In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
God's Religion & Man-Made Titles
[21:92] Your congregation is but one congregation, and I alone am your Lord; you shall worship Me alone.
[21:93] However, they divided themselves into disputing religions. All of them will come back to us (for judgment).
A careful study of Quran reveals that God's message to humanity has been just one: worship God alone and avoid idolatry.
[21:25] We did not send any messenger before you except with the inspiration: "There is no god except Me; you shall worship Me alone."
[16:36] We have sent a messenger to every community, saying, "You shall worship God, and avoid idolatry." Subsequently, some were guided by God, while others were committed to straying. Roam the earth and note the consequences for the rejectors.
Recognizing God and the devotion to Him alone as the only Supreme Authority is worded in Quran as "Submission to God alone" in many contexts. It is also clearly stated that Submission is the only religion authorized and approved by God. Submission is the meaning of the word Islam in Arabic which is defined as the state of mind of anyone who submits to God alone as the the only Master. This religion is not and should not be monopolized by one specific group, race or region. It is God's one religion delivered by all His messengers and it has been embraced by guided human beings who believe in God and follow His monotheistic path since the earliest generations on earth.
[3:18] God bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, He is the absolute god; there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise.
[3:19] The only religion approved by God is "Submission." Ironically, those who have received the scripture are the ones who dispute this fact, despite the knowledge they have received, due to jealousy. For such rejectors of God's revelations, God is most strict in reckoning.
[3:85] Anyone who accepts other than Submission as his religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be with the losers.
All the divine scriptures invited their recipients to embrace Submission and live and die as Submitters to God alone. Quran mentions some of these scriptures and emphasizes that the one message authorized by God for all people in all scriptures has been one and the same: Submission.
[3:102] O you who believe, you shall observe God as He should be observed, and do not die except as Submitters.
[9:30] The Jews said, "Ezra is the son of God," while the Christians said, "Jesus is the son of God!" These are blasphemies uttered by their mouths. They thus match the blasphemies of those who have disbelieved in the past. God condemns them. They have surely deviated.
[9:31] They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as lords, instead of God. Others deified the Messiah, son of Mary. They were all commanded to worship only one god. There is no god except He. Be He glorified, high above having any partners.
All God’s messengers since Noah delivered and confirmed the religion of Submission, and they all devoted their lives and worship to God alone. All of them were Submitters to Him alone. Those from among the people of the scripture who embraced total Submission and supported the message delivered by their messengers were Submitters to God alone.
[42:13] He decreed for you the same religion decreed for Noah, and what we inspired to you, and what we decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: "You shall uphold this one religion, and do not divide it." The idol worshipers will greatly resent what you invite them to do. God redeems to Himself whomever He wills; He guides to Himself only those who totally submit.
[10:71] Recite for them the history of Noah. He said to his people, "O my people, if you find my position and my reminding you of God's revelations too much for you, then I put my trust in God. You should get together with your leaders, agree on a final decision among yourselves, then let me know it without delay.
[10:72] "If you turn away, then I have not asked you for any wage. My wage comes from God. I have been commanded to be a submitter."
[2:133] Had you witnessed Jacob on his death bed; he said to his children, "What will you worship after I die?" They said, "We will worship your god; the god of your fathers Abraham, Ismail, and Isaac; the one god. To Him we are submitters."
[3:50] "I confirm previous scripture - the Torah - and I revoke certain prohibitions imposed upon you. I come to you with sufficient proof from your Lord. Therefore, you shall observe God, and obey me.
[3:51] "God is my Lord and your Lord; you shall worship Him alone. This is the right path."
[3:52] When Jesus sensed their disbelief, he said, "Who are my supporters towards God?" The disciples said, "We are God's supporters; we believe in God, and bear witness that we are submitters."
[3:53] "Our Lord, we have believed in what You have sent down, and we have followed the messenger; count us among the witnesses."
[5:116] God will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Make me and my mother idols beside God?' " He will say, "Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts. You know all the secrets.
[5:117] "I told them only what You commanded me to say, that: `You shall worship God, my Lord and your Lord.' I was a witness among them for as long as I lived with them. When You terminated my life on earth, You became the Watcher over them. You witness all things.
[5:118] "If You punish them, they are Your constituents. If You forgive them, You are the Almighty, Most Wise."
[28:52] Those whom we blessed with the previous scriptures will believe in this.
[28:53] When it is recited to them, they will say, "We believe in it. This is the truth from our Lord. Even before we heard of it, we were submitters."
Human weakness and the tendency to idolize earthly seen entities is illustrated in Quran. It is a typical pattern that shortly after messengers deliver or confirm the message of Submission, people divide themselves into sects that praise humans rather than God and hold on their own man-made ideologies and doctrines. This idolatry characterizes the majority on earth. Many sectarian and religious titles have been invented by humans over the years. It is ironic and unfortunate that such fake titles have been gradually taking part in human history and culture. They have been endorsed by scholars and have become officially established in documentaries and text books for all generations. It is safe to know that some well-known human history is nothing but man-made fabrications.
