Do all religions lead to Heaven?
"All roads lead to Rome." This maxim is often cited when one wants to figuratively say: "either way you take, you will get to such and such place." Or: "whichever method you follow, you will achieve your goal." But, is this saying applicable to religions? Can one follow any revealed religion, be it Judaism, Christianity or Islam, to win Allah's Pleasure and be admitted to His Paradise, the Ultimate Abode of Infinite Bliss?
Some people mistakenly look at the three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) as three options or alternatives quite tantamount to each other, and take the issue of adopting any of them to be merely that of personal choice. They may base their argument on some points like:
1- All of the three religions have emanated from the same source or authority (i.e. Almighty Allah).
2- They have been revealed to three infallible and trustworthy Prophets, peace be upon them, who were sent to their peoples to convey Allah's Message, and whose followers are in milliards from their times to the present day.
3- They have been sent with almost the same principal teachings or at least with many aspects in common, such as: worshipping One Lord (Allah), being truthful to oneself and to others, helping the needy, giving in charity, loving others, etc.
No doubt, Allah, the Most Exalted, is the Creator of man and all other creatures, and, accordingly, He is the One who best knows what suites a given group of people in a given period of time. The psyches, minds, spirits, and other conditions of people differ from one people to another and change with the course of time within the people itself.
By a close historical investigation, we can discern that the conditions of the people at the time of Prophet Moosa (Moses) peace be upon him, were different in many aspects from those at the time of Prophet 'Eesa (Jesus), peace be upon him. Similarly, the conditions of the people at the time of these two Prophets were different from those of the people at the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Since a religion is, in fact, a comprehensive code of life (both here in the worldly life and the life to come), and since the recipient of this code is man (with his various conditions in terms of time and place), then it is so much logical that Allah, the Creator, sends Messages that take these differences into consideration.
In the field of education, a well-known principle is the gradation of the material being taught. Thus, the syllabus given to the pupils of the first class of the primary school is definitely different from that of the second class. Similarly, the syllabus of the primary school altogether is different from that of the secondary school, and so on. No sane person may ask: "why are not primary or secondary pupils directly given college syllabuses in order to have engineers and doctors so quickly, instead of passing through a long and money-consuming process?"
Allah Almighty revealed the Torah as a Book of guidance for the people of Moosa in particular, for a given duration. The same thing is applicable to the Bible (gospels revealed to Prophet 'Eesa, peace be upon him), but it is not applicable to the Quran. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was sent to all mankind with no limitations in terms of time and place. Allah, the Most Exalted, says (what means):
"And We (Allah) have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not." [Quran 34:28]
Narrated Jabir Ibn Abdillah, may Allah be pleased with him: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him said, 'I have been given five things which were not given to any amongst the Prophets before me….' Among these five things is '…and every Prophet used to be sent to his nation exclusively but I have been sent to all mankind.'" [Al-Bukhari]
Judaism and Christianity have been two successive introductory steps prior to Islam, the final Message. The main common thing among the three religions [before the interpolations made in the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT)] is the call to worship One Lord (Allah), which is the crux of the three religions.
In the OT, Prophet Moosa, peace be upon him, commanded his people (Jews) saying: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” [Deuteronomy 6:4].
The same commandment was also made by Prophet 'Eesa, peace be upon him, in the NT, saying to his people (Christians): “...The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.” [Mark 12:29].
Yet, the main points of difference between the OT and the NT on one hand, and the Quran on the other, are:
1- The OT / NT were revealed to specific people for a specific period of time, while the Quran was revealed to be a constitution for all mankind everywhere and everywhen.
2- The Quran is miraculous and inimitable. No man can produce even one verse similar to its verses. Through a verse in the very Quran, Allah challenges all Jinn and mankind to do that, saying (what means):
"Say (O Muhammad): 'If the mankind and the jinn were together to produce the like of this Quran, they could never produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another." [Quran17:88]
3- The Quran is the last Book revealed, which means that it is dominant over the previous Scriptures. It confirms the previous ones (in their origins) but abrogates their rulings, being the last Command.
