Presented by HAJI MOHAMAD HANIM HAJI MOHAMAD ISA

ISLAM – tolerant religious unity

In the face of narrow-minded religious fanaticism, Islam emerged to promote a tolerant religious unity, addressed to
and embracing all of humankind, built on pristine human and sound common sense. The Jewish and the Christian
establishments had grown accustomed to seeing truth as their own monopoly and salvation as theirs alone. Islam
questioned that judgment and the attitudes underlying it. We read in the surah:
They (the Jewish and the Christian elders) declared, “Only Jews and Christians shall enter Paradise!” Such are their
wishful fancies. Say, “Bring forth your proof, if you were really truthful.” (2:111)

There are other people in the world who have come to know God truly, and who have submitted themselves to Him
and dedicated and energies to His service, and whose efforts should not be allowed to go to waste. The surah thus
affirms:
Indeed, those who surrender themselves to God and do good works shall be rewarded by their Lord; they shall have
nothing to fear or to regret. (2:112)

It was on this basis that the Qur’aan called upon the People of the Book to believe in ALLAH and all His
messengers, and to cast aside their religion-centricity which led each group to claim a monopoly on truth. The surah
cites their spokesmen’s allegations:
They said, “Accept faith of the Jews or the Christians and you shall be rightly guided.” Say, “By no means! We shall
accept the religion of Abraham, the pious one, who was never an idolater.” (2:135)

It also advised them to believe in all the prophets sent by ALLAH to guide humanity, since there would be no
meaning in excluding any of them. The surah says:
Say, “We believe in ALLAH and in that which is reveled to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac,
Jacob, and the Tribes, and in what Moses, Jesus, and the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction
among any of them, and to ALLAH we have surrendered ourselves.” (2:136)

These are the basic principles of the unity of religion as expounded in this surah and presented to the Jews and the
Christians, for them to adopt and share with the Muslims. At the beginning of this exposition, the Qur’aan makes it
clear that Islam, as such, is not a new religion but the same religion preached by all preceding messengers.
Jews have always taken pride in the fact that they are the sons of Jacob, known also as Israel, after whom
the modern Jewish state is named. But who was Jacob? He was a pious man who acknowledged ALLAH and
surrendered to Him, and who taught his children to do likewise. Before he passed away, he made sure that his
legacy continued intact in his descendents. The surah relates:
Were you present when death came to Jacob, and he said to his children: “What will you worship after I die?” They said:
“We shall worship your ALLAH and the ALLAH of your fore-fathers Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac; the One ALLAH to
whom we all surrender.” (2:133)

Surrender to ALLAH or, to use the Arabic term, Islam is the only natural and logical position creation can assume in
relation to the Creator, the definitive bond between humankind and God. It is only natural for creation to surrender to
its Creator and yearn for His mercy and pleasure. This is the essence of true religion rather than rebellion against
God; it is neither transgression nor adherence to man-made religions.

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