Welcome to the 4th weekly episode of the series Mohammad, Radiant Sun of Guidance. In this episode, we become familiar with the most important gift of the Prophet of Islam for mankind, which is belief in monotheism and reliance upon God Almighty in life.

Belief in monotheism is the main pillar of Islamic ideology. Meanwhile, belief in monotheism is manifested in the true essence of the word when it causes a major development in the individual’s approaches and in his personal and social approaches. Belief in God firstly grants mankind a harmonized identity. In other words, the individual, who strongly and wholeheartedly believes in God is only influenced by God’s resolve and prudent demands and is not impacted by deities, while covering a righteous path to achieve a set goal. 

According to the 39th ayah of Surat Yusuf in Holy Quran, Prophet Joseph noted: …Are different masters better, or Allah, the One, the All-paramount?”

The other outcome of belief in God is the liberation of mankind from nihilism and aimlessness. When mankind realizes that God Almighty has not created the world pointlessly, he never falls into the abyss of nihilism. And man always whispers that: “Our Lord, You have not created this world in vain.”

One of the other important and personal impacts of belief in God is peace of mind. Naturally, all human beings, throughout their lives, are exposed to innumerable dangers and vulnerabilities, and have to deal with concerns and crises. In the meantime, man always seeks a safe shelter and refuge to calm down. Holy Quran considers any shelter other than God, as a spider web, which is destroyed with the slightest blow. However, those, who truly believe in God, enter the impenetrable fortress of God in order to attain peace of mind; which is the most reassuring shelter.

The 62nd ayah of Surat Yunus in Holy Quran notes: “Look! The friends of Allah will indeed have no fear nor will they grieve.”

The person who believes in monotheism, maintains a hopeful, vivacious, and dynamic spirit, and finds a purpose in life, because he doesn’t spend his life under the domination of symbols and manifestations of power, wealth, and lust, and doesn’t sacrifice his character for the sake of temporary and worldly interests. He sets his hope on the infinite divine blessings and sees a bright and promising horizon.

97th ayah of Surat al-Nahl in Holy Quran notes: “Whoever acts righteously, whether male or female, should he be faithful, - We shall revive him with a good life and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to do.”

Belief in monotheism, in addition to its personal impacts, gives rise to glittering outcomes in different social domains. The most prominent social outcome of belief in God is the establishment of a monotheistic community. In such a community, belief in God forms the cornerstone of all approaches and developments, and all measures and moves take place based on pure divine incentives. God Almighty sets the behavior of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (Blessing of God upon him and his progeny) as a practical role model. God in the 162nd ayah of Surat al-Anam in Holy Quran, instructs the Prophet: “Say, ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.”

In a monotheistic community, the right of sovereignty and establishment of laws belong to God, who delegates this duty to competent individuals, whose sole motivation and goal is to implement the divine instructions and orders. In such a system, there is no trace of class gap, prejudice, and injustice, and social justice forms the cornerstone of all personal and social approaches.

In the majority of social and political systems, most of the individuals, who enter different scenes, aim to fulfill their own interests, in addition to the interests of their associates. Meanwhile, many of those, who enter election campaigns, pretend to maintain people’s interests, and to defend people’s rights by chanting appealing slogans. However, as soon as they come to power, they forget everything and make strenuous efforts to accumulate wealth. However, in a monotheistic system, which is established under the leadership of prophets, the community is not impacted with worldly glitters, given that the uprising of prophets is divinely motivated. Several ayahs of Holy Quran reveal this fact in regard to all prophets, while directly instructing the Prophet of Islam to say, ‘I do not ask you any recompense for my prophet hood.

In another ayah, Prophet of Islam describes his goal as guidance of those, who want to find a path toward God. The Prophet of Islam always asked people to contemplate over the astonishing world of creation and to think about the secrets of the universe, in order to admit to the existence of the one and only creator the world, God Almighty.

The monotheists, after gaining a strong and deep-rooted faith in God, should also display their faith in practice. In order to materialize this goal, the 105th ayah of Surat al-Tawbah in Holy Quran announces to the Prophet to: Say, ‘Go on working: Allah will see your conduct, and His Apostle and the faithful as well, and you will be returned to the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do.

Today, the most advanced global information systems and techniques can identity and monitor man’s apparent approaches and actions. However, they cannot infiltrate within the hidden mental layers of mankind. They cannot discover the hidden and innate incentives of individuals and therefore many of human behavioral patterns are unpredictable, until they surface. However, the one and only creator of mankind, God observes our actions and is aware of our innate incentives. This fact in turn furthers the practical responsibilities of monotheists and makes them duty-bound to fulfill divine instructions.

MR/MG