The religion of perfection

A Publication of the

Prophet Mohamed Biography (PBUH) Introduction Project

Sponsored by

Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Al-Saud

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. May Allah send peace and blessings upon His Prophet Muhammad and upon his brethren Prophets and Messengers.

When Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) created man, He did not leave them in amazement but made for them a clear system for worshipping Him and for the construction of earth so as to lead a secure and good life full of happiness and tranquility.

The Messengers of Allah (peace be upon him) came consecutively to explain this divine system to their nations, a nation after a nation. Moreover, they brought with them Holy Scriptures revealed by Allah to reform peoples' affairs and put them on the Straight Path. Of these Scriptures: The sheets of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalm, the Bible, and the Qur'an to explain to them the religion which they believe in.

Religiousness is a natural disposition:

Religiousness or believing in a creed is an instinctive matter which all people share. Allah (Glory be to Him) granted people an approach and a system to please them in this world as well as in the Hereafter. Therefore, Allah (Glory be to Him) sent a messenger to every nation, supported him with miracles, and commanded him to spread goodness and fight evil. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Messengers as bearers of good news as well as of warning in order that mankind should have no plea against Allah after the Messengers. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise." [Surat An-Nisa': 165].

The religion of all Prophets:

The codes of all Prophets (peace be upon them) agreed on the obligation of worshipping Allah alone without associating partners with Him in worship as well as the construction of earth as Allah commanded then dealing with moral and social problems existent in their societies. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Tâghût (all false deities i.e. do not worship Tâghût besides Allâh)."" [Surat An-Nahl: 36].

When the last Messenger whom Allah honored with conveying the message of His Lord was Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Shari`ah, which Allah commanded him to convey, contained all beauties of the previous codes. Allah increased the beauty and perfection of Islamic Shari`ah by increasing tolerance and facilitating things for people, and Allah prepared it to be fit for humanity in the future and suitable for all places.

Part of this perfection is that it is in conformity with sound reason and pure disposition and stands as a witness to its beauty, therefore Allah perfected and satisfied it for humanity forever as Allah (He may be Glorified) says in the Glorious Qur'an: "This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." [Surat Al Ma'idah: 3].

Due to the perfection and beauty of Islam, it does not force anyone to embrace it, and this is clear from the Qur'anic Ayah which reads: "There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path." [Surat Al Baqarah: 256].

The meaning of this honorable Ayah is: Do not force anyone to embrace Islam because it is clear in its proofs and does not need anyone to be forced to embrace, but those whom Allah guided, expanded their chests, and enlightened their insights shall embrace it. However, whoever turns away and shows haughtiness shall not benefit from embracing Islam forcibly.

The religion of monotheism and glorifying the Creator:

The first basis of perfection in Islamic Shari`ah and its system is explaining the right of the universe Creator and what His Due Rights on people are. Thus, it becomes clear the real mission of man and his position in this universe.

This first basis depends on man's belief in the existence of a Lord who creates, provides sustenance, and manages the universe and He is the only one deserved to be worshipped according to the way explained by His Messengers (peace be upon them all).

This basis includes the three types of monotheism:

1- The oneness of Lordship, so there is no creator, provider, or manager to this universe but He.

2- The oneness of divinity, so we do not direct any act of worship but to Allah alone, and this is the meaning of "La Ilaha Illa Allah [No god but All]."

3- The oneness of names and attributes, so all qualities of beauty, perfection, and glory belong to Him whether in Himself or actions, and He does not resemble any of His Creature as Allah (Glory be to Him) says about Himself: "There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." [Surat Ash-Shura: 11].

The religion of belief free of any superstitions:

Islam came to fight superstitions and wrong conceptions, so it made the belief of a person clear and built on divine directions. This is clear from the definition and the meaning of Islam which means total submission to Allah (may He be Exalted) with monotheism, abidance by His Obedience, and freeing oneself from polytheism.

Islam laid down important principles in belief which are: Belief in Allah, belief in angels, belief in the Holy Scriptures, belief in messengers, belief in the Last Day, and belief in fate whether good or bad.

The religion of permanent connection with Allah:

Islam came with codes to make a person permanently connected with Allah through easy and diverse acts of worship. Some of them are performed daily such as the five daily obligatory Salah, some are performed weekly such as Friday Salah, some are performed once a year such as Zakah and fasting, and some are performed once in lifetime such as Hajj. Some of these acts of worship are performed by body and some by money; and these acts of worship establish social communication, love, and benevolence among people.

The religion of maintaining essential matters:

Islam stressed the importance of maintaining five matters without which life will not become stable which as: Religion, oneself, reason, honor, and money.

The religion of mature freedom:

Islam admits freedom in its wider scope which is the freedom emerged from the Divine Shari`ah and in the light of consciousness. So, Islam gives man the right to take his decisions and make choices, however this freedom has disciplines to prevent the violation of the bases of honorable life by which Allah honored man and prevent harming others.

The religion of justice:

Justice is one of the basic human values which Islam brought and made one of the essentials in the life of individuals and families, and social and political life.

The religion of communicating peoples:

Islam exhorts to the establish communication among peoples, calling them to overcome racism and arrogance as Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." [Surat Al Hujurat: 13]. So, this Ayah stresses the equality between people in humanity and that the wisdom behind making them peoples is to know one another and cooperate in between for goodness.

The religion of maintaining rights:

Islam explained the rights and duties of individuals, societies, peoples, and countries, commanding people to maintain and fulfill them. Part of this maintenance is to render rights back to their owners. Moreover, Allah prohibited oppression and aggression to others no matter what the reason is. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) established a very important rule to prevent harm, so he said: "There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm." [Reported by Imam Ahmad, Ad-Daraqutny, and others].

The religion of close social bonds:

Islam is eager to strengthen social bonds, so it stressed and glorified filial gratitude to parents and showing benevolence to them, maintaining good relation with one's kinship, showing intimacy and mercy between the spouses, showing mercy to children, showing benevolence to neighbors, honoring guests, visiting the sick, and showing kindness and tolerance to all through smile and good treatment.

The religion of mercy and care for women:

Islam exhorts to look after women and show mercy to them because women are gentle and weak.

The religion of mercy and care for the weak:

Islam stressed the importance of looking after weak classes in the society, particularly those who lost their supporters, so it exhorts to look after orphans, widows, the poor, and the needy.

The religion of positive initiatives:

Islam urges people to be positive and charity lovers. This is the commandment of Allah in the Glorious Qur'an: "Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwâ (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression." [Surat Al Ma'idah: 2]. This divine commandment includes all words and actions that increase communication and render rights to their owners; and keeping away from all words and actions that cut relationships or harm others either materially or morally.

In addition to other features of perfection and splendor aspects in the sublime Islamic legislations.

Last word to say: This complete and perfect religion is not recognized by the actions of its followers because they might neglect or misrepresent it, but it is recognized by the Book of Allah [the Glorious Qur'an] and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

We invoke Allah, the Generous, to bring about happiness and honorable life to all people in this life and in the Hereafter. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people], and peace be upon His Chosen Servants.

Publisher: Masters of Education Consulting Center

medu.c.center@gmail