'On earth there are signs for those with sure faith- and in yourselves too, do you not see?' (51:21) Regardless of our social and cultural background, each of us as humans are programmed as it were with inbuilt faculties for an innate recognition of the existence of a Higher Being. Whereas idolatry defy reason and logic and has no leg to stand on the rational disposition of any human being, God's Oneness and Lordship is intuitively understood by every human soul. Embedded in human nature is an original consciousness of God's Oneness; a natural disposition to recognizing and worshipping God and toward accepting the Prophets and the messages that they bring as 'reminders' of what they already intuitively 'know' to be the Truth in their latent consciousness. Being true to our inner disposition as a sincere and morally uncorrupted soul, one can only adapt one's choices in tune with His ordinances in this world. Indeed, knowledge of God's Lordship enable us to care for the higher values of life, rather than incline towards selfish desires and worldly things- the greed for which debases man, turning him away from the path of God's messengers, and lead him to the misfortune of being held accountable as a disbeliever, or a hypocrite (God forbid).
Recently, a Lady from Canada raised a question: 'How can people with diverse backgrounds, societies and cultures, believe in the one true God'? Based on Qur'anic teachings and Prophetic traditions, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius provides a considered response to the question.
Reproduced below is the Extracts from the Response:
'...So for people to be held responsible for worshipping the one true God, they all need to have access to knowledge of Him. The final revelation teaches that all human beings have the recognition of the one true God imprinted on their souls as a part of their very nature with which they are created.
In the 7th Chapter of the Holy Quran
(Surah Al-Araf Verses 172 to 173 I think), God explained
that when He created Adam (as) He caused all of Adam's descendants
to come into existence and He took a pledge from them saying: “Am I not your Lord?”
To which they all replied,
“Yes,
we testify to it.”
Then Allah explained why He had all of mankind bear witness that He is their Creator and the only true God worthy of worship. He said in the Holy Quran (Surah Al-Araf Verses 172 to 173): “That was in case you (mankind) should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Verily we were unaware of this’.”
That is to say, we cannot claim on that day that we had no idea that Allah, (twt) was our God and that no one told us that we were only supposed to worship Allah alone. Allah went on to further explain that (in verses 173, in Chapter 7 where Allah says):
“It was also in case you should say, ‘Certainly, it was our ancestors who made partners (with Allah) and we are only their descendant; Will you then destroy us for what those liars did?’”
Thus, every child is born with a natural belief in God and an in-born inclination to worship Him alone. This in-born belief and inclination is called in Arabic, the “Fitra”.
So, the Holy Prophet of Islam Muhammad (pbuh) reported that Allah said, “I created My servants in the right religion, but the devils made them go astray.”
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) also said, “Each child is born in a state of Fitra. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian”. If the child was left alone, he would worship God in his own way, but all children are affected by their environment.
So, just as a child submits to the physical laws which Allah has imposed on nature, in the same way his soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is his Lord and Creator. But, if his parents try to make him follow a different path, the child is not strong enough in the early stages of his life to resist or oppose the will of his parents. In such cases, the religion which the child follows is one of custom and upbringing, and God does not hold him to account or punish him for his religion up to a certain stage of his or her life.
There are many signs of God throughout people’s lives, from childhood until the time they die, signs of the one and only true God are shown to them in all regions of the earth and in their own souls, until it becomes clear that there is only one true God (Allah). God says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 41 (Surah Fussilat 41: 53) like this: “We will show them Our signs in the furthest regions (of the earth) and in their own souls, until it becomes clear to them that this is the truth.”
A Sign for a Man
So, the following is an example of God revealing by a sign to one man the error of his idol-worship. In the south-eastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South America, a primitive tribe erected a new hut to house their main idol is Skwatch, representing a supreme god of all creation. The following day a young man entered the hut to pay homage to the “god”, and while he was in prostration to what he has been taught was his Creator and Sustainer, a mangy old flea-ridden dog slunk into the hut. The young man looked up in time to see the dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol.
Outraged, the youth chased
the dog out of the temple; but when his rage died down he realized that the idol could not be the Lord of the
Universe. God must be elsewhere. He
concluded, as strange as it may seem, the dog urinating on the idol was a sign from God for that
young man. This sign contained the divine message that what he was worshipping was false. It liberated him from slavishly following his traditionally
learned worship of a false god. As a result,
this man was given a choice: either to seek the true God or to continue
in the error of his ways.
Allah mentions Prophet Abraham’s quest for God as an example of how those who follow His signs will be rightly-guided. This is in the Holy Quran. So, Allah says in Chapter 6, in Surah Al-Anam – Allah says:
“So,
also did We show Abraham the Power and the Laws of the heavens and the earth that he might (with
understanding) have certitude. When the night
covered him over, he saw a star. He said: “This is my
lord.” But when it set, he said:
“I love not those that set.” When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: “This is my lord”. But when the
moon set, he said: “Unless My lord guides
me, I shall surely be among those who go astray”. When he saw the sun rising in splendor, he said: “This is
my Lord, this is the greatest (of all).” But
when the sun set, he said: “O my people! I am indeed free from Your (guilt of) giving partners to Allah. For
me, ‘I have set my face, firmly and
truly, towards Him Who created the
heavens and the earth, and never shall I give
partners to Allah’.” (6:75-79).
As was mentioned earlier, prophets have been sent to every nation and tribe to support man’s natural belief in God and man’s in-born inclination to worship Him, as well as to reinforce the divine truth in the daily signs revealed by God. Although much of these prophets’ teachings became distorted, portions revealing their God-inspired messages have remained untainted and have served to guide mankind in the choice between right and wrong. The influence of God-inspired messages down through the ages can be seen in the “Ten Commandments” of Judaism’s Torah which were later adopted into Christianity’s teachings, as well as in the existence of laws against murder, stealing and adultery in most societies throughout the ancient and modern world.
As a result of God’s signs to mankind through the ages combined with His revelation through His prophets, all mankind has been given a chance to recognize the one and only true God.
Consequently, every soul will be held accountable for its belief in God and its acceptance of the true religion of God, namely Islam, Sahih al Islam, which means total submission to the will of Allah. Jazak-Allah Ahsanal Jaza....'