The Evolution of Religion

The Evolution of Religion

Haji Mokhtar Stork

"This Qur’an is not such as can be produced by other than God. On the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelation) that went before it and a fuller explanation of the Book - wherein there is no doubt - from the Lord of the Worlds." — Al-Qur’an

The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought defines religion as an attitude, accompanied by beliefs, affecting basic patterns of individual and group behaviour. Religion traditionally binds society, but the 20th century has been more than any previous age, an age of SECULARIZATION. Paradoxically, the many challenges to inherited patterns of belief and behaviour in religion have made this a fertile age in theology, at least so far as Christianity is concerned, and one of the reasons for the success of COMMUNISM. NATIONALISM has also been a religion in a loose sense.

Religion has been further defined in this dictionary as:

1.     The philosophy of religion.

2.     The psychology of religion.

3.     The sociology of religion.

This is basically how the west through intellectualism defines religion. However in Islam it is known as a "Way of Life."

Many people who come into direct contact with Islam are quite surprised at the similarities that exists in their own faiths, for example, in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, one finds the existence of God, His Prophets, the Angels, the Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, Heaven and Hell etc. It is because of these and other similarities that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are referred to as ‘Revealed Religions’.

Why Islam

The Qur’an refers to this relationship by the term, ‘Members of the Book.’ This is a general term, applied to the Jews, Christians and the Muslims, they being Members of the Book. There however is some difference of opinion as to the extent of this relationship, with some scholars in Islam referring to it as just a formal basis of recognition and nothing more. This they say is due to the fact that the Jews and Christians of today have deviated from the original teachings of their Prophets. They further add that with the coming of Islam, these faiths have now been amalgamated into one, and as such these people should follow Islam.

The Holy Qur’an teaches that, God being One and humanity being one, Divine Guidance in terms of religion has not been confined to any particular chosen race. Rather, mankind has been blessed with it during the course of human history. The Qur’an takes up this subject further by declaring that Abraham was NEITHER a Jew NOR yet a Christian, but he was one who submitted himself completely to the One and Only God, whom we call Allah in Islam. Why He has taken on this name for Himself we do not know, but we do know that it is synonymous with Islam. This means that Islam is not a new religion but one that was observed in practice by all the Prophets before the advent of Muhammad (ﷺ). The name Islam may sound new but it in fact belongs to the oldest philosophy in existence i.e. monotheism.

The Role of the Prophets

God sent every Prophet with a miracle which inspired the minds of his people with humility and reverence. These miracles helped to create a mood which was conducive to faith in God and submission to His Will. We also observe that each of these miracles was in accord with the spirit of the age in which a Prophet was sent. It was also in harmony with the image that the people concerned had with regard to human capacities. By transcending the limitations of normal human capacities, the Prophets were able to cause their people to reconsider their complacent attitudes, thus causing them to turn to God.

It will be observed that each Prophet was blessed with certain qualities. Adam was created out of mud and clay. Moses was given a staff.

In Jesus, we find the powers of healing and bringing back the dead to life, and in Muhammad (ﷺ), we find the miracle of the Qur’an (learning). Each of these Prophets served a certain purpose and function, for example, in the case of the Prophet Moses, the people of his era were known for their magic, hence he came forward with a miracle which established his position as one being backed by God. Jesus in turn was sent to a people who had surrendered themselves altogether to the hegemony of matter. His miracles therefore were oriented with the view of restoring conviction in things super-natural. The immaculate birth of Jesus itself is proof of this supremacy, which ultimately goes to show that with God there are no laws! That the effects are not invariably connected with cause, and that the former may even exists at times without the existence of the latter.

The miracles which have been mentioned in connection with the Prophets of the past were all of a material, sensory nature, even though they unmasked the truths which had a spiritual bearing. Their main function was to overwhelm man into submission to God. The same cannot be said of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The miracle of the Last Prophet (ﷺ) was not of a material, tangible nature so as to be perceptible to the physical eye. It was essentially of a non-material nature, and thus capable of being grasped by the human intellect. It was a miracle which will not lose its luster with the passage of time. This instantly raise the question as to why the miracle of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is different in nature when compared to the others. Why is this recitable message placed above the miracles of the other Prophets which consisted of tangible events?

The answer to this question is related to the significance of the Qur’an, its Shariah or Islamic Code. This Shariah is immortal and it will remain relevant for all the succeeding generations of mankind to come.

The Shariah

The significance of this Shariah is that it is unlike all previous religious laws. This Shariah is addressed to everyone throughout the world. The extent of its fulfillment can be viewed in the life of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), covering every aspect of social and active life. This cannot be said of past Prophets. Their Laws were confined to an era, a region, a people and only suitable for just that period of time. Its incompleteness can be compared to problems that have arisen in present day life. Islam not only updated these Laws but brought them into conformity with life to come in the future.

The Shariah is not a mere collection of do’s and don'ts nor is it a set of criminal laws prescribing certain punishments. This only makes up a very small aspect of this moral code. The real core of the Shariah depends on moral consciousness, obedience to God and the fear of incurring His displeasure. As such it is spiritual in nature with the prime objective of preserving mankind from harm. To understand the whole basis of the Shariah, one must understand the relationship between man and God in Islam. God as the Creator is also the Provider and Sustainer of all life and created things. As the Provider, He has given man everything he needs to live, but surely the greatest need of man is to know how to relate himself to God, and to fulfill the purpose of his creation. The Shariah therefore is nothing but a Divinely ordained code of behaviour and a way of life for the whole of mankind. It is one of servitude to God and servitude to mankind. It has not been created to serve the Muslims only. It was also not created by Allah to suppress those who do not wish to come under the fold of Islam. The Qur’an clearly declares that there is no compulsion in religion, thus preserving the status of the non-Muslims. In fact Islam is the only religion that guarantees the rights of the non-Muslims.

