islam carries within itself certain features which has been revealed to the individuals on teh basis of complete guidence regarding all the phases of human existence.
As Imam Abu Hanifa ,presented the view of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ,
"O, people don't interpret religion by our own thinking and absolutely follow the Sunnah,for whosesoever goes away from it goes astray"
Thus a stress has been laid for all the humanity to follow the complete way of life which islam has provided them with in its teachings.

ISLAM AND COMPARISON WITH OTHER RELIGIONS:

Islam is the only religion of mankind.It is a dynamic belief and a revolutionary concept and means that all men are the creatures of one God and all stand on equal footings.This coneption of equality is not present among all the religions of the world.Hinduism is one of the most significant examples of inquality as it divides the members of its society in various social classes .Islam on teh other hand concieves humanity as a one single family and any discrimmination on the basis of colour,class,race or terrirtory is remannet of the days of ignorance which chained men down to servitude.There is no proletarian,nor bourgeious,no black or white,westerenr or easterner.Islam intensly beleives in the unity of mankind.As Allah says,

"HOld tight to the rope of God,altogethr and never let go again"

CONCEPTION OF SIMPLICITY:

Islam is a religion without mythology as comapred to the other religions.Infact the teachings which islam presents are simple and not complicated.It is free from irrational beliefs and superstitions.All its beliefs like unity of one God,the concept of Life and death and the belief in the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) are simple and based on sound reasonings and logic.Unlike other religions islam is free from far fetched abstractions and complicated rights as well as rituals.Everybody has an easy approach towards the book Of Allah i.e., Quran and everybody can dictate its teachings in practice.

RATIONALITY AND ISLAM:

Islam believs in teh awakening of man's faculty of reason and knowledge and desires from the individual to observe things in the light of reality.The Quran advised man to pray,
"O, My Lord ! advance me in knowledge"
According to the views of islam knowledge regarding the concept of life gives man physical and moral strength.Infact it is helpful in strengthning his bonds and relations with both Allah and the rest of teh humanity,
"He who leaves his home in search of knowledge walks in teh path of God."
Islam's major role ,as compared to the other religions is that it brings man out of the world of superstition and darkness and initiates within him the light of knowledge and strong belief.

UNITY OF MATTER AND SPIRIT:

Another unique feature of islam that raises its calibre among other religions is that it is not a believer of dividing life into water tight compartments.It stands for life fulfillment and not life denial.It si aginst ascetisism and does not asks man to avoid the material aspects of life.Infact it gives us the idea that spiritual elevation can be acheived by living piously even in the rough and tumble of life and not by renouncing the world.Quran advises its followers to pray as,

"O,Lord give us the good in thsi world and the good in the hereafter"
Thus islam does not believes in seperation of the material and moral and enjoins man to build his life on the healthy moral foundations.It stresses on maintaing the equilibrium between both the material aspects and the religious notions.Islam stands for the middle path and emphasizes on the esatblishment of balance .

UNIVERSAL RELIGION:

The message which islam has reveals is meant for all the humanity.God in Islam is the God of all the world and the prophet is the messenger of the whole of human race.According to the verse of Holy Quran,
"O,people i am the Messenger of God to you all"

Islam is a universal religion,a religion which is free from all teh social barriers .The religions other than islam has built false barrires and have alternated their religious notions according to their particular demands.But Islam removes all the impediments and proclaims the idea of the whole humanity being one family of God,
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said,
"All creatures of God form the family of God and he is the best loved of God who loveth best His creatures."

Infact Islam is international in its outlook and approach and does not allow distinctions on the clour,clan,blood or territory which were prevalent before the advent of islam.Islam believs in humanity and universality.It is not a rigid or inflexible religion and belives in the promotion of good among all the memebers of teh humanity.This practice,however has not been obserevd in the other religions who ahve built their reiligious beliefs on the basis of wrong,rigid notions.

