All Prophets Were Muslims

ALL PROPHETS WERE MUSLIMS

(By: M. Javed Naseem)

The great Caliph of Islam, Omar bin al-Khattab said: ‘Learn Arabic, it is part of your religion (Islam)!’ Islam is based on the Quran and the Quran is in Arabic language. Therefore, it is very important to know Arabic to understand Islam better. When you can read and understand the Quran, you eliminate the chances of someone fooling you in the name of religion.  

Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran and it is very important that we, as Muslims, acquire at least the basics to comprehend the vast meanings of the verses of the Quran. I mean, if you know the Arabic alphabet and can read the Arabic text even without understanding much (like most people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.), that will still help you in figuring out the correct meanings of certain words or phrases of the Holy Quran. You can trace out the roots of all words and can understand (and relate) better the translated texts.

For example, the word ‘Islam’ traces its roots from the Arabic verb ‘Aslama’ which means ‘to accept Islam or to enter into Islam or to apply/enforce Islam upon oneself. Therefore, the word ‘Muslim’ means: A person who has accepted Islam and has surrendered/submitted himself unconditionally to the Will of God. That is why the believers (Muslims) are also called ‘the faithful or the obedient servants/slaves of Allah’.

The pivotal point of this whole chapter (or discussion) is the word ‘Islam’ (or Aslama) that has been used in the Holy Quran. My humble understanding is that you can read the simple Arabic text, even if you don’t understand it. I’ll point out the most important word (Aslama, Islam, Muslim or Muslimoun) in the Arabic verses in question and you would easily figure out the meanings. For example, Allah says in Surah (chapter) Aal-e-Imran, verse No.83:

أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ ٱللَّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُ

أَسْلَمَ مَنْ فِى ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ

طَوْعاً وَكَرْهاً وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ

‘Do they seek for other than the

Religion of Allah? while all creatures

in the heavens and on earth have,

willing or unwilling, bowed to

His Will (accepted Islam), and to

Him shall they all be brought back.’

(Quran 3:83)

The first three words of this verse read: ‘Afghaira deen Illah’. ‘Afghaira’ means ‘other than’. The word ‘deen’ means ‘religion’ or ‘system of faith’. And the third word ‘Illah’ means ‘Allah’. The Almighty is talking about the Religion of Allah chosen for the universe and has used the word ‘Aslama’ in Arabic for all those creatures in the heavens and on earth. What does it mean? Simply, it means: All creatures in the heavens and on earth have accepted Islam (and willingly or unwillingly surrendered or submitted to His Will). And to Him they shall be returned. Here, we should remember one thing that Allah is talking about the religion of the universe, in other words the system of the universe is based on Islam.

When Allah had planned to create Adam, He told the angels in the hierarchy of the divine administration of heavens that He wanted to create His Viceroy on Earth. The angels expressed their concern by saying: ‘Our Lord! Man will create mischief in the Earth’. Allah answered: ‘I know what you know not’.

The angels said: ‘We know only what we have been given the knowledge of. Our Lord knows best.’

After Allah had molded and shaped the clay to form Adam, He, in the final phase, blew in his nostrils the essence or spirit of life, Adam sneezed. All angels surrounding and watching the scene immediately said: ‘Alhamdo-lillah’ (all praise be to Allah). And that was the first word Adam heard and learned.

Then Allah taught him in private the names of different things and brought him to present to His government of angels where the chief Jinn, Iblees was also present. When Adam entered the divine court, he said: ‘Assalaam-o-Alaikum’. The angels responded with a befitting greeting by saying: ‘Wa’Alaikum as-Salaam Wa Rahmat-ullahi Wa Barakaatuh’. So was Adam introduced to the angels and the Jinns.

Then Allah asked the angels to name certain things but the angels said that they were unable to do so because they did not have the knowledge of that. Only Allah knew best. Then Allah asked Adam to tell the names of those things and Adam named them. At this point Allah said: ‘Didn’t I tell you that I know what you know not?’ And Allah ordered the angels and all those present to bow down in prostration (Islamic ‘Sajdah’) in front of Adam.

So much for the introduction of Adam! Now, if you review that carefully, all that is happening, is happening in a perfectly Islamic way. The conversation, the greetings, the manners, the rituals and bowing down in prostration is completely Islamic. Islam was, still is, and will always be the norm of the heavens. That is the only Deen (religion) Allah Himself created and that is the only religion that will be accepted by Allah. He says in the Holy Quran:

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلإِسْلاَمِ دِيناً فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ

وَهُوَ فِى ٱلآخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَاسِرِينَ

‘If anyone desires a religion other

than Islam (submission to Allah),

never will it be accepted of him;

and in the Hereafter he will be

in the ranks of those who have lost

(all spiritual good).

(Quran 3:85)

Dr. Hilali and Dr. Muhsin Khan have translated the same verse as below:

‘And whoever seeks a religion other

than Islam, it will never be accepted

of him, and in the Hereafter

he will be one of the losers.’

(Quran 3:85)

It can’t be said more simply, more vigorously and more clearly than the above verse that it is Islam or else. There is absolutely no ambiguity, no confusion, no misunderstanding or no chance of misinterpretation of this verse. It is as clear as sunshine and is self-explanatory. Islam is the way.

Here is another verse from the Holy Quran to support this argument that it was always Islam and it always will be. In the eras of other Prophets or Messengers of God, the languages and the cultures were different but they all delivered the same message: Worship none but Allah and make no partners with Him; glorify (offer prayers) the name of Allah and thank Him for all the blessings; pay the poor-due and help the needy; and fast during a certain period to seek piety. Those who obeyed these commands and followed the Prophets of Allah, they were called the faithful Muslims. Here is the verse:

قُلْ آمَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا

وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ

وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلأَسْبَاطِ

وَمَا أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَٱلنَّبِيُّونَ

مِنْ  رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ

وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

‘Say: We believe in Allah, and in what

has been revealed to us and what was

revealed to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac,

Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books)

given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets,

from their Lord. We make no distinction

between one and another among them, and

to Allah do we bow our will in Islam.’

(Quran 3:84)

The most important part of the verse is the last phrase in Arabic which reads: ‘Wa nahnu lahu Muslimoun’. This phrase has been used by the people of Moses, David and Solomon, by the disciples of Jesus. We find them in many Surahs (chapters) of the Holy Quran.

Let us analyze these four words of Arabic language. The word ‘wa’ means ‘and’. The word ‘nahnu’ means ‘we’. The word ‘lahu’ means ‘belonging to Allah’. And the word ‘Muslimoun’ is actually the plural of ‘Muslim’ which means in most languages ‘a Muslim’. Now, the four words combined look like this: ‘And we are His Muslims’. In other words, we are the people who have surrendered/submitted ourselves to the Will of Allah.

Now, the most interesting point in this declaration is that we believe in Allah and those revelations and books which were sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons, and the holy scriptures of Moses, Jesus and other Prophets of Allah among whom we make no distinction because …..? Because we are His Muslims.

In other words, we believe in all those elements the other Prophets and their nations believed in; and there is no distinction or difference between them; and we do the same because we are Muslims – the true servants or slaves of Allah. Is there any doubt left that all those Prophets from Abraham to Jesus to Muhammad (s.a.w.) did believe in the same God and the same teachings or the same religion like we Muslims do today? Allah has named particularly Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and his sons (or tribes), Moses and Jesus among other Prophets of God, clearing all doubts or misconceptions about their Faith. They belonged to the same Faith; followed the same path; and delivered the same Message of their Lord Almighty. They were all Muslims because they surrendered or submitted themselves to the Will of Allah in Islam. Allah commands all believers:

يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ

وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنْتُمْ مُّسْلِمُونَ

‘O ye who believe! Fear Allah as

He should be feared, and die not

except in a state of Islam.’

(Quran 3:102)

Shakir translated the same verse of the Holy Quran like this:

‘O you who believe! Be careful of your

duty to Allah with the care which is due

to Him, and do not die unless

you are Muslims.’

So, to succeed in this life and in the Hereafter, one has to live like a true Muslim and stay the course until death. If one dies as a non-Muslim, his soul will be lost and he’ll get no rewards in the Hereafter except the Hellfire.

Actually, a big number of people in the old times accepted the true religion of Islam. But the Devil was always seen at work and continued misleading people through temptation. The Jews gave Moses hard time as they were very arrogant and kept changing their minds. When Moses left them in the care of his brother Aaron and went up the mountain for a few days to receive the Ten Commandments, they immediately deviated. They made a calf of gold and started worshipping it.

Obviously, when men are left alone, they have the tendency of reverting to mischief or evil soon. The wealthy and rich always wanted to look different from the general public or the ‘ordinary’ people, therefore, they came up with something different. That makes them feel superior and special. They did the same thing with religious rituals and introduced innovations. It went so far that they created almost new religions like Judaism and Christianity.

Even Islam was infiltrated by such elements that created new sects. And then there were the enemies of Islam who wanted to distort the image of Islam and the Muslims. They just wanted to prove to the Muslims that their religion Islam was as corrupted as other religions. So, hundreds or even thousands of fake Hadiths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w.) were created and added to the original authentic Hadiths creating doubts about all Hadiths. New false translations of the Holy Quran were printed and distributed. This served well the hidden agenda of anti-Islam forces. Those who were competent to thwart such an attack on their Holy Book, kept silent or felt helpless. And the onslaught continues with new interpretations and new but questionable decrees surfacing every day.

But that didn’t stop Islam from spreading in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today. Allah has His own ways of protecting His system as well as His faithful servants. The Almighty God keeps reminding the believers of their true faith Islam.

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلإِسْلاَمُ

وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلْكِتَابَ

إِلاَّ مِنْ  بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْعِلْمُ بَغْياً بَيْنَهُمْ

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِآيَاتِ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَاب

‘The religion before Allah is Islam

(submission to His Will); nor did

the People of the Book dissent

therefrom except through envy of

each other, after knowledge had

come to them. But if any deny the

signs of Allah, Allah is swift in

calling to account.’

(Quran 3:19)

Shakir’s translation of this particular verse goes like this:

‘Surely the (true) religion with Allah

is Islam, and those to whom the

Book had been given did not show

opposition but after knowledge had

come to them, out of envy among

themselves; and whoever disbelieves

in the communications of Allah then

surely Allah is quick in reckoning.’

The true religion with Allah is Islam and the above mentioned verse of the Holy Quran is the proof of that. Allah never introduced any other religion through His Messengers. It was impossible for every Messenger to introduce to their people a new religion every time the Reminder was sent. Allah sent the same Message through different Messengers in different times and in different languages and called it the ‘Reminder’. It’s the people who changed it to make things easier for themselves.

People always want something new, something different, something more exciting and innovative but easier at the same time. They don’t want to scarify their comfort. That is the reason that we find hundreds of religions and thousands of religious cults or sects in today’s world. They don’t want to believe in something ancient which they consider ‘out of date’. They prefer something ‘modern’, posh, hip-hop or Luciferous!

Worshipping Lucifer (Devil) is the newest craze among the Western singers/artists and they are promoting it through music.  The young generation of the Muslims living in the West is highly influenced by the new trends in music, culture and education. They are brainwashed to believe whatever they see on TV. That’s why the Zionists control the media. They promote their own agenda through falsification, lies and deception.

