Are All Religions Alike? By Parwez - Resurgent Islam

-_._ Are AI! .. Religions -_ ..._.... Alike? _....__ ..__ .. _--_.,._.__ ...._.... 5 ­
knowledge. The Qur'!ln does not recognize as Iman any
belief that is divorced from reason and involves the blind
acceptance of any postulate. It signifies the conviction that
results from full mental acceptance and intellectual
satisfaction, inner contentment and peace.
Kifir: Literally "unbeliever". According to Sura 5, Verse
44, those who do not live by the Laws as revealed in the
Qur' an are Kifirs, the mfidels.
Mu'min: It is the one who accepts the truth in such a
way that it ensures his own peace and helps him to
safeguard the peace and security of the rest of mankind. Al­
Mu'min is one ofthe attributes ofGod Himself.
Muhammad: The name Muhammad, the MJ:ssenger of
AllaJ;, -the last of the series of Rusul -is generally
followed by the salutation "Peace Be Upon Him". As this
("Peace Be Upon Him") is not used in the Qur'!ln, and for
the sake ofbrevity, it is not used as such in this pamphlet; it
has been indicated as PBUH or pbuh. However, it should
be implicitly understood that, as mentioned in Sura Al­
Saaffaat 37, Verse 181, we do convey Peace Upon all the
Messengers ofAllah, and Praise be to Allah, the Originator
and the Creator of t\.~ Universe.
Muttaqi: It is a derivative of the Arabic word Taqwa.
Deviation from the path of right conduct leads man to ruin;
Taqwa helps to keep him on the right path and thus save
him from ruin. In the context of the Qur'!ln, Taqwa
involves not only saving oneself from the forces of
destruction but also stabilizing one's persol\ality through
the preservation and enforcement of the Laws of Allah. To
be more concrete, it means the faithful and efficient
performance of all the duties that Allah has enjoined upon
man through Revealed Guidance. This meaning is wide
enough to include loftiness of character and purity of