Islam, the True and Living Faith
Islam means losing oneself for the sake of God and surrendering one's own
pleasure for the pleasure of God.
I perceive that through believing in Islam fountains of light are coursing
through me.
The true purpose of adopting a faith is that one should acquire such certainty
concerning God, Who is the fountainhead of salvation, as if one can see Him
with one's eyes. The wicked spirit of sin seeks to destroy a man and a person
cannot escape the fatal poison of sin till he believes with full certainty in
the Perfect and Living God and till he knows for certain that God exists, Who
punishes the offender and bestows upon a righteous one every lasting joy. It is
a common experience that when one believes in the fatal effects of anything one
does not have recourse to it. For instance, no one swallows poison consciously.
No one deliberately stands in front of a wild tiger. No one deliberately
thrusts his hand into the hole of a serpent. Then why does a person commit sin
deliberately? The reason is that he has not that certainty in this matter as he
has in other matters of the kind that we have mentioned. The first duty of a
person, therefore, is to acquire certainty with regard to the existence of God,
and to adopt a religion through which this certainty can be acquired so that he
should fear God and shun sin. How can such certainty be acquired? It cannot be
acquired through mere stories. It cannot be acquired through mere arguments.
The only way of acquiring certainty is to experience God repeatedly through
converse with Him or through witnessing his extraordinary signs, or by keeping
company with someone who has that experience [Naseem-e-Dawat, (Qadian, Ziaul
Islam Press, 1903); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain, Vol.19, pp. 81-82].
The purpose of religion is that man should obtain deliverance from his passions
and should develop personal love for God Almighty through certain faith in His
existence and His perfect attributes. Such love of God is the paradise which
will appear in diverse shapes in the hereafter. To be unaware of the true God
and to keep away from Him and not to have any love for Him is the hell which
will appear in diverse shapes in the hereafter. Thus the true purpose is to
have full faith in Him. Now the question is which religion and which book can
fill this need. The Bible tells us that the door of converse with God is closed
and that the ways of obtaining certainty are sealed. Whatever was to happen,
happened in the past and there is nothing in the future. . . . Of what use then
is a religion which is dead? What benefit can we derive from a book that is
dead? What grace can be bestowed by a god who is dead? [Chashmai Masihi,
(Qadian, Magazine Press, 1906); Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 20, pp. 20-23].
The purpose of accepting a religion is that God, Who is Self- Sufficient and is
in no need of His creation or its worship, may be pleased with us, and that we
should experience such grace and mercy as should wipe out our inner stains and
rusts so that our breasts may be filled with certainty and understanding. This
is not possible for a man to achieve through his own devices. Therefore, God
the Glorious, keeping hidden mainly His own Being and the wonders of His
creation, for instance, souls and bodies, angels, heaven, hell, resurrection
and messengership etc. and yet disclosing them partially through reason,
appointed his servants to believe in all these mysteries [Surma Chashm Arya,
(Qadian, 1886); Now published in Ruhani Khazain, Volume 2 (London, 1984), p.
33].
* * *
In order to recognize a true religion it is necessary to look at three matters.
In the first place, one must see what is the teaching of a religion concerning
God. That is to say, what does a religion state with regard to the Unity, power,
knowledge, perfection, greatness, punishment, mercy and other attributes of the
Divine. . . .
Secondly, it is necessary that a seeker after truth should inquire what does a
religion teach with regard to his own self and with regard to human conduct. Is
there anything in its teaching which would disrupt human relationships, or
would draw a person into courses which are inconsistent with modesty and
honour, or would be contrary to the law of nature, or would be impossible to
conform to or carry out, or make it dangerous to do so. It would also be
necessary to see whether some important teaching needed to control
disorderliness has been left out. It would also be necessary to discover
whether a religion presents God as a Great Benefactor with Whom a relationship
of personal love should be established and whether it lays down commandments
which lead from darkness into light and from heedlessness to remembrance.
Thirdly, it is necessary for a seeker after truth to satisfy himself that the
God presented by a religion should not be one Who is believed in on the basis
of tales and stories and resembles a dead being. To believe in a God who
resembles a dead being, belief in whom is not by virtue of His having
manifested Himself but is due to one's own good faith, would be to put Him
under an obligation. It is useless to believe in a God whose powers are not
felt and who does not Himself make manifest the signs of His own existence and
life [Naseem-e-Dawat, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press, 1903); Now printed in Ruhani
Khazain, Vol.19, pp. 12, 13].
