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Q28

Why Islam and not another religion?

The question, at its strongest

"Every religion has holy people, sacred texts, miracles reported by followers, and believers who are sure. Christians say their scripture is preserved and their founder is historical too. Muslims say the Bible was changed — but early Qurans also show variants, and Uthman burned the other copies. 'Islam is the continuation of all the prophets' is what Islam says about itself; every newer religion says that. If I apply the same standards to all of them, why would Islam come out on top — and if I had been born in Chennai, wouldn't I be saying the same about Hinduism?"

Why people ask it

People meet friends of other faiths, read critical material online, or notice that their own belief came with their family. Students want the actual arguments, not slogans. Outsiders want to know what Islam claims about other religions, concretely.

Short answer

Islam does not claim to be a new religion. It claims to be the same message — the worship of one God and right action — that all earlier prophets brought, now given in a final, preserved form (2:285; 5:48). Concretely, it honours Moses and Jesus (pbuh) as prophets, but denies that Jesus is divine and holds that earlier scriptures were changed in transmission. The case for Islam over other faiths rests on criteria that can be stated: the coherence of its idea of God; the character and impact of its messenger; the transmission of its text; and its fit with human nature. Each criterion has strong points and real difficulties — including variants in the earliest manuscripts and the burning of non-Uthmanic copies. Applying the criteria fairly leaves a strong case, not a proof. Conviction and respect for people of other faiths go together.

The full answer

8min read

For the heart and mind

If your closest friend follows another faith, you do not have to choose between your conviction and your friendship. The Quran tells Muslims how to speak with Jews and Christians: "do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best… and say, 'We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one'" (29:46). Begin there: with what you share, said with courtesy. For the question of whether your friend will be saved, see the page "Are good people of other faiths saved?"

What the Quran says

Islam presents itself as the confirmation of earlier revelation. "And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it" (5:48). This is Medinan, in Sura al-Maʾida, addressed to the Prophet (pbuh) about judging between communities. The same verse adds: "To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good." So the Quran both claims authority over earlier scripture ("criterion over it") and accepts that communities have had different laws.

It asks belief in all the prophets. "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], 'We make no distinction between any of His messengers'" (2:285). In practice this means a Muslim affirms Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus (pbuh) as prophets of the same God.

It differs sharply on who God is. "Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One'" (112:1). Islam rejects the Christian doctrines that Jesus (pbuh) is God or God's son; this is the main point of difference with Christianity, not a detail.

It makes an exclusive claim, and a broader one. "And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him" (3:85). Yet an earlier verse promises reward to "those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] – those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness" (2:62). How the two fit is discussed on the salvation page; Ibn Kathir reports Ibn ʿAbbas's view that 3:85 came later and governs after the Prophet's (pbuh) mission. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me, but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire" (Muslim 153 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)). This is the hard side of Islam's claim, and it should be stated plainly.

It invites a test of its text. "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof" (2:23). And it promises preservation: "Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian" (15:9), from Sura al-Hijr, Meccan.

History

The text was standardised early, and the tradition says so openly. Anas ibn Malik (ra) reports that Hudhayfa urged the caliph ʿUthman: "Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as Jews and the Christians did before." ʿUthman obtained the sheets kept by Hafsa (ra); Zayd ibn Thabit and three others made copies; where they differed, ʿUthman told them to "write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue"; copies were sent to each province, and other Quranic materials were ordered "burnt" (Bukhārī 4987 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)). This shows both a strong concern for one text and that other written forms existed.

Early manuscripts are close to the Prophet's lifetime. Established (for the dates.) A Quran fragment in Tübingen University Library, Ma VI 165, was dated by radiocarbon analysis at a Zürich laboratory to "AD 649–675" with "95.4% statistical probability" (Medieval.eu, 2014). The Sanaa palimpsest — a manuscript whose first ("lower") text was erased and overwritten — has a parchment that Sadeghi and Bergmann (2010) dated to before 669 CE with 95% probability, and "75% probability from before 646 CE" (Wikipedia, summarising them). The Birmingham folios, discussed on the page "Was the Quran preserved?", are dated to 568–645 CE (not yet checked again).