4- The OT and NT have sustained much alteration and distortion, while the Quran is preserved by Almighty Allah Who says (what means): "Verily, it is We (Allah) Who have sent down the Reminder (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)." [Quran 15:9]
In light of all of the above, Islam is the only religion accepted by Allah, as He says (what means): "And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [Quran 3:85]
Some may raise a question like: "If only the last revealed religion (Islam) is to be accepted by Allah, then why did He ever reveal two religions before it? Why didn't He reveal one religion to be the only valid one and thus all people would be unified in one religion?"
The answer to first part of the question is the above-mentioned example of the gradation of educational syllabuses, while the answer to the second part is Allah's saying (which means):
"And had Allâh willed, He could have made you (all) one nation, but He sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. But you shall certainly be called to account for what you used to do." [Quran 16:93]
I think only God should answer this question. Don't fool yourself by asking it to the one who is much like you..
"You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back."
Newton would say:" You can."
NO.
_______________________________________________________
"You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back."
"winks", heero.
*winks*
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Join NASA or ESA!
My aim is to head for johannum! How can I achieve that?
And by the way, when they came back they all agreed that Earth is heaven and heaven is hell.
So far only NASA managed to send people and probes to heaven!
in my opinion, going to heaven depends on the pureness of one's heart and not on the religion he or she is practising.
I echo your sentiments.
But......it's in the right forum, so I think what is good for the goose etc
"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365
not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the
many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers
were given. Satan - 10."
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
1) For the Muslims who would be interested in this, they are already members of your religion and thus don't need to read this here; in any case, if they do then islam-online.net is a far more appropriate forum
2) Non-Muslims are none of your concern and don't need to have this stuff shoved at them at every opportunity. As i said, it is an act of disrespect. Unless, of course, you will permit us to write columns and articles on why Islam is not a true religion and that Muslims should convert to Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism.
Don't want to read things like that?
No, didn't think you would.
-------------
"let's slip out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini" Mae West
You know what, I think what you've posted on here is a total waste of bandwidth and the heartbeats and eyemuscle movements I used up just reading through it. All you are doing is using one theory to discredit another, then pretending that your chosen theory is somehow fact.
This is not relevant to a forum about living in Qatar. What's more, prosyletising on this website is an act of disrespect - yes DISRESPECT - to those who are not interested in having their own beliefs dragged down in a mass of quotations from the Quran.
Since your end point is basically that 'All Jews and Christians should believe in Muhammad as soon as he comes', then you're clearly not out to unite people in any kind of positive way.
Yet more preaching of the usual 'Islam is superior' diatribe on QL. Why don't you do us all a favour and just delete this kind of rubbish?
Yes - RUBBISH - that's what I said, cos that's what it is. For as long as we allow this discourse to be privileged on this website, by which everyone says nothing and keeps their mouth shut, or else does the usual 'PC - touchy feely oooohhh ahhhhh' about this topic, it is a massive disrespect to every other non-Muslim here.
Guess what - we are sick and TIRED of reading this stuff at every opportunity so can you spare our weary eyes, please?
Thanks.
-------------
"let's slip out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini" Mae West
Thanks all for the replies. Just a few points:
1- I’ve already said that there are many brilliant teachings in common among all the divinely revealed religions. That one should be kind, truthful, loving, helpful, etc is not limited to any of those religions in particular. I am aware of the abundant examples in the Old and New Testaments where Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them, commanded their followers to do virtuous deeds and say good words. And it is true that they both promised the good among their followers to be admitted to God’s Heaven. The Quran records all such things. BUT, part of believing in a prophet is to believe in his miracles and prophecies. So, belief in Moses on the part of the Jews at Moses’ time entails belief in the prophet to come after him- Jesus- for those who will live until the time he comes. Jesus, peace be upon him, came to resume the message conveyed by Moses. Thus, any faithful follower of Moses will no longer be a faithful follower and entitled to heaven unless he believes in Jesus and be his true follower if he witnesses his coming. The same thing is applicable to Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet who came with the final message to all mankind and jinn.