* * *
The religion that claims to be from God must show Signs of being from God and
should bear the seal of God which should attest the fact that it is from God.
Islam is such a religion. That God Who is hidden is known through this religion
and manifests Himself to the true followers of this religion. A true religion
is supported by the hand of God, and through such religion God manifests
Himself that He exists. The religions that depend entirely upon stories are
only a form of idol worship. Such religions do not possess the spirit of truth.
If God is alive as He was, and speaks and hears as He did, there is no reason
why He should continue silent as if He does not exist. If He does not speak in
this age, then equally and certainly He does not hear either. In other words,
He is now nothing. That religion alone is true which demonstrates that God
hears and speaks in this age also. In a true religion, God attests His
existence through His speaking. Search for God is a difficult matter. It is not
an affair of worldly philosophers and wise men. Observation of the heavens and
earth only leads to the conclusion that although orderliness indicates that the
universe should have a Creator yet it is not proof that such Creator in fact exists.
There is a deal of difference between ought to be and is. The Holy Quran is the
only book which sets forth His existence as a fact and not only urges the
seeking of God but makes Him manifest. There is no other book which makes
manifest the Hidden Being [Chashmai Masihi, (Qadian, Magazine Press, 1906); Now
published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 20, pp. 19-20].
* * *
Religion does not mean disputes, abuse and harsh words which are indulged in,
in the name of religion. In this context, no one pays attention to the
suppression of inner vices or the establishment of true relationship with the
Beloved. One party attacks another party like dogs and every kind of ill
conduct is exhibited in support of religion. Such people do not realize why they
came into this world and what is the main purpose of their lives. They continue
blind and ill-natured and give their bigoted sentiments the name of religion.
They exhibit their bad manners and employ their loose tongues in support of a
fictitious god of whose existence they have no proof. Of what use is a religion
which does not teach the worship of a Living God? The God that they present is
no better than a corpse. He walks with the support of others. When that support
is withdrawn, he falls to the ground. The only thing they gain from such a
religion is bigotry. They lack altogether true fear of God and true sympathy
with mankind which is the best of characteristics (Braheen Ahmadiyyah, Part IV,
p. 19).
* * *
Two conditions are necessary for a religion which claims to be from God. In the
first place, a religion should be so comprehensive and perfect and complete and
free from every defect in its doctrine, teachings and commandments, that reason
should not be capable of proposing anything better; and there should be nothing
lacking in it. It should be ahead of all other religions in this respect. The
Holy Quran puts forward this claim by proclaiming: This day have I perfected
your religion for your benefit, and have completed My favour unto you, and have
chosen for you Islam as your faith (5:4). That is to say, God requires us to
conform to the reality inherent in the word Islam. Here there is a clear claim
that the Holy Quran comprehends the perfect teaching and that the time of the
revelation of the Holy Quran was the time when such perfect teaching could be
revealed. The Quran alone is entitled to make this claim. No other heavenly
book has put forward such a claim. Both the Torah and the Gospel refrain from
making this claim. On the contrary, the Torah sets out God's commandment that
He would raise a Prophet from among the brethren of Israel and would put His
word into his mouth and that whosoever does not lend ear to that word of God
would be accountable for his default. It is obvious, therefore, that if the
Torah had been adequate for meeting the needs of subsequent ages, there would
have been no necessity for the coming of another Prophet, listening to whom was
made obligatory. In the same way the Gospel has nowhere claimed that its
teaching is perfect and comprehensive. But there is a clear confession that
there were many things which had still to be said but that the disciples had
not yet the strength to bear them but that when the Paraclete would come he
would lead them to the whole truth. Thus Moses confessed the incompleteness of
the Torah and drew attention to the teaching of the Prophet who was to come. In
the same way Jesus admitted the incompleteness of his teaching and said that
the time had not yet come for the perfect teaching to be disclosed but that
when the Paraclete arrives he would set forth the perfect teaching. In contrast
the Holy Quran does not, like the Torah and the Gospel, leave the matter for
another book to complete but announces the perfection of its teaching in the
words: This day have I perfected your religion for your benefit, and have
completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you Islam as your faith
(5:4). . . . Here is thus a great argument in support of Islam that by virtue
of its teaching it prevails over every religion and no religion can compete
with it in respect of the perfection of its teaching.
