Is Islam Different to Other Religions?

So if Prophet Muhammad brought the same message as the prophets before him, why is Islam different from other religions?

Actually, it isn’t.  All divinely inspired religions were sent to spread the same teachings of faith and morality, although the legalistic aspects have differed from time to time, depending on human circumstances.  The Qur’an teaches that it was God’s final revelation sent to complete – not to replace – prior religions; this concept is sometimes known as “progressive revelation”.^[4] It is believed that God allowed humanity to develop to the point it did before revealing His final word because only at that time did humanity have the capacity to preserve and proclaim His final world without alteration.

The Qur’an discusses many subjects, ranging from God, history, the soul, the Hereafter, spirituality, morality, and religious law.  Like the Old Testament, it was revealed in a Semitic language – specifically, Arabic.  In its original language, it is unmatched in terms of eloquence, and its very literary style is taken as proof of its divine origin since no one yet has been able to produce anything similar to it (although many have tried).^[5] It also refers to many scientific facts that were unknown during the time of Prophet Muhammad and only became known in the past two centuries; these references are also taken as further proof of its divine origin.  Although it has been translated into many languages, translations of the Qur’an are not considered to be equivalent to the original text since the original text is the word of God, whereas translations are the word of man.  It is worth noting that while skeptics may claim that Prophet Muhammad wrote the Qur’an himself, it certainly did not come from him personally, since his own recorded words have a style far different from that of the Qur’an.  In addition, Prophet Muhammad never received any education and was never known to have read or written anything.  That too is taken as a sign of the divine origin of this religious book.

The most fundamental question that the Qur’an answers is “Who is God?” The Qur’an teaches that God is unique and matchless.  He existed before creating the universe and will continue to exist forever.  He created everything in its best possible form, and all of creation – animate or inanimate – praises Him in its own unique way.^[6] He honoured human beings with intellect and free will so that we would use these capacities to come to know Him. Although his might and power is infinite, He is also closer to our own souls than anything else.^[7] He provides for us and loves us even more than parents love their children.. God responds to all of our prayers, although not always in the ways that we expect.  He does not commit the slightest injustice.^[8] While He has the power to punish us, He has promised to forgive us our sins if we sincerely regret and try to make amends.  He is above being manifested in earthly form and does not have a son or a partner.  He sent our souls to this world to be tested and developed, and, in the Hereafter, he will judge us according to our intentions and our actions and send us to Heaven or Hell.