The Miracle of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

It is essential that the miracle of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) should be in tune with the universality and immorality of his message. Had the miracles of the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) consisted of tangible events, they would have lost their evidential effectiveness with the passage of time.

These miracles could have created the required certitude of belief only among the people who had witnessed the miracles themselves. For example, we have the ‘fire-pit’ into which the Prophet Abraham was cast into. We have the staff of the Prophet Moses, the rising of the dead by Jesus, all these are miracles beyond doubt but the fact still remains, succeeding generations who are gradually affected by development and progress, find it hard to bring themselves to accept these miracles. In short, those miracles served only that period of time, and with the passing away of those Prophets and their generation, these miracles began to have less command over the minds of succeeding generations. Furthermore, such feats could halve been verified with absolute certainty only by those who actually witnessed them. Compared to the miracle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the Qur’an will continue to be recited and followed right up to the Day of judgement. The miracle of the Qur’an is proof of its originality, its intactness, and the effect or impact of its Message, which continues to be a force compatible with the times.

The Qur’an however is not the only miracle attributed to the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) of Islam. He too was blessed. Like previous Prophets, the Prophet (ﷺ) of Islam did perform miracles, and it would be impossible for us to deal with these at this juncture. What concerns us is that the only miracle claimed by him was the miracle of the Qur’an, and in this we can understand his decision. Now, if all generations or succeeding generations can grasp this significance, then it constitutes an immortal testimony of God. If they strayed after that, it would be not out of ignorance, nor owing to lack of clarity about the truth. It would be owing to be dominance of lust, or owing to the hold of superstitions.

The Qur’an — The Book of Divine Guidance

The Qur’an as the Book of Divine Guidance has been the subject of much investigation. Scholars have viewed it from a purely academic point of view, and have found that its scientific exposition of this creation is beyond doubt. The embodiment of these truths in the Qur’an which humanity has received from an unlettered Prophet (ﷺ) is another argument in favour of the Divinity of the Qur’an.

In our view, the Qur’an is the fulfillment and conclusion to a chain of events beginning with Adam to the Prophet Jesus and ending with the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). We find the Divine Message reaching a climax and conclusion in Islam.

Proof of this can be viewed in the Qur’an. Allah says:

“This Qur’an is not such as can be produced by other than God. On the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelation) that went before it and a fuller explanation of the Book — wherein there is no doubt – from the Lord of the Worlds.” (10: 37)

The Qur’an is thus an Unfolding Message, an Eternal Message, a Recitable Message, a Divine Message and it will not loose its luster as would a miracle (performance). In this manner the Qur’an has become The Permanent Miracle, an intellectual argument to these who reject God, the One and Only.

The Prophets of the Bani Israil were ascetic in nature. They led nomadic lives, and in most cases incomplete ones. They were never able to achieve total success and this can be viewed by their overall performance. The life of the Prophet Jesus is one such example. The same however cannot be said of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). In him we see the fulfillment of every aspect of life. Divine Revelation bears testimony to this, because each phase of his life conformed with Qur’anic Revelation, and as a result of this, the Qur’an is an exposition of all aspects of life. It is complete and perfect. One might further add that the wholesomeness of the Prophet's life in conjunction with Qur’anic Revelation leaves no room for assumption towards any solution in life. Never has there been a Prophet so successful as the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The Shariah or Islamic Moral–Code of Conduct is proof of this.

The Qur’an describes the Noble Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) as a mercy and model to humanity. An unlettered man full of wisdom, orphaned at early age, a man of character and honour, he was respected by both friend and foe. In business, he was known for his honesty and fair dealing, but most of all he delivered the Message of God, rejecting the grandiose offers of the Quraish. As result of his persistence he suffered greatly, but there is no doubt, he became the greatest reformer, equal with society, living no different from them. As the Law-Giver, he created a State, wherein justice, honour and respect prevailed among believer and nonbeliever. As their leader, he was never known to flee from the enemy. With a small band of followers, consisting of no more than 313 people, he went forth to face an army of 1,000 well equipped Quraish (Makkans). It was his total trust in God and those of his followers in him that granted them success.

As a married man, he was a noble example. To those who served him, it has been reported that he never uttered a harsh word against them. Of his many wives, Khadijah was his first. It was after her death that he took up others, and even in this matter, it can be said with all honesty that Aishah was the only second person in his life. His other marriages were undertaken to preserve the dignity of society, and to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood. Even his wars were always a defensive measure, having to act to preserve the community against those who wanted to put an end to its existence.

Worshiping the One and Only God

The Noble Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was always mindful of this duty, and though he was His Messenger, he used to remind his audience that he was to more a man like them, of his many titles, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to take pride in being called His Slave and His Messenger, and it is here that we find true servant-ship, humility and submission.

The prime goal of a Muslim is to seek this position of servant-ship in life i.e. to become the servant of Allah. The Noble Prophet (ﷺ) has said that a person will not attain Iman until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

The Time has indeed come for us to re-appraise our various faiths and ideologies. Life is important because it offers us the only opportunity to right any wrong. It holds the key to the future, the Hereafter.