Why Multiple Religions?

Why Multiple Religions?  

Huge confusion

We are facing numerous confusions about religion and about God in the world today. One of them is, “How many religions did God create?  Why there are multiple religions in the world?”

As per some studies, there are between ten to twenty major religions in the world today, and if we count branches of the main religions and all minor religions, the number comes to around four thousand. This raises a number of serious questions. Prime amongst them are, did God create multiple religions and leave humanity to fight over religion? Or are there multiple gods, who created their own religions and are competing with other gods to gain dominance?

If One God created different religions for different people and left them to fight over religion, then this God cannot be fair and just. We can be in serious doubt as to what the intention of a Just and Merciful God was in doing so.

Or is there more than one God, and each one created their own religion? If that was the case, they would definitely try to overpower other gods and gain dominance. There would not have been any uniformity in the world around us that we are finding today; rather, there would have been chaos in the universe.

This confusion about multiple religions has resulted in many people not believing in religion or God. Many people are leaving religion and becoming atheist. There are others who are following religions but do not take them seriously.

Let us see what the Quran says on this issue

If we study the Quran, we find that the answer to the question at hand has two parts. The Quran says, first, “there is only one God.” There is no other God – it is simply not possible. Secondly, the Quran says “God sent only one religion”.

There is only one God

The Quran provides straight answers without leaving any room for ambiguity and confusion: “There is only one God”. Verses mentioned on this topic are categorical and conclusive, to remove all the confusion.

“There is only one God” is the central theme of the Quran. The Quran mentions this point several times and revisits it from different angles. We cite only a few examples here.

And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 2:163

Say, “He is Allah, [who is] One, 112:1

Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe. 21:22,

God sent only one religion

Quran says God sent only one religion in the world throughout human history, though He sent multiple messengers and scriptures throughout the world at different times to remind humanity about the truth. The message of all the messengers and scriptures was the same: Worship Allah (God) alone. There is no god besides Him.

God says in the Quran “We surely sent a messenger to every community, saying, ‘Worship Allah and shun false gods.’ 16:36

Quran does not mention names of all the prophets sent all over the world. But it mentions this fact as follows: It was said to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), “And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you.” 40:78

Since the Quran was revealed in the Arabian Peninsula, it mentioned the names of only those messengers who were sent in the surroundings of that area.  But in light of verse numbers 16:36 and 40:78, we are sure that messengers of Allah were sent all over the world at different times. This is the reason why today we find different religions all over the world. Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was the last messenger who came with that same message: “There is no one worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.”

From the information discussed above, it becomes clear that there is only one God, and God created only one religion.

So why are there different religions today?

Every messenger sent to different nations at different times had the same message: “Worship Allah alone”.

But after the departure of the messenger, their followers altered the message, invented new versions of the teaching given to them, and added new rituals. Therefore, the original message was distorted or lost. Also, usually we know the followers of those messengers by their messenger’s personal names – therefore, now we see the messages and scriptures of these messengers in a different light and identify them as different religions.  We have discussed this issue in an earlier video.

Which one to follow now?

A question arises now – which one to follow? Study the Quran, study Islam, and remember following points mentioned in the Quran:

So, direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah[i] (natural disposition) of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. 30-30

We are nearer to every person than his jugular vein, we know what his heart whispers to him.  “And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.” 50:16

“We have given the eyesight, power of listening, heart and brain and surely every person will be asked for it”.  Do not follow what you have no ‘sure˺ knowledge of. Indeed, all will be called to account for ˹their˺ hearing, sight, and intellect. 17-36

God said in the Quran that He created every person with a natural disposition – it is easy for a person to recognize. God knows what your heart whispers to you and every one of us will be asked about knowledge and our intelligence. Now, ask your heart and decide yourself – you are in charge of your decisions.

If you want to read the Quran in your own language, you can download it for free from our website www.quranforhumanity.org We have translations of the Quran in more than 100 languages.

Fitrah: The natural inborn inclination of man to worship his Creator prior to the corruption of his nature by external influences. Thus, Islāmic monotheism is described as the religion of fiṭrah – that of the inherent nature of mankind.