How the History of Religion Is a Proof for the Truthfulness of Islam

[AMusee]

Islam is the truth, which is another way of saying that the exclusive claims of the religion are attested to by external factors, both supra-rational and rational. In the latter instance, the skeptic is invited to ponder upon a plethora of demonstrations, one of the most obvious being the i’jaz of the Qur’an—its inimitability and wondrous, miraculous nature.

There are innumerable proofs for Islam, and the types of proofs vary as well.

For example, an article we had published a few months ago, related to the Mafia, could be seen as a social (or sociological) proof for Islam.

The focus of this article, however, will be to establish that there is historical proof for Islam, more precisely one of its most significant and important claims:

Islam is indeed the last revealed religion.

There are many authentic ahadith (prophetic narrations) and verses from the Qur’an in this regard, including the following verse on the Prophet ﷺ being the seal of prophethood:

Muhammad is not the [natural] father of any of the men among you. Yet he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And ever is Allah all-knowing of all things. (Qur’an, 33:40)

But we will suffice here with the bold portion of the following ayah (verse):

[As to specific dietary prohibitions]: Forbidden to you is [the consumption of] carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which other than [the name of] Allah has been invoked, and what has been strangled, and what has been beaten to death, and what has fallen to [its] death, and what has been gored to death, and what has been eaten by a predator — except that which you duly slaughter [before it dies] — and what has been slaughtered on any altar. And [prohibited to you, as well, is] that you cast lots with divining arrows [to determine your decisions]. This is [sheer] ungodliness.
This day: Those who disbelieve have despaired of [destroying] your religion. So do not fear them. But fear Me! This day: I have perfected for you your religion! And I have completed My grace upon you! And I am well pleased for you with Islam as your religion!
But whoever is compelled by starvation [to eat of forbidden foods] without inclining to sin, then, indeed, Allah is all-forgiving, mercy-giving. (Qur’an, 5:3)

Mufti Muhammad Shafi (may Allah have mercy on him)—the former Grand Mufti of Pakistan who passed away in 1976—is, as usual, extremely eloquent in his tafsir (exegesis), Ma’arif al-Qur’an, and he deserves to be quoted at some length:

This verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ on the day of ‘Arafah of the Last Hajj in the tenth year of Hijrah. This was a time when the conquest of Makkah and almost of all Arabia was complete. Islamic law prevailed all over the Peninsula. Thereupon, reference was made to the assessment of disbelievers that Muslims were much lower in number as against them and that they were weak too, based on which they planned to eliminate them. Now that they do not have those ambitions any more nor do they have the power to pose a challenge, Muslims have been asked to feel secure against them and go on to spend their energy in obeying and worshipping their Lord:
ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًۭا
Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Din for you.
The combination of circumstances in which this verse was revealed is special. Imagine. This is the day of Arafah, the foremost day out of the days of the entire year and by chance this `Arafah fell on a Jumu’ah (Friday), the merits of which are well-known. The place is nothing less than the plain of `Arafat, close to the Mount of Mercy (Jabal al-Rahmah), which, on the day of `Arafah, is the chosen spot of the incessant descent of Mercy from Allah Almighty. The time is after `Asr, which is a blessed time even during normal days, specially so on Friday wherein comes the hour when prayers are answered as confirmed by many authentic reports, and this is the time for it. Then, this being the day of `Arafah as well, it is all the more likely that prayers shall be answered particularly at this hour and time.
This is the largest and the first great gathering of Muslims for their Hajj. Participating in it are some one hundred and fifty thousand noble Sahabah, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. And present with his Companions is the Holy Prophet ﷺ, who is the very mercy of all universes, sitting on his mount, the she-camel `Adba’ under the legendary Mount of Mercy busy with his Wuquf in `Arafat, now a great basic rite of Hajj.
It is under the canopy of these blissful merits and blessings and mercies that this verse is being revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Spot witnesses to this spectacle, the noble Companions said: When this verse came in the mode of Wahy (revelation) to the Holy Prophet ﷺ what happened was what had transpired earlier too: The weight released by the descending Revelation could be perceived as the she camel was crouching under that weight, so much so that she was compelled to sit down.
Sayyiduna Ibn ` Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that this verse is almost the last verse of the Holy Qur’an; no verse dealing with Ahkam (Injunctions) was revealed after that. The only exception here is that of some verses of persuasive nature which have been identified as having been revealed after this verse. After the revelation of this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ lived in this mortal world for only eighty one days, for this verse was revealed on the ninth day of Dhu ‘l-Hijjah in the Hijrah year 10, and it was on the twelfth day of the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal in the eleventh year of Hijrah that the Holy Prophet ﷺ departed from this mortal world.
That this verse was revealed in such elegant setting with a very special concern has its secret in the message it conveys, which is a great news, a solemn reward and an abiding hallmark of distinction for Islam and Muslims and for the Ummah at large. In a nutshell, the message is that the ultimate standard of True Faith and Divine Blessing which was to be bequeathed to human beings in this world has reached its perfection on that great day. This is, so to say, the climax of the divine blessings in the shape of a True Faith which began with Sayyiduna Adam (علیہ السلام) and continued in later times when the children of Adam in every period and every area kept receiving a part of this blessing in proportion to their prevailing conditions. Today, that Faith and that Blessing in its final form has been bestowed upon the Last of the Prophets, the Rasul of Allah ﷺ and to his Ummah.
It goes without saying that this bestowal primarily highlights the excellence and distinction of the last and the foremost Prophet, Sayyiduna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ among the community of prophets, messengers and apostles. But, it also proves that the Ummah has a distinct status among other Traditional Communities.

