How would you respond to these common claims that Muslims make with the intention of trying to show that Islam is true, i.e., the one true religion:
1) “Islam is not a religion in the common and distorted sense, for it does not confine its scope to one’s private life. It is a complete way of life and is present in every field of human existence. Islam provides guidance for all aspects of life – individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, and national and international.”
2) “Islam is named after the action of submitting to God’s command and will and not a person. Other religions are often named after a person or people. For instance, Christianity is named after Christ, Judaism is named after the tribe of Juda, and Buddhism is named after Buddha. Islam is not named after Muhammad because Islam existed before him.”
3)”Islam in its clear and direct way of expressing truth has a tremendous amount of appeal for any seeker of knowledge. It is the solution for all the problems of life. It is a guide toward a better and complete life glorifying in all its phases God, the Almighty Creator and the Merciful Nourisher.”
4) “Islam is the most rational religion. It gives clear code of life.”
5) “Islam is the first and the final religion of mankind.”
6) “Islam is the shortest and broadest road that leads to God.”
Thanks for writing. You ask a great question. This is a subject we as an organization want every Christian to be able to answer. It’s also one that’s so important every person needs to wrestle with this question.
What is the one true religion?
Is it Islam? Is it Christianity? Judaism? Buddhism? Atheism? Hinduism?
For the record I believe Christianity is the one true religion. But that’s not your question. So I will focus on responding to your claims.
Whatever you do, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)
First I will respond to each issue one at a time. At the end I will respond in general and share some helpful tips.
1) “Islam is not a religion in the common and distorted sense, for it does not confine its scope to one’s private life. It is a complete way of life and is present in every field of human existence. Islam provides guidance for all aspects of life – individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, and national and international.”
When people compare worldviews, they need to do a little philosophy first. Before they get going, they need to determine the parameters for the analysis. For example, how will the one true religion be determined? There are any number of ways this question can be answered. And the way in which that question is answered correspondingly affects the conclusion.
To exemplify my point here I will take an absurd set of parameters. One could begin by setting the parameters that the one true religion will be determined by the worldview that allows for a world with maximal quantities of ice cream.
Then whichever worldview allows for maximal quantities of delicious frozen dessert is determined to be the one true religion, or worldview.
As much as I assume you enjoy eating copious amounts of ice cream as I do, these parameters are intentionally absurd. Still my point is illustrated. Before a conclusion can be drawn comparing two worldviews, there needs to be an independent set of parameters that will determine which one is in fact true.
The statement that Islam has answers for every aspect of life and human experience, not just the individual’s inner experience, is a good starting point.
I agree with this assessment. Islam does have answers for every aspect of life; Islam is a worldview. However, it is not unique because it is a worldview. There are other perspectives/religions that make the same claim as well.
So in that sense I would respond by saying, Islam is not the obvious choice for the one true religion based sheerly on the fact that it is a worldview because of the presence of other competing and contradictory worldviews making the same claim, Christianity among them.
2) “Islam is named after the action of submitting to God’s commands and will and not a person. Other religions are often named after a person or people. For instance, Christianity is named after Christ, Judaism is named after the tribe of Juda, and Buddhism is named after Buddha. Islam is not named after Muhammad because Islam existed before him.”
As mentioned above, before one draws a conclusion, set the parameters for comparison. Is the one true religion going to be determined by the one whose name is NOT taken after its founder? If so, then Islam is in contention for the title, though not the only contender. The claim is also true of Hinduism, Atheism, Nones, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Perhaps the claim is made that Islam’s not being named for its founder evidences its eternal nature. Okay, that’s a better argument for Islam being the one true religion. However, the biggest problem with this statement is the massive non-sequitur. It does not follow that Islam has always existed because it is not named for its founder. Those two claims are certainly consistent with each other. They do not contradict each other. However, the evidence fails to justify the conclusion.
3) “Islam in its clear and direct way of expressing truth has a tremendous amount of appeal for any seeker of knowledge. It is the solution for all the problems of life. It is a guide toward a better and complete life glorifying in all its phases God, the Almighty Creator and the Merciful Nourisher.”
This is the first claim that comes close to the point I’ve made twice already. It begins setting forth criteria by which any worldview could be compared. Here the claim under examination is that Islam is the one true religion because it provides knowledge to those who seek. It provides solutions to life problems. It is a guide to a better and complete life.
This is a great start. The next step would be to define the terms concretely. What is knowledge? Solutions to which of life’s problems? What is the good life?
4) “Islam is the most rational religion. It gives clear code of life.”
Again, this is another step closer to defining parameters to compare competing worldviews. The claim here is that Islam is the most logical. This one would be difficult to argue just because of the sheer nature of things about life and this world to which we just don’t have rational answers. The one arguing this point would have a monumental task ahead of him of cataloguing what’s logical, what is not, and then comparing one system against the other. Again, logic would need to be defined as well.
5) “Islam is the first and the final religion of mankind.”