Recently, a Jewish Rabbi, Abrahamson from Jerusalem, pointed out in an interview on the Turkish TV that Islam is one of the oldest religions in the world. He said that there were signs that Islam was the religion of not only Noah but of Adam also. He said that when Jewish pilgrims used to come to Jerusalem for sacrifice (Qurban), they would find non-Jewish groups there too. The most prominent among them were the ‘Solomine’ and the ‘Moslimine’ (Muslims). This means that Islam existed even before the Jewish religion, dating back to the second temple or even before. Rabbi Abrahamson said that ‘there were historical signs that point out that Islam was the religion of Noah and Adam. He said that people talk of similarities between Jewish and Islamic faiths but it is more than similarities. There is a common heritage.’

Rabbi Abrahamson said:  ‘Since the Jews, Solomines and Moslimines used to come to Jerusalem for pilgrimage, this  proves that there was some common ground or some common faith among them. There had to be a fundamental religion which was common and which made certain rituals obligatory for all those nations who practiced religion under different names. We believe that this fundamental religion was also called Islam. But with the advent of German revisionists’ movement, things started changing.’

Rabbi Abrahamson said: ‘We Jews believe that Muslims are perfect monotheists. They worship the same God as we do.’

As a matter of fact it was the same God that Prophets Noah and Adam worshipped and preached. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ

يَاقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ

إِنِّيۤ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

‘We sent Noah to his people. He said:

O my people! Worship Allah!

Ye have no other god but Him.

I fear for you the punishment of

a dreadful day!’

(Quran 7:59)

But Noah’s people did not believe him. They said that he was just another man like them and not a Messenger of God. Noah reminded them:

أَوَ عَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَآءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنْكُمْ لِيُنذِرَكُمْ

وَلِتَتَّقُواْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

‘Marvel ye that there should come

to you a Reminder from your Lord

by means of a man among you,

that he may warn you, and that

ye may keep from evil, and that

haply ye may find mercy.’

(Quran 7:63)

It was the same Reminder, the same message all other Prophets or the Messengers of God brought to their respective peoples, i.e. worship One God and ward off evil.

Another Jewish Rabbi Yehuda Glick (of Jerusalem, Israel) says:

‘God is one, His royalty is one, His name is one,

just like the Muslims say in the Quran:

“Qul-hu Wallahu Ahad, Allah-us Samad,

Lam Yalidd, we Lam Yuladd,…”

(Say: He is Allah the One and Only;

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

He begets not, nor is He begotten…’

(Quran 112:1-3)

‘This is our dream to announce it to the world

and unite it: La Ilaha illa Allah.’

Rabbi Yehuda Glick’s video speech can be seen on the website www.youtube.com.

And now, a different Jewish scholar with a different view:

Prof. Moshe Sharon of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, says that Muslims have an attitude toward history. They believe that ‘Islam is the first religion and all Prophets of God were Muslims’. During an international conference on the subject of ‘Yearning for the Holy Temple of  Jerusalem’, held in Jerusalem, Israel, on September 18, 2011, Prof. Moshe Sharon delivered a lecture (in English) in three parts, the title being: ‘Islam – Interpretation of Peace and The Authority of Jewish Sages’. The proceedings of the conference were telecast by Arutz Sheva TV-7 of Israel National News. (Anybody interested can trace the video of Prof. Moshe Sharon’s lecture on the website of Israel National News.com).

Professor Sharon says: ‘There is the question of attitude of Islam to history and, in fact, what we find the basic attitude is, that all history is in fact Islamic history. It means that all the major figures of history, basically, are Muslims – from Adam down to our time. So, if the Jews or the Christians are demanding something and basing it on the fact that there was a king called Solomon, or the king called David, or the Prophet called Moses or Jesus, then of course what they are doing that saying something which is not true, or, in fact, they don’t know that all these figures were basically Muslim figures. They were. In fact, since the creation of the world, there is only one religion that this is the religion of Islam. So, if anybody says, ‘Look here! There is a place which is connected with Solomon and that’s the place where the Temple of Solomon stood, a true Muslim will tell you: Yes, absolutely right. But don’t forget that Solomon was a Muslim; and David was a Muslim; and Abraham was a Muslim; and Isaac was a Muslim; and Jesus was a Muslim’.

‘This is what I mean by the ‘Islamisation’ of history. And you can understand that through ‘Islamisation’ of history, we’ve got Islamisation of geography. Anywhere which was connected with these people or with these Prophets, which were all Muslims, becomes a Muslim territory. And, therefore, when Islam was not in that area, before Muhammad (s.a.w.) came to it, but it should have been there, and that area I mean in the Middle East or other parts outside the Middle East which are non-Muslim parts, any place like this had to be freed, not to be conquered – had to be liberated’.

‘So, Islam appeared in history, in the time of Muhammad (s.a.w.), (or re-appeared in history, from their point of view), re-appeared in history as a liberator. And, therefore, there is no Islamic occupation. If somebody occupied anything, it’ll be always somebody else, not the Muslims. So, there is no Islamic occupation. There is only Islamic liberation’.

Prof. Sharon is being sarcastic here. I don’t know how deeply or minutely he studied and understood the Torah, the Mishnah, and the Ten Commandments of Moses. Abraham was the father of all three major religions (the ‘Semetic’ religions) and he was neither a Jew nor a Christian. He was a staunch and devoted Muslim. Judaism and Christianity are the inventions of the later times. I call them inventions because Moses never named his faith ‘Judaism’ nor did Jesus ever claim that his faith was Christianity.

Christ wasn’t even the name of Jesus, the son of Mary. Christ was added later to Jesus from the Greek translation. It comes from the word Christo, meaning ‘the anointed one’. So, in Greek, he is called Jesus, the anointed one, but the English translators made him ‘Jesus Christ’. On the other hand, Allah refers to him in the Holy Quran as Jesus, the son of Mary. We have a choice here; either to believe the Word of Allah or the incorrect translation of some misguided human.

Abraham, Moses and Jesus, all had the same faith. Their faith was ‘Tawheed’ (Oneness of God – Islamic monotheism) – believing in and worshipping the One and the Only God, without associating partners or children. And that is Islam. Allah created the universe in Truth (in Islam). If there were something Islamic, that already existed, there was no question of its ‘Islamisation’. It is the ‘de-Islamisation’ that was started by the forces of Devil and it continues till date.

Had Prof. Sharon read the Holy Quran, he would have found all the Ten Commandments of Moses and a lot more in there. Those commandments made the most important part of the teachings of every Messenger of Allah. They existed before Moses as they were preached by other Messengers of Allah. The only difference was that their handing over to other Prophets was not as dramatic as to Moses – etched in stone.

Some so-called followers of Moses from the tribe Bani Israel were so shameless that they even edited the Ten Commandments and removed three major and basic elements from the list. These elements were Offering Prayers; Giving Poor-due and helping the needy; and Fasting (for a certain period).

Allah tells us in the Holy Quran that these elements were integral part of the Faith of the Bani Israel (Children of Israel):

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ بَنِيۤ إِسْرَآئِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا

مِنهُمُ ٱثْنَىْ عَشَرَ نَقِيباً وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مَعَكُمْ

لَئِنْ أَقَمْتُمُ ٱلصَّلاَةَ وَآتَيْتُمُ ٱلزَّكَاةَ وَآمَنتُمْ بِرُسُلِى

وَعَزَّرْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَقْرَضْتُمُ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً

لأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَلَـأُدْخِلَنَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِى

مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلأَنْهَارُ فَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ مِنْكُمْ

فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

‘Allah did aforetime take a covenant

from the Children of Israel, and We

appointed twelve captains among

them. And Allah said: I am with you

if ye (but) establish regular prayers,

practice regular charity, believe in

My messengers, honour and assist

them, and loan to Allah a beautiful

loan, verily I will wipe out from you

your evils, and admit you to gardens

with rivers flowing beneath; but if

any of you, after this, resisteth faith,

he hath truly wandered from the

Path or rectitude.’

(Quran 5:12)

If you read the Arabic text of the above verse, you will find the two words, ‘Salat’ (prayers) and Zakat (charity), in the third line of the above-mentioned text. Therefore, it was enjoined upon the Jews and the Christians to believe in Tawheed (worshipping One and the Only God), establish prayers, pay the poor-due and observe fasting (Ramadan for Muslims). You have four pillars of Islam, out of five, already prescribed for other nations.

Moses and Jesus both used to fast for forty days. Allah has mentioned the fasting of other nations in the Holy Quran:

يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ

كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

‘O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed

for you as it was prescribed for those

before you, that ye may ward off (evil).’

(Quran 2:183)

If you don’t find the command of Fasting in Jewish or Christian faiths of today, those faiths are not genuine. They are modified by humans to suit their desires. In the original faith, both Moses and Jesus were commanded to fast for a certain period.

So, basically, Allah sent the same message and prescribed the same religion for all nations on earth.

It is not a coincidence that Islam inherited five pillars of faith. Those five pillars were the basis of the principal Faith chosen by Allah for Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) among others. They are: Tawheed (worshipping One God); offering Prayers; Alms-giving (charity); Fasting; and Pilgrimage. We might find slight variations, depending on the era of the prophets, but the basic structure is the same.

I have another question for Prof. Sharon. Has he carefully read his own Torah in Hebrew language or he reads its English or some other translation? He can open the Torah and go to Haggai 2:7 or the book of ‘Shir haShirim’ (the Hebrew text) Chapter 5:16. In the Torah’s English translation, it is called the ‘Song of Solomon’. In the second phrase of the Verse 16, he will find a four-lettered word ‘MHMD’. He should read the Hebrew text or ask someone who knows Hebrew, to read it for him. And he will see that he pronounces it as ‘Mahamad’.
Muhammad's name is written in Hebrew. Let's look at the spelling of this word...
It has four characters. Going from right to left they are...(M-H-M-D)

It has four characters. Going from right to left they are...

There were no vowels in the old Hebrew language. The vowels were added in the 8th century. Back then, there were only consonants and that’s how they used to write Muhammad – ‘MHMD’ – and pronounce it as Mahamad.

Here is the English translation of the Verse 5:16 of the Torah (chapter: Song of Solomon):

‘His mouth is sweetness itself;

He is altogether lovely (MHMD).

This is my lover, this my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.’

What the mean-spirited and biased translator has done here that he has removed the name of ‘Mahamad’ and translated it as ‘altogether lovely’. It is the basic principle that when you translate any script in any language, you don’t translate the proper names – you are not allowed to. Names are mentioned as they originally are, whether Hebrew, Greek, English, Roman, Latin, Arabic, Urdu or Hindi. For example, a Jew named Mr. Goldberg will always be referred to as Goldberg in any language. Nobody would say that Mr. Mountain of Gold is coming as Goldberg in German language means ‘mountain of gold’ (Mr. Greenberg means ‘green mountain’; Mr. Gruenwald cannot be translated as Mr. Green Forest; etc.). The names stay as they are. The translator must be very unhappy that he could not remove the name ‘MHMD’ (Mahamad) from the original Hebrew text where it can be found even today.

Even in the New Testament of Bible, the translators have translated the name ‘Ahmed’ (Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) other name) as ‘the praised one’ in their mean effort to prove that Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) name was not mentioned in the Bible. But the educated Christians are discovering it now that the Church has been fooling them altogether.

