7. THE RELIGION’S NAME
Another evidence that Islam is the true religion can be identified by the meaning of the word “Islam” itself. Basically, the word ‘ Islam ‘ is an Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience. As a religion, Islam has two meanings; general and specific. Islam in general, refers to the religion which God revealed to all prophets: The worship of God alone (Monotheism) and the avoidance of Paganism. This explains why in the Quran all prophets call themselves Muslims. However, the word Islam also specifically refers to the religion that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him). None of the ‘previous religions’ were given specifically their name by God, except for this last religion – Islam.
Islam was not named after a person or a group of people, nor was it decided upon by later generations of humans. Indeed, the name Islam was given by God Himself as is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an in many verses (e.g. “Indeed, the only religion accepted by Allah is Islam.”[3:19]). On the other hand, Christianity was named after Jesus Christ (by its followers), and Judaism after the tribe of Judah. However, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible that the religion of the followers of Prophets Isaac and Moses and their descendants is called Judaism, or that the religion of the followers of Christ11 is called Christianity. In other words, the names ‘Judaism’ and ‘Christianity’ had no divine origin or approval. It was not until long after Jesus’ departure that the name Christianity was given to the religion of those claiming to be his followers. The same applies for Buddhism, which was named after Gautama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, Marxism after Karl Marx, and Hinduism after the Hindus and so on.
by Majed S. Al-Rassi
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