HOW DOES ISLAM DIFFER FROM OTHER FAITHS? (PART 1 OF 2)

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How Does Islam Differ from other Faiths? (part 1 of 2)


Description: Some of the Unique Features of Islam not found in other
belief systems and ways of life.
B
Simplicity, Rationality and Practicality

Islam is a religion without any mythology.  Its teachings are simple
and intelligible.  It is free from superstitions and irrational
beliefs.  The oneness of God, the prophethood of Muhammad, and the
concept of life after death are the basic articles of its faith.  They
are based on reason and sound logic.  All of the teachings of Islam
flow from those basic beliefs and are simple and straightforward.
There is no hierarchy of priests, no farfetched abstractions, no
complicated rites or rituals.

Everybody may approach the Quran directly and translate its dictates
into practice.  Islam awakens in man the faculty of reason and exhorts
him to use his intellect.  It enjoins him to see things in the light
of reality.  The Quran advises him to seek knowledge and invoke God to
expand his awareness:

Say ‘O, my Lord!  Advance me in knowledge.  (Quran 20: 114)

God also says:

“Are those who know equal with those who know not?  But only men of
understanding will pay heed.” (Quran 39: 9)

It is reported that the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be
upon him, said that:

“He who leaves his home in search of knowledge (walks) in the path of
God.” (At-Tirmidhi)

and that,

“Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.” (Ibn Majah and al-
Bayhaqi)

This is how Islam brings man out of the world of superstition and
darkness and initiates him into the world of knowledge and light.

Again, Islam is a practical religion and does not allow indulgence in
empty and futile theorizing.  It says that faith is not a mere
profession of beliefs, but rather that it is the very mainspring of
life.  Righteous conduct must follow belief in God.  Religion is
something to be practiced and not an object of mere lip service.  The
Quran says:

“Those who believe and act righteously, joy is for them, and a
blissful home to return to.” (Quran 13: 29)

The Prophet is also reported to have said:

“God does not accept belief if it is not expressed in deeds, and does
not accept deeds if they do not conform to belief.” (At-Tabarani)


Thus Islam’s simplicity, rationality and practicality are what
characterize Islam as a unique and true religion.

Unity of Matter and Spirit

A unique feature of Islam is that it does not divide life into
watertight compartments of matter and spirit.  It stands not for
denial of life but for the fulfillment of life.  Islam does not
believe in asceticism.  It does not ask man to avoid material things.
It holds that spiritual elevation is to be achieved by living piously
in the rough and tumble of life, not by renouncing the world.  The
Quran advises us to pray as follows:

“Our Lord!  Give us something fine in this world as well as something
fine in the Hereafter.” (Quran 2:201)

But in making use of life luxuries, Islam advises man to be moderate
and keep away from extravagance, God says:

“…and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does not love
the extravagant.” (Quran 7:31)

On this aspect of moderation, the Prophet said:

“Observe fasting and break it (at the proper time) and stand in prayer
and devotion (in the night) and have sleep, for your body has its
right over you, and your eyes have rights over you, and your wife has
a claim upon you, and the person who pays a visit to you has a claim
upon you.”

Thus, Islam does not admit any separation between “material” and
“moral,” “mundane” and “spiritual” life, and enjoins man to devote all
of his energies to the reconstruction of life on healthy moral
foundations.  It teaches him that moral and material powers must be
welded together and that spiritual salvation can be achieved by using
material resources for the good of man in the service of just ends and
not by living a life of asceticism or by running away from the
challenges of life.

The world has suffered at the hands of the one-sidedness of many other
religions and ideologies.  Some have laid emphasis on the spiritual
side of life but have ignored its material and mundane aspects.  They
have looked upon the world as an illusion, a deception, and a trap.
On the other hand, materialistic ideologies have totally ignored the
spiritual and moral side of life and have dismissed it as fictitious
and imaginary.  Both of these attitudes have resulted in disaster, for
they have robbed mankind of peace, contentment, and tranquility.

Even today, the imbalance is manifested in one or the other
direction.  The French scientist Dr.  De Brogbi rightly says:

“The danger inherent in too intense a material civilization is to that
civilization itself; it is the disequilibria which would result if a
parallel development of the spiritual life were to fail to provide the
needed balance.”

Christianity erred on one extreme, whereas modern western
civilization, in both of its variants of secular capitalistic
democracy and Marxist socialism has erred on the other.  According to
Lord Snell:

“We have built a nobly-proportioned outer structure, but we have
neglected the essential requirement of an inner order; we have
carefully designed, decorated and made clean the outside of the cup;
but the inside was full of extortion and excess; we used our increased
knowledge and power to administer to the comforts of the body, but we
left the spirit impoverished.”

Islam seeks to establish equilibrium between these two aspects of life
- the material and the spiritual.  It says that everything in the
world is for man, but man was created to serve a higher purpose: the
establishment of a moral and just order that will fulfill the will of
God.  Its teachings cater for the spiritual as well as the temporal
needs of man.  Islam enjoins man to purify his soul and to reform his
daily life - both individual and collective - and to establish the
supremacy of right over might and of virtue over vice.  Thus Islam
stands for the middle path and the goal of producing a moral man in
the service of a just society.

Islam, a Complete Way of Life

Islam is not a religion in the common and distorted sense, for it does
not confine its scope to one’s private life.  It is a complete way of
life and is present in every field of human existence.  Islam provides
guidance for all aspects of life - individual and social, material and
moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, and national and
international.  The Quran enjoins man to embrace Islam without any
reservation and to follow God’s guidance in all areas of life.

In fact, it was an unfortunate day when the scope of religion was
confined to the private life of man and its social and cultural role
was reduced to naught, as has happened in this century.  No other
factor, perhaps, has been more important in causing the decline of
religion in the modern age than its retreat into the realm of private
life.  In the words of a modern philosopher: “Religion asks us to
separate things of God from those of Caesar.  Such a judicial
separation between the two means the degrading of both the secular and
the sacred ...  That religion is worth little if the conscience of its
followers is not disturbed when war clouds are hanging over us all and
industrial conflicts are threatening social peace.  Religion has
weakened man’s social conscience and moral sensitivity by separating
the things of God from those of Caesar.”

Islam totally denounces this concept of religion and clearly states
that its objectives are the purification of the soul and the reform
and reconstruction of society.  As we read in the Quran:

“We verily sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with
them the Scripture and the Balance, that mankind may observe right
measure; and He revealed iron, wherein is mighty power and (many) uses
for mankind, and that God may know him who helpeth Him and His
messengers, though unseen.  Lo!  God is Strong, Almighty.” (Quran 57:
25)

God also says:

“The decision rests with God only, Who hath commanded you that ye
worship none save Him.  This is the right religion, but most men know
not.” (Quran 12: 40)

Thus even a cursory study of the teachings of Islam shows that it is
an all-embracing way of life and does not leave out any field of human
existence to become a playground for the forces of evil.

 	Next: How Does Islam Differ from other Faiths? (part 2 of 2)


http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/643/

thank you