The second characteristic of Islam, which is not shared by any other religion
and which attests its truth, is that it manifests its living blessings and
miracles of which other religions are wholly deprived. The signs that Islam
exhibits not only establish its superiority over other religions but enable it
to draw the hearts of the people by exhibiting its perfect light. The first
characteristic of Islam which we have stated above, that is to say, the
perfection of its teaching, is not quite conclusive in establishing that Islam
is a true religion revealed by God. A bigoted opponent who is not far- sighted
may assert that it is possible that a teaching might be perfect and yet it may
not proceed from God Almighty. This first characteristic relieves a wise seeker
after truth of many doubts and brings him close to certainty, but does not
establish the matter conclusively and beyond doubt till it is combined with the
second characteristic. By their combination the light of the true faith reaches
its perfection. A true faith comprises thousands of proofs and lights but these
two characteristics are enough to carry conviction to the heart of a seeker
after truth and expound the matter to the satisfaction of all deniers of truth.
Nothing more is needed in addition. I had originally intended that in support
of the truth of Islam I would set down three hundred arguments in Braheen
Ahmadiyyah. But on further reflection I perceived that these two
characteristics are a substitute for thousands of proofs and thus God made me
alter my plan (Preface to Braheen Ahmadiyyah, Part V, pp. 2-5).
* * *
God Almighty is not held back in exposition of the claim of the Holy Prophet,
peace be on him. He came like a sun and manifested his light from every point
of view. He who turns away from this true sun, will come to no good. We cannot
credit such a one with good faith. Can anyone who is afflicted with leprosy and
whose limbs are corrupted with leprosy, claim that he is whole and is not in
need of treatment? Should he say so, can we credit him with good faith? Should
such a person insist that he cannot arrive at the truth of Islam, despite good
faith and despite every effort such as he puts forth in his worldly affairs,
his matter rests with God. We have not come across any such person and we
consider it impossible that anyone equipped with reason and a sense of justice
should prefer some other faith to Islam. Foolish and ignorant people adopt the
position under the dictates of their lower selves that belief in the Unity of
God is enough, and that it is not necessary to follow the Holy Prophet, peace
be on him; but it is to be borne in mind that a Prophet is the mother of Unity
that gives birth to it and points to the existence of God. Who knows the
exposition of the truth better than God Almighty Himself? He filled heaven and
earth with signs to prove the truth of the Holy Prophet, and now in this age he
has sent me and has displayed thousands of signs like heavy rain which prove
the truth of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. What then is lacking in the
full exposition of the truth? He who has sense enough to oppose why can he not
think out the way of acceptance? He who pretends that he can see at night, why
can he not see in the full light of day? Indeed the way of acceptance is much
easier than the way of rejection. The case of a person whose reason is
defective and whose faculties are not normal should be committed to God, and we
have nothing to do concerning him. He is like children who die at an early age.
But a wicked denier cannot excuse himself on the ground that he is acting in
good faith. It should be considered whether his faculties are such that he can
appreciate questions of Unity and Prophethood. If he is capable of appreciating
them and denies out of ill-will, he cannot be excused. Can we excuse a person
who observes the light of the sun and yet persists in asserting that it is not
day but night. In the same way, we cannot excuse those who deliberately indulge
in wrong reasoning and are unable to repel the arguments that are put forward
on behalf of Islam. Islam is a living faith. A person who can distinguish
between the living and the dead, how can he set aside Islam and accept a dead
religion [Haqiqatul Wahi, (Qadian, Magazine Press 1907); Now published in
Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 22, pp. 175-176]?
* * *
When I reflect upon the whole word of God, I find that in its teachings it
seeks to reform the natural conditions of man and to raise him step by step to
higher spiritual levels. In the first place God desires to teach man the
elementary rules of behaviour and culture and thus to change him from the wild
condition of animals, and then to bestow upon him elementary moral conditions
which can be described as culture or civilization. Then He trains him and
raises him from the elementary moral conditions to a high moral stage. All this
is in truth one stage, which is the reform of natural conditions, and the only
difference is one of degree. The All-Wise One has presented the moral system in
such a way whereby man should be able to move from a lower moral level to a
higher moral level. The third stage is that man should be devoted to winning
the true love and pleasure of his Creator and the whole of his being should be
devoted to God. It is at this stage that the faith of Muslims has been named
Islam which means to be wholly devoted to God and to keep nothing back [Islami
Usul ki Philosophy, Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 10, p. 10].