Islam’s status as the final religion was thus established under miraculous circumstances from an Islamic perspective. The alignment of days and occasions fortified this claim and made it even stronger. And it was so strong, in fact, that it leads us to our principal point:

 

[AMusee]

There has been no major religion after Islam.

Just to clarify, what we mean by a “major” religion here, is a religion that could be said to have defined an entire civilization. But we can go even further than that. In fact, every religion that came after Islam defined itself through Islam or was viewed thusly.

Take Sikhism, in the region of Punjab, South Asia, for example. All historians of religions agree that there would be no Sikhism without Islam. This is because it is a sort of melting-pot between the mystical tendencies of Islam found within Sufism and the mystical tendencies of medieval Hinduism found in the Bhakti movement.

RELATED: Sikhism’s Dubious Monotheism – Between Auto-Deification and Book Worship

Then fast forward a few hundred years to the 19th century, where you have the likes of Babism and its later derivative, Baha’ism. Despite the Baha’is not claiming to represent Islam but to rather be a post-Islamic religion, the early Babis were initially just a heterodox sub-sect of the Shi’ah, influenced mainly by Ahmad Al-Ahsa’i, a Shi’ah cleric who was born and lived in today’s Saudi Arabia and who proposed a form of apocalyptic Shi’ah doctrine which was rejected by most of the learned Shi’ah of his time.

The point here being that, even if it were to be post-Islamic, Babism and Baha’ism would still be completely impossible to conceptualize without Islam (even though, admittedly, through its most heterodox historical manifestations).

RELATED: Bahā’īsm: Does “One Humanity” Equate to a Single True Creed?

The same could also be said about Qadiyanis, also of the 19th century. Mirza Ghulam Qadiyani was undeniably an apostate and a notorious charlatan. In his early career, he was a figure who enjoyed some level of respect for his debates against Christian missionaries. However, he allowed his love for fame to poison his heart and mind.

Yet, if Qadiyanism were also to be described as a post-Islamic religion, it too cannot be conceptualized without Islam.

RELATED: 10 Reasons Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Was a False Prophet

In fact, this applies even beyond just the Islamic world.

For instance, the founder of the LDS movement and Mormonism was Joseph Smith, who was also active in the 19th century. He was frequently being compared to our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because Smith supposedly mimicked some of his ﷺ blessed characteristics, such as the angelic mode of revelation or his stance about polygamy. In fact, it has been documented that people referred to Mormonism as bearing “in many respects a striking resemblance to Mahometanism” and Joseph Smith was described as a “Yankee Mahomet” and a “backwoods Mahomet.”

RELATED: What Muslims Need to Know About Mormonism

The conclusion is clear:

Islam strongly asserts that it is the last and final religion from God. (How many other religions even made such a powerful claim to begin with and with such assertiveness?)

And, by examining the “secular” field of the history of religion, we can all bear witness to the fact that no major religion has appeared after Islam; and that all the minor religions that did appear are, in one way or another, defined by Islam or linked to it.

Should they not now reflect?

https://muslimskeptic.com/2023/05/13/history-religion-proof-islam/