WHAT IS RELIGION?

1. What is religion?
   Religion means a particular system of faith and worship. When we believe in something strongly and firmly, we say it is my religion.
   A true Muslim is one who follows the teachings of Islam at all times. If we are true Muslims then we should follow the laws of Islam in and outside our home, i.e. in classroom, in playground, in mosque , on streets and where ever we are. The word ‘Deen’ is used for religion. But Deen is much more comprehensive in its magnitude than Religion. Thus, our Deen is Islam which is more than a Religion.
   Unlike other religions which are confined to worship only, Islam offers:
   a complete code of life.
   a code of behavior.
   a perfect system of social interactions.
   a full constitution of government.
   a balanced curriculum of comprehensive education.
   a right approach to conscious scientific exploration
   
   
2. Is religion necessary?
   There are many people in this world who do not believe in religion. They think that religion is not necessary. They give some baseless arguments in support of their assumption. For instance, they say;
   1. Man knows what is good and what is bad for him. So he does not need any prophet to
   teach him.
   2. There are many different religions in this world with entirely different teachings and
   contradictory concepts. Interestingly enough, all religions proclaim that they alone have
   all the truth while others are wrong. How can it be true?
   3. Religion does not allow us to enjoy life.
   
   Let us analyze the contents of each argument one by one.
   1. It is true that Allah (swt) has given man marvelous brain which can identify good and bad.
   But still we find that people greatly differ in their judgment about good and bad things. Moreover, human brain has certain limits beyond which it cannot perceive.
   We can know by scientific explorations what is happening on Moon, Mars, and in all other planets. But we can never know by any sophisticated technology the facts of grave and burzakh, and the events that will occur in the hereafter. For all such information, we need a prophet who has direct communication with Allah(swt), The Lord of the Universe. Thus, undoubtedly men are intelligent beings but they cer tainly need the help of prophets in almost every field of knowledge.
   Human intellect is not sufficient to discover all the realities of the universe. The true religion teaches us all those things which no one can discover by his efforts.
   
   2. It is true that there are many different religions with different teachings and none of them are true except one.
   The true religion can be discovered by everyone after research. For instance, in market we know both pure and impure, real and artificial, good and defective things are sold by the people. Everyone claims that he has the pure, real and good things which is not always correct. What do we usually do in all such cases ? Do we stop buying things because many are selling impure or defective things and everyone is claiming that he alone has the best and pure things ? Not at all. We make all possible efforts to find the shop which is selling the right things. Similarly if one realizes the impor tance of religion, he or she can identify the true religion after research and studies.
   
   3.The third argument is also not correct.The true religion makes our life full of pleasure.
   Many chronic diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and heart problems are making human life miserable. No one can enjoy life with fear that he can be the next victim of any of these killing diseases. But the true followers of the true religion have no fear. They know that life in this world is temporary and ultimately they have to leave this world for another permanent world.
   The true religion tells us many things which we can never know from any other source. For instance, Islam gives us correct answers of the following difficult questions :
   Who has created the universe ?
   Who has created the millions of types of living species ?
   Who has made humans superior over all the creatures?
   Why has He created us ?
   No one can know how the universe and every thing in it has come into existence. What scientists tell us about the origin of the universe and the living creatures is their guesswork. This is the reason that there are many different theories in science with entirely different explanations. For instance, Big-bang theory, Steady state theory, and theory of evolution give different stories about the existence of the universe. Until today, no scientist can say with certainty that he really knows about the origin of the universe and life.
   But the holy Quran tell us very clearly about the origin of the universe.
   “He (Allah) created the heavens and the universe..... He makes the night overlaps the day and the day overlaps the night. He has subjected the sun and the moon to His laws. Each follows the course for a fixed time. Is not He the Exalted in Power - HE Who forgives again and again." (39:5)