Is Islām the only right path? Is as-Ŝirātul
Mustaqīm (the right path) a single phenomena or are there multiple paths leading to the same destination? What happens to the non-Muslims who live a decent life and do not violate the rights of other people? Do they gain salvation, and go to Paradise or not? These are some of the burning questions of the modern era.

The concept of religious pluralism is not new; it has been discussed in one form or another by past philosophers and theologians of various schools. However, with the increased interaction between followers of different religions and inter-faith dialogues, religious pluralism has taken a new life in the stream of current thought.

…..Āyatullāh Muťahharī has also briefly stated his views on religious pluralism itself. He expresses the prevailing view of the Muslim theologians and philosophers that Islām is the only right path.

However, and more importantly, he cautions the readers not to jump to the conclusion that since Islām is the only right path therefore all non-Muslims will go to hell. The exclusivist view of Islām being the right path does not automatically and necessarily lead to the belief that all non-Muslims will go to hell.

* Summary and Conclusion
From all that has been said in this section about the good and bad deeds of Muslims and non-Muslims, the following conclusions can be reached:

1. Both salvation and perdition have degrees and levels; neither the people of salvation are all at the same level, nor are those of perdition. These levels and differences are called darajāt “levels of ascent” with regard to the people of Heaven and darakāt “levels of descent” with regard to the inhabitants of Hell.

2. It is not the case that all of the dwellers of Heaven will go to Heaven from the beginning, just as all of the people of Hell will not be in Hell for eternity. Many dwellers of Heaven will only go to Heaven after suffering very difficult periods of punishment in barzakh or the hereafter. A Muslim and a Shī`a should know that, assuming he or she dies with sound faith, if God forbid he or she has committed sins, injustices, and crimes, he or she has very difficult stages ahead, and some sins have yet greater danger and may cause one to remain eternally in Hell.

3. Individuals who don’t believe in God and the hereafter naturally don’t perform any actions with the intention of ascending towards God, and since they don’t perform good deeds with this intent, by necessity they do not embark on a journey towards God and the hereafter. Thus, they naturally don’t ascend towards God and the higher realm and don’t reach Heaven. That is, because they were not moving towards it, they don’t reach that destination.

4. If individuals believe in God and the hereafter, perform actions with the intention of seeking nearness to God, and are sincere in their actions, their actions are acceptable to God and they deserve their reward and Heaven, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims.

5. Non-Muslims who believe in God and the
hereafter and do good deeds with the intention of seeking nearness to God, on account of being without the blessing of Islām, are naturally deprived of benefiting from this Divine program. That proportion of their good deeds is accepted which is in accordance with the Divine program, such as forms of favours and services to God’s creation. But invented acts of worship that without base are naturally unacceptable, and a series of deprivations resulting from unavailability of the complete program apply to and include them.

6. Accepted good deeds, whether of Muslims or otherwise, have certain afflictions which may come about afterwards and corrupt them. At the head of all of these afflictions is rejection, obstinacy, and deliberate unbelief.

Thus, if non-Muslim individuals perform a great amount of good deeds with the intention of seeking nearness to God, but when the truths of Islām are presented to them show bias and obstinacy and set aside fairness and truth-seeking, all of those good
deeds are null and void, “like ashes caught in a strong wind on a stormy day.”

7. Muslims and all other true monotheists, if they commit indecencies and transgressions and betray the practical aspect of the Divine program, are deserving of long punishments in barzakh and the Day of Judgement, and occasionally because of some sins, like intentionally murdering an innocent believer, may remain in eternal punishment.

8. The good deeds of individuals who don’t
believe in God and the Day of Judgement and perhaps may ascribe partners to God will cause their punishment to be lessened and, occasionally, be lifted.

9. Felicity and perdition are in accordance with actual and creational conditions, not conventional and man-made conditions.

10. The verses and traditions that indicate that God accepts good deeds do not look solely to the action-related goodness of actions; in Islām’s view, an action becomes good and worthy when it possesses goodness from two aspects: action-related, and actor-related.

11. The verses and traditions that indicate that the actions of those who deny Prophethood or Imāmate are not acceptable are with a view to denial out of obstinacy and bias; however, denial that is merely a lack of confession out of incapacity (quŝūr) – rather than out of culpability (taqŝīr) – is not what the verses and traditions are about. In the view of the Qur’ān, such deniers are considered musta°`af (powerless) and murjawn li’amr illah (those whose affair is referred to God’s command).