It is foolish to imagine that religion means a few things that are mentioned in
the Gospel. All matters that are essential for the perfection of man are
comprehended within the scope of religion. Religion comprises all those matters
which lead man from his wild condition to the condition of true humanity and
then lead him from the condition of humanity to a life of wisdom and thereafter
lead him from a life of wisdom to a life that is devoted to God [Kitabul
Bariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain
(London, 1984), Vol. 13, p. 71].
There is no doubt that the Gospel does not provide for the full nurture of the
tree of humanity. We are sent into the world with many faculties and every
faculty demands that it should be used on its proper occasion. The Gospel
emphasizes only the faculty of meekness and gentleness. Meekness and
forgiveness are good qualities when exercised on the proper occasion but their
use on every occasion would be greatly harmful. Our cultural life which
comprises the interplay of different kinds of tempers demands that we should
exercise all our faculties with discretion on the proper occasion. It is true
that on some occasions forgiveness and forbearance would benefit materially and
spiritually a person who has done us harm. On other occasions, the exercise of
those faculties would encourage the offender to commit greater mischief and do
more harm.
Our spiritual life resembles our physical life to a large degree. It is our
experience that the use of only one type of food and medicines would upset our
health. If we were to confine ourselves over a period to the use of cooling
articles of diet and refrain altogether from the use of warming articles, we
would become a prey to some disease like paralysis, Parkinson's disease or
epilepsy. On the contrary, if we confine ourselves to warming articles of diet,
so much so that even the water that we drink must be warm, then equally we
would be liable to some other kind of disease. Consequently, in order to
maintain our physical health we must keep a balance between hot and cold and
hard and soft and movement and rest. We should follow the same rule in respect
of our spiritual health. God has bestowed no evil faculty upon us. Indeed no
faculty is evil in itself. It is the misuse of a faculty that is evil. For
instance, envy is evil but if we use it for a good purpose, that is to say, as
a competition in goodness, it becomes a high moral quality. The same is the
case with all moral qualities. Their misuse renders them harmful and their use
on the proper occasion in a moderate manner makes them beneficial.
It is, therefore, a mistake to cut off all other branches of the tree of
humanity and to put the entire emphasis on forgiveness and forbearance. That is
why this teaching has failed of its purpose and Christian sovereigns had to
enact codes of law for the punishment of offenders. The current Gospel cannot
bring about the perfection of the human self. As the stars are dimmed when the
sun rises and then disappear from sight altogether, the same is the case of the
Gospel in comparison with the Holy Quran [Kitabul Bariyyah, (Qadian, Ziaul
Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 13, pp. 48-49].
* * *
A study of the religions of the world reveals that every religion, except
Islam, contains some mistake or the other. This is not because they were all
false in their origin, but because after the advent of Islam, God gave up the
support of other religions and they became like neglected gardens which had no
gardener to look after them, and for the irrigation and upkeep of which no
arrangement had been made, so that gradually they began to decay. Their
fruit-bearing trees became dry and barren, and thorns and weeds spread all
over. Those religions lost all spirituality which is at the root of all
religion and nothing was left but bare words. God did not suffer this to happen
in the case of Islam as He desired that this garden should flourish throughout.
