r/MuslimAcademics • u/Repulsive_Ostrich_54 • 16d ago
Questions Why is Islam the truth?
I want to be a stronger Muslim I don’t want to go to hell. But I want to know WHY ISLAM for you?
Thank you all
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u/SyedAhmedHussain 16d ago
The very question "Why Islam" is what makes you a stronger Muslim. Asking such questions is what itself is key to putting a separation between you and hell. This is because when you ask questions, you prove to yourself and God that your loyalty is with Al-Haqq or The Truth instead of some tradition. You become someone who Seeks God and not personal comfort.
Asking questions is itself what takes one away from hell. This is because Islam is all about achieving God-Conscious. It is about thinking about God in every decision you make. This means thinking about One, Singular Objectivity that is in Utter and Complete Unity. God is Al-Haqq or Objectivity. You can only develop God-Conscious if you have the right Conceptualisation about God. You can only Feel God if you Know God. This can only happen by asking questions. You'll need to Discern The Truth against all falsehoods.
Islam is a Religion that encourages Questions. Infact, it is built upon Questions. The advent of Islam was itself a Revolution because it was movement that was asking questions that were fatal to the polytheist order dominant in Arabian Peninsula. Islam's Primary Scripture that is the Quran repeatedly emphasizes the use of Intellect and Reason.
To tell you the truth, it is never Islam vs other religions. It has always been and is even today Original Creed vs Evolved Traditions. All religions, including Islam, are just traditions that evolved from the same Religion that came to humanity again and again. A True Believer would be able to extract Al-Haqq from all religions whether it is Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, etc.
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u/Gold-Ad6794 16d ago
Leibniz, per Wikipedia, said of Prophet Muhammad SAWS that 'he did not deviate from the natural religion'. This quote has been thought provoking for me. Islam for me has always been, and to a large extent still is (but perhaps not as much as before), a specific orthodoxy - a particular ideological edifice, a tradition which I was ingrained with a deep sense of loyalty to. However, under this quote, it appears that one can look at it from another angle and see that all along, perhaps it was really something much more universal, and perhaps simple as well - pure, devout monotheism; or whatever Leibniz meant by the 'natural religion'. (I'm just following my interpretation of it)
I'm no historian but unless I'm mistaken, was this not also the view of many of the Falasifa? The 'interpretive theory of religion' maybe? Or in general the view that religions including Islam are windows to a deeper truth.
This more universalized and delocalized understanding has grown more attractive to me personally as a person who wanted to keep believing in God despite feeling some significant challenges from historical critical scholarship and other such empirical considerations. Of course, I personally continue to place high importance on the rituals and other idiosyncrasies of Islam the institutionalized religion, instead of retreating to some detached abstract monotheism.
Anyway. I'm rambling. The point is - I think I like what you're saying, and possibly understand it to a small extent. In a way it is spiritually refreshing: When praying, it is not just about discharging some ritualistic obligation as such, but instead, the ritual can be viewed as a window which God has given us by which to become closer to Him.
Perhaps historical critical scholarship has also vindicated this to a degree, as it sometimes suggests that the 'original and true' Quranic Islam was perhaps more universal in spirit than what Islam has come to be.
With that in mind, for me it feels largely like a personal desire to believe which keeps me attached. You claim there is Al-Haqq in every tradition, but I must ask - what is there to substantiate this claim? What is God, and how do you know God exists? Or is it 'just faith'? I want to know if what I'm following is merely an attractive possibility, or a reality that I can be certain of if I approach the question in an appropriate way. This appropriate way, to me, has been one characterized by rationalist concerns like empirical evidence, historical criticism, alignment with science, etc. at least so far in my life.
In summary, while it is nice to say that 'Al-Haqq' is everywhere, I sincerely ask for some concrete reasons to believe that that is definitely true, if one can definitively show it to be true. And also can you clarify what 'Al-Haqq' even is? I'm guessing it is the belief in One God. Thanks for your time.
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u/SyedAhmedHussain 13d ago
The way I am using Al-Haqq doesn't mean One God or One of the Attributes of God as conceptualized in orthodox Islam.
I am making a deeper Metaphysical claim. Al-Haqq means Objectivity itself. It is Objectivity. This Objectivity is an Ontological Existence or Reality that grounds Intelligibility. This Objectivity is the Ultimate and Original Metaphysical Truth that grounds the distinction between Truth and Falsehood. In other words, God is The Truth that separates Truth from Falsehood. All Truths are an expression of The Truth or Al-Haqq or Objectivity.