12. In the view of the Islāmic sages such as Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) and Mullāh Ŝadrā , the majority of people who haven’t confessed to the truth are incapable and excusable rather than culpable; if such people do not know God they will not be punished –though they will also not go to Heaven – and if they believe in God and the Resurrection and perform pure good deeds with the intention of seeking nearness to God, they will receive the recompense for their good deeds. Only those will face perdition who are culpable, not those who are incapable.
ﺃﻟﻠﻬﻢ ﺍﺧﺘﻢ ﻟﻨﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺨﻴﺮ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺴﻌﺎﺩﺓ ﻭ ﺗﻮﻓﻨﺎ ﻣﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ،
ﻭ ﺃﻟﺤﻘﻨﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺎﻟﺤﻴﻦ ﺑﻤﺤﻤﺪ ﻭ ﺁﻟﻪ ﺍﻟﻄﺎﻫﺮﻳﻦ

O God! Seal (our fate) for us with goodness and felicity, and cause us to die as Muslims, and join us with the righteous, Muhammad and his noble Progeny (may Peace be upon all of them).

Source: Excerpt from “Islam and Religious Pluralism” by Shahid Ayatullah Murtadha
Mutahhari

9ice one bro...

AlBaqir,

Please, this is a simple yes or no question. No need for the verbose essay you put.

Is islam the only right path?

Are you saying yes or no?

MessiRonaldo007: AlBaqir,

Please, this is a simple yes or no question. No need for the verbose essay you put.

Is islam the only right path?

Are you saying yes or no?

Oh! My God.. You shouldn't have asked him... He's gonna start explainin' the reason why islam *has nothin' to do with the question you have asked*
Then he'll probably copy and paste some Junk articles here to backup his claim...
In the end you'll be wonderin' why you asked tis' question in the first place.. This is because he won't tell you in the end Yes or No..

this is actually front page material.

For those asking if Islam is the only right path. The answer is 'no'. It is there in the article. Must the op open your head to explain to you. Is it fair that someone who has sincerely done good and sacrificed all their life suffer in hell in the hereafter. One of Allah's names is 'The Just', His judgment will be just.

snubish: this is actually front page material.

For those asking if Islam is the only right path. The answer is 'no'. It is there in the article. Must the op open your head to explain to you. Is it fair that someone who has sincerely done good and sacrificed all their life suffer in hell in the hereafter. One of Allah's names is 'The Just', His judgment will be just.

So then, being a muslim is not necessary! Thanks


Salaam

MacCantStopMe:


So then, being a muslim is not necessary! Thanks


Salaam

lol... I owe you N1000 suya....

MacCantStopMe:


So then, being a muslim is not necessary! Thanks


Salaam

Being MUSLIM is being submitted to the will of a supreme Being, God.

"Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." ~Quran chap.2 : 62

Where can you find your creed from the above, mr Atheist? Its a lost course for you!

Jazakkallahu khaira brother AlBaqir

"And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me."- Qur'an 51 verse 56.

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers". -Qur'an 3, verse 85

" By Him (Allah) in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, there is none from amongst the Jews and the christians (of these present nations) who hears about me and then dies without believing in the Message with which I have been sent, but he will be from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire." (Sahih Muslim, the Book of Faith, Vol. 1, Hadith No. 240.

Islam is the only religion that is perfect

This is a direct question and need a direct answer, the only true religion in the sight of Allah is ISLAM. Albaqir stop confusing d pple further.

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam,
it will never be accepted of him, and in the
Hereafter he will be one of the losers". -Qur'an 3,
verse 85

"And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans
except they should worship Me."- Qur'an 51 verse
56.

" By Him (Allah) in Whose Hand Muhammad's
soul is, there is none from amongst the Jews and
the christians (of these present nations) who
hears about me and then dies without believing
in the Message with which I have been sent, but
he will be from the dwellers of the (Hell)
Fire." (Sahih Muslim, the Book of Faith, Vol. 1,
Hadith No. 240.

ANY other way is a path leading to HELL and thier is no sitting on the fence. The messege of ISLAM is clear.

kasali4real:
This is a direct question and need a direct answer, the only true religion in the sight of Allah is ISLAM. Albaqir stop confusing d pple further.

There's no doubt @bold^ But do you mind defining the word "Islam"? It is "total submission to the will of God". This is the only way man can achieve "Salam - Peace" which on the other hand what Islam signify.