If someone believes that Islam started when Prophet Muhammad declared his prophet-hood and started inviting people to Islam, then he is mistaken or not properly educated, and shows lack of knowledge. Allah mentioned in the Holy Quran at many places that this Book is a Reminder to the mankind. And what is a Reminder? When something already exists but you ignore it or forget it or don’t pay much attention to it or reject it, you are reminded of it.

Islam existed in the heavens. It was introduced to the angels, Jinns and the first man Adam in the heavens. All prophets brought Islamic teachings to their respective nations and preached ‘Tawheed’ (worshipping One God) to their people. And Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) came with the last Reminder – giving people the last chance to revert to Allah and accept His religion – Islam.

Abraham was an upright man who surrendered to the Will of God in Islamic monotheism. That means he was a Muslim. The definition of a Muslim is: The one who surrenders or submits to the Will of Allah (God) unconditionally. The Prophets, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) followed the same religion as Abraham, and so did Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon and others. They all promoted one religion – Islam. Thus they were all Muslims. But the English translators of the Holy Quran (mostly from the non-Muslim West) played the same trick with the Quran that they played with the Torah. Every verse in the original Arabic text that contained the word ‘Muslim’ or ‘Muslimoun’, they did not honestly translate these words as ‘Muslim’ or ‘Muslims’. They rather used the description or the definition of Muslim or Muslimoun. Here is an example:

فَلَمَّآ أَحَسَّ عِيسَىٰ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْكُفْرَ

قَالَ مَنْ أَنصَارِىۤ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ

قَالَ ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنْصَارُ ٱللَّهِ

آمَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَٱشْهَدْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

‘When Jesus found unbelief on their

part he said: Who will be my helpers

to (the work of) Allah? Said the

disciples: We are Allah’s helpers;

we believe in Allah, and do thou

bear witness that we are Muslims.’

(Quran 3:52)

The last word of this verse in Arabic is ‘Muslimoun’ which is a plural and means ‘Muslims’. Famous translator Marmaduke Pickthal has translated it as ‘we have surrendered (unto Him)’. That’s a description or definition of Muslims. One translator has come up with ‘we are submitting ones’. Another came up with this: ‘We are submitters’; and another one: ‘Witness thou our submission’. Most of the translators are from the Christian or non-Muslim world and those who claim to be Muslim translators they probably work for the Jews or the Christians. You don’t need a scholar of Arabic to tell you that ‘Muslimoun’ means ‘Muslims’. Then why choose explanations, descriptions or definitions?

I tell you why. If all those Western translators had honestly translated the Arabic word ‘Muslimoun’ in plain English (i.e. Muslims) then their own existence would have been nullified. In other words if Jesus and his disciples were Muslims, then what is the justification of the existence of Christianity? Where do then Christians come from? Therefore, they had no choice but to replace the word with something ‘generic’ – ‘those who surrender to God’. They would use five words but won’t use one word ‘Muslims’.

Mr. Khaleel Mohammad, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State University, California, USA, comments on the English translations of the Holy Quran in his review (Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2005, Vol. XII (2), pages 59-72):

‘The first translations to English were not undertaken by Muslims but by Christians who sought to debunk Islam and aid in the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. Alexander Ross, chaplain to King Charles-I (1625-49) and the first to embark on the translation process, subtitled his 1649 work as “newly Englished for the satisfaction for all that desire to look into the Turkish vanities.” Interestingly, Ross did not speak Arabic and relied on secondarily translating from the French, a language in which he was not well-schooled. He, therefore, based his interpretation on a problematic rendition by Andrew Du Ryer. According to George Sale (1697-1736), “Du Ryer’s performance … is far from being a just translation; there being mistakes in every page, besides frequent transpositions, omissions and additions, faults.”

Prof. Khaleel Mohammad continues: ‘Most eighteenth and nineteenth century translations were undertaken by authors without strong background in Islam. As they were goaded by the urge to answer Christian polemic, their forgettable works do not reflect any intellectual depth; as such copies are extremely rare. Among the best known, albeit pejorative, English-language analyses of Islam during this time were those by Christian authors such as George Sale, John Rodwell (1808-1900), Edward Palmer (1840-1882), and Sir William Muir (1819-1905). Of these, Sale was probably the most important because he wrote a detailed critique about earlier translations. His work became the standard reference for all English readers until almost the end of the nineteenth century. However, his work was limited by his lack of access to public libraries forcing him to rely only upon material in his personal collection. While Sale gave the impression that he based his translation on the Arabic text, others have suggested that he relied on an earlier Latin translation. Sale did not insert verse numbers into his work, nor did he insert footnotes or other explanations. The result, therefore, is a work that is extremely difficult to comprehend.’

Indian Muslims were the first from within the faith to translate the Quran into English according to Dr. A.R. Kidwai, ex-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, India. He says: ‘No doubt, the peculiar circumstances of history which brought the Quran into contact with the English language have left their imprint on the non-Muslim as well as the Muslim bid to translate it. The results and achievements of their efforts leave a lot to be desired. … The prolific resources of the universal medium of English have not been fully employed in the service of the Quran. The Muslim Scripture is yet to find a dignified and faithful expression in the English language that matches the majesty and grandeur of the original.’  

Most English and Urdu translations contain mistakes or misinterpretations. They need to be revised and corrected. Even the great contemporary scholar Arthur J. Arberry falls into that category with one exception. And I really appreciate that exception of his. I have already quoted this verse at different points in other pages but let us see it again. Quran: Chapter 3 (Surah Aal-e-Imran), Verse 67:

مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيّاً وَلاَ نَصْرَانِيّاً

وَلـٰكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفاً مُّسْلِماً

وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

I salute Arthur J. Arberry for the translation of this verse. In ‘The Koran Interpreted, published by Oxford University Press, London (page 55), he translates it like this:

‘No; Abraham in truth was not a Jew,

neither a Christian; but he was a Muslim

and one pure of faith; certainly he was

never of the idolaters.’

(Quran 3:67)

A perfect translation! Now, let us see what others have done with the same verse. Please remember that the most important words in the entire verse are ‘Haneef-an Muslim-an’. Who does justice to these words, see it for yourself:

YUSUF ALI: ‘Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to Allah’s (which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah.’

M. PICKTHAL: ‘Abraham was not a Jew, nor yet a Christian; but he was an upright man who had surrendered (to Allah), and he was not of the idolaters.’

SHAKIR: Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists.’

M. ASAD: Abraham was neither a ‘Jew’ nor a ‘Christian’, but was one who turned away from all that is false, having surrendered himself unto God; and he was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him.’

THOMAS B. IRVING: Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a Seeker (after Truth), a Muslim; he was no associator of others with God.

AHMED ALI: Neither was Abraham a Jew nor a Christian, but upright and obedient, and not an idolater.

KHALIFA: ‘Abraham was neither Jewish, nor Christian; he was a monotheist submitter. He never was an idol worshipper.

DR. HILALI & DR. MUHSIN KHAN: ‘Ibrahim (Abraham) was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim Hanifa (Islamic Monotheism – to worship none but Allah Alone) and he was not of Al-Mushrikun.’

I have checked many Urdu translations, including that of Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Maulana Fateh Mohammad Khan Jalandhari, Tahirul Qadri, and others. But, with due respect, their work is not satisfactory. Some translations are questionable and some (like Tahirul Qadri’s) even objectionable or incorrect.  Most of the Indo-Pak translators stay faithful to their white colonial masters and do not deviate from their English pattern. For example, they did not translate the Arabic word ‘Muslimoun’ into English or Urdu directly. They translated the ‘already translated’ English word into Urdu or English.

Same thing happened to the Torah and the Gospel (Bible). The so-called scholars translated the Greek translations into English, instead of translating it from the original Hebrew. Therefore, they were lost in translation.

Translating holy texts is not (and should not be) a commercial venture. It is an obligation with huge responsibility and should be discharged with utmost care. It needs a lot of courage to be honest and sincere.

In this modern ‘all-for-money’ world, everybody has his own agenda. People give more importance to colors and stylish or fancy printing than to the message itself. The field is full of business-minded people and the work has become commercial. Nobody does it for the sake of Allah alone. Not any more!

Before being critical of Islam, one should ascertain what kind of faith the critic himself/herself is following. Secularism is very fashionable today but secular scholars cannot do justice to the Scriptures. If one believes that the Quran is the Word of God, then God Himself has clarified the position and the faith of Abraham (see Verse 3:67 above).

The Quran is preserved in its original form and language even to date and will remain so till the end of the world. It is not some Victorian poetic work produced by Shakespeare and his contemporaries (translated from Greek or Latin or Hebrew); and selected (edited) and approved by certain King James who was a sadist and a sodomite, a product of corruption/adultery; whose lineage and character was highly questionable; and who destroyed all previous (or authentic?) versions of the Bible and persecuted (even killed) those who possessed the Geneva Bible or the Gospel of Barnabas so that only his version – the government version – prevailed. What a piece of work by an illegitimate son of the great Mary-I Stuart, Queen of Scots!

On the other hand, the verses of the Holy Quran were preserved and memorized by the companions of the Prophet (s.a.w.) as soon as they came out of the mouth of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) directly. And that is why these are called ‘authentic’. Holy Quran is the Word of God and God Himself took the responsibility to protect/preserve it.

As far as Bible is concerned, the Gospel of Barnabas seems to be very interesting as it contains some authentic references. Just recently, actually on 24th and 25th of May 2012, a newspaper from London, Daily Mail, published account of a sacred text written on animal hide, seized from antiques smugglers in Turkey. The text is thought to be an authentic version of the Gospel of Barnabas, one of Jesus’s disciples. It is thought to date from the 5th century. Actually, the text was discovered in an anti-smuggling operation by the Turkish Police in 2000 but it re-surfaced in the news again short time ago because the Vatican has now officially requested to view the text.

The Turkish authorities believe that the text is original and authentic. In the meantime, Iran has claimed that the discovery of the Barnabas Gospel will cause the collapse of Christianity worldwide.

The small book, written on animal hide, apparently states that Jesus was never crucified and that he himself predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Written in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the gospel even predicts the coming of the last Islamic messiah, the report adds. An Iranian press report has claimed that its contents will trigger Christianity’s downfall by proving that Islam is the final and righteous religion.

The Basij Press claims the text was written in the 5th or 6th century and it predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the religion of Islam. It says the Christian world denies the existence of such a gospel.

Of course they will deny it. The Christian church cannot face the truth. Their priests have been fooling around with young boys and nuns for centuries and they kept denying it. They have been telling their children cock and bull stories (like red-nosed reindeer, Santa Clause distributing gifts, decorating a certain tree, and Easter eggs, etc.) to fool them. Every year they dump in the ocean hundreds of tons of mail stamped and addressed to Santa Clause. They don’t want people to wake up and start questioning the crap being delivered in the name of religion. If they spread true teachings of Jesus and his Lord Almighty, the billion-dollar Christmas industry will collapse.

Basij claims that Chapter 41 of the Gospel (of Barnabas) reads: ‘God has hidden himself as Archangel Michael ran them (Adam and Eve) out of heaven, (and) when Adam turned, he noticed that at top of the gateway to heaven, it was written “La elah ela Allah, Mohamad rasool Allah”, meaning Allah is the only God and Muhammad His Prophet.

The Basij report suggests that the discovery is so immense that it will shake world politics. ‘The discovery of the original Barnabas Bible will now undermine the Christian Church and its authority and will revolutionize the religion in the world’, it states. ‘The most significant fact, though, is that this Bible has predicted the coming of Prophet Muhammad and in itself has verified the religion of Islam.’

