The Message

The Message of Islam

This history of Prophet Jesus has been explained in details in the Qur’an, so that there may be no doubt or confusion left in the reader’s mind as to who he was and for what purpose Jesus was sent. The Qur’an clarifies that Jesus Christ and all other prophets were Muslims teaching the same divine message of Islam to their respective people.

However, the message of Islam that the earlier prophets taught did not contain the exact same legislation of the Islam available today. That is to say, the details of the commands and injunctions present in the religion of Islam today, as written in the Qur’an and as expressed by Muhammad (Peace be upon him), are different from those commands and ruling brought by the earlier prophets of God. But the point remains that the fundamental tenet of the religion brought by the earlier Prophets and that of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is the same.

The message that the Prophets brought was clothed in the language and thought patterns of the people to whom it was addressed, so as to be clear and unambiguous. Thus, the details of the revelation differed from one prophet to the next, but the message brought by each prophet revolved around the same nucleus-the worship of One True God and submission to Him. This difference in detail can be exemplified by appreciating the fact that the immediate children of Adam and Eve would have had to cohabit with each other in order to procreate. This act was acceptable in their lives, but in subsequent generations incest became a very serious crime.

This fact has been misunderstood and ignored by two groups of people. The first group is comprised of non-Muslims ignorant of the Arabic language and the actual meaning of the word Islam. They use it only to describe the religion of the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The second group of people is the Muslims who fail to apply the word Islam in its boarder sense. Regardless of whether they are versed in Arabic or not, they do not really understand the meaning of Islam.

Islam is a state of mind and programme of action and not just the name of the religion brought by Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This is implied in the following Qur’anic verse:

 “O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared[1], and do not die except in a state of Islam.” [Qur’an, Surah Al-‘Imran, (3):102]

Allah makes it explicitly clear that the final revelation to humankind, the Qur’an, brought by the final messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), is not an entirely new religion or message but the culmination of the previous messages and a correction of the errors that had crept into them over the centuries.

In the era of Prophet Moses the people were obligated to submit to God’s will by obeying the legislation (the Torah) brought by the Moses. However, the original text brought by Prophet Moses no longer exists and whatever fragments of the message remain have been adulterated with additions and deletions made by the followers through the ages. Consequently, this altered message can no longer be reasonably considered as a viable source of divine guidance to attain success in the next life.

Likewise, in the era of Jesus, salvation lay in worshipping God alone and submitting to Him by obeying the legislation brought by His Prophet. But the original legislation brought by Jesus, the Gospel, no longer exists. Instead, all that remains are fabrications falsely credited to the teachings of this prophet. The true revelation of the Prophet Jesus, like that of Prophet Moses, is lost forever.

Although all the messages of the earlier prophets are inaccessible, human beings have not been left without guidance, at the mercy of their own desires. Salvation today can be found in worshipping the One True God, and submitting to His commands by adhering to the Message brought by the final messenger to mankind, Muhammad (Peace be upon him). 

 “[O Muhammad,] I have only sent you to all humankind, giving them glad tidings, and warning the [against sin], but most people do not realise it.” [Qur’an, Surah Saba’ (34):28]