All prophets of Allah propagate "al-Islam" in that sense of definition. Followers of Muhammad, ALONE, are not muslim (follower of Islam) but also inclusive are followers of other prophets.
"Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." ~Quran chap.2 : 62

And, behold, among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and what has been sent down to you, and what was sent down to them, those humbling themselves before God in reverence, not selling God's Revelations for a trifling price. Such are those whose reward is with their Lord. God is swift at reckoning."
~sura al-Imran:199

kasali4real:

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam,
it will never be accepted of him, and in the
Hereafter he will be one of the losers". -Qur'an 3,
verse 85

Ma sha Allah. That is correct.
"Those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists...

Surely those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists shall be in the fire of hell, abiding therein; they are the worst of men." ~sura al-Bayyina

Theses noble verses indicated that not ALL the people of the book disbelieve.

However, the case of those who disbelieve among the people of the book has been highlighted in the noble Qur'an:
5|116|And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: 'Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?' " He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden and unseen.

5|117|"Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things.

5|118|"If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."

5|119|Allah will say: "This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) - they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise).

There is no doubt the community of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) is the best before Allah. And the best of reward will be reserve for the Ummah of Muhammad, but Allah will never do injustice to the believers among the followers of other faith.

Haven't you read that some among the followers of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) will also enter Hell fire?

Qur'an states
"And you will be three kinds. So, Companions of the Right Hand, who will be Companions of the right hand? And companions of the Left Hand, who will be Companions of the Left Hand? And those foremost will be foremost." ~Q.56:7-10

"And Those who disbelieved in Our verses, they will be Companions of the Left Hand. The Fire will be shut over them ."
~Qur'an 90: 19-20

Imam Bukhari in his Sahih documented this hadith of Ibn Abbas:
'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "You will be resurrected bare-footed, Unclad and uncircumcised." Then he recited:{As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: a promise We have undertaken. Truly, We shall do it} [21:104]. He continued: "The first to be dressed will be Ibrahim. Then, some of my SAHABAH will be taken towards the Right side AND (some)TOWARDS THE LEFT SIDE. So, I will say: 'My Sahabah! It will be said, 'THEY HAD BEEN APOSTATES SINCE YOU LEFT THEM.' I will then say as the Righteous servant, 'Isa b. Maryam, said: {And I was a witness over them whilst I lived amongst them. But, when You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} [5:117-118]' ~Sahih al-Bukhari vol. 3 p. 1271, #3263

kasali4real:

"And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans
except they should worship Me."- Qur'an 51 verse
56.

I simply don't understand how this noble verse explains the subject matter.

kasali4real:

" By Him (Allah) in Whose Hand Muhammad's
soul is, there is none from amongst the Jews and
the christians (of these present nations) who
hears about me and then dies without believing
in the Message with which I have been sent, but
he will be from the dwellers of the (Hell)
Fire." (Sahih Muslim, the Book of Faith, Vol. 1,
Hadith No. 240.

This confirm the ayah:
And, behold, among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and what has been sent down to you, and what was sent down to them, those humbling themselves before God in reverence, not selling God's Revelations for a trifling price. Such are those whose reward is with their Lord. God is swift at reckoning."
~sura al-Imran:199

Only those who reject, and call Jesus god or son of god will be punished. Then what about those who NEVER heard of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) and his message?
And what about those who heard and rejected those "fake messages" tagged Muhammad message, which is what we have today - the messages of the takfiri, wahabis et al, messages of kill, kill, kill...?

Allah, the most High, is not of your takfiri ideology. He is Merciful. And He ALONE is the:
"Master of the day of Judgment" ~sura al-Fatiha.

kasali4real:

ANY other way is a path leading to HELL and thier is no sitting on the fence. The messege of ISLAM is clear.

Again it depends on your definition and interpretation of al-Islam.

Narrated Jabir Ibn Abdullah: Umar ibn al-
Khattab brought to Allah's Messenger
(peace be upon him) a copy of the Torah
and said: Allah's Messenger, this is a copy
of the Torah. He (Allah's Messenger) kept
quiet and he (Umar) began to read it. The
(colour) of the face of Allah's Messenger
(peace be upon him) underwent a change,
whereupon AbuBakr said: Would that your
mother mourn you, don't you see the face of
Allah's Messenger? Umar saw the face of
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and
said: I seek refuge with Allah from the
wrath of Allah and the wrath of His
Messenger. We are well pleased with Allah
as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with
Muhammad as Prophet. Whereupon Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him) said: By
Him in Whose hand is the life of
Muhammad, even if Moses were to appear
before you and you were to follow him,
leaving me aside, you would certainly stray
into error; for if (Moses) were alive (now),
and he found my prophetical ministry, he
would have definitely followed me.


