There are three main monotheistic religions that believe in the same one God creator of heaven and earth. These religions are referred to as revealed religions because they were taught by prophets ( sent or inspired by God). Every prophet had to perform a set of miracles to proof his prophet-hood but still many of them were rejected by their people of their societies. Their stories had a huge influence of the organization of society and there are scriptures with their teachings. The largest revealed religion is still Christianity. Christianity is the religion of Christians , the followers of Christ . However, there is nowhere in the bible where Christianity is being mentioned as a religion. Is it in ancient Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first referred to as Christians (Acts 11:26). At that time Antioch was the capital of the roman province of Syria. Actually Antioch is located in Greece. It was the third largest city of the roman empire at that time after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch had been considered by many scholars as the cradle of Christianity. The Apostles of Jesus such as Paul and Peter are known to have preached in Antioch ( Galatians 2:11 ). Antioch was also inhabited by Jews but became later a center of Christianity although Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The quran claims that the major prophets(Abraham, Moses, Jesus) of all monotheistic religions were Muslims, that is to say, were submitted to God. We are going to elucidate this claim with information from the life of some major prophets .
According to renowned religious scholars who studied the scriptures, there have been 29 major prophets. Adam was the first. Idris (Enoch) the second, the others are Nuh (Noah),Hud, Salih, Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma’il (Ishmael),Ishaq (Isaac),Yaqub (Jacob), Lot (Lot), Shuaib, Yusuf (Joseph), Ayoub (Job), Dhul-Kifl, Yunus (Jonah),Musa (Moses), the one who spoke to God, & Harun (Aaron), Hizqeel (Ezekiel), Elyas (Elisha), Shammil (Samuel), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Soloman), Shia (Isaiah), Aramaya (Jeremiah), Daniel, Uzair (Ezra),Zakariyah (Zechariah),Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus) the spirit of God , and finally Muhammad the seal of the prophets. Muslims believe that God sent down the quran to Muhammad and other revelations to other prophets. The Torah was sent down to Moses and the Injeel(Gospel) to Jesus(pbuh). The Psalms(Zabur) were sent to David. There are so many different manuscripts of the Bible of so much so that many scholars do not agree on their authenticity. However the glorious quran recognizes the Torah, made of the books in the old testament, and the Gospels. And the core message of the Bible is the same as that of the quran. Every linguist will acknowledge that due to the complexity of human languages, it is probable that the meaning of some revelations has change with time. This is the reason why some ambiguity exists in all scriptures. Even the original manuscripts of the quran are only understandable with divine assistance and guidance because it interpretation will depend on the readers mastering and understanding of Arabic semantics. For instance, the quran states that there are verses in it to which no specific or exact meaning can be given but those who have crookedness in their heart will seek to interpret those verses whereas only God can reveal their real interpretation(quran 3:7). Those who argue with scriptures always interpret the ambiguous verses in their own meaning, but the core message of All scriptures is the same .The Torah invites to worship only one God and shun false Gods and promise a reward for those who do good and a severe punishment for the evil ones. The Gospels invites people to perform and enjoin good deeds and to think about the hereafter. These scriptures have the same message. In the glorious quran it is repeated so many times that those who do good will inherit paradise and those who reject faith will be in Hell were they will dwell forever. And even common sense shows us that those who patiently persevere in doing good are always rewarded in this world. The prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that all the main religions will be divided. The Muslims will be divided into 73 sects and only one will lead to the straight path. The Jews will also be divide in 71 and the Christians into 72 sects and only one of each will lead to the straight path. The religion accepted by God will be the monotheistic submission to God(Islam). “Verily, the only religion with God is Islam. The people of the book(The Jews and the Christians) differed only after knowledge came to them” (quran 3:19). As a matter of fact the stories of the prophets and their legacy confirm this claim.
Let us take for instance Abraham the father of Monotheism. Abraham is dear to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Broadly speaking mankind is referred to as Children of Adam and Eve but true believer are refer to as descendants of Abraham. There is no clear proof that Abraham was Muslim or Christian or jew, but there is historical evidence that he was born somewhere in middle east, probably in Irak, today a Muslim country. There are records for his moving from Palestine to Egypt. Thus those who criticize Christianity argue that the form of Christianity taught today is not the original Christianity taught by Jesus. The story of Abraham in the quran and the Bible demonstrates that Prophets were send to teach their people to worship the giver of life and sustainer of Mankind and shun false Gods. Anything that is created, such as idols can no benefit (or harm) any worshiper but only God can guide to the path that is straight. The evidence that the religion taught by many christian sects today is not the religion of Jesus(pbuh) is that it comprises element of polytheism such as trinity and many other pagan practices. Moreover even the location where the prophet was born is mainly Muslim today.
And what about Moses? Moses was born and raised up in Egypt, today a Muslim country. The country was ruled by Pharaoh who had enslaved the descendants of Jacob. The were kept in bondage and forced Labor for little payment or nothing. The people obeyed and worshiped the pharaoh but Moses was to become a messenger and Liberator of his people. The children of Israel in Egypt were multiplying and prospering even under bondage. And it came a rumor about a vision of a Israeli leader that will dethrone Pharaoh. Moses is sent by God to give guidance and established the law that those who wants to be saved have to follow. The ten commandments are the basic of ethics and without them living together in a society would not have been easy.
Jesus was born in Palestine. Jesus was send by God to the Israelis who were under roman domination and had become disobedient to the Mosaic law. Jesus taught them to enjoin good and forbid evil and taught them the way of God. Jesus is know to have been bor in Bethlehem and died in Jerusalem. All in Palestine. It is the people who claim that what he taught is Christianity but according t the glorious quran what Jesus was teaching was submission to God, that is Islam. As a matter of fact the religion practiced where Jesus was born is still Islam.
Therefore, it appears that revealed religions were brought to Mankind by prophets who conveyed the law of God. This law may have differ in its legislation and methodology according to the messenger and the context of revelation. It may also have been distorted by some of the people to whom it was sent. But all the prophets like Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc… had the same message: Islamic monotheism. The last prophet, Muhammad(pbuh) clarified when he said: “ All prophet are half-brothers, having the same father(religion) but different mothers.”