Well, wait and see what happens when the house of cards shakes. This report has only scratched the surface. The truth is hidden and needs some good digging.

I was a little surprised to see the comments made by Phil Lawler, a writer on the Catholic Culture website. These comments were published by the newspaper Daily Mail of London, UK. He says: ‘Keep in mind that the dating of the document is critical. By the 7th century it didn’t take much foresight to ‘predict’ the appearance of Muhammad.’

My question to Phil Lawler is: On what grounds or basis could you make such a prediction of coming of Muhammad (s.a.w.)? The Christian Church has removed from the Bible all the references about Islam and Muhammad (s.a.w.). Logically, you have to base your prediction on some kind of evidence or a reference from the Torah or the Bible. I think the panic has started setting in.

The forces of evil have always been plotting and planning against Islam and the Prophets of Allah. Sometimes, they inflict heavy damages too. But Allah says in the Holy Quran that ‘He is the Best Planner.’

Now, back to Abraham! Abraham is considered the father of three major religions of the world because the Prophets Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) all descended from his offspring.

Let me give you a bit of trivia, a piece of the Islamic history that you can keep in your mind and use it as background while reviewing the events of history unfurl. Abraham was from Babylon, a country which is known as Iraq today. He also lived in Syria, Palestine and Egypt; and preached there. His final destination was Arabia. Lot was another Messenger of God who was spreading the Word of Allah at the same time as Abraham, but he was preaching in the central regions of Jordan. Prophet Lot was the nephew of Prophet Abraham.

Abraham had two sons, the elder son Ishmael (or Ismail) and the younger son Isaac (or Ishaq). Isaac preached in Syria and Palestine while Ishmael assisted his father Abraham in the Arabia and helped him built the Holy ‘Kaaba’, which is the focal point or the beacon of Islam today.

Let me clarify an important point here. Abraham was a Babylonian Muslim and so were his sons and their sons who settled in the Arabian Middle East countries. The Jews and the Christians are descendants of Jacob whose other name was Israel. Jacob (or Israel) was the son of Isaac who was the second son of Abraham, the first being Ishmael. Therefore, Jacob was the grandson of Abraham. The descendants of Jacob (or Israel) were called ‘Banu Israel’ or ‘Bani Israel’ which means ‘the children of Israel’ or the ‘house of Israel’. If someone tells you that the Jews were superior and the Arabs were not; or the Christians were special and better than Arabs, as they came from such and such holy area, it is all lies or in today’s street language ‘bullshit’. They were all from the same family of Abraham, and so was Ishmael and his offspring.

Israel (or Jacob) had twelve sons from different wives. The last two, Joseph and Benjamin, were from the same mother. Joseph was a few years old when his mother died while giving birth to Benjamin. Joseph was blessed with prophet-hood. Yehuda was the fourth son of Jacob (Israel) and the main culprit in plotting the killing of Joseph. His offspring is called Yehudi(s). Today, Yehudi means Jew or Jewish.

Another important thing that you should keep in mind is that in the history of mankind all these countries of the Middle East (like Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula, etc.) are of great importance, especially to the religious fanatics. All known Messengers of God appeared in that region and that is the reason the Zionist and Evangelist Christians have a secret claim over these countries. (It is no more secret since they started invading them one by one). They are trying to conquer or regain these countries because they believe that Jesus will be returning soon and they should prepare the world for his arrival.

They are trying to convert the world into a Christian world for they believe that Jesus would be heralding the ‘golden age’ of Christianity. So, they are preparing the ground for the ‘Kingdom of God’ or the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ where Jesus will be proclaimed as the King. Believe me, it is their mission as I have read their documents.

It is amazing how the governments of America, Britain and Europe are sucked in. They are being used (or manipulated) for the purpose of creating one world, one religion, one government and one system. Their officials, along with missionaries, are promoting Christianity in Iraq, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Egypt; and they still claim that they have separated religion from the state. Even the constitution of the USA (and many other countries too) states that the eligible candidate for the President’s job has to be an ‘American-born Christian’. Christian? The man who is responsible for the running of affairs of the United States of America must be a Christian by faith. And they claim that religion has got nothing to do with the state! Hypocrites!

Now, you should be able to understand why they have been trying to attack and gain control of those holy areas (or countries) which are also oil-rich. It is not a coincidence. They have been trying to achieve that goal for the last few hundred years. Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Palestine were attacked by Zionist forces in every era of the history.  

Getting back to Abraham, I would like to briefly touch a couple of historical events that probably you all know. But they are relevant here. Abraham’s father Azar used to make idols of gods from stone and send Abraham to the market to sell them. Abraham never liked the idea of idol-worshipping and always passed sarcastic remarks about those gods. He was in search of a real God whom he did not know yet.

One day, Abraham took an axe and broke all the idols in their place of worship and put the axe on the shoulder of the biggest idol – their chief. When people saw that, they got furious. They knew that there was only one person who could do that, and they wanted to punish him. So, they brought Abraham in front of a big gathering where elders asked him: ‘Who did this?’

Abraham answered: ‘Not me. Ask their big chief. He probably did that.’

They said: ‘You know he can’t speak, nor can he hurt others. He is just an idol.’

Abraham replied: ‘Exactly! Why do you then worship such a thing that can neither benefit nor harm anybody; that can neither hear you nor speak to you? You must be foolish to worship them.’

People were outraged and wanted to kill him. They pelted stones at him and asked him to leave the city.

Abraham was eventually guided by Allah. He always reminded people that there was only one God, the Lord of all creation who controlled life, death and resurrection. Unfortunately, even his own father, Azar, did not listen to him. He advised Abraham to go away otherwise people would kill him. They were not ready to abandon what their fathers and forefathers worshipped for centuries.

During the time of Abraham, Nimrod was the king of Iraq. He claimed to be the god on earth who could give or take life. Abraham told Nimrod that he should be grateful and fear the Almighty One God Who gave him the kingdom, power and glory. Only He was worthy of worship.

Nimrod was an arrogant person. He refused to accept the divine message. He told Abraham that he was god who could give life or death to any one he liked. Abraham replied: ‘Well, my Lord makes the sun rise from the east. If you are god, make it rise from the west!

Nimrod had no answer to that. He felt humiliated in his own royal court in front of his own people. So, he ordered that Abraham be burnt alive. But the Almighty Allah saved Abraham from the fire.

Abraham was steadfast and devout slave of Allah. He and his son Ishmael built the ‘Kaaba’ in Makkah (Arabia) and called upon his Lord to preserve it to eradicate the worship of idols. It is the same Kaaba which is the focal point of Islamic worship. Muslims from all over the world go there to perform the Hajj rituals. And Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islamic faith. Does this construction of Kaaba and prayers therein by Abraham and Ishmael make Abraham a Jew or a Christian? No, absolutely not. He was, without a doubt, a pure and sincere Muslim. Allah clearly says it in the Holy Quran:

مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيّاً وَلاَ نَصْرَانِيّاً

وَلـٰكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفاً مُّسْلِماً

وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

‘Ibrahim was not a Jew, nor a

Christian but he was (an) upright

(man), a Muslim, and he was not

one of the polytheists.’

(Quran 3:67)

Look carefully at the Arabic script of this verse! Allah used the words ‘Haneef-an Muslim-an’ for Abraham. It says that Abraham was neither a Yehudi (Jew) nor a Nasrani (Christian) but he was a Haneef (upright, sincere, devout, pure) Muslim. And he was not one of the Mushrikeen (idolaters or polytheists). You don’t have to be a scholar of Arabic to understand these simple, common and easy everyday-use words.

Here is Allah talking about the House of Worship (Kaaba) that Abraham and Ishmael built in Makkah, the pilgrimage of which was made obligatory for all capable or able believers:

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا ٱلْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ

وَأَمْناً وَٱتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

وَعَهِدْنَآ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِىَ

لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَٱلْعَاكِفِينَ وَٱلرُّكَّعِ ٱلسُّجُودِ

‘And when We made the House (Kaaba)

a pilgrimage for man and a (place of)

security, and: Appoint for yourselves a

place of prayer on the standing-place

of Abraham. And We enjoined Abraham

and Ishmael saying: Purify My House

for those who visit (it) and those who

abide (in it) for devotion and those who

bow down (and) those who prostrate

themselves.’

(Quran 2:125)

Does this statement (verse) make Abraham anybody other than a Muslim? It was Abraham who built the most sacred and holy place for the entire Muslim Ummah (nation) – the Kaaba. It was also Abraham who started one of the most important rituals of Tawaf (walking seven rounds around Kaaba) and pilgrimage of Hajj at the Kaaba. And it was his act of sacrifice that Muslims emulate by scarifying sheep during Hajj (Eid-al-Azha).

Abraham was such a devout Muslim that he did not hesitate to scarify his own son to please Allah. And it was also Abraham who, along with Ishmael, prayed to Allah at the holy site of Kaaba that He may make them steadfast Muslims and start a Muslim Ummah (nation) from his offspring. All these facts strongly confirm that Abraham and his sons were Muslims. Here is Allah mentioning that in the Quran:

وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ

وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

رَبَّنَا وَٱجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ

أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ

إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

‘And remember Abraham and

Ishmael raised the foundations of

the House (with this prayer):

Our Lord! Accept (this service)

from us: For Thou art the

All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

Our Lord! Make of us Muslims,

bowing to Thy (Will), and of our

progeny a people Muslim, bowing

to Thy (Will); and show us our

place for the celebration of (due)

rites; and turn unto us (in Mercy);

for Thou art the Oft-Returning,

Most Merciful.’

(Quran 2:127-128)

This is another proof of Abraham’s Islamic faith. Imagine him building the Kaaba and praying to Allah that him and his offspring remain steadfast Muslims!

It also means that Islam and the Muslims existed even before the arrival of Torah, Bible or the Quran in this world. In other words, it was always Islam that was preached by the Messengers of Allah, before or after Abraham. Islam did not come to earth just with the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the Quran. It was always there but ignored by some and followed by some. Allah sent all those Messengers and the holy books just to remind people of what was already sent for them.

وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ

إِلاَّ مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ ٱصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا

وَإِنَّهُ فِى ٱلآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّالِحِينَ

‘And who forsakes the religion of

Abraham but he who makes himself a

fool, and most certainly We chose

him in this world, and in the Hereafter

he is most surely among the righteous.’

(Quran 2: 130)

Allah selected Abraham as His faithful Messenger and entrusted him the duty of spreading the Word of God and guiding the misguided or the ignorant people. One thing is very clear. Islam existed before Abraham. When Allah chose Abraham, He commanded him to become a Muslim. Here is that relevant verse from the Holy Quran:

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ

قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ

‘When his Lord said to him:

Be a Muslim, he said: I submit

myself (in Islam) to the Lord

of the worlds.’

(Quran 2:131)

The verb ‘Aslim’ has been used in the Arabic text in its imperative or commanding form. It literally means: Enter into Islam or Accept Islam! And when Abraham answers, he says: ‘Aslamtu’ which means: I (did) accept Islam or I have entered into Islam. In other words he admits and reassures that he has accepted Islam and has become a Muslim. What else do we need to prove that Islam existed before and during the time of Abraham; and that Abraham was a Muslim?