CONCLUSION:

Thus islamic ideology is not a mere philosophical or a coomon system but is a revolutionary doctrinewhich believes in teh reformation of the humanity according to the way which it has ordained for the whole humanity.It is a perfect religion and is the completion of the Creator's favour upon man as far as the regulation of his life is concernerd,
"THis day i have perfected your religion for you,completed My favours upon you and have chosen for you Al-islam as your religion"

To a non -Muslim,who builds his life on the traditional concept of religion,it is only a private relationship between man and his Creator,but for a Muslim religion comprehends teh whole of life with a perfect pattern of thought and behaviour.This notion of Islamic ideology raises it above the other religions of teh world .

God is the only one who can give meaning to the universe, purpose to the planets, love to your heart, peace to your mind, health to your body, rest to your spirit, happiness to your life and joy to your soul.

The essence of true and authentic Islamic thought consists of the idea that
it is not enough to practice Islam in the personal life only, but that the teachings of the Quran and those of the Sunnah need also be implemented in their totality in the social, economic, and political fields. In other words, it implies the establishment of the sovereignty of Almighty Allah (SWT) in the "religious" as well as the "secular" domains, or the removal of the dichotomy between collective life and state authority on the one hand and Divine guidance on the other. The underlying and pervasive idea in this context, which is also an integral part of the Islamic Revolutionary Thought, is that the struggle to establish unqualified and unconditional ascendancy of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAAWS) is obligatory upon all members of the Muslim Ummah. The goal of this struggle is to achieve the domination of the True way of life (Deen al-Haq), so that the Islamic System of Social Justice - which is the most balanced synthesis of human freedom, fraternity, and equality, and which embodies the Divine attributes of Benevolence, Providence, and Justice - can be established on God's earth.

The Islamic Revolutionary Thought, briefly defined above, is often condemned and denigrated by the Western media as one of the most despised evils in today's world, the notorious "Islamic Fundamentalism." The reason for their extreme aversion is based on the fact that it is only Islam and its revolutionary and dynamic interpretation that poses a real challenge to secularism - the system of collective life that was born in Europe but which has come to dominate the entire globe.

What is secularism? Any number of religions can be accommodated under a secular system, provided no demand is made regarding the application of religious criteria in defining social, economic, and political policies. The election of goals and the utilization of means in all collective affairs must not be inspired by any form of religious teaching; rather, such policy decisions should be taken only on the basis of human pragmatic thought and majority opinion. Religion under a secular system is demoted to a personal and private affair of the individual. Thus, everyone is totally free concerning his metaphysical beliefs, rituals for worship, and social customs; the state won't interfere in any of these. At the same time, religion must not intrude or intervene in the running of the state either. Such a concept is, of course, diametrically opposed to the basic teaching of Islam.

The Holy Quran describes Islam as Deen al-Haq, or the true way of life. The very connotation of the word Deen - as contrasted with "religion" - is a declaration of war against secularism. This is because the word religion is commonly used in a rather narrow sense, its scope being limited to a set of dogmas, some rituals for worship, and a number of social customs to celebrate important life-events.

Deen, on the other hand, can be understood through following steps:

The basic definition of Deen is reward. (Al-Fatiha : 3) ========>
Reward is always on the basis of some laws. If anyone abides by the laws, he will be given good reward and in case of their violations, he will be punished. ======> Laws are there to support a system and the system is known by the one who has the absolute authority and command.=======> the value of a system exists till the time it is obeyed.

Hence, Deen is a system of life in which human beings consciously surrender themselves to the sovereignty of a higher authority, and live a life of total obedience under the system of that higher authority, in order to gain rewards from it and to save themselves from its punishment.

If the king has the absolute say and is being obeyed completely then the system is known as Deen al-Malik (Yousuf:76) – King’s system.
“….He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as a slave)….”

When the term Deen is used for Islam, it obviously means a system of life where Almighty Allah (SWT) is worshipped and obeyed, not just in the narrow religious sense, but in a manner that includes all aspects of human life.
“And you see that the people enter Allâh's Deen (Islâm) in crowds”.
(An-Nasr : 2)

Let us compare secularism with Islamic system. There is no guidance provided by the non-Islamic system at individual level. Whereas, Islam provides complete guidance at individual level, as well as at collective level.
“This day, i have perfected your Deen for you, completed my favor upon
you, and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen” (5:3)

Islam is based on, and rooted in, a well-integrated set of beliefs describing the nature of ultimate reality, meaning of human life, and the final destiny. In addition to this essential faith or Iman, modes of worship (i.e., Salat, Zakat, Saum, and Hajj) and various social customs are also indispensable and integral parts of Islam.

