Islam is the Path to Paradise
All divine religions agree on belief in Allah, the unity of human origin, and the divine judgment on the Day of Resurrection based on one’s actions in this world. They also agree that Allah has sent prophets to guide people towards the righteous path, as He loves goodness for His servants and guides them to the correct path.
Alongside these shared beliefs, there are numerous other commonalities among religions. Belief in Allah implies that this universe has a Creator who designed and perfected it, the existence of things that were once non-existent necessitates a creator, the intricate order in the universe, both great and small, demands an organizer, and the non-material emotional experiences must originate from another realm, as all prophets and messengers have informed us.
As for the unity of human origin, all religions believe that humans are all descendants of Adam and Eve, making them all siblings. Therefore, there should be love, advice, and cooperation among them to achieve happiness in this world and the hereafter.
If death is an undeniable reality, then we must be called to account for our actions in this world. Since Allah is just, and we see some innocent people suffer in this life, there must be another life where everyone receives their due.
These facts and truths distinguish humans from other creatures. While animals eat, drink, and reproduce without a higher purpose, believers consider the afterlife and strive for happiness in the hereafter. The prophets sent by allah have guided them to this truth.
The three most prominent Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism follows the teachings of Moses, peace be upon him, who received the Torah. Christianity follows the teachings of Jesus, peace be upon him, who received the Gospel. Islam was revealed to Muhammad, peace be upon him, through the Quran.
The difference between Islam and these religions lies in the fact that followers of Judaism do not believe in Christianity or Islam, and followers of Judaism and Christianity do not believe in Islam. However, Muslims believe in Moses as a prophet and in the Torah as his scripture, and they believe in Jesus as a prophet and in the Gospel as his scripture. This is why we see some non-Muslims insulting Muhammad, peace be upon him, while no Muslim insults Moses, Jesus, or Abraham, peace be upon them. This problem needs a solution, and the least we can do is to reciprocate, meaning that other religions should respect Islam as Muslims respect Moses and Jesus and believe in the general principles of the scriptures revealed to them. However, if we want to go further, we must resort to logic, which necessitates belief in all messengers, as they are all messengers of Allah. If there are differences in their teachings, we should follow the final message, and the final message from Allah is Islam, brought by Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Whoever sets aside fanaticism will inevitably reach this conclusion. Islam encompasses beliefs, behavior, and spiritual training. In terms of beliefs, we believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, and in destiny, both good and bad.
A person's faith is not sincere unless the effects of this belief are apparent. They must testify that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is his Messenger, respect all prophets, perform prayers, fast during Ramadan, pay Zakat, perform Hajj if able, and be truthful and trustworthy in their dealings with people, following all Islamic teachings: This is Islam.
Adherence to these principles and teachings should be to please Allah the Almighty. This is achieved by doing good deeds while being mindful of Allah's observation. Whoever does this will undoubtedly perform their work with excellence, and this is what we call "ihsan".
Those who work while feeling that Allah is watching them will undoubtedly perform good deeds. This is an important aspect of Islam, which is why we hear Friday sermons conclude with the phrase, "Indeed, Allah commands justice and good deeds."
These are the principles brought by our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: belief in Allah, equality among humans, belief in all prophets and previous scriptures, and kindness to all creatures. These are the principles that Muslims have always advocated.
Imagine that those who did not believe in these principles, such as idolaters, prevented our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and Muslims from spreading these principles because they threatened their interests. They benefited materially from claiming gods other than Allah, from class distinctions, and from claiming dominion over people.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, exerted great effort to convince those around him of these principles or at least allow him to teach these principles to other people. However, they prevented him and tortured him and his followers. This forced the Prophet, peace be upon him, to fight them in self-defense, in defense of his religion, and in defense of his followers. This was the beginning of the concept of jihad in the lives of Muslims, and it was also a means used by all previous prophets to protect their religions and followers. This means has remained until today as a last resort to confront those who want to attack us or prevent us from fulfilling our mission.
What we have said in a few words tells the summary of a long history lived by the prophets, messengers, and righteous people. They were keen to bring happiness to people in this world and the hereafter, but ignorant people prevented them from fulfilling their mission.
We read in the Quran that Pharaoh used to slaughter the male children of the Israelites and keep the females to serve in his household, but the Merciful God, Allah, did not allow that and saved the Israelites through Moses, peace be upon him, and performed miracles that achieved that feat. However, unfortunately, the Israelites began to treat everyone they dealt with cruelly, so Jesus, peace be upon him, came to them commanding them to be gentle and tolerant, but they rejected his call and tried to kill him, so Allah saved him. In addition, later, the followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, had to fight to protect themselves.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, came with the Islamic religion, which combines all the best aspects of previous religions in a documented book that Allah has preserved from alteration. Once again, it was unfortunate that some people did not accept the message of Allah brought by Muhammad, peace be upon him.
As Muslims, we love the prophets and the righteous among their followers, and we learn from their stories. We all know the story of Jesus, peace be upon him, when he passed by with his disciples and found a treasure and beside it three dead men. He told his disciples that these people had found a treasure, so he sent one of them to bring them food. The man put poison in the food so that the treasure would be his alone, and they conspired in his absence to kill him so that the treasure would be theirs. When he returned, they killed him and ate from the food, and so all three died. This is how the world is; whoever wants to take it without right will lose it involuntarily, through death or otherwise, and will be held accountable for what they have done.
We remember the story of the righteous man from the Children of Israel to whom a criminal came to repent. He told him, "Go away so that I am not contaminated by your sins." However, Allah revealed to a prophet at that time, saying, "Tell the worshipper, 'Start again, for his deeds have been in vain due to arrogance.' And tell the criminal, 'Start again, for your repentance has been accepted, and I have forgiven you for the past.'"
We remember that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was traveling with his companions when he noticed a bird fluttering above his head. He knew that one of his companions had taken the bird's chicks, so he said, "Who has made this bird sorrowful by taking its chicks? Return her chicks to her."
We also remember that the Prophet's young son died, and the sun was eclipsed, so people said, "The sun was eclipsed because the Prophet's son has died." The Prophet, peace be upon him, addressed the people and said, "The sun is not eclipsed due to the death of anyone." Thus, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was precise and truthful in conveying his message, seeking nothing from it, even the praise of people.
Thus, we should follow the example of the prophets and the righteous so that we may be saved in the hereafter as they were saved, and so that Allah may love us as He loved them, and people may love us as they loved them.
Finally, there is only one path to Paradise: belief in all prophets and messengers, from Adam, peace be upon him, to Muhammad, peace be upon him.