And here is the bombshell! In this verse of the Holy Quran, Allah is talking not only about Abraham but also about Jacob whose other name was (Mr.) Israel. Allah has declared Islam as religion for them and for the children of Israel:

وَوَصَّىٰ بِهَآ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَنِيهِ

وَيَعْقُوبُ يَابَنِىَّ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰ

لَكُمُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إَلاَّ

وَأَنْتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

‘And the same did Abraham enjoin

on his sons and (so did) Jacob.

O my sons! Surely Allah has

chosen for you (this) faith, therefore,

die not unless you are Muslims.’

(Quran 2:132)

Did you notice the last word of the Arabic text? Yes, the last word of this verse is ‘Muslimoun’ which is a plural of Muslim. And the word ‘Muslim’ means a Muslim in any major language whether it is Arabic, English, French, German, Urdu, Hindi or Persian, etc.

This verse of the Holy Quran clarifies that there is no such religion as ‘Judaism’ attributed to the family of Abraham or Jacob. One of the twelve sons of Jacob was named Yehuda and his offspring was called Yehudi(s) which is translated in English as ‘Jews’. So, Yehudi(s) or Jews are the people of that particular tribe or family of Yehuda while Yehuda’s father was called Israel (Jacob). This means that the words like Yehudi(s) or Jews or Israeli(s) only represent a family lineage, a tribal link. It is not a religion. The true religion of Yehuda himself and his father Israel (Jacob) was Islam that they inherited from Abraham and Isaac. Jacob commanded his sons (including Yehuda) to be  Muslims and die not save as Muslims. Abraham and Jacob told their sons that Allah had chosen Islam as religion for them. So, how could they deviate from it?

As a matter of fact, they didn’t. Not around that period. A lot of things were invented in the name of religion and added to the faith as part of it in the later times. Man is easily influenced by Devil. I give you an example.

When Darwin introduced his theory of evolution and suggested that humans came from monkeys, many people accepted. The greatest irony is that most of the Christian world believed it, and believes it even today. At the same time, most of the Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God. And in the Bible, God said that He created man in His own image. Now, where do the Christians stand on that. Do they believe God or do they believe a lost and misguided soul like Darwin?

The Jews have a claim over Abraham as if they own him, although Abraham himself had no claim over Judaism or Christianity because he was none of them. He only followed the religion he was guided and commanded to follow by the Almighty. That religion was Islam. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

يٰأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَابِ لِمَ تُحَآجُّونَ فِىۤ إِبْرَاهِيمَ

وَمَآ أُنزِلَتِ ٱلتَّورَاةُ وَٱلإنْجِيلُ إِلاَّ مِنْ  بَعْدِهِ

أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

‘O People of the Scripture! Why will ye

argue about Abraham, when the Torah

and the Gospel were not revealed till

after him? Have ye then no sense?

(Quran 3:65)

In view of the above verse, and the historical fact of timing, the Jews and the Christians cannot challenge the faith of Abraham as Abraham passed hundreds of years before the advent of their own faiths (Judaism & Christianity). Only those believers who follow the faith of Abraham today have the best claim to him.

إِنَّ أَوْلَى ٱلنَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ

لَلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَـٰذَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ وَٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ

وَٱللَّهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

‘Lo! Those of mankind who have

the best claim to Abraham are those

who followed him, and this Prophet

(Muhammad, s.a.w.) and those who

believe (with him); and Allah is the

Protecting Guardian of the believers.’

(Quran 3:68)

In other words, the followers of Islam have the best claim to Abraham. Allah is not happy with those who changed the text of the scriptures and lie about His revelations. He asks them:

يٰأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَابِ لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَاطِلِ

وَتَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

‘O followers of the Book! Why do you

confound the truth with the falsehood

and hide the truth while you know?

(Quran 3:71)

They call themselves the People of the Book but they lie and conceal the truth which is in the Book. They say that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) is not mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel while Allah says in the Holy Quran that his name is mentioned in the both. Here is the proof:

ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلأُمِّىَّ

ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوباً عِندَهُمْ

فِى ٱلتَّوْرَاةِ وَٱلإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ

وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ

‘Those who follow the messenger, the

Prophet (s.a.w.) who can neither read

nor write, whom they will find

described in the Torah and the Gospel

(which are) with them. He will enjoin

on them that which is right and forbid

them that which is wrong. … ‘

(Quran 7:157)

You can see the words ‘Tauraat’ (Torah) and ‘Injeel’ (Gospel) mentioned clearly in the Arabic text of the Quran. But the shameless liars don’t admit. Allah is aware of their evil designs and He warns the true believers to be wary of that. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقاً يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ بِٱلْكِتَابِ

لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَابِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ

وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللًّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ

وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

‘There is among them a section who

distort the Book with their tongues:

(As they read) you would think it is a

part of the Book, but it is no part of

the Book; and they say, ‘That is

from Allah’. It is they who tell a lie

against Allah, and (well) they know it!

(Quran 3:78)

When Allah selected His Messengers (as souls) to spread His Word in the earth, He took their pledge of allegiance. And that also proves that all Prophets preached the same religion. Allah says:

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّيْنَ لَمَآ آتَيْتُكُمْ

مِّنْ كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ

لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهُ

قَالَ أَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَىٰ ذٰلِكُمْ إِصْرِى

قَالُوۤاْ أَقْرَرْنَا قَالَ فَٱشْهَدُواْ

وَأَنَاْ مَعَكُمْ مِّنَ ٱلشَّاهِدِينَ

‘Behold! Allah took the covenant of

the prophets, saying: ‘I give you a

Book and Wisdom; then comes to you

a messenger, confirming what is with

you; do ye believe in him and render

him help.’ Allah said: ‘Do ye agree,

and take this my Covenant as binding

on you?’ They said: ‘We agree.’

He said: ‘Then bear witness, and I am

with you among the witnesses.’

(Quran 3:81)

If one tries to analyze the messages of God conveyed by all the Prophets, they are basically one and almost the same message delivered in different languages, in different eras and in different circumstances, hence the small variations.

Prof. Sharon might have said this sarcastically, but there is some truth in the statement, that the first religion – and the only religion – of the universe was Islam, and it would be the last one too. Allah mentions it in the Holy Quran that His true servants are ONE nation (Ummat-an-Wahidah).

The religion is for Allah and there is only one religion. Allah will not accept any other religion from mankind except Islam and He made it very clear in the Quran, and I repeat here the verse I quoted above:

وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلإِسْلاَمِ دِيناً

فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلآخِرَةِ

مِنَ ٱلْخَاسِرِينَ

‘And whoever seeks a religion other

than Islam, it will never be accepted

of him, and in the Hereafter

he will be one of the losers.’

(Quran 3:85)

The statement is loud and clear. It does not need any explanation or sophisticated (or confusing) interpretation. It is simple and self-explanatory. This is the religion all believers must adopt and apply to their lives completely. Allah says:

يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ٱدْخُلُواْ فِى ٱلسِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً

وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ ٱلشَّيْطَانِ

إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

‘O ye who believe! Enter into Islam

whole-heartedly; and follow not

the footsteps of the evil one (Devil);

for he is to you an avowed enemy.’

(Quran 2:208)

You have to apply Islam completely on every aspect of your entire life – your speech, your behavior, your attitude, your actions, your appearance, your character, your food & clothing, your dealings, your treatment of others, your education, business, administration and the government to serve the mankind better. Islam is a complete system, a way of life. And it is the only way of life if you are seeking salvation. Allah says:

وَقَالُواْ كُونُواْ هُوداً أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ

تَهْتَدُواْ قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً

وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

‘They say: Become Jews or Christians

if ye would be guided (to salvation).

Say thou: Nay, (I would rather) the

Religion of Abraham the true, and

he joined not gods with Allah.’

(Quran 2:135)

Did you observe one thing from the above verse – the religion of Abraham? Allah is commanding Muhammad (s.a.w.) to follow the religion of Abraham despite the efforts of the Jews or the Christians to convert him. That means the religion of Abraham was not that of the Jews or the Christians of today.

قُولُوۤاْ آمَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا

وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ

وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلأَسْبَاطِ

وَمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَا أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ

مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ

وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

‘Say ye: We believe in Allah,

and the revelation given to us,

and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac,

Jacob, and the Tribes, and that

given to Moses and Jesus, and

that given to (all) prophets from

their Lord; we make no difference

between one and another of them.

And we bow to Allah in Islam.’

(Quran 2:136)

All those prophets mentioned above bowed to Allah in Islam, meaning they were all Muslims.

Since the followers of earlier prophets had failed through breaking their covenant, the Muslims are adjured to keep their covenant with God and discharge all their obligations watchfully. The covenant is with those who obey Allah’s commands and do right. Allah has declared Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) being the last and final Messenger and his Book, the Holy Quran, the last Book; and his religion, Islam, the last reminder confirming all the previous reminders sent through different prophets. Allah had declared, before the death of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), that He had completed the religion of Islam for the mankind, leaving no excuse or no room for any alteration, amendment, change or renewal by anyone. Thus, what was started with Adam, was completed with Muhammad (s.a.w.). Allah says:

ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن دِينِكُمْ…

فَلاَ تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ

ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ

نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلأِسْلاَمَ دِيناً

فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ

لإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

‘… This day have those who reject

faith given up all hope of your religion;

yet fear them not but fear Me.

  This day have I perfected your

religion for you, completed My

favor upon you, and have chosen

for you Islam as your religion. But

if any is forced by hunger, with no

inclination to transgression, Allah is

indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.’

(Quran 5:3)

That means that Muhammad (s.a.w.) did not start a new religion. The religion was started in the heavens. Adam was the first human to accept it and Muhammad (s.a.w.) was the last to implement or complete it.

All guidance comes from Allah and He guides whom He wills. But there is a pre-condition for guidance. One should seek guidance honestly, sincerely and strive for it. Those who seek not guidance, there is no guidance for them. We need Allah, Allah does not need us. He is above that. The real guidance is Islam. Allah says:

فَمَن يُرِدِ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلاَمِ

وَمَن يُرِدْ أَن يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقاً

حَرَجاً كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَذٰلِكَ

يَجْعَلُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرِّجْسَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

‘Those whom Allah (in His plan)

wills to guide, He opens their breasts

to Islam; those whom He wills to

leave straying, He makes their breasts

close and constricted, as if they had

to climb up to the skies; thus does

Allah (heap) the penalty on those

who refuse to believe.’

(Quran 6:125)

Prophet Moses was commanded by Almighty Allah to spread His message of Tawheed (worshipping One God) in Egypt. He was asked to deliver this message to Pharaoh and his people. Moses was given the Book – Torah, the Book Jews consider sacred. The story of Moses and the Pharaoh is mentioned in different places in the Holy Quran. Here is a brief account of his encounter with Pharaoh and the sorcerers:

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ يٰفِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّى

رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ

حَقِيقٌ عَلَى أَنْ لاَّ أَقُولَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ

إِلاَّ ٱلْحَقَّ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِبَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

فَأَرْسِلْ مَعِىَ بَنِيۤ إِسْرَائِيلَ

‘Moses said: O Pharaoh! I am a

Messenger from the Lord of the worlds,

One for whom it is right to say nothing

but truth about Allah. Now have I come

unto you (people), from your Lord, with

a clear (Sign); so let the Children of

Israel depart along with me.’

