MANKIND IS ONE COMMUNITY With One God.

‘Deen’ Is A Way of Life

Mankind Is One Community

With One God And

One ‘Deen’ (Religion)

(M. Javed Naseem)

Allah prescribed Islam

as ‘Deen’ (or religion)

for the entire mankind.

ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ

نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلأِسْلاَمَ دِيناً

“This day have I perfected your ‘Deen’ (religion)

for you, completed My favor upon you, and

have chosen for you Islam as your Deen.”

(al-Quran 5:3)

The Almighty Allah has made very clear two things through this verse of the Quran:

First: The Deen (religion) was completed during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Anything added, deleted, altered, edited, newly started or invented as ‘Islam’ after the death of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is NOT Islam. Period! Remember that there were no ‘sects’ during his period and time!

فَمَنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ مِنْ  بَعْدِ

ذٰلِكَ فَأُوْلَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّالِمُونَ
“If any, after this, invent a lie and attribute it

to Allah, they are indeed unjust wrong-doers.”

(al-Quran 3:94)

Second: The Deen (religion) chosen and prescribed by Allah for the entire mankind was named as ‘Islam’. That’s why Allah will not accept anything else in the name of Deen or religion.

إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلإِسْلاَمُ
“The Religion before Allah is Islam

(submission to His Will).”

(al-Quran 3:19)

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).”

(al-Quran 3:85)

If Allah had wanted, He would have created us as one nation but He created us different to add charm, color and variety to the ‘rainbow community’ and then bound us together with one Deen! He gave us choices to see what we do and how loyal we are to Him.

وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَـٰكِن

لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِى مَآ آتَاكُم فَاسْتَبِقُوا الخَيْرَاتِ إِلَىٰ اللهِ

مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعاً فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ

“… If Allah had so willed, He would have

made you a single people, but (His plan is)

to test you in what He has given you. So

strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of

you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you

the truth of the matters in which you dispute.”

(al-Quran 5:48)

These days it’s a fashionable thing to be an atheist or secular. The young generations of Christians and Muslims have discarded religion as an old-fashioned thing of the past. The funny part is that these youngsters don’t even know their religion well enough. They just reject the idea of religion as such. Many Muslims (and their offspring) also think that Islam is a religion. It’s not! Islam is a ‘Deen’ – a Way of Life – and the religion is a small part of it. Religion generally refers to the rituals and obligations (worship) concerning our Faith or beliefs.  

Those who demand the separation of state and religion, they are fed up with the Jewish or Christian religious bigots interfering in their private, business and socio-political lives. So, they demand the separation of the two. On the contrary, Islam is a complete package and religion (worshipping Allah and discharging related obligations) is a small part of it. The Deen, as Allah calls it in the Quran, is Islam and it covers all aspects of human life – all of it with no exception (social, cultural, personal, communal, educational, economic, political and spiritual, etc., etc.). It’s a system on which a welfare state and a disciplined society is based and developed so that the members (people) enjoy peaceful life with social justice. So, what part of human life would you separate from humans?

In Islam, a state is formed on the guidelines and principles laid down by the Quran and the Prophet (s.a.w.). Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was the first head of the Islamic state. He should be our role-model and his governance should be a model of our Islamic state. All ‘Khulafa-e-Raashideen’ were Muslims and they ruled/governed on the pattern established by Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). And Muhammad (s.a.w.) was not a King either!

Life asked Death:

‘Why people hate you and love me?’

Death replied:

‘Because you are a BEAUTIFUL lie,

and I am a PAINFUL truth!’

Truth and falsehood (lies, deception) go in the opposite directions. We go for ‘looks’ on the outside or ‘appearances’, glitter and attractive packing without caring much about the inside or the contents. But it is the contents that matter. It is OK to check the credentials of the messenger to see if he is trustworthy but it is a lot more important to see the message he brings. All prophets brought the message of Truth from Allah, the Almighty. Allah created everything in Truth and prescribed the same Truth for all maladies inflicting us. Let me tell you about its origin.

Here are excerpts from the Bible, Gospel of Barnabas, Chapter 39, where Jesus, the son of Mary, is explaining to his disciples the scene of Adam’s creation:

            ‘Then God gave his soul to man, while

            all the holy angels sang: “Blessed be

            your holy name, O God our Lord.”

            Adam, having sprung upon his feet, saw

            in the air a writing that shone like the sun,

            which said: “There is only one God, and

            Muhammad is the Messenger of God”

            (La ilaha illa-Allah, Muhammad-ur Rasool-Allah).

