Islam: The Religion of all the Messengers

Islam: The Religion of all the Messengers

The Scholarly Committee under the Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque

Islam is submission to Allah, the Creator of the universe and the Disposer of its affairs, and obedience to Him through love and reverence. The basis of Islam is belief in Allah, that He is the Creator and everything besides Him is His creation, and that He alone is deserving of worship, with no partner; there is no true deity except Him. To Him belong the best names and the most sublime attributes, and to Him belongs absolute, flawless perfection without deficiency. He neither begets nor was He begotten, and there is no equivalent or counterpart to Him. He is neither incarnated nor immanent in any of His creatures.

Islam is the religion of Allah, the Almighty, Who accepts no other religion from people, and it is the religion that Allah revealed to all the prophets (peace be upon them).

Among the founding principles of Islam is belief (having īmān) in all the prophets and messengers sent by Allah to His servants to convey His commands and to whom He revealed His Scriptures (divine books). The last of them was Muhammad (peace be upon him), whom Allah sent with the final Divine Law (Sharīʿah) that abrogated the laws of the messengers before him. Allah supported him with great signs, the greatest of which is the Noble Qur’an—the speech of the Lord of the Worlds and the most remarkable book humanity has ever known. It is miraculous in its meaning and content, in its words and eloquence, and in its rhythmic pattern and versification. Inherent in it is the guidance to the truth that leads to happiness in this world and the hereafter, and it has been preserved to this day in the very Arabic in which it was revealed—no single letter has been changed or altered.

Among the foundational tenets of Islam is belief in the angels and belief in the Last Day, when Allah will resurrect people from their graves to hold them accountable for their deeds. Whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer will have eternal bliss in Paradise, and whoever disbelieves and commits evil deeds will face a severe punishment in the Hellfire. Furthermore, among the foundations of Islam is belief in whatever Allah has decreed, whether of good or evil.

Muslims believe that Jesus is Allah’s servant and Messenger and that he is not Allah’s son, for Allah is great and cannot have a wife or a son. Allah has informed us in the Qur’an that Jesus was a prophet to whom He granted many miracles and that He sent him to call his people to worship Allah alone, with no partner; and He has informed us that Jesus did not ask people to worship him, but rather he himself worshiped his Creator.

Islam is a religion that accords with sound reason and rational thinking, naturally embraced by unspoiled souls. Allah has ordained Islam for His creatures as the religion of goodness and happiness for mankind. It does not discriminate between race or color. All people are equal; no one has superiority over another except by piety and virtuous deeds.

A wise person should believe in Allah as his Lord, in Islam as his religion, and in Muhammad ﷺ as his messenger. This is a matter over which humans have no choice, for Allah will question everyone on the Day of Judgment about their response to the messengers. If they have believed, they will attain great attainment and supreme success; and if they have disbelieved, the manifest loss will be their recompense.

A Muslim is the one who says: I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, knowing its meaning and believing in it, and who gradually learns the rest of the ordinances of Islam so as to fulfill what Allah has enjoined upon him.