(Quran 7:104-105)

Pharaoh did not budge and challenged the authority of Moses. He consulted his courtiers who suggested to summon the best of sorcerers of Egypt for a show-down with Moses. So, when the magicians came, they said:  

قَالُواْ يٰمُوسَىٰ إِمَّآ أَن تُلْقِىَ

وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ نَحْنُ ٱلْمُلْقِينَ

قَالَ أَلْقُوْاْ فَلَمَّآ أَلْقَوْاْ سَحَرُوۤاْ أَعْيُنَ ٱلنَّاسِ

وَٱسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ وَجَآءُوا بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍ

‘They said: O Moses! Will you cast

or shall we be the first to cast? ‘

He said: Cast. So when they cast,

they deceived the people’s eyes

and frightened them, and they

produced a mighty enchantment.

(Quran 7:115-116)

The magicians turned the pieces of ropes and twines into snakes that scared Moses. But his staff turned into a mighty python that swallowed all others cast by the magicians. Allah says:

وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ

فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ مَا يَأْفِكُونَ

فَوَقَعَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

فَغُلِبُواْ هُنَالِكَ وَٱنقَلَبُواْ صَاغِرِينَ

‘We put it into Moses’s mind by

inspiration: Throw (now) thy rod.

And behold! It swallows up straight

away all the falsehoods which they

fake! Thus truth was confirmed,

and all that they did was made of

no effect. So the (great ones) were

vanquished there and then, and

were made to look small.’

(Quran 7:117-119)

The sorcerers were defeated and humiliated in their show-down with Moses. They realized that they were facing a real messenger of God so they immediately repented and surrendered.

وَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ

قَالُوۤاْ آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ

رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ

‘But the sorcerers fell down prostrate

in adoration. Saying: We believe in

the Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of

Moses and Aaron.’

(Quran 7:120-122)

Pharaoh got furious on this humiliation and threatened to kill the magicians. But here’s what the sorcerers said:

قَالُوۤاْ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

وَمَا تَنقِمُ مِنَّآ إِلاَّ أَنْ آمَنَّا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا

لَمَّا جَآءَتْنَا رَبَّنَآ أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْراً

وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ

‘They said: Verily, we are returning

to our Lord. And you take vengeance

on us only because we believed in

the Ayat (proofs, evidences,

lessons, signs, etc.) of our Lord

when they reaches us! Our Lord!

Pour out on us patience, and

cause us to die as Muslims.’

(Quran 7:125-126)

Now, have a close look at the last phrase of the Arabic verse above. Here are the last three words:

وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ

‘… wa tawaffana muslimeen’.

(Translation: And make us die as Muslims.)

In Arabic language, ‘wa’ means ‘and; ‘tawaffana’ means ‘to die’ or ‘to cause death’; and ‘muslimeen’ means ‘Muslims’ of course.

Now imagine, it is Moses in the court of Pharaoh and all the big magicians of Egypt, repenting and surrendering to the Lord of Moses and Aaron; and praying to their Lord that they want to die as Muslims. What does it prove? Was there any religion prevailing at that time other than Islam? No, absolutely not. It was idol-worshippers or the pagans against Muslims. Islam was the message of God that Moses was trying to deliver to Pharaoh and his people. And that was also the religion of Moses.

There was no Judaism as it was not invented yet. There were no Jews either. With Moses were the people of the tribe called ‘Bani Israel’ – the Children of Israel. They were the offspring of Jacob whose other name was Israel. They were the descendants of Israel (Jacob). They were Israelis or Israelites. And they were all Muslims by faith.

We saw Moses. Now, let us see what Prophet Jesus believed in and how the evil forces changed his faith or religion after his crucifixion and named it ‘Christianity’.

Jesus himself never claimed that he was a ‘Christian’ nor did he command his disciples to call his faith ‘Christianity’. In worshipping God, Jesus bowed down in prostration, just like Moses used to do. And Moses did what Abraham used to do. Even in the court of Pharaoh when the sorcerers lost their case in front of Moses, they repented and accepted the faith (and the God) of Moses and fell down in prostration. In Islam it is called ‘Sajdah’. That’s how Muslims pray to Allah five times a day.

Jesus and his disciples were Muslims. The proof is given in the Hebrew Bible and the Holy Quran. In the following verse of the Quran, Jesus is talking to his disciples. In Surah (chapter) Aal-e-Imran, it is said:

فَلَمَّآ أَحَسَّ عِيسَىٰ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْكُفْرَ

قَالَ مَنْ أَنصَارِىۤ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ

قَالَ ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنْصَارُ ٱللَّهِ

آمَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَٱشْهَدْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

‘When Jesus found unbelief on their

part he said: ‘Who will be my helpers

to (the work of) Allah?’ Said the

disciples: ‘We are Allah’s helpers.

We believe in Allah and do thou bear

witness that we are Muslims.’

(Quran 3:52)

Here again, the last word of the Arabic verse is ‘Muslimoun’ which is a plural of Muslim. And ‘Muslim’ means a Muslim in any major language. The disciples of Jesus are assuring him that they would help him in the cause of Allah. But they wanted Jesus to become a witness over them in front of Allah that they performed Allah’s duty, they believed in Allah and they were Muslims by faith.

Now, the million-dollar question is: If Jesus and his disciples were all Muslims, where does the Christianity (with all its sects and branches) come from? Certainly not from Jesus or his disciples! As I mentioned earlier, it was a well thought out invention of the later times. It is a multi-billion dollar business. Christmas alone generates millions of dollars yearly. We have that kind of business in Islam too but on a small level.

Jesus speaks of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) in high esteem. Here is a quote from the Gospel of Barnabas where Jesus confirms that he is not the Messiah. But he confirms the arrival of Messiah after him (Jesus):

‘Jesus confessed, and said the truth: ‘I am not the Messiah’.…. They said: ‘If thou be not the Messiah nor Elijah, or any prophet,

wherefore dost thou preach new doctrine, and make thyself of more account than the Messiah?’ Jesus answered: ‘The miracles which God worketh by my hands show that I speak that which God willeth; nor indeed do I make myself to be accounted as him of whom ye speak. For I am not worthy to unloose the ties of the hosen or the ratchets of the shoes of the Messenger of God whom ye call Messiah, who was made before me, and shall come after me, and shall bring the words of truth, so that his faith shall have no end.’ (Barnabas, Ch. 42)

Here is Jesus talking about Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Generally he refers to him as ‘Messenger of God’:

‘I therefore say unto you that the Messenger of God is a splendour that shall give gladness to nearly all that God hath made, for he is adorned with the spirit of understanding and of counsel, the spirit of wisdom and might, the spirit of fear and love, the spirit of prudence and temperance, he is adorned with the spirit of charity and mercy, the spirit of justice and piety, the spirit of gentleness and patience, which he hath received from God three times more than he hath given to all his creatures. O blessed time, when he shall come to the world! Believe me that I have seen him and have done him reverence, even as every prophet hath seen him; seeing that of his sprit God giveth to them prophecy. And when I saw him my soul was filled with consolation, saying: ‘O Muhammad, God be with thee, and may he make me worthy to untie thy shoe-latchet, for obtaining this I shall be a great prophet and holy one of God.’ And having said this, Jesus rendered his thanks to God.’

(Barnabas, Ch. 44)

And here is a verse from the Holy Quran that speaks about Jesus talking about the final Messenger of God, Ahmed:

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ يٰبَنِى إِسْرَائِيلَ

إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ

مِنَ ٱلتَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّراً بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِى مِن بَعْدِى

ٱسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَاتِ

قَالُواْ هَـٰذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ

‘And remember Jesus, the son of Mary,

said: “O children of Israel! I am the

messenger of Allah (sent) to you,

confirming the Law (which came)

before me, and giving Glad Tidings

of a Messenger to come after me,

whose name shall be Ahmed.

But when he came to them with

Clear Signs, they said, “this is

evident sorcery!”

(Quran 61:6)

The Christian translators have translated the name of ‘Ahmed’ as ‘the praised one’ thus removing the reference made to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).

In the Gospel of Barnabas, the entire Chapter 95 is about Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Jesus is explaining Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) arrival and answering questions of the priests. The last paragraph of that chapter reads as follows:

‘Then said the priest: How shall the Messiah be called and what sign shall reveal his coming? Jesus answered: The name of Messiah is admirable, for God himself gave him the name when he had created his soul, and placed it in a celestial splendour. God said: ‘Wait Muhammad; for your sake I will to create paradise, the world, and a great multitude of creatures, whereof I make you a present insomuch that whoever shall bless you shall be blessed, and whoever shall curse you shall be accursed. When I shall send you into the world I shall send you as my Messenger of salvation, and your word shall be true, insomuch that heaven and earth shall fail, but your faith shall never fail’. “Muhammad is his blessed name.” Then the crowd lifted up their voices, saying: ‘O God send us your Messenger! O Muhammad, come quickly for the salvation of the world!’

(Barnabas Ch. 97)

Allah, the Almighty, talks about Jesus and his disciples in the Holy Quran and confirms that they were all Muslims. Here is Chapter 5, Verse 111:

وَإِذْ أَوْحَيْتُ إِلَى ٱلْحَوَارِيِّينَ

أَنْ آمِنُواْ بِى وَبِرَسُولِى

قَالُوۤاْ آمَنَّا وَٱشْهَدْ بِأَنَّنَا مُسْلِمُونَ

‘And behold! I inspired the disciples

to have faith in Me and Mine

Messenger; they said: We have

faith, and do thou bear witness

that we bow to Allah as Muslims.’

(Quran 5:111)

Here again, the last word of the verse in Arabic is ‘Muslimoun’ which means ‘Muslims’. I strongly believe that the above quotes from the Bible and the Quran remove all doubts about the faith of Jesus and his disciples.

As I said earlier, Islam was the faith of all Prophets of Allah and of all those who followed the Prophets, no matter what era. In the following verse of the Holy Quran, Allah, once again, removes all doubts about the religion of the nations. The verse clarifies that Allah chose the name ‘Muslims’ for the nations from Abraham to Muhammad (s.a.w.) because they were all commanded to follow Islam as their religion.

وَجَاهِدُوا فِى ٱللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ ٱجْتَبَاكُمْ

وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَـٰذَا لِيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ شَهِيداً عَلَيْكُمْ

وَتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلواَةَ

وَآتُواْ ٱلزَّكَواةَ وَٱعْتَصِمُواْ بِٱللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلاَكُمْ

فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ ٱلنَّصِيرُ

‘And strive in His cause as ye ought

to strive, (with sincerity and under

discipline). He has chosen you, and

has imposed no difficulties on you

in religion; it is the cult of your

father Abraham. It is He Who has

named you Muslims, both before and

in this (Revelation); that the Messenger

may be a witness for you, and ye be

witnesses for mankind! So establish

regular Prayer, give regular Charity,

and hold fast to Allah! He is your

Protector – the Best to protect and

the Best to help!

(Quran 22:78)

Allah clarifies in the above verse that He named the believers as ‘Muslims’ in this revelation (the Quran) just like He did before in other revelations (Scriptures). In other words, the followers of other prophets were Muslims like the followers of Muhammad (s.a.w.) are Muslims because they all had one and the same religion – Islam.

