Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 9
~ 9 ~ the current practices of that nation. (That is, if any fault is found among a people then the blame for this should not be attributed to a Prophet, but their own corrupt practices). We should be certain that the Prophet whom God Almighty has graced with the honour of acceptance by millions, and whose acceptance has continued for centuries, is thus firmly proven to be from Allah. If he were not the beloved of God, he would not have achieved so much respect. It is not the practice of God to grant honour to a fabricator, to spread his religion among millions, and to safeguard the fabricated religion for a long time. ''Therefore, a religion which spreads in the world, takes root, and finds honour and long life, cannot at all be false in its origin. Therefore, if anything in that teaching is found objectionable, it can either be because (the Promised Messiah as listed three reasons why various religions are prone to criticism in the current age). (Firstly) the teachings of that Prophet have been altered, (that is, the teachings of the Prophet are changed). (Secondly) or because a mistake has been made in the exposition of his teachings (that is, false exegeses are made). (Thirdly) it is also possible that we may not be justified in our objections. (That is, people readily object to that which they don’t even understand. For example,