Salam Tracey.

Thank you very much for your question.

We need first to apologize for our late response to your question. The amount of questions we receive is far beyond the capacity of our team, for many of us are writing voluntary. This is in addition to our different and variable other errands of our daily life. Please accept our apology Ms. Fleming.

Islam teaches that from the beginning of humankind’s presence on the face of the earth, God had been sending His guidance to humanity through His chosen prophets. The first prophet was the first man, Adam, and thereafter, generation after generation, thousands of prophets came to the peoples who inhabited different lands in different periods of history. These prophets include Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

All these prophets of God taught basically the same religion—namely Islam, or a life of complete obedience to the One and Only God though Islam, which Muslims usually mean as the final form of the religion of God as taught by the Last Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam is considered as the last of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Judaism is based on the teachings and the laws of Prophet Moses, while Christianity, in its original form, was based on the teachings of Prophet Jesus. All the three religions have their roots in the teachings of Abraham.

According to Islam, in the course of centuries, the teachings of Moses and Jesus became corrupted or misinterpreted, and the true religion had to be restored by another prophet from God. Thus it was that Muhammad was sent to fulfill and perfect the divine guidance. Islam teaches that while the books revealed to other prophets are not available now in their original form, the Qur’an alone remains in its pristine purity. This was because God had promised that He would protect it from corruption, since it is the last divine message to mankind.

Thus, we can say that Islam, as taught by Muhammad, is a continuation and culmination of the religion of God taught by all the prophets of God. Originally, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were the same religion. As time passed, the earlier religions were obscured or distorted, and hence the differences that we see among them today.

And Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught the people the Book of God, called the Qur’an, and instructed them as to how they should lead a life in submission to God. The details of that guidance, exemplified in the life of this Last Prophet, are called the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Qur'an and the Sunnah together form the foundation of Islam; it is on this foundation that Islam stands.

The major distinction of Islam—according to Muslims—is that it is the perfected form of the other two religions and that it is meant for the whole of humanity. Muslims see that the earlier religions were not meant for all humanity: Judaism and Christianity were addressed to the Children of Israel alone. All the true followers of the prophets of old were “Muslims” (those who submitted to God peacefully) because they lived a life of submission to God alone.

In this sense, all the pious Jews were Muslims. When Jesus came to them saying he was the expected Messiah foretold in their Torah, some Jews followed him and they were later called Christians. And the Christians who followed Jesus the prophet of God, were also “Muslims, because they worshipped none but the One God.

And then came Muhammad; in answer to the prophecies in the Jewish and Christian books of the Bible. And those Jews who recognized in Muhammad “the prophet-like-Moses,” prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, followed him. The same was true of the Christians who saw that Muhammad was “the Comforter” foretold in the Gospel of John 16:5-15 (as well as in Deuteronomy). They became the followers of Muhammad, peace be on him.

Thus, those who persistently refuse to listen to the call of the Last Prophet are in the wrong. But only Allah knows what judgment is waiting for them. This is because many misinterpret the clear prophecies in their own scriptures and turn away from the guidance of God brought by His Last Prophet.

If they care to examine whether Muhammad answers to the description of the expected “prophet-like-Moses” and of “the Comforter” mentioned in their own Books, they can see the truth of the completion of God’s religion in the Last Prophet, but most of them do not do so.

The Qur’an is clear about one point, that Allah will not punish any one unjustly; that He will not do even the least bit of injustice:

*{The word changes not before Me, and I do not the least injustice to My servants.}* (Qaf 50:29)

The Justice of Divine Judgment

Born Muslim…Born Non-Muslim

Who Will Go to Heaven?

Is Being “Good” Enough?

Fate of Non-Muslims

Fate of People After Death

Muslims' Duty: Judge People or Convey the Message?