In the following verses again, Allah is talking about the people of the Book who submitted to His will even before the arrival of the Quran but they recognize the Quran:

وَلَقَدْ وَصَّلْنَا لَهُمُ ٱلْقَوْلَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ

ٱلَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ ٱلْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِهِ هُم بِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ

وَإِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُوۤاْ آمَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ

مِن رَّبِّنَآ إنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ

‘Now have We caused the Word to

reach them themselves, in order

that they may receive admonition.

Those to whom We sent the Book

before this, they do believe in this

(revelation). And when it is recited

to them, they say: We believe therein,

for it is the Truth from our Lord; indeed

we have been Muslims (bowing to

Allah’s Will) from before this.’

(Quran 28:51-53)

There is a very important point here! When the people of the Book were presented the message in the Quran, they said that they already believed in it. They said: ‘We have been Muslims from before this’. In other words they were Muslims even before the introduction of the Holy Quran to them. This proves again that Islam (and Muslims) existed before the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). And that is possible only if people had been practicing the same religion – Islam.

Allah, the Almighty, will grant paradise to those believers who follow the path of Islam – who are Muslims. They are guaranteed the best reward:

يٰعِبَادِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ وَلاَ أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ

ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ

ٱدْخُلُواْ ٱلْجَنَّةَ أَنتُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ تُحْبَرُونَ

‘My devotees! No fear shall be on you

that Day, nor shall ye grieve (being)

those who have believed in Our Signs

and bowed (their wills to Ours) in Islam

Enter ye the Garden, ye and your wives,

in (beauty and) rejoicing.’

(Quran 43:68-70)

Islam is the religion chosen by Allah and He knows how to protect or preserve it. Despite all the evil designs of the Zionists, Islam is going to prevail in the end, as has been mentioned in the Holy Quran. Allah says:

هُوَ ٱلَّذِيۤ أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ

وَدِينِ ٱلْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى ٱلدِّينِ كُلِّهِ

وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْمُشْرِكُونَ

‘It is He Who has sent His Messenger

with Guidance and the Religion of

Truth, that he may proclaim it over

all religions, even though the

Pagans may detest (it).’

(Quran 61:9)

We have checked the religion of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Now, let us see what other prophets believed and preached. They all preached Tawheed (Oneness of God), the first pillar of Islam. Let us start with Noah:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَاقَوْمِ

ٱعْبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ

إِنِّيۤ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

‘Indeed, We sent Nuh (Noah) to his

people and he said: O my people!

Worship Allah! You have no other

Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha ill-Allah:

None has the right to be worshipped

but Allah). Certainly, I fear for you

the torment of a Great Day!’

(Quran 7:59)

Noah was a great prophet of Allah. He delivered the message of Tawheed, the Oneness of Allah, urging his nation to worship the One and the Only God. But people, particularly the tribal leaders, did not listen to him. They declared him ‘mad’, ridiculed him and rejected the message he conveyed. Noah insisted:

قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِى ضَلاَلَةٌ

وَلـٰكِنِّى رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ

أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَالاَتِ رَبِّى وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ

وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

أَوَ عَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَآءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ

مِّنْكُمْ لِيُنذِرَكُمْ وَلِتَتَّقُواْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

‘Nuh (Noah) said: O my people!

There is no error in me, but I am a

Mesenger from the Lord of the

‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all

that exists)! I convey unto you the

Messages of my Lord and give

sincere advice to you. And I know

from Allah what you know not.

Do you wonder that there has come

to you a Reminder from your Lord

through a man from amongst you,

that he may warn you, so that you

may fear Allah and that you may

receive (His) Mercy?’

(Quran 7:61-63)

But Noah’s people were under strong influence of Devil. They insulted him and even threatened to kill him. Eventually they were punished. Allah says:

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُ فِى ٱلْفُلْكِ

وَأَغْرَقْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَآ

إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَوْماً عَمِينَ

‘But they rejected him, and We

delivered him, and those with him,

in the Ark; but we overwhelmed in

the flood those who rejected Our signs.

they were indeed a blind people!’

(Quran 7:64)

And that was the end of the evil-doing nation of Noah. Noah’s own son, who was an evil-doer and rejected the message of Tawheed (worshipping One and the Only God), was drowned along with others.

Prophet Hud was sent to the people of Aad. They were very hard-working and industrious people. He delivered to them the same message of Tawheed Noah delivered to his people.

وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُوداً قَالَ يٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ

مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ مُفْتَرُونَ

‘To the Aad people (We sent) Hud,

one of their own brethren. He said:

O my people! Worship Allah! Ye

have no other god but him. (Your

other gods) ye do nothing but invent!’

(Quran 11:50)

وَيٰقَوْمِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوۤاْ إِلَيْهِ

يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّدْرَاراً وَيَزِدْكُمْ

قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلاَ تَتَوَلَّوْاْ مُجْرِمِينَ

‘And O my people! Ask forgiveness

of your Lord, and turn to Him (in

repentance). He will send you the

skies pouring abundant rain, and

add strength to your strength so

turn ye not back in sin!’

(Quran 11:52)

But the elders of the tribe rebuked Hud. They did not believe that he was a messenger of God. They said that he was possessed by an evil spirit, probably smitten by their gods, and refused to abandon their evil ways.

قَالُواْ يٰهُودُ مَا جِئْتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَارِكِيۤ

آلِهَتِنَا عَن قَوْلِكَ وَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

إِن نَّقُولُ إِلاَّ ٱعْتَرَاكَ بَعْضُ آلِهَتِنَا بِسُوۤءٍ

‘They said: O Hud! No clear (sign)

that hast thou brought us, and we are

not the ones to desert our gods on

thy word! Nor shall we believe in

thee! We say nothing but that

(perhaps) some of our gods may have

seized thee with imbecility …’

(Quran 11:53-54)

Hud insisted that he was delivering the message of their Lord and they should ask for His mercy and forgiveness. But they refused to listen to him:

قَالُوۤاْ أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ وَنَذَرَ

مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ

إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّادِقِينَ

‘They said: Comest thou to us, that

we may worship Allah alone, and

give up the cult of our fathers? Bring

us what thou threatenest us with, if

so be that thou tellest the truth!’

(Quran 7:70)

They denied the signs and challenged Hud to bring upon them whatever wrath of God he was threatening them with. Eventually, they paid the price of their evil ways of living and faced the wrath of God. Allah tells us:

وَأَمَا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُواْ بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ

سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُوماً

فَتَرَى ٱلْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَىٰ كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ

‘And as for Aad, they were destroyed

by a fierce roaring wind, which He

imposed on them for seven long nights

and eight long days so that thou

mightest have seen men lying

overthrown, as they were hollow

trunks of palm-trees.’

(Quran 69:6-7)

Prophet Salih was sent to the nation of Thamud. He delivered the similar message to his people as did Noah and Aad. The Thamud were very intelligent and competent people. They constructed big castles and palaces in the plains; and carved mountains to build houses. But they were arrogant oppressors of the poor. Water was scarce at that time and the privileged class tried to prevent the poor and their cattle having access to water-springs and green pastures.

Salih told them that he was a messenger of God and they should listen to him. They should believe in the Oneness of God (Tawheed) and should worship none but Him. Allah had sent a sign in the form of a she-camel and that was a test for them. They should let the camel graze without any let or hindrance. If they ever tried to harm it, the wrath of Allah would fall upon them. But they rejected Salih’s message and rebuked him.  

وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحاً قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ

ٱعْبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُمْ

بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً

فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِيۤ أَرْضِ ٱللَّهِ وَلاَ تَمَسُّوهَا

بِسُوۤءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

وَٱذْكُرُوۤاْ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِن بَعْدِ عَادٍ

وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِن سُهُولِهَا

قُصُوراً وَتَنْحِتُونَ ٱلْجِبَالَ بُيُوتاً فَٱذْكُرُوۤاْ

آلآءَ ٱللَّهِ وَلاَ تَعْثَوْا فِى ٱلأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

‘To the Thamud people (We sent)

Salih, one of their own brethren.

He said: O my people! Worship

Allah; ye have no other god but Him.

Now hath come unto you a clear

(Sign) from your Lord! This she-camel

of Allah is a Sign unto you. So leave

her to graze in Allah’s earth, and let

her come to no harm, or ye shall be

seized with a grievous punishment.’

…… Remember therefore Allah’s

benefits and do not act corruptly in

the land, making mischief.’

(Quran 7:73-74))

The chiefs of the tribes jeered at Salih. They asked people not to believe what Salih said. They challenged Salih and as a token of defiance they hamstrung the camel.

فَعَقَرُواْ ٱلنَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْاْ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُواْ

يَاصَالِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُواْ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ

‘Then they hamstrung the she-camel,

and insolently defied the order of

their Lord, saying: O Salih! Bring

about thy threats, if thou art a

messenger (of Allah)! So, the

earthquake took them unaware,

and they lay prostrate in their

homes in the morning!’

(Quran 7:77-78)

Salih and his followers were guided to safety by Allah, the Almighty, and the nation of Thamud was destroyed by a dreadful earthquake.

The nation of Prophet Lot was deceived by the Devil and indulged in the abominable act of homosexuality. They deviated from Islam. They were warned many times and then punished by Allah. Here are the angels talking about their mission to destroy the nation of Lot:

قَالُوۤاْ إِنَّآ أُرْسِلْنَآ إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ

لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ

مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ

فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَن كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

‘They said, ‘We have been sent to a

people (deep) in sin; to bring on,

on them, (a shower of) stones of clay

(brimstone), marked as from thy Lord

for those who trespass beyond bounds.

Then We evacuated those of the

Believers who were there, but We

found not there any just (Muslim)

persons except in one house.’

(Quran 51:32-36)

Please note that the last word of the Arabic verses above is again ‘Muslimeen’ which, in English, means ‘Muslims’. When the angels came down to destroy the evil-doing folk, they had the instructions to save the believers and evacuate them. Allah tells us that in that nation of sinners there was only one house of Muslims (believers) in the entire town. That proves that the believers during the time of Prophet Lot were called Muslims. So, Islam was there.

Prophet Shu’aib was sent to the people of Madyan who were mostly merchants. They lived in a township surrounded by thick forests. They were very dishonest in their business dealings and cheated very often. Shu’aib delivered them the message of Tawheed (Oneness of God) and asked them to fear Allah, and adopt honesty in their dealings:

وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْباً قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ

ٱعْبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُمْ

بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَأَوْفُواْ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ

وَلاَ تَبْخَسُواْ ٱلنَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ وَلاَ تُفْسِدُواْ

فِى ٱلأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاَحِهَا ذٰلِكُمْ

خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِينَ

‘To the Madyan people We sent Shu’aib,

one of their own brethren. He said:

O my people! Worship Allah. Ye have

no other god but Him. Now hath come

unto you a clear (Sign) from your Lord!

Give just measure and weight, nor

withhold from the people the things

that are their due; and do no mischief

on the earth after it has been set in order;

that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.’

(Quran 7:85)

But the people of Madyan did not listen to him and called him a liar. The scolded him and said that he was bewitched. The elders asked him to stop preaching otherwise he would be expelled from the town and his followers would be ruined.

وَقَالَ ٱلْمَلأُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن قَوْمِهِ

لَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعْتُمْ شُعَيْباً إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَّخَاسِرُونَ

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُواْ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ

‘The leaders, the unbelievers among

his people, said: If ye follow Shu’aib,

be sure then ye are ruined.