Subhan-Allah! This is Isa ibn Maryam (Prophet Jesus Christ) narrating. The quotation continues:

             “Whereupon Adam opened his mouth

             and said: “I thank you, O Lord, my God,

             that you have deigned to create me; but

             tell me, I pray you, what means the message

             of these words: “Muhammad is Messenger

             of God. Have there been other men before

             me?” Then said God: “Be you welcome,

             O my servant Adam. I tell you that you are

             the first man whom I have created. And he

             whom you have seen (mentioned) is your son

             who shall come into the world many years

             hence, and shall be my Messenger, for whom

             I have created all things; who shall give light

             to the world when he shall come, whose soul   

             was set in a celestial splendor, sixty thousand

             years before I made any thing.”

Allah-o-Akbar! That’s where it all started for us humans. But notice that Islam already existed there!

Now, here is another excerpt from the Bible, Gospel of Barnabas, Chapter 41, where Jesus is narrating the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Heaven, after disobedience to Allah (when they ate the fruit from the forbidden tree):

             ‘God hid himself (from Adam and Eve),

             and the angel Michael drove them forth

             from paradise. Then, Adam, turning

             around, saw written above the gate,

             “There is only one God, and Muhammad

             is Messenger of God” (La ilaha illa-Allah,

             Muhammad-ur Rasool-Allah).

             Weeping, he (Adam) said: “May it be

             pleasing to God, O my son, that you come

             quickly and draw us out of misery”.

Subhan Allah! The message of ‘Tawheed’ and the prophet-hood of Muhammad (s.a.w.) was established centuries before the creation of Adam. Islam was the norm of Heaven and all prophets delivered the same message.

Allah created only one ‘Deen’ (you can call it a faith or religion) for mankind, and that is Islam. People also gave it different names during different times. But all prophets (messengers) brought the message of Islam to their respective nations. It started with Adam and was completed with Muhammad (s.a.w.). As a matter of fact, it existed in the heavens even before Adam was created. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) all preached and practiced Islam.

Since the creation of the universe, Allah, the Creator, has been sending us His message through different messengers at different times. The messengers were different, languages were different, cultures were different, peoples were different and diverse but the message was the same, one and universal – there is only One God (Allah) worthy of worship and He has no partners, no family, nor children.

We go out of our way to make things comfortable and easy for us in this world and forget all about the Hereafter. Allah says:

وَما ٱلْحَيَاةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ

“… The life of this world is but

comfort of illusion.”

(al-Quran 3:185)

We buy illusion at the expense of reality – the everlasting real life of the Hereafter. Man, under the influence of Satan, distorted God’s message through his corrupt ways, in every era. But eventually, it was the Truth that prevailed.

Truth always comes from Allah and lies (or falsehood) from Satan (Devil). Devil buries the truth under the filthy heap of dung so that nobody cares to dig it out. The dirty work demands a lot of patience, sacrifice, hard work and guidance. There are not many who want to do that digging. It requires the digger to be an honest, sincere believer and a true seeker who is ready to give all in the cause of Allah. Presently, Muslim Ummah is in desperate need of such diggers.

Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that when there is too much of ‘Haraam’ – corruption and evil practices – in a society and the people, who are capable (and responsible) of stopping that, do nothing about it, that society should wait for ‘azaab-Allah’ – the wrath of Allah.

That means that evil-doing and corruption bring punishment of God, the Almighty. That is a very natural course. If we open the Holy Quran, we’ll find the stories of previous nations who rejected the message of Allah, deviated from the right path and rebelled against the Law of Allah. They were wiped off the land as if they never existed. The nations of Aad, Thamud, Noah, Nimrod, Lot, Shuaib, Pharaoh, etc., they all became part of the history and a lesson for the mankind. Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا ٱلْقُرُونَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُواْ

وَجَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَاتِ وَمَا كَانُواْ

لِيُؤْمِنُواْ كَذٰلِكَ نَجْزِى   ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ

“We destroyed the generations before you

when they did wrong; and their messengers

(from Allah) came unto them with clear proofs

(of His Sovereignty), but they would not believe.

Thus do we reward the guilty folk.”

(al-Quran 10:13)

But did the mankind really learn any lesson? Today, we are in the same situation once again. Allah has extended the leash, given us plenty of time to repent and change our ways, but nothing has improved. On the contrary, the only change that we see, is the change for the worse – ‘Haraam’ is spreading. We are chasing an illusion. We have ignored all warnings and have arrogantly defied the commands of Allah.

The righteous few, the friends of Allah, have already received the signals of the punishment which is almost at our doorsteps. Now, it is just a matter of time. O Ummah! Wake up, it is coming! Can we still not see it? Then we must be blind, deaf and dumb! Prepare yourself for a rude awakening!

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيراً مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلإِنْسِ

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ

لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَآ

أُوْلَـٰئِكَ كَٱلأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْغَافِلُونَ

“Many are the Jinns and men we have

made for Hell. They have hearts wherewith

they understand not, eyes wherewith they

see not, and ears wherewith they hear not.

They are like cattle, nay more misguided;

for they are heedless (of warning).”

(al-Quran 7:179)

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