Concerning the believers among the pple of the book i.e Christians, the quran refers to those that believe in Jesus(pbuh) has to what he preached which simply monotheistic and not what the TRINITARIAN of dis days preached.
Also after the ERA of any prophet and comes another as believers were are to follow the newly sent ones inclusive, so in the time of jesus(pbuh) if someone claimed to be following moses(pbuh) and rejecting jesus(pbuh) then thier is no SALVATION for dat person.

So not following prophet muhammad(pbuh) after he recieved prophethood till dis time make SOMEONE A KAFR.

AlBaqir:


There's no doubt @bold^ But do you mind defining the word "Islam"? It is "total submission to the will of God". This is the only way man can achieve "Salam - Peace" which on the other hand what Islam signify.

All prophets of Allah propagate "al-Islam" in that sense of definition. Followers of Muhammad, ALONE, are not muslim (follower of Islam) but also inclusive are followers of other prophets.
"Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." ~Quran chap.2 : 62

And, behold, among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and what has been sent down to you, and what was sent down to them, those humbling themselves before God in reverence, not selling God's Revelations for a trifling price. Such are those whose reward is with their Lord. God is swift at reckoning."
~sura al-Imran:199



Ma sha Allah. That is correct.
"Those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists...

Surely those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists shall be in the fire of hell, abiding therein; they are the worst of men." ~sura al-Bayyina

Theses noble verses indicated that not ALL the people of the book disbelieve.

However, the case of those who disbelieve among the people of the book has been highlighted in the noble Qur'an:
5|116|And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: 'Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?' " He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden and unseen.

5|117|"Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things.

5|118|"If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."

5|119|Allah will say: "This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) - they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise).

There is no doubt the community of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) is the best before Allah. And the best of reward will be reserve for the Ummah of Muhammad, but Allah will never do injustice to the believers among the followers of other faith.

Haven't you read that some among the followers of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) will also enter Hell fire?

Qur'an states
"And you will be three kinds. So, Companions of the Right Hand, who will be Companions of the right hand? And companions of the Left Hand, who will be Companions of the Left Hand? And those foremost will be foremost." ~Q.56:7-10

"And Those who disbelieved in Our verses, they will be Companions of the Left Hand. The Fire will be shut over them ."
~Qur'an 90: 19-20

Imam Bukhari in his Sahih documented this hadith of Ibn Abbas:
'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "You will be resurrected bare-footed, Unclad and uncircumcised." Then he recited:{As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: a promise We have undertaken. Truly, We shall do it} [21:104]. He continued: "The first to be dressed will be Ibrahim. Then, some of my SAHABAH will be taken towards the Right side AND (some)TOWARDS THE LEFT SIDE. So, I will say: 'My Sahabah! It will be said, 'THEY HAD BEEN APOSTATES SINCE YOU LEFT THEM.' I will then say as the Righteous servant, 'Isa b. Maryam, said: {And I was a witness over them whilst I lived amongst them. But, when You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} [5:117-118]' ~Sahih al-Bukhari vol. 3 p. 1271, #3263



I simply don't understand how this noble verse explains the subject matter.



This confirm the ayah:
And, behold, among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and what has been sent down to you, and what was sent down to them, those humbling themselves before God in reverence, not selling God's Revelations for a trifling price. Such are those whose reward is with their Lord. God is swift at reckoning."
~sura al-Imran:199

Only those who reject, and call Jesus god or son of god will be punished. Then what about those who NEVER heard of Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) and his message?
And what about those who heard and rejected those "fake messages" tagged Muhammad message, which is what we have today - the messages of the takfiri, wahabis et al, messages of kill, kill, kill...?

Allah, the most High, is not of your takfiri ideology. He is Merciful. And He ALONE is the:
"Master of the day of Judgment" ~sura al-Fatiha.



Again it depends on your definition and interpretation of al-Islam.

ALBAQIR PLS EXPLAIN TO US UR OWN ISLAM

kasali4real:

ALBAQIR PLS EXPLAIN TO US UR OWN ISLAM

According to some scholars, shias are not muslims. Infact, some refer to them as mushrikun.

MrOlai:

According to some scholars, shias are not muslims. Infact, some refer to them as mushrikun.

Ma sha Allah! Atleast for the first time ever, you talk sense. So the implication of your narration is that other scholars regard them as Muslims. Meaning, there's no ijma (consensus) among you.

Such is the fear and desperation of people like you concerning your feeble faith; hence, your takfir on Shi'a.
"...it is He who knows those who have stray from His path, and He knows who is on the straight path" ~Qur'an.