The earliest text shows variants. Established (that variants exist; Debated what they mean.) The Sanaa lower text has a sura order that "corresponds to no known Quranic order", and many variant wordings, which, the summary says, "rarely diverge from the fundamental meaning". Within suras the verse order mostly matches the standard text, with exceptions (in sura 20 two verses are swapped; in sura 9 a verse is missing, which Sadeghi and Goudarzi attribute to a copyist's eye-skip). Sadeghi and Goudarzi (2012) report some overlap with variants attributed to the Companion Ibn Masʿud but more differences; Elisabeth Puin and Asma Hilali report little or no correspondence; Hilali argues the texts may be schoolroom writing exercises, which Nicolai Sinai has criticised (Wikipedia).

What this does and does not show. The manuscripts show that the Quran's text was fixed very early and that the standard text was not a late invention. They also show that, before ʿUthman's standardisation, copies differed in order and wording. A skeptic will say this is ordinary textual history; a Muslim will say the variants are minor and the standardisation preserved the revealed text. Both are describing the same evidence.

How scholars have understood it

Philosophers of religion describe the options. David Basinger's SEP entry defines exclusivism as believing that one's perspective "is the truth or at least closer to the truth than any other competing religious perspective", and pluralism as denying "the primacy of any one religion". It summarises John Hick's view that each major religion "constitutes a valid context of salvation/liberation; but none constitutes the one and only such context". Islam in its mainstream forms is exclusivist about truth while, in many scholars' views, generous about who may be excused (see the salvation page).

Muslim thinkers who compared religions. Readers asked for Ibn Taymiyya's al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Ibn Ḥazm's al-Fiṣal, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Tim Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad), Abdulaziz Sachedina and Mohammad Hassan Khalil. Their works have not yet been consulted, so their arguments are not summarised here. Khalil's study of how al-Ghazali, Ibn ʿArabi, Ibn Taymiyya and Rashid Rida thought about the fate of non-Muslims is summarised on the salvation page.

The reasoning

Criteria that can count as evidence for one religion over another. Stated so they can be applied to every faith, including Islam:

  1. Coherence of its idea of God — is the account of God consistent with itself and with the existence of a single Creator?
  2. The messenger — what is known of his life, character and claims, from early sources, including hostile ones?
  3. The text and its transmission — how early, how stable, how openly its history is recorded?
  4. Moral and spiritual fruit — what does the teaching do to people who live by it, over time?
  5. Fit with human nature and reason — does it make sense of what we know about ourselves?

Applying them to Islam fairly. Strong points: a strict monotheism (112:1) that many find coherent; a messenger whose life is recorded in detail; a text with very early manuscripts. Weak points a skeptic will press: the earliest manuscripts show variants and a different sura order; the non-Uthmanic copies were destroyed, so we cannot compare them fully; many detailed accounts of the Prophet's (pbuh) life were written down a century or more after him; and the moral record of Muslim societies, like every society's, is mixed. A fair reader will weigh both.

The "born elsewhere" objection. Al-Ghazali raised it himself: "Christian youths always grew up to be Christians, Jewish youths to be Jews and Muslim youths to be Muslims" (al-Munqidh, Watt, section I) — and it drove him to test his inherited belief, not to abandon belief. Philosophers call this the problem of "religious luck"; the philosopher Guy Axtell argues that exclusivists' beliefs suffer from "a malignant strand of epistemic luck", and critics reply that the same luck affects atheism and moral beliefs (Liz Jackson's review of Axtell, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2019). See "Is claiming one religion is true arrogant?".

The strongest objection, and the reply

"Every religion calls itself the fulfilment of the ones before." Reply: that is true; the claim alone proves nothing. It has to be tested by the criteria above. Limit: the criteria themselves are weighed differently by different people.

"Christians also have early manuscripts and a historical founder." Reply: yes. The disagreement is not about whether Jesus (pbuh) existed, but about who he was and whether the doctrines about him are original. Islam's case is that the earliest message of all prophets was the oneness of God. Limit: historians of Christianity and Islam disagree on how to read the earliest sources of both, and this page cannot settle that.

