Islam – The True Religion

Remember, to establish its truth, a religion which claims to be from God must prove its excellence in two respects:
First of all, it should be so comprehensive, perfect, complete and free from every defect in its doctrine, teachings and commandments, that reason should not be capable of proposing anything better; and there should be nothing lacking in it. It should be ahead of all other religions in this respect. The Holy Qur’an puts forward this claim by proclaiming:

'This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion.' Al Ma'idah 5:4

This means that God requires us to conform to the reality inherent in the word Islam. Here there is a clear claim that the Holy Qur’an comprehends the perfect teaching and that the time of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an was the time when such perfect teaching could be revealed. The Qur’an alone is entitled to make this claim. No other heavenly book has put forward such a claim. Both the Torah and the Gospel refrain from making this claim. On the contrary, the Torah sets out God's commandment
that:

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, and put My words in his mouth and whosoever will not hearken unto My words I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy, 18:18

It is obvious, therefore, that if the Torah had been adequate for meeting the needs of subsequent ages, there would have been no necessity for the coming of another Prophet, listening to whom was made obligatory. In the same way the Gospel has nowhere claimed that its teaching is perfect and comprehensive. But there is a clear confession that:

“I have yet many things to say, but ye cannot bear them now but that when the Paraclete is come he will lead you to the whole truth.” John 16:12-13

Thus, Moses confessed the incompleteness of the Torah and drew attention to the teaching of the Prophet who was to come. In the same way, Jesus admitted the incompleteness of his teaching and said that the time had not yet come for the perfect teaching to be disclosed but that when the Paraclete arrives he would set forth the perfect teaching. In contrast the Holy Qur’an does not, like the Torah and the Gospel, leave the matter for another book to complete but announces the perfection of its teaching in the words:

"…..Here is thus a great argument in support of Islam that by virtue of its teaching it prevails over every religion and no religion can compete with it in respect of the perfection of its teaching."

The second kind of success, which is peculiar to Islam and not shared by any other religion, and which fully testifies to its truth, is that it manifests its living blessings and miracles of which other religions are wholly deprived. The signs that Islam exhibits not only establish its superiority over other religions but also enable it to draw the hearts of the people by exhibiting its perfect light. The first characteristic of Islam, which we have stated above, that is to say, the perfection of its teaching, is not quite conclusive in establishing that Islam is a true religion revealed by God. A bigoted opponent who is not farsighted may assert that it is possible that a teaching might be perfect and yet it may not proceed from God Al-mighty. This first characteristic relieves a wise seeker after truth of many doubts and brings him close to certainty, but does not establish the matter conclusively and beyond doubt till it is combined with the second characteristic. When both these characteristics are combined, the light of the true faith reaches its perfection. 

A true faith comprises thousands of proofs and lights but these two characteristics are enough to carry conviction to the heart of a seeker after truth and expound the matter to the satisfaction of all deniers of truth. Nothing more is needed in addition. I had originally intended that in support of the truth of Islam I would set down three hundred arguments in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya. But on further reflection I perceived that these two characteristics are a substitute for thousands of proofs and thus God made me alter my plan.
[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part V, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 21, pp. 3-6]

God Almighty is not held back from exposition of the claim of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. He came like a sun and manifested his light from every point of view. He who turns away from this true sun, will come to no good. We cannot credit such a one with good faith. Can anyone who is afflicted with leprosy and whose limbs are corrupted with leprosy, claim that he is whole and is not in need of treatment? Should he say so, can we credit him with good faith? Should such a person insist that he cannot arrive at the truth of Islam, despite good faith and despite every effort such as he puts forth in his worldly affairs, his matter rests with God. We have not come across any such person and we consider it impossible that anyone equipped with reason and a sense of justice should prefer some other faith to Islam. Foolish and ignorant people adopt the position under the dictates of their lower selves that belief in the Unity of God is enough, and that it is not necessary to follow the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]; but it is to be borne in mind that a Prophet is the mother of belief in Unity, who gives birth to it and points to the existence of God. Who knows the exposition of the truth better than God Almighty Himself? He filled heaven and earth with signs to prove the truth of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] and now in this age He has sent me and has displayed thousands of signs like heavy rain, which prove the truth of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. What then is lacking in the full exposition of the truth? He who has sense enough to oppose why can he not think out the way of acceptance? He who pretends that he can see at night, why can he not see in the full light of day? Indeed the way of acceptance is much easier than the way of rejection.

The case of a person whose reason is defective and whose faculties are not normal should be committed to God, and we have nothing to do concerning him. He is like children who die at an early age. But a wicked denier cannot excuse himself on the ground that he is acting in good faith. It should be considered whether his faculties are such that he can appreciate questions of Unity and Prophethood. If he is capable of appreciating them and denies out of ill will, he cannot be excused. Can we excuse a person who observes the light of the sun and yet persists in asserting that it is not day but night? In the same way, we cannot excuse those who deliberately indulge in wrong reasoning and are unable to repel the arguments that are put forward on behalf of Islam. Islam is a living faith. A person who can distinguish between the living and the dead, how can he set aside Islam and accept a dead religion?
[Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 180-181]