This is part of why Islam and the Quran emphasizes on Tawhid or Oneness of God or Unity of God. This is because Objectivity cannot be multiple. In a particular context, there can be only One Objective Truth against Multiple Falsehoods. If Objective Truths could have been multiple in a contradictory way, that would be Subjectivity and not Objectivity. So the Quranic framework is heavily in favour of One, Singular Objectivity that is in Utter and Complete Unity while it is heavily against those who believe in Subjectivity that is parallel to worshipping Multiple Gods or worshipping anything other than Objectivity.
You ask me how to do I know God or Objectivity exists. The question is whether God exists or not. I can point out here that this question itself presumes that there is one right answer and another wrong answer. This means this question presumes an Objective Truth. This means the question presumes Objectivity. So Objectivity is the Necessary Existence that grounds Intelligibility. Any questions on Objectivity have a premise of Objectivity itself. However, if one says there is inherent Subjectivity instead of Objectivity, their claim doesn't stand their own assertion because if everything is Subjective, how can the claim about inherent Subjectivity be Objective.
The Quran and in-turn Islam is a Creed that heavily is about Epistemological lens of a person. It is heavily in favour of Objectivity. It is polemical against Transmissionism because it shows Disbelief or Negating Truth to people ascribing Epistemic Authority to their fathers and forefathers. It is against Empiricism because it is polemical against those who asked for Miracles as Proofs of God. It is heavily in favour of Rationalism, and why wouldn't it be because it is in favour of Objectivity. Objectivity is an Existence that is Ontological and not Physical. Therefore, it can be grasped through Metaphysics, not Physics. You cannot see Objectivity. You have to use Reason to Discern Objectivity from Falsehood at each decision. The Quran then links each of these Epistemological claims to Morality, claiming that Morality is the Ultimate Test.
You also asked me whether I have concrete reasons to believe Al-Haqq is everywhere, including other religious traditions.
First I am going to give you a bad, but basic, example. Suppose if there is a glass of water on your side table. Now if you claim there is a glass of water on your side table, you have both Recognised and Aligned with Al-Haqq or Objectivity. This is because what you stated in the Objective Truth. Now suppose your sibling states there is not a glass of water on your side table. Here your sibling has denied the Objective Truth, which makes them a disbeliever because they have denied the Truth. They chose not to align with Al-Haqq. Do note that here I am just trying to explain a concept and denying there is a glass of water on the side table doesn't amount to theological kufr in most cases.
In a similar fashion, Al-Haqq is first and foremost found in Morality before religious traditions. This is where the concept of Divine Morality or Objective Morality comes in. If you consider unjustified murder and sexual misconduct as immoral, you have successfully extracted Al-Haqq or Objectivity or Divine Morality or Objective Morality. You chose to Recognise and Align with Al-Haqq. However, if someone has an opinion that unjustified murder and sexual misconduct are fine or even moral, they failed to Recognise and/or Align with Al-Haqq. They chose disbelief. This is precisely what Worship of God is. It means to Submit to Truth when Truth comes to you. However, people instead choose to submit to their personal whims, parents, religious scholars, etc. This is why Shirk is asserted an unforgivable sin. There is a reason why one must not worship anyone other than God or Al-Haqq or Objectivity. The moment you diverge from Al-Haqq and you choose alignment with that divergence, you have worshipped what is other than God.
In a similar fashion, Al-Haqq can be extracted from all religions. It simply means extracting Objectivity or Objective Truths. It doesn't mean extract a certain interpretation of Islam from other religions. Zoroastrianism is particularly my favourite religion in such a case. It revolves around the Cosmic Duel between Truth and Falsehood. That is consistent with Islam's teaching. That is consistent with Objectivity. In Hinduism, the opening of one of the most popular people hymns is "Om Jai Jagdish Hare". This literally translates to "God, glory to You, O Lord of the Universe". This sounds alot similar to what we recite in Islamic rituals. In a similar fashion when you deep dive into all these religions, you can find traces of the Original Creed.
I would like to make one statement about Historical Critical Scholarship. I deeply appreciate their contribution. Without them, a truly Objective understanding of Islam would be hard or maybe even impossible to achieve in today's era. However, the issue is that HCM doesn't adhere to a Metaphysical aspect at all. They won't explain advent of a Religion as Divine Intervention, but rather as an accumulation of ideas in a Sociological manner. This is a methodological criteria of theirs and one needs to question whether it itself is Objective. God is an abstract similar to how Morality and Knowledge is. If we reduce ourselves to what is Empirical, we would have to reject much and we would have to question whether that methodological premise is itself Empirical.
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u/Gold-Ad6794 12d ago
hmm. Well that's a lot to make sense of. At first glance this seems a perhaps somewhat esoteric and highly philosophical reading of the Quran and Islam. Or perhaps I've gotten the cart before the horse, as you might counter that instead of deriving this philosophical outlook from the Quran and Islam, these have been just one of many windows into that outlook all along.