But the earthquake took them unawares,

and they lay prostrate in their homes

before the morning!

(Quran 7:90-91)

When Shu’aib sensed that the evil-doers were going to be punished, he left the town with his followers. One night a big blast struck the people of Madyan and by the morning they had perished.

ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ شُعَيْباً كَأَن لَّمْ يَغْنَوْاْ فِيهَا

ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ شُعَيْباً كَانُواْ هُمُ ٱلْخَاسِرِينَ

‘The men who reject Shu’aib became

as if they had never been in the homes

where they had flourished; the men

who rejected Shu’aib – it was they

who were ruined!’

(Quran 7:92)

Same scenario in every era! A messenger of God comes to guide and warn people; he is rejected and scolded; the evil-doers gain power and prevail in the society; and finally the wrath of Allah falls upon them and they are destroyed. But in every case the true believers and the messengers are saved. Allah says:

ثُمَّ نُنَجِّى رُسُلَنَا وَٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ

كَذٰلِكَ حَقّاً عَلَيْنَا نُنجِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

‘In the end We deliver Our messengers

and those who believe; thus is it

fitting on Our part that We should

deliver those who believe!’

(Quran 10:103)

Prophet Joseph was eleventh of the twelve sons of Jacob (Mr. Israel). His is the most fascinating and the longest of all stories narrated in the Holy Quran. We all know that story. I just want to touch the end of the story when everything is over and Joseph is rejoined by his parents and brothers in Egypt. Here is how it is mentioned in the Quran:

فَلَمَّا دَخَلُواْ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ آوَىٰ إِلَيْهِ أَبَوَيْهِ

وَقَالَ ٱدْخُلُواْ مِصْرَ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ آمِنِينَ

‘Then when they entered unto Yusuf

(Joseph), he betook his parents to

himself and said: Enter Egypt, if

Allah wills, in security.’

(Quran 12:99)

وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدَاً

وَقَالَ يٰأَبَتِ هَـٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَاىَ مِن قَبْلُ

قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّى حَقّاً وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِيۤ إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِى

مِنَ ٱلسِّجْنِ وَجَآءَ بِكُمْ مِّنَ ٱلْبَدْوِ مِن بَعْدِ

أَن نَّزَغَ ٱلشَّيْطَانُ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِيۤ إِنَّ رَبِّى

لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَآءُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

‘And he raised is parents to the throne

and they fell down before him prostrate.

And he said: O my father! This is the

interpretation of my dream aforetime!

My Lord has made it come true!

He was indeed good to me, when

He took me out of the prison, and

brought you (all here) out of the

bedouine-life, after Shaitan (Satan)

had sown enmity between me and

my brothers. Certainly, my Lord is

the Most Courteous and Kind unto

whom He will. Truly He! Only He

is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.’

(Quran 12:100)

Then Joseph raised his hands and prayed to Allah, saying:

رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِى مِنَ ٱلْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِى مِن تَأْوِيلِ

ٱلأَحَادِيثِ فَاطِرَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ

أَنتَ وَلِيِّى فِى ٱلدُّنُيَا وَٱلآخِرَةِ

تَوَفَّنِى مُسْلِماً وَأَلْحِقْنِى بِٱلصَّالِحِينَ

‘My Lord! You have indeed bestowed

on me of the sovereignty, and taught me

the interpretation of dreams; The (only)

Creator of the heavens and the earth!

You are my Wali (Protector, Helper,

Supporter, Guardian, etc.) in this world

and in the Hereafter, cause me to die

as a Muslim (the one submitting to

Your Will), and join me with

the righteous.’

(Quran 12:101)

Now, have a close look at the last line of the Arabic text and you will find these two words in the beginning:

تَوَفَّنِى مُسْلِماً

(Translation: Cause me to die as a Muslim)

We have encountered the same words in the previous pages. ‘Tawaffani’ means ‘make me die’ or ‘cause me to die’; and ‘Muslima’ means ‘as Muslim’.

That is the proof that Joseph and his family [father Jacob(Israel) and brother Yehuda and others] were all Muslims. And they are praying to Allah to remain steadfast Muslims and also die as Muslims.

Prophet Solomon was a very blessed messenger of Allah. He was given the ability to understand the languages of the birds and animals. He was also given control over Jinns. He passed almost a thousand years before Jesus, the son of Mary. Here is a brief account of his encounter with the Queen of Sheba. Solomon sends a letter to Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba, as mentioned in the Holy Quran:

قَالَتْ يٰأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَأُ إِنِّيۤ أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ كِتَابٌ كَرِيمٌ

إِنَّهُ مِن سُلَيْمَانَ وَإِنَّهُ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

أَلاَّ تَعْلُواْ عَلَىَّ وَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ

‘She said: “O chiefs! Verily, here is

delivered to me a noble letter.

Verily, it is from Sulaiman (Solomon),

and verily, it (reads): In the name of

Allah, the Most Beneficent, the

Most Merciful; Be you not exalted

against me, but come to me as Muslims

(true believers who submit to Allah

with full submission).’

(Quran 27:29-31)

Please read the Arabic text of this verse and you will find that the letter starts with ‘Bismillah…’ and the last word of the verse is again ‘Muslimoun’. You should be very familiar with this word by now as we have encountered it many times. Prophet Solomon starts his letter with typical Islamic salutation: ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful’. And then he asks the Queen of Sheba and her courtiers: ‘Come to me as Muslims’.

Now, imagine that it is happening hundreds of years before the advent of Prophet Jesus. There were no Christians at that time. But Islam was very much there. So, the believers at that time were called Muslims.

فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْ قِيلَ أَهٰكَذَا عَرْشُكِ

قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُ هُوَ وَأُوتِينَا ٱلْعِلْمَ

مِن قَبْلِهَا وَكُنَّا مُسْلِمِينَ

‘So when she came, it was said

(to her): “Is your throne like this?”

She said: “(It is) as though it were

the very same.” And Sulaiman

(Solomon) said: “Knowledge was

bestowed on us before her, and we

were submitted to Allah (in Islam

as Muslims before her).”

(Quran 27:42)

Here again, the last word of the Arabic text is ‘Muslimeen’. It means the same as ‘Muslimoun’ but it is pronounced a bit different due to grammar rules of making plurals. It means ‘Muslims’. The simple translation of this verse would be:

‘So when she arrived, she was

asked: “Is this your throne?”

She said: “It was just like this”;

and knowledge was bestowed

on us in advance of this,

and we are Muslims.’

(Quran 27:42)

So, Prophet Solomon was preaching the faith called Islam and he was a Muslim like Prophet Abraham. He convinced the Queen of Sheba to accept Tawheed (worshipping One God) and eventually she, along with her ministers, accepted Islam.

And here is an amazing piece from the verses of the Holy Quran! In Surah Jinn (Chapter: Jinn) the Almighty Allah narrates account of a group of Jinns talking to one another. Please know that Shaitan (or Devil) is from the Jinns. See what they say:

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا ٱلصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنَّا دُونَ ذٰلِكَ كُنَّا طَرَآئِقَ قِدَداً

وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّآ أَن لَّن نُّعْجِزَ ٱللَّهَ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ وَلَن نُّعْجِزَهُ هَرَباً

وَأَنَّا لَمَّا سَمِعْنَا ٱلْهُدَىٰ آمَنَّا بِهِ فَمَن يُؤْمِن

بِرَبِّهِ فَلاَ يَخَافُ بَخْساً وَلاَ رَهَقاً

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا ٱلْقَاسِطُونَ

فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُوْلَـٰئِكَ تَحَرَّوْاْ رَشَداً

وَأَمَّا ٱلْقَاسِطُونَ فَكَانُواْ لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَباً

‘There are among us some that are

righteous, and some the contrary;

we are groups each having a different

way (religious sect, etc.). And we

think that we cannot escape (from the

punishment of) Allah in the earth, nor

can we escape (from the punishment)

by flight. And indeed when we heard the

Guidance (this Quran), we believed

therein (Islamic Monotheism), and

whosoever believes in his Lord shall

have no fear, either of a decrease in the

reward of his good deeds or an increase

in punishment for his sins. And of us

some are Muslims (who have submitted

to Allah, after listening to this Quran),

and of us some are Al-Qasitun

(disbelievers, those who have deviated

from the Right Path). And whosoever

has embraced Islam (i.e. has become a

Muslim by submitting to Allah), then

such have sought the Right Path. And

as for the Qasitun (disbelievers who

deviated from the Right Path), they

shall be firewood for Hell.’

(Quran 72:11-15)

Amazing stuff! When the Jinns heard the recitation of the Holy Quran in the heavens, they believed in the Word of Lord and converted to Islam. But there were others who did not. Jinns are also given the choice of action, just like humans – believe or believe not. If you believe and do good, you will be rewarded; but if you believe not and do evil, you will be punished. Simple as that!

So what is amazing here, is the fact that Islam goes beyond this earth and Muslims are found even among Jinns. Allah created Jinns from fire and humans from clay (earth).  Iblees (the Devil) is from the Jinns who accepted Islam and worshipped the One Almighty God but refused to bow down in prostration in front of Adam whom he considered ‘inferior’. And thus he was cursed and lost his status.

Now if you carefully look at the Arabic verses quoted above, you will find the word ‘Muslimoun’ (in the 5th line). The Jinns are admitting that among them are Muslims and non-Muslims. That proves the universality of Islam. All creatures of Allah in this universe believe in Islam and worship Allah.

I think after quoting that, it is not worthwhile to discuss the faith or religions of those humans who passed away centuries ago. If Islam prevails in the heavens, it must be the same on earth.  This faith was chosen by Allah and He named its followers Muslims. Everything else is superficial and anything else is not acceptable to Him. And don’t forget that one day you would be standing in front of Him answering questions.

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلاً مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ

وَعَمِلَ صَالِحاً وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

‘And who is better in speech than he

who [says: ‘My Lord is Allah (believes

in His Oneness)’, and then stands

straight (acts upon His Order), and]

invites (men) to Allah’s (Islamic

Monotheism), and does righteous deeds

and says: ‘I am one of the Muslims’.

(Quran 41:33)

Eventually, it comes to the same thing: Be a Muslim, live as a Muslim and die as a Muslim! That is the key to success in this world as well as in the Hereafter. That’s the only way to salvation – the way of the Prophets, the way of the righteous! Here is how Allah has also defined the righteousness:

لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ

وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِٱللَّهِ

وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلآخِرِ وَٱلْمَلاۤئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَابِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّينَ

وَآتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ

وَٱلْيَتَامَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَاكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ

وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلاةَ وَآتَى ٱلزَّكَاةَ

وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُواْ وَٱلصَّابِرِينَ

فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وٱلضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ أُولَـٰئِكَ

ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوآ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ

‘It is not righteousness that ye turn

your faces towards east or west;

but it is righteousness – to believe

in Allah and the Last Day, and the

Angels, and the Book, and the

Messengers; to spend of your

substance, out of love for Him, for

your kin, for orphans, for the needy,

for the wayfarer, for those who ask,

and for the ransom of slaves; to be

steadfast in prayer, and practice

regular charity; to fulfill the contracts

which ye have made; and to be firm

and patient, in pain (or suffering) and

adversity, and throughout all periods

of panic. Such are the people of truth,

the Allah-fearing.’

(Quran 2:177)

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