In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Question :
All religions basically teach their followers to do good deeds. Why should a person only follow Islam? Can he not follow any of the other religions?
Answer :
1. The major difference between Islam and most other religions.
All religions basically exhort mankind to be righteous and eschew evil. But Islam goes beyond that. It guides us towards practical ways of achieving righteousness and eliminating evil from our individual and collective lives. Islam takes into account human nature and the complexities of human society. Islam is guidance from the Creator Himself. Therefore, Islam is also called the Deenul-Fitrah (the natural religion of Man).
2. Example - Islam commands us to shun robbery and also prescribes methods of eliminating robbery.
a. All Major religious teach that theft is an evil act. Islam teaches the same. So what is the difference between Islam and the other religion? The difference lies in the fact that Islam besides teaching that robbing is evil, shows a practical way of creating a social structure in which people will not rob.
b. Islam prescribe Zakat.
Islam prescribes a system of Zakat (obligatory annual charity). Islamic law prescribes that every person who has a saving that exceeds the nisab level i.e. more than 85 grams of gold, should give 2.5% of that saving every lunar year in charity. If every rich person in the world gave Zakat sincerely, poverty will be eradicated from this world. Not a single human being would die of hunger.
c. Chopping off the hands as punishment for robbery.
Islam prescribes chopping off the hands of the convicted robber. The Glorious Qur'an says in Surah Maidah :
"As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power, full of wisdom." [Al-Maidah 5 : 38]
d. Results are achieved when Islamic Shariah is implemented.
America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world. Unfortunately, it also has one of the highest rates of crime, theft and robbery. Suppose the Islamic Shariah is implemented in America i.e. every rich person gives Zakat (2.5% of his savings in charity above 85 grams of gold every lunar year), and every convicted robber has his or her hands chopped off as a punishment. Will the rate of the theft and robbery in America increase, remain same or decrease? Naturally it will decrease. Moreover the existence of such a stringent law would discourage many potential robber.
I agree that the amount of theft that takes place in the world today is so tremendous that if you can chop off the hands of all the thieves, there will be tens thousands of people whose hands will be chopped off. The point here is that the moment you implement this law the rate of theft will decline immediately. The potential robber would give serious thought before jeopardizing his limbs. The mere thought of the punishment itself will discourage majority of the robbers. There will barely be a few who would rob. Hence, only a few persons' hands would be chopped off but millions would live peacefully without fear of being robbed.
Islamic Shariah is therefore practical, and achieves results.
3. Example : Islam prohibits the molestation and rape of women. It enjoins hijab and prescribes capital punishment for a convicted rapist.
a. Islam prescribes methods of eliminating molestation and rape.
All the major religions declare the molestation and rape of women as grave sins. Islam teaches the same. What then is the difference between Islam and the other religions? The difference lies in the fact that Islam does not merely preach respect for women, or abhor molestation and rape as serious crimes, but also gives clear guidance as to how society can eliminate such crimes.
b. Hijab for men.
Islam has a system of hijab. The Qur'an first mentions hijab for men and then for women. Hijab for men is mentioned in the following verse :
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." [ An-Noor 24 : 30 ]c. Hijab for women.
Hijab for women is mentioned in the following verse :
"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss." [ An-Noor 24 : 31 ]
The extent of hijab for a woman is that their complete body should be covered. The only part that can be seen, are the face and the hands up to the wrists. If they wish, they can ever cover these parts of the body.However some Islamic scholars insist that even the face should be covered.
d. Hijab prevents molestation.
The reason why Allah has prescribed Hijab for women which is given in Qur'an in the following verse of Surah Al-Ahzab :
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful." [ Al-Ahzab : 33 : 59 ]
The Qur'an says that Hijab has been prescribed for women so that they are recognized as modest women. This would prevent them from being molested.
e. Example of twin sisters.
Suppose that two sisters who are twins and who are equally beautiful,walk down a street. One of them is wearing the Islamic Hijab i.e. the complete body is covered except for the face and the hands up to the wrists,and the other twin is wearing a mini skirt or shorts. Around the corner there is a hooligan who is waiting for an opportunity to tease a girl. Who will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijab or the girl wearing skirt or shorts? Dresses that expose more than they conceal, are an indirect temptation to the opposite sex for teasing, molestation and rape. The Qur'an rightly says that the hijab prevents women from being molested.
f. Capital punishment for rapists.
The Islamic shariah prescribes capital punishment for a convicted rapist. While the non-Muslims may be horrified at such a stringent punishment in this age, many accuse Islam of being ruthless and barbaric. I have asked a common question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose God-forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister and you are made the judge. The rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said, "we would put him to death". Some went to the extent of saying, "we would torture him to death", If your wife or your mother is raped you want the rapist to be put to death. But if someone else's wife or mother is raped, capital punishment is a barbaric law. Why the double standards?
g. U.S.A. has one of the highest rate of rape.
The United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. An F.B.I. report in the year 1990 says that 102555 cases of rape were reported. It further says that only 16% of the cases of rapes are reported. Thus, in order to know the actual number of rapes that took place in 1990, the reported figure should be multiplied by 6.25. We get a total of 640968 rape cases that took place in the year 1990. If the total is divided by 365 the number of days in a year, we get an average of 1756 rape incidents everyday.
Later another report said that an average of 1900 cases of rape are committed in U.S.A. everyday. According to National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statistics (U.S Dept. of Justice) in 1996 alone 307000 cases of rape were reported. Only 31% of the actual cases of rape are reported. Thus, 307000 X 3.226 = 990322 rapes took place in 1996. That is, an average of 2713 cases of rape took place everyday in America in 1996. Every 32 seconds one rape is taking place in America. Maybe America rapists got bolder. The FBI report of 1990 continues and says that out of the rape cases that were arrested, that is only 1.6% of the actual rapes committed. Out of those arrested 50% were let free before the trial. This would mean that only 0.8% of the rapists faced a trial. In other words if a person commit 125 rapes the chances that he will get a punishment for rape is only once. Many would consider this a good gamble. And the report says that of those people who faced trial, 50% received sentences of less than a year's imprisonment thought the American law says rape carries a seven year sentence of imprisonment. For a rapist, the judge is lenient to first time offenders. Imagine a person commits 125 rapes and the chances of being convicted is only once, and 50% of the time the judge will grant leniency and give a sentence of less than a year!
h. Results are achieved when Islamic Shariah is implemented.
Suppose the Islamic Shariah is implemented in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic Hijab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands up to the wrists. After this if any man commits rape, he gets capital punishment. The question is, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same or will it decrease? Naturally it will decrease. Islamic Shariah gets results.
4. Islam has Practical Solutions for the Problems of Mankind.
Islam is the best way of life because its teachings are not doctrinaire rhetoric but practical solutions for the problems of mankind. Islam achieves results both at the individual and collective levels. Islam is the best way of life because it is a practical, universal religion not confined to any ethnic group or nationality.
Reference :
Book 20 MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM by Dr. Zakir Abdul-Karim Naik.
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