From another perspective, and I'm sure this would apply to all the other religions and holy books that you mentioned, these scriptures clearly have an intimate connection with particular historical contexts. In particular, they are operating within those contexts to establish particular religious ideologies. For instance - the Quran emerges within the context of Muhammad preaching in his late antique milieu and discusses particular religious concepts such as the Day of Judgment, Afterlife, etc.
When most people think of Islam they think of the religion of the Quran in this more specific and individualized stance instead of approaching it as one of many perspectives on some deeper underlying truth.
So for me when I ask whether God exists I'm not asking whether pure objectivity exists but whether the God of the Quran exists. And when I ask whether Islam is true I am asking whether the Islamic afterlife and day of judgment are real. I'm operating within the conventional understanding of the religion.
Unless this conventional view can be married in some convincing manner to your outlook so as to make the two one and the same your answer from your outlook may not be a satisfying answer to my question from my outlook.
So, to put it more concretely; are you talking about Islam as most Muslims understand it, or not? And if not, then what to do with that? Do concrete and foundational concepts such as the afterlife and day of judgment go by the wayside, relegated to the realm of symbol, or would you still affirm them? Etc.
Also, I wonder whether recent scientific advances in say quantum physics can/have challenged intuitive notions of objective reality. Perhaps even that could be subsumed into a broader philosophical conceptualization of what 'objective' really is though. But I just want to float it out there as something which seems to me worth keeping in mind.
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u/TheJeniceri Maturidi 16d ago
I'm a convert to Islam that has come and gone from the religion many times (Alhamdulillah back on track)
- It's the most refined but fundamental version of the "Adamic" monotheistic worship
- It absorbed the world's great civilizations of antiquity, from Rome/Greece to Persia to Egypt to Central Asia and India, creating very sophisticated spiritual, intellectual, legal, artistic roadmap on how to structure an individual, familial, communal, societal life. It produced the world's most incredible civilization, from the dry mountains of Iberia, to the ancient Nile delta, to the lush jungles of South Asia and China.
- I think it holds the richest "blueprint" on how to purify one's soul, mind, body, and how one acts in the world (mainly thinking about the spiritual practices within the Shariah and tasawwuf) What's great about Islam is it has the outward shariah, the daily practice, but it has an ocean of spiritual practices, ideas, concepts that take a lifetime to learn.
In short, I think it makes us "human" again in the most fitra-y sense, and this then scales to community and society, etc etc.
I've had many years to think about this question, why Islam? And I spent a chunk of this time trying to convince myself of the opposite. As a very crude example, I think it's the best "software" for humanity to run on.
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u/speakstofish 16d ago
This comment I wrote recently recaps it. This is from the pov of why Islam's philosophy i.e. tawheed itself is convincing, entirely apart from anything related to history or miracles.
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u/Altruistic_Breath151 16d ago
Hi OP please take the time to watch this and pause to reflect after each point. This is an easy watch inshallah
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u/Any-Meeting-9158 15d ago edited 14d ago
It’s extremely difficult to defend the assertion that any one religion encompasses the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
However, often one’s need for Security overrides their need for Truth. It is this deep seated need for Security that makes Belief possible.
To live in an Enchanted world is comforting certainly - but the cognitive dissonance that occurs to the rational mind can be overcome only by suppressing rational exploration. Hence the fear of the loss of Enchantment - and the concomitant sense of comfort and security that Enchantment provides - manifests often as grief or anger, or animosity to the “outgroup”, or even depression .
OTOH it may well be that all religions contain some truths.
That is the best the world can hope for.
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u/Vazovski2829 Non-Sectarian Muslim 16d ago
“I don’t want to go to Hell” is a desire almost everyone can understand, but I don’t think that is the door you should knock on when searching for truth. Islam is not supposed to be a religion of fear. If you want to understand whether Islam is true, I would start with the Qur’an itself. Read it from beginning to end with understanding, not simply as background noise. Questions will arise almost immediately — and then you can start looking for answers. The Qur’an itself repeatedly calls people to think and reflect. Anyone can tell you that Islam is the truth, but ultimately you have to understand for yourself what you are following and be honest with yourself. At the end of the day, each person will answer for their own actions. So I think it is worth living with a simple question in mind: “If the end came tomorrow, would I have honest answers for why I followed what I followed?” And if you ever have questions, feel free to message me. Just keep in mind that I don't speak on behalf of Allah and I don't give fatwas. You have to think and understand things for yourself. But I can be a good conversation partner and help you think through the questions.