• Islam and the Universe
• Islam Defined With Respect to the Universe
• The Universal Message
• Islam Does Not Accept Contradictions

Islam and the Universe

Everything is assigned a place in the grand scheme of the universe, which works in a magnificent way. The sun, moon, stars, and all heavenly bodies are knit together in a splendid system, follow unalterable laws, and never deviate from their ordained course.

The universe, although seemingly monotonous and blindly obeying a set of laws, is neither a factory, as thought by eighteenth-century theists, nor a chaos, as conceived by Existentialist philosophers. Rather, it is like a lively and dynamic organism, each part of which works according to the position it occupies and fulfills its role in the system of mutual relationships. On the other hand, God is not a passive power that set up the universe to work automatically, but an “ever-active” Power Who unceasingly reflects His Names in the mirror of the universe. Each such reflection renews the universe, meaning that a new one is manifested each moment. But this renewal depends upon certain immutable principles that allow us to regulate our lives and, therefore, make human life possible. These principles, which we deduce by observing “natural” events and call “natural” laws, have only nominal existence. The universe’s Creator and Ruler established them; creation obeys them.

This is why Islam is the universe’s religion, for Islam is nothing other than obedience and submission to God, the Lord of the universe. The sun, moon, Earth, and all heavenly bodies are muslim, as are air, water, heat, stones, trees, and animals, for everything in existence obeys God by submitting to His laws. Even unbelievers and atheists are muslim as far as their bodily existence is concerned, for each part of their bodies follows the course God established for it, from birth until death and dissolution.

Islam teaches that God, nature, and humanity are not remote, alien to, or opposed to each other. God makes Himself known to humanity through nature and humanity itself, and nature and humanity are two books (of creation) that make God known. Islam is the name of the code according to which nature functions in perfect obedience and by which humanity is required, but not forced, to live by using its free will.

Islam Defined with Respect to the Universe

Islam, derived from silm (submission, salvation, and peace), is the expression of God’s Grace flowing in the universe’s arteries. Being the Divine system to which all creation, except humanity, has submitted willingly, the universe contains no disorder. Islam is the firm, unbreakable rope stretched from Heaven to which all creatures hold fast and by which humanity will ascend to Paradise, our original home. Islam connects all creatures in a single unity, and thus is the religion of universal brotherhood, sisterhood, and solidarity.

Tawhid (monotheism), which is the bedrock of Islam, implies the necessity of humanity’s harmony with nature. The universe, which has submitted to God, displays a coherence and harmony of which our world is also a part. Although our world is subject to the general laws of “nature” as well as its own unique set of laws, it is in harmony with other laws governing those phenomena beyond it. Humanity, which alone does not tread the path of nature, has free will and the gift of freedom, as well as the obligation to harmonize its life with the rest of nature. This harmony, moreover, is also the path of human exaltation and progress, the path upon which God originated human nature:

So set your face to the religion, a man [woman] of pure faith — God’s original nature in which He originated humanity. There is no changing God’s creation. That is the right religion, but most people know it not. (30:30)

Islam seeks to unite us with the vast domain of being, and strives to create an absolute unity between us and the universe. We are the most essential partner in the Realm of Existence, and each Muslim is the co-religionist of all creatures:

What, do they desire another religion than God’s, while to Him has surrendered whosoever is in the heavens and Earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him they shall be returned? (3:83)

Have you not seen how all who are in the heavens and in Earth, the sun, moon, stars and mountains, trees and beasts, and many of humanity prostrate to God? (22:18)

The Universal Message

While constant change is observed in nature, there is an underlying aspect of permanence in everything. For instance, a seed germinates underground and grows into a tree without the laws of germination and growth changing. Likewise the essential character of humanity and human life with all its vital, indispensable necessities, regardless of any external material or other changes in our lifestyles, as well as their impact upon our lives and environment, have remained unchanged since the creation of Adam and Eve. All of us share certain general conditions of life and value: we are born, mature, marry, have children, and die; we have some degree of will and common desires; we share certain values, such as honesty, kindness, justice, courage, and so on.

Thus all Prophets sent by God were sent with the same message. Each created being naturally depends upon his or her Creator. Only the Creator is Self-Existent, unique and single, and not composite, subject to change, or contained by time or space. Belief in such a Divine Being constitutes the primary foundation of the Divine religion preached by all Prophets. Its other pillars are belief in the Resurrection, all Prophets without distinction, angels, Divine Scriptures, and Divine Destiny (including human free will).

Those who do not use their free will to discipline themselves face the danger of enslavement by their passions. Such a lack of self-discipline causes us to wrong others, for the goal of such behavior is to satisfy our desires. Since the Divine religion does not allow such wrongdoing, those who pursue it try to corrupt religion in order to justify their whims and fancies. This causes disorder, oppression, unending conflict, and destruction. God wills mercy for His creation, not oppression or injustice, and that its members live in peace so that justice prevails. However, history relates that the followers of earlier Prophets split into opposing factions and tampered with the religion to serve their preferences or interests.