This one is difficult to take seriously. First, scholars of religion do not date Islam as the oldest religion. Second, neither is it the final religion historically. Many other religions have formed since the 8th century. Consider Secular atheism, Baha’i, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or even Falun Gong. Their very existence calls into question the veracity of this claim.
Perhaps then the claim is a spiritual one, not historical. That is to say, it is not the final as in the last religion ever formed-rather it is the last one created that man will ever need. It is sufficient to connect the global brotherhood of humanity with God.
That could perhaps be the case logically. But here again the claim is asserted without justification.
6) “Islam is the shortest and broadest road that leads to God.”
Again, are those the parameters for determining the one true religion? If so, then a discussion could ensue to both evaluate each worldview according to its length to get to God, and its broadness. I would not choose these parameters myself, but one could do so if he wished.
In conclusion, these six statements may perhaps encourage someone who is already Muslim, that their belief is the one true religion-providing further evidence of its internal consistency.
However, the above six claims seem to miss a fundamental distinction important when discussing and determining which worldview among many is the one true worldview, or religion. This is the distinction between knowing and showing.
It is one thing to know a claim to be true. It is yet a different task to show that it is true.
When I teach worldviews as a lecture I conclude with four tests that can be administered to any given worldview and used as a measure to compare how each competing worldview holds up. These test for correspondence, coherency, consistency, and comprehensiveness.
The correspondence test asks how well does this worldview correspond with what I perceive of the world? How directly does it correspond with reality?
Islam’s teaching God created the world makes sense to me. This explains beautifully why there is something rather than nothing. However, Islam does not provide a satisfying answer to man’s greatest need.
Islam and Christianity agree that man is divided from God, separated. Both religions desire reunion with God. Islam teaches this is possible through submission. The Arabic word for Islam can also be translated “submission.”
Christianity teaches that submission to God is impossible to do perfectly. Both Muslims and Christians would agree. Mankind is in a broken, fallen, sinful, imperfect state. Islam’s answer to man’s problem is essentially, try hard and hope God is merciful because sometimes He isn’t. In that way Allah appears to me capricious.
Islam doesn’t correspond to reality in a really important way. It provides no satisfying answer for what to do with Man’s sin. It provides no means to reconcile imperfect men to a perfect, holy, and sovereign God.
Only the gospel provides that. This is why the gospel is such good news. This is why the gospel is so important.
The second worldview analysis test is coherency. This test evaluates a worldview’s logic. This test asks whether it is rational or reasonable. Does it pass the sniff test? Or does it seem patently off?
Islam doesn’t fare well with this test when we examine its treatment of women. The Qur’an states that Allah is merciful. But if wives are disrespectful to their husband, according to Surah 4 husbands are allowed to withhold sex from them. The Qur’an even commands husbands to beat them.
In Saudi Arabia women could not drive for nearly two decades. They allowed it legally just a few years ago in 2019. Islam’s track record with women is not coherent. How can one gender have so much more value than another if both are human creations under Allah? How can a husband be allowed to beat his wife-the one he’s devoted his life to loving and protecting?
A third test for consistency, asks how consistent the tenets of this worldview are with themselves. Does this worldview contain contradictory teachings or beliefs?
Surah 109:6 regarding how to relate to disbelievers, “Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.” The Qur’an states many times that Allah is peaceful, merciful, and forgiving. How then can He justify the systematic killing of disbelievers as ordained in Jihad (surah 2:216)? Islam has a massive consistency problem. Is it a religion of peace or of the sword? The fact that an objective outside observer cannot tell is a serious consistency problem.
Lastly the comprehensive test asks the question, How well does this worldview explain everything altogether? It takes into consideration how well it answered the above three questions, and other important considerations.
For my final analysis I would bring in outside evidence. The evidence for the reliability of the Bible is absolutely unrivaled by any other book from antiquity, Qur’an included. The miracles recorded in the New Testament authenticate the authority of Jesus’s teaching. The fulfillments of prophecy recorded in Scripture are incredible.
Muhammad’s record of bringing peace to the Saudi peninsula in the 7th century is a sad tale of power, bloodshed, politics, and let’s face it, hatred. When all the evidence is considered, Islam has problems with the worldview tests. Christianity raises difficult questions, but has really good, historically grounded, spiritually satisfying answers to all of them.
You might check out this excellent article on our website about worldviews. [probe.org/worldviews/]
You might also check out an excellent historical study, on our website, comparing the lives of Jesus and Muhammad. [probe.org/the-lives-of-muhammad-and-jesus/]
I hope this helps.
Paul Rutherford
Posted Sept. 29, 2023
© 2023 Probe Ministries
Paul Rutherford
Paul Rutherford was on staff with Probe from 2008-2023 after earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy and religious studies from Rice University. His areas of interest include philosophy of religion, world religions, and faith and culture. He now serves with East West Ministries. Paul can be reached at [email protected].
What is Probe?Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.
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