[42:14] Ironically, they broke up into sects only after the knowledge had come to them, due to jealousy and resentment among themselves. If it were not for a predetermined decision from your Lord to respite them for a definite interim, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the later generations who inherited the scripture are full of doubts.
This reminder is a straightforward acknowledgement of the only message and the only religion that is authorized and approved by God ; Submission to Him alone.
Quran recognizes many of the tribes and communities that received the guidance through different messengers and scriptures. Those communities are given titles and/or descriptions in Quran related to their messengers, their geographical location or their genetic descent. The titles of these different communities were not supposed to establish different unauthorized religions or sects as propagated and fed to the media and to the early and later human generations.
When God mentions the descendants of Israel (19:58) / Children of Israel/ the twelve Patriarchs, Al-Asbat in Arabic, He is simply describing specific tribes that received His guidance. Quran acknowledges Hebrew-based names for the Children of Israel such as "Yahood" (Jews) or "Hud" (Jew). Throughout Quran, God describes those who adopted the guidance from among the Children of Israel as those who "hadu" ( 2:62, 5:69, 4:160, 4:46, 5:41, 5:44, 6:146, 16:118, 22:17, 62:6). They are also titled as "Yahood"/Jews (5:51, and many more). The singular of that, "Hud"/Jew, is used in 2:111, 2:135, 2:14. The origin of all these derivatives is the Hebrew word "Yehudah", or "Judah" which is believed to be the name of the forth son of Jacob. It is also the name of certain mountains in the Western part of Arabia. Down the road, there has been an established, man-made title of a religion called Judaism, or "Yahoodeiah" in Arabic which is considered by the religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. No where in Quran we find this title or religion.
Similarly, Christians are the ones who followed the divine guidance delivered by the Messiah /the Christ. In Arabic they are titled as "Nasara" which means supporters (5:51 and many more). The word "disciples", "Hawareyoon", is also another term that literally means "followers" and it describes those who were first to believe in the message delivered by Jesus, the Messiah, Son of Mary (3:52). Down the road, there has been an established title of a religion called Christianity, "Maseeheiyah or Nusraneiah" in Arabic. No where in Quran we find these titles or religions.
The same applies to the description "Zoroastrians". This is nothing but a tribal recognition in Quran of a community that once received some guidance through one or multiple humans, all under the name "Zoroaster", in Iran. No where in Quran we find Zoroastrianism as a title for a religion and there is no mention in Quran about the divinity of these teachings. The list of the many man-made titles, subtitles and sects within the same religion would go on and on . We could simply give it few more decades and we will find a new documented sect called Rashadism, or Quranism. Rashadians and Quranians have been already used to describe us, Submitters who follow the message of God confirmed by Dr. Rashad Khlaifa, Messenger of the Covenant.
The Children of Israel all the way to Jesus and His followers were commanded to follow Abraham's monotheistic religion, Submission, just like Muhammad was commanded to follow it. They were blessed with detailed scriptures and rites but they have disregarded them, and lost them (5:13-15, 19:59 6:91). They were reprimanded by God for giving God's prophets human-made titles like "Jewish" or "Christian" when they were all commanded to be submitters to God alone:
[3:65] O followers of the scripture, why do you argue about Abraham, when the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? Do you not understand?
[3:66] You have argued about things you knew; why do you argue about things you do not know? God knows, while you do not know.
[3:67] Abraham was neither Jewish, nor Christian; he was a monotheist submitter. He never was an idol worshiper.
[3:93] All food used to be lawful for the Children of Israel, until Israel imposed certain prohibitions on themselves before the Torah was sent down. Say, "Bring the Torah and read it, if you are truthful."
[3:94] Those who fabricate false prohibitions after this, and attribute them to God, are truly wicked.
[3:95] Say, "God has proclaimed the truth: You shall follow Abraham's religion - monotheism. He never was an idolater."
[2:139] Say, "Do you argue with us about God, when He is our Lord and your Lord? We are responsible for our deeds, and you are responsible for your deeds. To Him alone we are devoted."
[2:140] Do you say that Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs were Jewish or Christian? Say, "Do you know better than God? Who is more evil than one who conceals a testimony he has learned from God? God is never unaware of anything you do."
In conclusion, Monotheism has been preached by all messengers since prophet Noah. The only religion and the only sect divinely approved, authorized and delivered by all of God's messengers and scriptures is Submission to Him Alone. All God's scriptures contain the message of Submission. All God's messengers are submitters. All people of the scripture who believe in God alone and worship God alone are Submitters. In Quran, God's descriptions of the different tribes and people who received the guidance are not in any way an establishment of different sects or religions. They are simply descriptions related to geographical places (Judean Mountains), titles (Messiah/ Christ) or genetic descent (Israel, Judah or Yehudah). However, such titles and descriptions have been abused to create fake, man-made titles for sects and religions that have never been authorized by God.
[22:17] Those who believe, those who are Jewish, the converts, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and the idol worshipers, God is the One who will judge among them on the Day of Resurrection. God witnesses all things.
Peaceful Friday, Salaam and God bless.