All previous Prophets were sent to restore the Divine religion to its original purity by purging the innovations and deviations added by its adherents. This is why Prophet Muhammad was sent after Jesus to preach the same pillars of faith. God revealed to him the Qur’an, which contains the eternal principles for our individual and collective life. Since God decrees that the Qur’an is absolutely and permanently preserved, the Prophet is the last Messenger.

Islam honors the religious experience of those who came before its revelation, because Islam confirms and completes what is true in those religions. Given this, Muslims say that Prophet Abraham and all other Prophets were muslim. Such an outlook explains why Islamic civilization, from its very beginnings, was and remains tolerant, plural, and inclusive. It has always been this way, except for the rarest of exceptions.

Islam says that God’s universal providence would be denied if Prophets were raised for one nation only and if other nations had no Prophets. The Qur’an states that God is the Lord and Sustainer of all worlds. He did not discriminate among nations when sending His Revelation, and so Muslims must not distinguish between any of His Messengers:

The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord. Each believer believes in God and His angels, His Books, and His Messengers. We make no distinction between any of His Messengers. They say: “We hear and obey. Our Lord, grant us Your forgiveness. Unto You is the homecoming.” (2:285)

Islam is the consummation of all religions. By accepting the Prophets and Scriptures of all nations, Islam affirms God’s Unity and universal providence, as well as the universality of religious experience. Muslims are true followers of all Prophets, including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.

Muslims reject the term Muhammadanism, for they do not worship Muhammad. To understand Islam as its adherents do, such words as Muhammadan or Muhammadanism need to be dropped. Muhammad never claimed to be more than a man who received revelations from God. He did not make Islam; he simply received it.

Islam Does Not Accept Contradictions

Tawhid implies the equality and unity of all people in their relation with God, and thus indicates homogeneity, equality, and the unity of human origin. Humanness is the one element ingrained in the nature of all individuals. People of different social strata were not created by separate deities with varying levels of power, for this would violate tawhid by allowing possible disparity in their essential nature and erecting insuperable barriers between them. The same God created everyone, and so all people have the same fundamental essence: O humanity, be conscious of your Lord, Who created you of a single soul (4:1).

Given this, Islam rejects legal, physical, class, social, political, racial, national, territorial, genetic, or even economic factors. Tawhid means considering humanity as a unity and working to eliminate all efforts at division based upon such factors as color, social status, occupation, education, geography, religion, and ideology. All such divisions are reconcilable only by replacing tawhid with shirk (dualism, trinitarianism, or polytheism).

The Qur’an declares:

O humanity, We created you from one (pair) of a man and a woman and formed you into peoples and tribes to know each other (not to take pride in your color or race, or claim superiority due to your color, race, or socioeconomic status). (49:13)

In fact, the noblest person in God’s sight is the one who is most God-conscious. The Prophet is reported to have said: “Your Lord is One. You are from Adam and Adam is from dust. An Arab is not superior to a non-Arab, nor a white person over a black person, except for his or her piety and righteousness.” (I. Hanbal, Musnad, 5:411)

This belief in human unity is the corollary of God’s Unity. The same God created and nourishes all people, regardless of race, color, creed, and culture. Thus everyone is His servant, and those most dear to Him are His best servants. The Prophet is reported to have said:

God says to His servants on the Day of Reckoning: “You didn’t visit me when I was sick.” They reply: “How could I visit You, since You are the Lord of creation?” God says: “Don’t you remember that My servant so-and-so fell sick and you didn’t visit him (or her)? If you had, you would have found Me with him (or her). You didn’t give Me food when I asked you for it.” They ask: “How could we give You food, since You are the Lord of creation?” God says: “Don’t you remember My servant so-and-so who asked you for food but you refused. If you had done so, you would have found Me with him (or her).” God says: “You didn’t give Me water when I asked you.” They ask: “How could we give You water, since You are the Lord of creation?” God retorts: “Don’t you remember My servant so-and-so who asked you for water but you refused? If you had done so, you would have found Me with him (or her).”

The Prophet informs us that a prostitute entered a road leading to Paradise and deserved it because she gave water to a thirsty dog out of compassion, whereas another woman entered a road leading to Hell because she let a cat die of hunger. (Bukhari, “Anbiya,” 54.) This is Islam, with its arms wide open to all creatures, regions, and ages.

Despite all these facts and centuries of close contact with other cultures and its many similarities with Judaism and Christianity, Islam remains somehow alien and “other.” Having played a significant part in the colonized Muslim world’s struggle to throw off its colonial masters and resume its rightful place in the world, Islam inevitably became associated in the popular mind with politics and ideology. More recently, it has become associated with backwardness and anti-Western feelings as Muslims strive to rediscover their spiritual and cultural heritage and to live accordingly. And many people, always ready for simplistic answers to and explanations of an impossibly complex issue, latch on to such obvious associations and “truths” and probe no further.

This book seeks to present Islam’s true face and make it known in a summarized form with most of its aspects: its essentials of faith, principles and ways of worshipping God, morality, and rules ordering human life and relations between people.