Reason #52: What’s the big picture with all these world religions?

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As early as our childhood, many of us have been exposed to the major world religions. We heard about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and at least learned the basics. When we took a look at the first three in particular, many of us probably told ourselves the same thing, “These religions are so similar!” All of them preach the existence of One God and they all have Prophets. All three of them, at minimum, believe in the Prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, Joseph, and Moses (peace be upon them all).

Anyone with some curiosity would then wonder, “WHY? Why are they so similar?” It can’t just be coincidence, right? After a little bit of pondering, many conclude that the later religions copied from the previous ones. It sounds like a good conclusion. “This man Mohammad stole from the Bible!” It just makes sense. There’s no other explanation… or is there?

Take a pause and picture this. Humans have been around for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. If God exists and would want to guide people, one possible way is by sending Prophets. These are people, fresh and blood, like anyone else. However, they are of exceptionally high character. They also get inspired by God to preach the truth about the Oneness of God and how to properly live life. Some are even given Scriptures. As we all know, with time, corruption, and people’s desires, any teaching will lose its authenticity and thus, many Prophets were sent throughout time to all kinds of people.

THIS is exactly what Muslims believe. Thus, to a Muslim, Islam is not only 1,400 years old. It has been around since the first Prophet, Adam. Muhammad ﷺ is a Prophet just like the others, but he is the last one. One can respond and say, “That’s just a nice fairy tale. You still aren’t proving that he didn’t copy from the Bible.”

However, if you look into this in depth, you will see how is actually impossible. One, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was illiterate. Two, there were barely any Christians and copies of the Bible around him. Arabia 1,400 years ago was a paganistic and polytheistic society. Three, there are several historical inaccuracies and contradictions in the Bible. If Prophet Muhammad ﷺ copied the Bible, how come those weren’t copied? Take a look at this article – Reason #34: The King during Prophet Joseph’s time is a historical proof for the Quran? Four, there are several scientific facts mentioned in the Qur’an that have only been discovered in modern times. How is that possible?

Lastly, to put it all together, if God did share His teachings to all of humanity, it would only make sense that he put a religion out there that’s well-known and accessible; not a religion that’s only found in one country, or in a remote village in the middle of nowhere. It is something we can all find – if we try! Thus, Muslims say, Islam fits that logic.

Reason #51: Contradictions between science and religions?

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“Science and religion do not go hand in hand.” “Religion contradicts science.” “Religion is about faith, rather than the facts. You just have to believe.”

We have all heard these before. However, did you stop and question why? After all, it is a BIG claim. All religions are being generalized and what scientifically inaccurate statements from each religion allows one to confidently say such a thing?

The truth is, these claims are a projection of our thoughts of the Roman Catholic Church when it had power of Europe for centuries. It is well known that the Church did not have a good relationship with science. It, for example, opposed heliocentrism (the Sun being the center and the planets revolve around it) and instead claimed that the Earth is the center. Thus, the Church opposed people like Copernicus (1473-1543) and Galileo (1564-1642). In fact, Galileo was put on trial and considered a heretic. Also, throughout much of Christian history, Young Earth creationism was a prevalent belief. It states that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, rather than the scientifically backed ~4.5 billion years.

With all the restrictions the Church imposed throughout its existence and denial of clear scientific facts, people started to lose their faith in the Church and subsequently, the religion of Christianity. Take that, along with the Age of Enlightenment, rise of secular ideologies, agnosticism, and atheism, you have the current state of today. Over the recent centuries, the focus became the Theory of Evolution. I recommend reading this article to have a better understanding: Reason #19: Evolution doesn’t disprove existence of God

People in the West got tired of religion and sadly, projected it to all religions that believe in the supernatural. However, if we want to be academic and fair, 1) as mentioned, we have to look into all religions and see which statements are truly scientifically inaccurate and 2) we have to know what is actually true in the world of science. As we know, science is everchanging. What we thought was true or a strong theory yesterday can be disproven today with new data. It has happened before and will continue to happen.

It is important to note that with Islam, there wasn’t a tension between religion and science. In fact, there has been a great harmony. While Europe was in its Dark Ages, the Muslim Civilization was in its Golden Era. From the 8th to the 13th century, countless advancements have been made in medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and more. For Muslims, it is common sense that, like true revelation, science is also from God because He obviously created everything. If God created both revelation and the Universe, logically there just cannot be a contradiction between the two.