Islam for Non-Muslims

• RELIGIOUS FAITHS VS IRRELIGIOUS IDEAS
• 1 The Present State of the World Religions
• 2 Religious System as a Historical Reality
• 3 The Evidences of God across the Universe
• 4 The Absolute Oneness of God
• 5 The Reality of the Afterlife
• 6 The Growth of Irreligious Ideas
• 7 Worshipping Natural Elements
• 8 Worshipping Imaginary Idols
• 9 Worshipping Human Beings
• 10 Inventing Relationship to God
• 11 Inventing the Idea of Reincarnation
• 12 Inventing the Theory of Evolution (Darwinism)
• 13 Inventing ‘Nature’ as the Creator of the Universe
• 14 Importance of Religion in this Secular World
• ISLAM AS A RELIGION
• 15 Addressing the Criticisms of Islam
• 16 Islam as a Magnet for the Non-Muslims
• 17 The Quran as the Original Divine Book
• 18 The Quranic Reality in Archeological Findings
• 19 Muhammad (pbuh) as the Great Prophet
• 20 Islam as the True Religion
• 21 Islam as the Universal Religion
• 22 Islam as the Eternal Religion
• 23 Islam as a Practicable Religion
• 24 Islam as an Enjoyable Religion
• 25 Islam as the Peaceful & Savior Religion
• 26 Islam as the Progressive & Rational Religion
• 27 Islam in Health & Hygiene
• 28 Islam in Promotion of Science
• 29 Muslims in Practices of Science
• 30 Islam & Other Monotheisms: Similarities & Differences
• 31 Islamic Tolerance for Other Religions
• 32 Islamic Rights for Non-Muslim Citizens
• ISLAM AS A WAY OF LIFE
• 33 Islamic System vs. Human Ideologies
• 34 Moral & Social Impacts of Islamic Rituals
• 35 Moral Discipline in Islam
• 36 Sinning of 3 W’s: Women, Wine and Wealth
• 37 Dignity & Equality of Man in Islam
• 38 Human Rights in Islam
• 39 Social Duties in Islam
• 40 Dignity & Rights of Labor in Islam
• 41 Dignity of Women in Islam
• 42 Rights of Women in Islam
• 43 Marriage & Family Life in Islam
• 44 Political Philosophy in Islam
• 45 Economic Principles in Islam
• 46 Islamic Economy vs. Capitalism & Communism
• 47 Patriotism & Internationalism in Islam
• 48 Understanding Controversial Issues in Islam
• 49 Conversion to Islam: Problems & Prospects
• 50 Conclusive Message to the Non-Muslims

22: ISLAM AS THE ETERNAL RELIGION

Introduction: Islam is the latest and the last in the chain of divine religions. It, therefore, enjoys the merits that are natural with a modern and updated system. As a result, it has not only been very much relevant as a religion for the present but it also promises to be so in the future. Put differently, it is an eternal religion, capable of meeting spiritual, religious and other needs of mankind for an endless span of time. Some signs showing its ability to live through time for delivering beneficial services are already very much in evidence. This conforms to the Quranic revelation that Prophet Abraham wanted his monotheism to “endure among those who come after him” (43:28). This prophecy about ever-lasting nature of monotheism particularly applies to Islam. 

Historically, countless prophets along with divine messages made appearances on the earth. Most of them disappeared within decades of their origin without leaving behind any legacy of their achievements or even a name for us to remember.  Some religions (e.g. Zoroastrianism) now maintain nominal existence with a limited but shrinking population. Some others needed to make undesirable changes in scriptures in a desperate attempt to survive in this ever-changing world. Islam, on the contrary, aging about one and a half millennia, shows no signs of decline or decay. Instead, it continues to expand its influence among people across ages and areas.  For example, it made remarkable contributions to science during the Middle Ages and gained momentum in economic domain through interest-free banking model developed during the late 20th century.  All these indicate that Islam is able to live through ages to come, for its built-in advantages over other religions. The following factors contribute to its eternal character.

(1) Commitment of God: God ended the evolutionary process of His religions with Islam. This decision was linked to His desire to “endure (His monotheism) among those who come after him” (43:28). What is more, God is “the Strong One and Able to enforce His Will” whatever that be (11:66). His above commitment was influenced by an all-time need to guide humanity who can never be left to themselves without any moral compass, making their life meaningless.

(2) Farsightedness of The Quran: This holy book of Islam was authored by the “One full of Wisdom” Who knows perfectly well all that would happen in the future (41:42). As His perfect knowledge found way into Quran which was never corrupted, its contents never came on collision course with the ground realities like the Church’s historical conflict with Galileo’s authentic heliocentric (sun-centered) theory. Moreover, with His plan to make Islam an all-time religion, He filled Quran with themes that have enduring appeals crossing the boundary of short-term interests of the Arabian society. It therefore contains direct answers or indirect clues to most of the future problems or complexities of human life such as banking, insurance, birth control issues etc. An added advantage comes from its extensive coverage of all major aspects of human life “with nothing omitted” (6:38), leading to ready solutions for many unborn problems.    

(3) Diverse Experience of The Prophet: If the Quran leaves out any minor details of human life, that vacuum was filled in by the lessons from diverse experiences of the Prophet. God deliberately stationed him in varied positions including orphan, shepherd, merchant, husband, preacher, economist, social reformer, war strategist, diplomat, statesman and many more. Whatever he did in these positions and in different situations throughout his busy life was blessed with divine approval. This means in the future whatever of these positions you occupy and whatever situations you face, you will be able to act in the light of the Prophet’s exemplary practices, endowed with God’s blessings. Thus such benefits will be available to future generations “who have not joined them” yet (62:3).

(4) Flexibility from Judgmental Powers: The Quran and Hadith have powers to guide human behavior in most cases. If however there is any developments (e.g. internet, stock and bond, stem cell research, organ donation etc.) down the road of time that cannot be directly addressed by the precedents from these twin sources, then the solution lies in the following two approved dynamic instruments: (i) Qiyas (deductive analogy with Quran and Hadith) and (ii) Ijma (consensus of the Muslim scholars based on their best judgment or reasoning power named ‘ijtihad’). The analogical source basically represents an indirect solution harmonious with the Quran and Hadith. The consensual source also must ensure that scholarly decision is not corrupted, in violation of the principles of these dual sources. Anyway, the combination of ‘Qiyas’ and ‘Ijma’ closes any gap due to absence of any direct solutions by the Quran and Hadith and thereby they give much-needed flexibility to make adaptations with any future reality.

(5) Popularity of Islam: So far we discussed about how various factors help Islam with its permanent status. Now we look at why the people at the receiving end of Islamic messages tend to like it so much. The rising popularity of Islam among the Muslims and its growing awareness among the non-Muslims are positively influenced by various features built in Islam. These include its divine originality, continued purity, rational and progressive provisions, human rights record, scientific bias, tolerance, practicability, moderation, adaptability, messages of peace and salvation and so on.

Conclusion: It appears from the above that Islam was designed as an eternal religion and accordingly it has been well on the path to its continued and ever-growing presence.