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Our Findings are as follows:
- All revelations guide man to believe in the
Supreme Power, the Originator of the Divine Law; a belief that may free him
from devotion to any false life and relate him to the divinity within and
around
- All revelations guide man to believe in the continuation of life, and
to focus on the spiritual growth while on earth
- All revelations guide man to relate his activities on earth to his
ultimate goal(s) of existence, and to face earthly challenges. All
revelations relate between how man approaches his earthly activities and his
inner gains to realize spiritually fruitful life. He should train himself
to make all his feelings and actions stemming from his higher Self and not
the lower self. The shared moral codes of not lying, stealing, killing, cheating,
envying…etc. empower the higher Self. All revelations call for love, cooperation,
forgiveness, honoring father and mother…etc to support man in his way to develop
spiritually.
- All religious practices are vehicles to purification and spiritual
growth.:
- to spend some time away from daily activities and link oneself with
the Supreme Power. (This is the core of prayer and meditation)
- to try to communicate with the divine part within by stopping the desires
of the body for some time. (This is the core of fasting)
- to love others as oneself and express that love by helping the needy,
thanking God that one is given that opportunity, and never credit oneself
for that action or display superiority over others. (This is the core of
all charity and almsgiving)
- to link oneself with a higher source of guidance. (This is the core
of the guidance to follow a guru or to believe in a prophet)
- Islam as revealed by Prophet Muhammad elaborated the basic concepts that
are shared and continued among all revelations. Some remarks are mentioned
in brief herein, but they will be discussed in detail in the following points
identified for research. The following are some of the elaborated concepts:
- Islam revealed many aspects of the Divine Law and man's relation
with the Unseen. It clarified that according to the Divine Law, man
has a special place within the universe. There should be no contradiction
between spiritual growth and fulfilling one's earthly needs. This harmony
between earth and heaven within man is an obvious characteristic of Islamic
teachings. Man is the only creature on earth that can mature spiritually
through his attempts to fulfill his needs on earth if he takes the right
orientation. What differentiates between him and other creatures is his
potential awareness of the divine and his responsibility to ensure his own
spiritual development. Otherwise, he may violate the law of the spiritual
growth and destroy himself. Islam, hence, encourages man to work his personal
will. It is up to man to choose his way either to spiritual growth and salvation
or to spiritual disintegration and destruction.
- Islam reveals that God's Grace, which by definition cannot be
controlled or taken for granted, stands behind man's success in his struggle
on earth. Appreciating God's grace helps man to resist his egoistic tendency,
since he will not attribute his achievements to his cleverness as much as
to God's support. This Understanding empowers man to work harder so that
he may expose himself to that Divine Grace. Since nothing is guaranteed,
faith in the Unseen Power reinforces his feeling of modesty, increases his
yearning to his creator, and purifies his heart.
- While all revelations share the fact that they provide man with rites
and exercises to support him in the process of purification, Islam introduces
rituals that harmonize with man's life in a wonderful way. There is a continuous
rhythm between the movement of moon around the earth, the earth around itself,
and around the sun, and the timing of rituals. Prayers cut across daily
activities according to the rotation of earth around itself confronting
the sum. These five prayers may embrace daily activities with an aura of
holiness. The Lunar Month of fasting Ramadhan penetrates the year and it
is meant to transform man's life during the rest of the year to be devoted
to Allah. With the same underlying logic, Hajj is supposed to be done at
least once during man's life, turning man's whole life to a sacred one.
While prayers in all revelations depend mainly on wording or complete silence,
in Islam the movements of the body during prayers convey meanings and symbolize
the way that man takes to relate himself to the Holy. Directing one's face
to the House of God Ka'aba reveals that there is a Center on earth around
which seekers of truth may be directed
- Islam also suggested a comprehensive system of living in which every
moment in man's daily life might contribute to his spiritual growth. On
the individual as well as on the societal level, Islam guides people to
behave according to ethical rules and humane principles. It is not a matter
of the detailed teaching that was given about all aspects of life, politically,
economically, socially, culturally, environmentally, or educationally that
counts. It is the fact that Islam derives its order to be in harmony with
the divine law in all its manifestations. Islam did not only reveal the
basic frame of reference according to which human life may be fruitful,
it also provides the way to maximize man's spiritual and earthly achievements
so that man can fulfill his mission and attend his goal as a vicegerent
of God. Islam does not fix modes of behavior, rather it is concerned with
general principles. It suggests ways for putting those principles into practice
leaving the door open for man's creation of other models with no limitations.
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General Conclusion:
Since all revelations share the basic concepts. We can safely say that there
is One Primordial Religion
that was revealed to man gradually and it was confirmed and complemented by
the Revelation of Prophet Muhammad.
To awaken the humankind to the fact that there is one primordial religion and
to make them understand that that religion is meant to guide them to live a
fruitful peaceful and enjoyable life may change the world communities' relationship.
Affiliates to the world religions would have mutual respect. They will come
to know that any hostile attitude towards others' religions violates their own
religious teachings.
They can see for themselves that rigidity, prejudices, conflicts, feelings
of superiority, and attempts to make one revelation prevail by force over others
are outcomes of ignorance of the original guidance of their religion. Believing
that there is One Religion that is expressed in different ways may raise mutual
exchange of ideas and experiences. This enriches the understanding of each individual
religion's teachings without need to conversion from one religion to another.
Islam as revealed by Prophet Muhammad can enrich the humanity understanding
of how to realize a balanced, harmonized life.
Our objective is that all of us, the followers of all revelations, discern the
shared concepts and live according to them even if each adherhis own religion
and keeps the values of his own culture. If we did, we would be able to solve
our global problems together. There would not need to have conflicting cultures.
We would transcend our differences without destroying the beauty of each culture's
uniqueness. Nature teaches us that diversity does not contradict with
unity. Within the flower family, there are numerous kinds, and even in the same
tree, leaves may look similar but they are different for the meticulous observer.
As human, we have different colors, languages, and ethnic origins, but we all
share that fact that we are human. Our physical needs are similar, so are our
spiritual needs. Therefore, all revelations with different names came to fulfill
those needs. They are one in essence that we call Primordial Religion, Koran
called that Religion Islam. We all belong to that One Religion.
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