2- Those entitled to Heaven are the true followers of Moses at his time. But they should believe in Jesus as a truthful prophet who came to convey God’s message. This means that all Jews should be Christians at the hands of Jesus. This does never contradict belief in Moses, as they both were sent by the same God, to convey the first two steps of the Infallible Message.
3- All Jews and Christians should believe in Muhammad as soon as he comes. As in the case of Moses and Jesus, Muhammad, peace be upon them all, came with countless miracles for people to verify his honesty and truthfulness. In the same token, all Jews and Christians should become Muslims, given that it is the final religion. This again does not mean disbelief in Moses and Jesus, as believing in them, as well as all the other prophets is a pillar of Islam.
4- Islam encompasses all previous religions, and respects all prophets. Thus to be a Muslim is to be an “inclusive faithful person.”
5- An example to clarify all what has been said above: If the boss in a company issues a set of rules and regulations for the staff to follow. After two years he/she amends some of the regulations, among the work timing. One of the amendments is that work should begin at 7 am instead of 8 am. Can any of the staff keep coming to work at 8 o’clock based on the old regulations? If he/she doesn’t abide by the new regulations and gets fired, is it logical to argue the boss and accuse him of being unjust? ISLAM is the new set of regulations and thus it is, sorry to say it, the only gate to Heaven.
In a nutshell, the only people entitled to heaven are: those who truly followed Moses at his time, those who truly followed Jesus at his time, and those who truly followed Muhammad (peace be upon them all). That is why I heartily suggest to all my brothers in humanity to consider Islam, study it deeply (without passing hasty judgements based on the conduct of those Muslims who misrepresent it due to ignorance or on the biased anti-Islamic media). It is wise to use our reasoning, supporting by the most advanced scientific findings, to probe the Quran, Muslims’ constitution, to get a real understanding about Islam and Muslims. The internet is a golden chance to have some search about Islam and know the way to heaven before death makes it late to do so.
For those interested in doing some search about the authenticity of Islam, please browse the following websites, just as examples:
http://www.islam-guide.com/
http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/frameset.asp
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/
http://www.sultan.org/
Sorry for my long reply.
wish u all happiness
Take care
对上帝是荣耀
that we are experiencing, are part of the greater plan...
the greater plan, that will eventually lead to our awakening...
awakening from all this blinding belief that had caused divisions amongst men, too much pain brought by hatred... seemingly unending sufferings :(
the signs are always there, but we can't see it...
the human belief that had been instilled upon us, had blinded us... for ages.
letting our spirits free... will open up our eyes,
to finally see the real beauty that lies just a blimp beyond our senses...
all we have to do is.... to believe :)
hariibon: wise words
Ayman
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
I think that everyone that does good actions all his/her life will go to Heaven, it's the intention that counts and not the action, Allah ain't elitist.
Ayman
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
is just within us...
we are all part of the living essence that knows no bounds nor religions...
we are what we are, whatever we believe we can concieve and achieve...
human religions hampers our growth, it keeps us from knowing the real truth...
in truth, we are all godlike in every sence of our very existence...
let's set the spirits within us free :)
Do all religions lead to Heaven?
I answer no religions will go to heaven my friend.
Why?
Because if you read James Chapter 1 verse 26, of the Bible King James version it goes like this....
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's RELIGION is vain.
but in my point of view leading to heaven... there is a verse also like this
in John Chapter 14 verse 2, and jump to verse 6
it goes like this....
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (presumed as heaven where Father or Allah resides)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the WAY, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
and there is no such thing as heaven straight after death....some have to wait for the messiah to raise the dead. Not sure if you then go to a 'heaven' or just live an eternal life on earth with the other 'risen'.
"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365
not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the
many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers
were given. Satan - 10."