The Same Applies to the Muslims

The Same Applies to the Muslims

1986 2 February 15 The Same Applies to the Muslims (443) The idolators of Mecca claimed allegiance to their forefather Abraham. Yet when the Quran came into existence many of them remained disbelievers. This despite the fact that the message taught in the Quran was the very message taught by Abraham. Why, then, the Meccans disbelief? The reason was that they did not have a true picture of Abraham. All they had was the distorted picture left them in their national heritage. The Quran did not fit into that picture, so they failed to grasp the importance of its spiritual message.

So it was with the Jews and the Christians. The Jews prided themselves on being followers of Moses, the Christians one being followers of Jesus. Yet both groups remained adverse to the Quran, despite the fact that the Quran taught the very message which Jesus, and Moses before him, had delivered. Here again the same factor was at work. The Jews and the Christians had a picture of their prophets which was different from that painted in the Quran. It was a picture painted more by national traditions than divine revelation. Having to choose between the two, they stuck to their traditional picture and turned away from the Quran.

The same thing that happened to the Meccans, that happenned to the Jews and Christians, can also happen to the Muslims. The religion of Mohammad is perfectly preserved in the Quran and traditions of the Prophet. This does not mean, however, that there is no chance of the Muslims’ picture of their religion becoming distorted amidst a maze of national traditions. If this happens, people may not be able to distinguish true Islam from the distorted version which has developed in their own traditions. Attachment to traditional Islam may prevent them from accepting true Islam when they are presented with a choice between the two.

If it is the outward aspect of worship that is stressed in Muslim tradition, there is bound to be a lack of emphasis on the inner realities of worship. When people’s attention is then directed towards the latter, they are likely to become disorientated by the shift of emphasis, and will cling to their traditional attitudes. Similarly, if all their attention is directed towards the greatness of saints, they are likely to be lacking in awareness of the greatness of God. And if for Muslims religion becomes something inherited from their forefathers, it is sure to lose touch with its divine source. When called to true Islam, as taught in the Quran and by the Prophet, the Muslims will not then be able to recognize original from traditional Islam.