Author: Abdul Hai Lay'yan
Religious Needs Assessment of Human Beings in the Light of Islamic Teachings (Part 4)
Criteria for Identifying the True Religion
Today we witness the multitude of religions and sects in the world given the status and importance of religion in general. Every nation is happy with its religion and clings to it; but which religion is the true religion that fulfills the desires of the human soul? What are the criteria for the true religion?
Every follower of a religion considers his religion to be the best and most correct path; but when you ask the followers of distorted religions or fabricated human religions about the reason for their belief, they resort to the excuse that they found their fathers on the path and for this reason they follow their works. Then they narrate stories and news whose chain of transmission is not correct and is not free from errors and flaws. They rely on inherited books whose author or writer is not known, nor the original language in which they were first written, nor is their place of origin known; Rather, they are a disordered collection that has grown over time and has been inherited from generation to generation without any scientific research to correct the document and text.
These unknown books, stories and blind imitation cannot be considered evidence and proof in the field of religions and beliefs. Are all these distorted religions and human sects correct or false?
It is impossible for all of them to be true; because truth is one and does not accept plurality. It is also impossible for all of these distorted religions to be from Allah and be considered true. If truth is one and religions are many, then which one is true?
Therefore, there must inevitably be criteria to distinguish the true religion from the false religion. If we find these criteria applicable to a religion, we know that this religion is true, and if these criteria or even one of them do not exist in a religion, we know that this religion is false.
The criteria by which one can distinguish the true religion from the false are:
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That the religion was revealed by Allah to one of His messengers to convey it to His servants; because the true religion is a religion whose foundations are based on divine revelation and is not issued from worthless thoughts and baseless ideas; because the human intellect is too small to independently understand the details of religions. The intellect is like the eye and revelation is like the sun; and the sight of the eye (even if it is healthy) depends on the light of the sun.
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That it is based on the monotheism of the Almighty Creator and recognizing Him as the only One in all His rights and considering polytheism null and void and prohibiting its means. This has been the mission and call of all prophets and messengers, and it is people who deviate from this principle and change it.
Accordingly, any religion that associates polytheism with any of Allah’s attributes is a false religion, even if its followers attribute themselves to a prophet.
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That it includes the principles and values that the prophets called for, such as: worshiping the One God (Allah), calling to His path, and noble morals and actions; such as truthfulness, justice, trustworthiness, modesty, chastity and generosity. Also, prohibiting polytheism, disobedience to parents, killing an innocent soul, open and hidden indecencies; and prohibiting bad morals and actions such as lying, oppression, cruelty, stinginess and debauchery.
Allah Almighty says: “قُلْ تَعَالَوْاْ أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَیكُمْ أَلاَّ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَیئاً وَبِالْوَالِدَینِ إِحْسَاناً وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلاَدَكُم مِّنْ إمْلاَقٍ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِیاهُمْ وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ النَّفْسَ الَّتِی حَرَّمَ اللّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ.” Translation: “Say: Come, I will inform you of what your Lord has forbidden you: that you associate nothing with Allah, be kind to your parents, and do not kill your children for fear of poverty, for We provide for you and for them, do not approach the great sins, whether they are open or secret, and do not kill anyone except for a right that Allah has forbidden. These are the things that Allah enjoins upon you, that you may understand and act wisely. [1]
In the words of Jahfar ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) before the Negus (king of Abyssinia), it is stated: “We were people in the time of ignorance who worshipped idols, ate carrion, committed fornication, severed the ties of kinship, mistreated our neighbors, and the stronger of us would oppress the weaker. We were in that state until Allah sent us a Messenger from among ourselves; one whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and chastity we know. He called us to Allah to know and worship Him alone, and to abandon what we and our fathers used to worship of stones and idols. He commanded us to speak truthfully, to repay trusts, to maintain ties of kinship, to be kind to our neighbors, to avoid sin and bloodshed, and forbade us from indecency, false speech, to devour the property of orphans, and to slander chaste women. And he commanded us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with Him, and he commanded us to pray, to give zakat, and to fast… So we believed in him and followed what he brought from Allah. We worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with Him, and we forbade what He forbade us, and we permitted what He permitted”. [2]
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There should be no disagreement or contradiction in its principles and teachings. In the sense that it commands something and then contradicts it with something else, or it forbids something and then makes it permissible without a reason, or it forbids something for one group and does not make it permissible for another group, except with a valid justification. Allah Almighty says:
“أَفَلاَ یتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَیرِ اللّهِ لَوَجَدُواْ فِیهِ اخْتِلاَفاً كَثِیراً.” Translation: “Do they not reflect on the Quran (and examine and investigate its meanings and concepts so that they may realize the necessity of obeying Allah and following your command and know that this Book has been revealed from Allah due to the unity of the meanings and rulings it contains and the fact that one part of it confirms another part?) And if it had come from other than Allah, they would have found in it many contradictions and differences.” [3]
Continues…
References:
- Al-An’am: 151.
- Abu Muhammad Abdul Malik, Ibn Hisham, The Prophet’s Biography, Beirut: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Arabi, 1410 BC, vol. 2, p. 179.
- Al-Nisa: 82.
