The Concept of God in Different Religions
Man’s feeling of helplessness cannot be soothed unless he has a God to whom he can turn. Every religion provides man with some God, but with the exception of Islam, every religion has been spoiled by interpolation and alteration. No religion, except Islam, has preserved a true image of God. They all present an unrealistic picture of the Almighty, which cannot fully satisfy man.
Cat Stevens was an internationally renowned pop musician. He was brought up as a Christian, but in 1976 he accepted Islam and is now known as Yusuf Islam. Speaking of his conversion to Islam, he said: ‘The Christian Church taught us to believe in God, but the only way to communicate with God was through Jesus—you have no direct contact.’ To him, ‘the importance of Islam lies in the fact that it acquaints one with a God who speaks directly to the man and his soul.’ (Arabia, London, July 1983)
Man’s nature demands a God whom he can contact directly, but existing religions offer him a God who can be contacted only through some intermediary. Islam is the only religion in which man establishes direct contact with his Lord. This is because Islam is preserved in its original, revealed form, whereas other religions, having been altered and corrupted by man, are nowhere to be found in their pristine form.
All religions were essentially one and the same at the time of their origin. But now these differ from one another due to human interpolation. (10:19) Now, some religions have many gods to offer, but this is clearly not what man is looking for. Man is looking for a single being on whom he can focus all his feelings. There can be only one such focal point, not several. Some religions present God in the form of some man. But man is looking for a God who is superior to him; he cannot worship a God who is human like himself. Some religions think of God as no more than a vague spirit. But man is seeking a God who sees and hears and speaks; abstract things like ether and magnetism cannot meet his demands.
Arthur Koestler was a renowned thinker and writer, and had an estate of approximately £ 400,000. He married three times, but even so he was childless. He was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and leukemia. In utter despair he took his own life at his London residence in March, 1983. He was 77 years old at the time of his death.
Hundreds of such sad events take place everyday all over the world. They happen because people lose hope in their desires being fulfilled in this world. But there are very few cases in history of true believers in God committing suicide. The reason for this is that belief in God gives a person hope for his future in the next world. In God’s scheme of things, life is not limited to this world alone; it continues after death as well. When believers are afflicted in this world, they look forward to happiness in the next world. When they despair of the human world, they fix their hopes on the world of God. Thus the distress of a true believer is changed into healthy optimism.