He made provision in each century for its irrigation and thus rescued it from
decay.Although at the beginning of each century when a man of God was appointed
for its reform the ignorant people opposed him and were averse to the reform of
anything which had become part of their habits and customs, yet God Almighty
adhered throughout to His way. In these latter days also, which is the time of
the last battle between guidance and error, finding the Muslims heedless and
neglectful in the beginning of the fourteenth century, God recalled His promise
and made provision for the revival of Islam. But other faiths were never
revived after the advent of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him; and they all
died. There was no spiritual life in them and errors took root in them, as dirt
accumulates in a garment which is much in use but which is never washed. People
who had no concern with spirituality and who were not free from the stains of
earthly existence corrupted these faiths to a degree that they no longer
resemble the originals. Consider the case of Christianity, how pure was its
origin. The teaching set forth by Jesus was not perfect as compared with the
teachings of the Quran, because the time had not yet come for the revelation of
the perfect teaching and people were not yet strong enough to bear it, yet that
teaching was an excellent one and was appropriate for its own time. It guided
to the same God to Whom the Torah guided but after Jesus, the god of the
Christians became another god who found no mention in the Torah and was not at
all known to the children of Israel. Belief in this new god upset the whole system of the
Torah and all the guidance contained in the Torah, for deliverance from sin and
attaining true salvation and a pure life, was frustrated. Salvation and
deliverance from sin now depended upon the confession that Jesus had accepted
crucifixion for the sake of the salvation of mankind, and that he was very God
Himself. Many permanent laws of the Torah were abrogated and the Christian
faith was so changed about that if Jesus were to come back to the earth he
would not be able to recognize it. It is a matter of surprise that the people
who were admonished to adhere to the Torah set aside its commandments at one
stroke. For instance, it is nowhere stated in the Gospel that though the Torah
forbids the eating of the flesh of swine yet it is now permitted, nor does the
Gospel say that though circumcision is prescribed in the Torah yet that
commandment is now abrogated. But all this was done and that which had never
been said by Jesus became part of religion. However, as it was God's design to
establish a universal religion namely Islam, the decay of Christianity was an
indication of the appearance of Islam. It is also well established that
Hinduism had been corrupted before the advent of Islam and that throughout India idol worship had become common. Part of this corruption
resulted in the doctrine that God Who is not dependent upon matter for the
exercise of His attributes is, in the view of the Aryas, so dependent for the
creation of the universe. This led to another false doctrine that all particles
of matter and all souls are eternal and uncreated. Had they considered deeply
the attributes of God, they would never have said so; for if in the exercise of
His eternal attribute of creation, God is dependent like a human being on
matter, then how is it that in the exercise of the attribute of hearing and
seeing He is not so dependent as is man. Man cannot hear without the agency of
air and he cannot see without the aid of light. Then is God also dependent upon
light and air for seeing and hearing? If He is not so dependent, be sure that
He is not dependent upon matter for the exercise of His attribute of creation.
It is entirely false that He is dependent upon matter for the exercise of any
of His attributes. It is a great mistake to attribute human weaknesses to God;
for instance, that He cannot create something from nothing. Man's being is
limited and God's Being is unlimited. By the power of His Being, He can create
another being. This is of the essence of Godhead. He is not dependent upon
matter for the exercise of any of His attributes, for had that been so, He
would not be God. Nothing can obstruct Him. If He were to desire to create a
heaven and earth instantly, He would be able to do so. Of the Hindus those who,
in addition to knowledge, partook of spirituality also and were not committed
to bare logic, never believed that concerning God which the Aryas set forth
today. This is the result of the lack of spirituality altogether.
All this corruption, some of which is unmentionable and is opposed to human
purity, was an indication of the need of Islam. Every reasonable person is
bound to confess that a short while before Islam, all other faiths had become
corrupt and had lost all spirituality. The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, was a
great reformer in the cause of truth who restored the lost verities to the
world. No prophet shares with him the pride that he found the whole world in
darkness and by his advent that darkness gave place to light [Lecture Sialkoat
entitled "Islam", (Sialkoat, Mufid Aam Press, 1904); Now published in
Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 20, pp. 1-5].
* * *
First of all it is necessary to set out what is the reality of Islam, what are
the means of arriving at that reality and what are the fruits of following that
reality; for this knowledge is essential for the purpose of understanding many
mysteries. It would be of great benefit for our opponents that they should
study these matters with attention, for many of the doubts which assail their
minds are the result of their failure to reflect upon the complete and perfect
reality of Islam, its sources and its fruits. . . . The opponents of religion
also would benefit greatly by this study. They would understand what religion is
and what are the signs of its truth.
In the idiom of Arabic, Islam means money paid as earnest to conclude a
bargain, or to commit some affair to someone, or to seek peace, or to surrender
a claim or point.
The technical meaning of Islam is set out in the verse: The truth is that
whoever submits himself completely to the will of Allah and acts righteously
shall have his reward with his Lord. No fear shall come upon such, nor shall
they grieve (2:113). This means that a Muslim is one who commits himself wholly
to the cause of God Almighty; that is to say, one who devotes himself to God
Almighty, to following His designs and to winning His pleasure, and then
becomes steadfast in doing good for the sake of God Almighty and devotes all
his faculties to that cause. In other words, he belongs entirely to God
Almighty both doctrinally and in practice.
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