The non Islamic system provides popular sovereignty at political level of the collective sphere of life. People are sovereign and can make any laws even if they clash with the divine laws. God has nothing to do with their collective life affairs. This is the first time in the history of mankind that man has taken out God from their collective lives. At economic level, the landmark of secular system is interest based economy in which a person owns everything. A person has free choice to spend/earn money the way he pleases. Interest based economy necessarily creates “haves and have nots”. The one who is rich will remain Deen (entire code of Life) Individual Life Collective Life Dogma Rituals Few social customs Social system Economic system Political system Religion Secular Personal Laws permanently rich and the one who is poor will remain permanently poor. Interest has a sister known as insurance with the help of which it is pretended that Allah is prevented from making the people poor. Through speculation, the economy is in the hands of few people. When ever, they want, they can suck blood of the masses. Whereas, at social level “freedom” is the catch word of secularism, and total freedom ultimately leads to unwed mothers, single parents and high rate of divorces in the society.

On the other hand, along with religious guidance, Islam also provides us all the relevant instructions regarding our social, economic, and political existence (generally considered to be the "secular" or "worldly" aspects of life), and this is what really distinguishes Islam from other religions, say, Christianity or Buddhism. The salient features of Islamic socio-politico- conomic system are;

At political level (no oppression)
• sovereignty (al-haakamiyya) belongs to Allah alone and for mankind is khilafat (Yousuf : 40, Bani-Israel : 111, Al-Kahf : 26)
• no legislation will be done repugnant to the Quran and the Sunnah. (An- Nisa : 59, Al Hujraat : 1) no authoritarianism, mutual consultation. (As-Shura : 38)
• makes a clear distinction between muslims and non-muslims. (At-Tawbah : 29)
• no theocracy. (At-Tawbah : 31)

At economic level (no exploitation)
• Allah owns everything (al-malik). (3:180, 63:7)
• Man is only a custodian. (57:7)
• controlled capitalism minus interest & gambling. (2:275, 2: 279, 5:91)

At social level (no discrimination)
• one creator (al-khaliq), everyone (by birth) is equal (4:1, 49:13)
• segregation of sexes. (24:31, 33:53, 33:59)
• unity of the human race - common origin of mankind from Adam and Eve, hence total equality between black, white, Arab, non-Arab etc.

The true way of life, Deen al-Haq, is not meant to survive submissively as a mere religion under the umbrella of secularism; instead the Holy Quran makes it abundantly clear that Islam is meant to dominate all domains of life and all man-made systems and ideologies. This puts a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders. The Quranic commands vis-à-vis human society, culture, law, economics, and politics are not given to us so that we may admire and praise them, but they are meant to be implemented and acted upon. This necessitates that the gulf between Faith and Power be removed, which obviously requires a revolution in the leadership so that - instead of fulfilling any un-Islamic agenda - it contributes towards the establishment of "God's Kingdom on earth”. Without collective organizational power, a significant portion of Islam remains confined to the realm of theory only, and, as a result, all sorts of corruption, injustice, inequity and immorality are let loose on earth. To establish the Islamic state is not a one
man’s job. It requires a collective effort and this effort in Quranic terms is known as Jihad-fi-sabeelillah and without jihad-fi-sabeelillah there is no salvation from painful doom as stated in verse (61:10-11)

“O believers, shall I tell you, and guide you to a trade which will save you from a painful doom, that you believe in Allah and his messenger (p b u h)
and that you strive hard (jihad) in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives: that will be better for you, if you but know.”
( As-Saf: 10-11).

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The Demand Of Faith Is To Bow Down After Hearing The Command. Faith Cannot Co-Exist With Ifs And Buts.