It may be true that some religions were established by people of genius who looked into the situation prevailing in their community and felt that there was a pressing need for radical reforms. This might have led to the establishment of a certain code of ethics, which could have developed into some sort of religious belief. This is true of any creed or sect established after the advent of Islam. That is because the line of prophet-hood ended with the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. We may look differently at religions which go back in time to well before the birth of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the beginning of his message. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that He had sent prophets and messengers to other nations. He has named 25 of these, and told Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that He has chosen not to tell him of other prophets and messengers. He also states in the Qur'an that no nation or community has been that was not favored with a warner who called on them to believe in Allah and follow His guidance. Therefore, the major religions that preceded Islam and about which the Qur'an remains silent, such as Buddhism, might have had a divine origin, and their founders might have been prophets sent by Allah. We simply cannot be certain of that because Allah has chosen not to tell us.

From what Allah has told us about the distortion that has crept into the messages of earlier prophets, we can say that such distortion was so extensive in some very early messages that it changed their character. Hence, Allah has chosen not to tell us about these, because such information would not serve any purpose. However, Allah has guaranteed to preserve the message of Islam, embodied in the Qur'an, and to make it immune to distortion of any type. The Qur'an remains in its original form, and it will remain so as long as human life continues, because it is the final message from Allah to mankind.

If you are asked what makes any person a Muslim, you are bound to answer that to be a Muslim, a human being must believe that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is Allah's messenger. That basic belief puts the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in a unique position, different from that of any reformer, or genius person who cares about the ills of society. In simple terms, he receives a message from Allah and conveys it to mankind, adding nothing to it and omitting nothing from it. His message is embodied in the revelations he receives from Allah. These revelations could either be in word and meaning, as is the case with the Qur'an, which is Allah's word revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and preserved as it has been revealed, without any change, amendment or modification; or he may receive revelations given to him in meaning, which he expressed in his own words, which took the form of the Hadith and the Sunnah. Therefore, when the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, gives us any instructions regarding our faith, these instructions are part of the revelations he has received from Allah and we are bound to obey him in order to earn Allah's pleasure. Reflect, if you will, on the following Qur'anic verses: "This fellow man of yours (meaning Prophet) has not gone astray, nor is he deluded, and neither does he speak out of his own desire; that which he conveys to you is but a divine inspiration with which he is inspired." (53; 2-4) Addressing the Prophet, Allah says in the Qur'an: "Upon you have We bestowed from on high this reminder (meaning the Qur'an) so that you may make clear to mankind all that has ever been thus bestowed upon them and that they may reflect." (16;44) "Whatever the messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it." (59; 7) These and similar verses make it absolutely clear that whatever the Prophet has taught us in respect of our religion originates from Allah. He added nothing on his own initiative. When it comes to matters of this world, the Prophet has clearly stated that his opinion does not carry any divine or religious authority. He often acted on the advice of his companions, particularly when the question in hand relied more on human experience. This means that when the Prophet has shown us how to pray, his instruction was part of the revelations he received from Allah. We, therefore, cannot introduce any modification or amendment to the way we pray. We cannot say that this is part of the Prophet's ingenuity. Intelligence and genius simply do not come into this. What the Prophet has taught us concerning the faith of Islam is part of the divine message which must be preserved in the original form.

When we consider the teachings of other religions, we must look at these in the light of what Allah has revealed to His last messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. That is because Allah wants His final message to be the guide for mankind, for the rest of time. We cannot place ourselves in a position of judgment on what Allah may or may not accept. Far be it from us to make any such claim. No one can interfere with Allah's will or with what He determines or accepts. Our reference, therefore, must remain what Allah has revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He says in the Qur'an: "The only true religion in the sight of Allah is man's self surrender to Him." (13; 19) He also says: "If anyone goes in search of a religion other than self-surrender to Allah, it will never be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the lost." (3;85) It is also to be noted in both verses, the term used in the original Arabic text for "self-surrender to Allah" is "Islam". This is due to the fact that the concept of self-surrender to Allah is the essence of the religion of Islam. Indeed, the word Islam means self-surrender. Since the message of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the final message which is based on this concept, then his way is the only one which is guaranteed to be acceptable to Allah.

The concept of reincarnation is unacceptable from the Islamic point of view. When a human being is born, he comes into this life as pure, unencumbered with any past, or with the misdeeds of any previous life or former person. He does not shoulder any burden of any type. This life of ours cannot be seen as a first life in one case and a second life in another. We do not reap in this life the fruits of what we did in any previous life. We simply do not know about such previous life. We know that this life of ours is a test which determines our future in a life to come, in a world totally different from ours.

