Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 7
7 China as God’s own kingdom. There are only two ways to resolve this division and disagreement between religions: either we must hold that there are several gods, or, if God is one, we must prove Him so. Or we must have these conflicting religions replaced by one Teaching. God Is One The world is far advanced now. We do not need to labour over the point that if the world has a Maker, He is and can only be one Maker. The God of Israel, the God of the Hindus, the God of China and the God of Iran are not different. Nor is the God of Arabia, of Afghanistan and of Europe different. Nor is the God of the Mongols and the God of the Semites different. God is one, even as the law to which the world is subject is one law, and the system which links one part of it to another is one system. Science builds itself on the belief that all natural and mechanical changes are expressions of one law. The world has one principle—motion, as the materialistic philosophers assert. Or, it has one Maker. If this is true, expressions like the God of Israel, the God of the Arabs, the God of the Hindus, are meaningless. But if God is one, why should we have so many different religions? Were they the product of the human brain? Was it because of this that every nation and every people worshipped its own God? If these religions were not a human product, why and how came this division between religion and religion? If ever there was reason for this division, was it proper that the division should continue? Religion–Not a Product of Human Imagination As for the question whether these religions were the product of human imagination, the answer is certainly that they were not and this for several reasons: Religions well established in the world reveal some distinguishing features: First, according to all ordinary standards the Founders were men of slender means. They had no power or prestige. Yet they addressed themselves to the great as well as the small and in due course they and their followers rose from a humble to a high position in the world. This proves that they were sustained and supported by a great Power. Secondly, all Founders of religions have been persons highly honoured and valued for the purity of their lives even by those who later, on the announcement of their claims, became their enemies. It is inconceivable that those who did not lie about men, began suddenly to lie about God. The universal acknowledgement of the purity of their lives before the announcement of their claims is proof of the truth of these claims. The Quran stresses this point: I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand? 16