"The Uthmanic standardisation hid a messier text." Reply: the tradition itself records the standardisation openly (Bukhari 4987), and the Sanaa lower text, which escaped it, differs mainly in order and in wordings that rarely change the meaning. Limit: we cannot compare every pre-Uthmanic copy, because most were destroyed.

The range of views

  • Mainstream Sunni and Shiʿi — Islam is the final, true religion; earlier scriptures were genuine but changed; individuals the message did not truly reach may be excused (salvation page).
  • Hick's pluralism — all major religions are valid paths; criticised in turn as "inclusivists in disguise" (Mark Heim) and as arbitrary in deciding which religions count (Basinger, SEP).
  • Critical historians — the Quran's text was fixed early; the pre-Uthmanic text had variants (Sadeghi & Goudarzi; Hilali; Puin).

Questions readers ask next

What does Islam say about Jesus?

He is a prophet and messenger of God, born of Mary; Muslims honour him. Islam denies that he is God or the son of God (112:1).

What does "continuation of the earlier prophets" mean in practice?

A Muslim believes in all of them "We make no distinction between any of His messengers" (2:285) and sees Islam as their shared message in its final form (5:48).

Didn't ʿUthman burn other Qurans?

Yes. Bukhari 4987 records it, with the aim of preventing disputes over the text. That is why the earliest independent witness, the Sanaa lower text, matters so much to historians.

How old are the oldest Qurans?

Several fragments are radiocarbon-dated to within a few decades of the Prophet's (pbuh) death: Tübingen Ma VI 165, AD 649–675 (95.4% probability); the Sanaa parchment, before 669 CE (95%).

If I'd been born elsewhere, wouldn't I believe something else?

Probably, at first. Al-Ghazali noticed exactly that and tested his belief. Where a belief comes from does not settle whether it is true; the reasons for it do.

Is my Christian friend wrong?

On the points where Islam and Christianity disagree, a Muslim believes so. That is compatible with deep respect and friendship (29:46).

Key verses

ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ۝٢٨٥

āmana l-rasūlu bimā unzila ilayhi min rabbihi wal-mu'minūna kullun āmana bil-lahi wamalāikatihi wakutubihi warusulihi lā nufarriqu bayna aḥadin min rusulihi waqālū samiʿ'nā wa-aṭaʿnā ghuf'rānaka rabbanā wa-ilayka l-maṣīru

The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."

2:285

Translation: Saheeh International

  • And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." 29:46

    Arabic text and transliteration

    ۞ وَلَا تُجَٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَٰهُنَا وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ

    walā tujādilū ahla l-kitābi illā bi-allatī hiya aḥsanu illā alladhīna ẓalamū min'hum waqūlū āmannā bi-alladhī unzila ilaynā wa-unzila ilaykum wa-ilāhunā wa-ilāhukum wāḥidun wanaḥnu lahu mus'limūna

Sources

  1. Saheeh International via the site's Tanzil data — 2:285, 29:46, 5:48, 3:85, 2:62, 15:9, 2:23, 112:1.
  2. Sahih Muslim 153 (sunnah.com), https://sunnah.com/muslim:153.
  3. Sahih al-Bukhari 4987 (sunnah.com, Book 66, Hadith 9) — the Uthmanic copies.
  4. "Sanaa manuscript", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript — summary of Sadeghi & Bergmann (2010), Sadeghi & Goudarzi (2012), Hilali, Puin (secondary).
  5. "Qur'an fragment Tübingen University Library Ma VI 165", Medieval.eu (11 November 2014), https://www.medieval.eu/sensational-fragment-early-quran-identified/ — the Tübingen radiocarbon date.
  6. Green and Howard-Snyder, "Hiddenness of God", SEP; Basinger, "Religious Diversity (Pluralism)", SEP (substantively revised 21 February 2025), https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religious-pluralism/.
  7. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, on 10:99 and 109:6 (quran.com) — for the respect owed to others.
  8. The site's earlier research, Batch A, for Mohammad Hassan Khalil's Islam and the Fate of Others (OUP, 2012) as summarised by E. Bazzano's review (AJIS 30:1) — used only as a pointer.
  9. Nasr (2002)
  10. Khalil (2012)
  11. Sachedina (2001)
  12. Winter (2008)
  13. TDV, "Din" (Tr.)