It is true that people have different fortunes and lead different types of life. Some are tested with wealth and power, while others are tested with poverty and weakness. This fits with the design Allah has chosen for this world of ours. This design creates situations which are perpetrated or perpetuated by people's practices. It is because human beings turn their backs on Allah's guidance that they suffer a great deal of the injustice that prevails in this world. Had they implemented Allah's guidance, social justice would have been easily achieved. It is the injustice that is practiced by some and accepted by others that leads to much suffering. That injustice and suffering are part of what human beings do in this world.

We cannot say how will Allah deal with anybody on the day of Judgment. He will administer His absolute justice to all. He knows the special circumstances, the intentions, the motives and objectives of everyone. He values every action by every individual in the fairest of manners. What we can do, however, is to judge people's actions as they appear to us in the light of divine guidance provided by Allah in the Qur'an and in the light of the Sunnah of the Prophet. They should give us a very good idea whether a certain kind of action is acceptable or not.

The first thing to say about such people is that they do not attend regularly to their most essential Islamic duties, such as prayers. The Prophet describes prayer as the mainstay of the Islamic faith. He explains that by adding: "He who attends to it (i.e. prayer) provides his faith with strong support, while he who neglects it, allows his faith to collapse." Moreover, a person who neglects his prayer is more likely to neglect his other Islamic duties. It is a fact of life that a person who does not attend to his prayer is also likely to indulge in different types of forbidden practices. Such a person is not likely to have much reward from Allah. There will be little to his credit on the day of Judgment.

Yet these people try to satisfy their natural desire to be religious by resorting to practices that give them such an appearance. They visit the graves and tombs of those whom they consider saints. Because they give those dead people such a status, they imagine that they [the dead saints] have special privileges and powers. It may be true that the dead people whose graves they visit were of high religious standing and it may be true that they have been given certain privileges by Allah, but those are not of the type which enables them to respond to the requests of those who visit their graves. No dead person can be of any benefit to the living. Indeed, a dead person can be of no benefit even to himself. The Prophet tells us that "when a human being dies, his actions come to an absolute end, except in one of three ways: A continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge or a dutiful child who prays for him." In other words, the living can be of benefit to the dead by praying Allah on their behalf, but the dead cannot be of benefit to the living. When those people whom you have described go to such graves in order to request the dead to help them, they are engaged in a futile action. Moreover, they are indeed guilty of the worst type of sin, namely, associating partners with Allah. Their practices can only be described as the worshipping of graves.

The "Fatihah" is a certain type of ritual in which people gather to engage in reading certain verses of the Qur'an and certain phrases of glorification of Allah thousands of times. This is coupled with other rituals such as the preparation of food, which is placed at a particular point before starting and then eaten after the whole ritual is over. All this has no basis whatsoever. It cannot be supported by any Hadith or Qur'anic verse. As such, it is an innovation which is totally unacceptable. The Prophet says: "Beware of newly invented matters. For every invention is an innovation and every innovation is going astray and every going astray is in hell fire." (Related by Abu Dawood and At-Tirmithi). The Prophet also says: "He who innovates something in this matter of ours, that is not of it, will have it rejected."

When people engage in such practices, neglecting their duties, they actually try to give their lives a religious aspect. However, they err because they do not see the Prophet's guidance. Indeed, when it is pointed out to them that their practices are wrong, they are not prepared to listen to sound advice.

They feel that their actions are good because they have seen some people whom they consider guides to them. They err in not seeking the guidance provided by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who was sent by Allah to convey His knowledge. Their actions are of no value, because they do not give them any religious conscience. Their effect is only to give them a feeling that they have discharged what religion expects of them. Our religion is not a set of rituals. It has a very clear code of practice. Unless it is approached in the manner taught to us by the Prophet, it does not yield its fruit.

If we want to be true Muslims, we have to follow the Prophet's guidance. That means discharging our duties and not adding to the faith of Islam anything that is not part of it. Unfortunately, such practices are widespread in large areas of the Muslim world. They are responsible for the backwardness of Muslims everywhere. Muslims will not regain their strength and proper status until they disown such practices and regain their Islamic sense. That sense will guide them along the path set out for us by Prophet Muhammad, Allah's last messenger, peace be upon him.