The message of Islam is the final divine message given to mankind. It applies to all people, in all communities, and to all future generations. It is God’s final testament, outlining His guidance and showing the way He wants human beings to follow. Those who reject it or refrain from implementing it lose all the benefits that it is certain to bring.
A question may arise as to earlier messages, which Islam confirms to have been given by God Almighty, such as those of Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). The answer is simple: in their original forms, these messages were true and provided light and guidance. Those who followed them in their pure, unadulterated forms will have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgment. However, human beings introduced into these messages what does not belong to them and thus distorted them. God revealed the message of Islam and guaranteed that the Qur’an shall be preserved intact for the rest of time. Therefore, it provides the only point of reference for those who wish to know what God wants from mankind and how they should conduct their lives in order to earn His acceptance.
This is clearly stated by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Jabir ibn Abdullah reports that Umar asked the Prophet: “We hear certain things from the Jews which we admire. Do you think that we should write some of these?” The Prophet said: “Are you to rush into wrong like the Jews and the Christians did? I have delivered it (i.e. God’s message) to you clear, without any blemish. Had Moses been alive today, he would have had no option other than to follow me.” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Baghawi).
This Hadith is not related by the leading scholars, other than Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Yet it has several versions with the same import, which support the assumption that it is authentic. Anyway, the message it gives is correct. Islam is the most complete and final form of the divine message. It does not differ from earlier messages in its essential principles, but it puts them at their best. Therefore, those who follow these earlier divine messages are required to follow Islam. Needless to say, this applies to those of them who are alive. Those who have died will be accountable for their deeds before God, like all human beings. He will judge everyone according to his unfailing justice. Even the prophets entrusted with earlier messages would have had to follow Prophet Muhammad, had they been alive when he preached his message.
Yet people will always have different attitudes toward the message delivered by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He himself has described these attitudes in the following Hadith, reported by Abu Musa Al-Ashari: “I will cite an example showing what God has entrusted to me of guidance and knowledge. It is all like heavy rain falling over a large area of land. Parts of that land absorbed the water and produced much vegetation and plants. Other parts were barren, but retained the water. God thus enabled people to benefit by it, having it to drink and to give to their animals and to use it for irrigation. Others still were bottomless that could not retain any water and could not support the growth of grass and animal feed. This is comparable to a person who learns God’s message and become well versed in the divine faith. He will benefit by the message God sent me to deliver, learning and teaching it. The other parts are like the one who remains indifferent to the divine message and rejects God’s guidance that I have been sent to deliver.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
This is an illustrative example that the Prophet gives of people’s attitude to the guidance he has provided. It shows that following this guidance will bring great benefits to the people who follow it and to humanity at large, in the same way as the fertile land that absorbs the water to produce all types of plants, or the land that retains the water for mankind to use. The benefit of such lands is widespread. Likewise is the person who follows the Prophet’s guidance: the benefit reflects on those who are around him.
What the Prophet has given us is the Qur’an, which is God’s word bestowed on him from on high, and his Hadith and Sunnah, which is also a divine revelation expressed in his own language. The Hadith refers to his statements, while the Sunnah includes his practices. Whatever he taught by word or action is thus part of his Sunnah. Some of it may sometimes be neglected or allowed to die down. Therefore, scholars need to inform people of it so that they will revive it. The Prophet is quoted by Bilal ibn Al-Harith as saying: “Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that had been neglected shall have a reward equivalent to the total reward granted to all who act on it, without diminishing their own reward in anyway. Whoever invents something that displeases God and His Messenger shall have the same liability to punishment as all those who practice it, without diminishing their own liability in any way.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah). The same message is given in a Hadith with different wording and related by Muslim, which adds to the authenticity of this Hadith.
This Hadith provides strong encouragement to follow the Prophet’s guidance and to revive it when it is neglected. At the same time, it warns against inventing anything and introducing it as part of religion when it is at variance with the Prophet’s guidance. Indeed, we must always make sure that whatever we do is in line with what the Prophet has taught. If not, then we cannot give it any religious sanction. Otherwise, we will be liable in the way the Prophet has outlined.
