The Philosophy of the Qur’an – Its Spread in the World

If we return to the Qur’an’s basic beliefs, we can consider Islam a simplified version of Christianity. However, Islam differs from Christianity in many fundamental principles, especially in absolute monotheism, which is a fundamental principle. This is because the one God, to whom Islam calls, dominates all things, and is not surrounded by angels, saints, or others whose veneration is required. Islam alone can boast of being the first religion to introduce monotheism to the world.

The great ease of Islam is derived from pure monotheism, and in this ease lies the secret of Islam’s strength. Islam, and its understanding, is easy, free from the contradictions and mysteries that we see in other religions and that good taste often rejects. Nothing is clearer and less ambiguous than the principles of Islam, which state that there is one God, that all people are equal before God, and that there are a few duties that will lead to Paradise for those who fulfill them, and that will lead to Hell for those who neglect them. If you meet any Muslim from any class, you will find that he knows what he must believe and can easily recite the principles of Islam to you in a few words. In this, he is the opposite of the Christian who cannot talk about the Trinity, transubstantiation, and similar mysteries unless he is a theologian who is familiar with the subtleties of debate.

The extreme clarity of Islam and the justice and benevolence it commanded greatly facilitated its spread throughout the world. These advantages explain why many Christian peoples embraced Islam, such as the Egyptians who were Christians during the reign of the Caesars of Constantinople and became Muslims when they learned the principles of Islam. They also explain why no nation has converted to Christianity after accepting Islam as its religion, whether that nation was victorious or vanquished.

Anyone who wishes to judge the usefulness of a religious book should not look at its generally weak philosophical foundations, but rather at the extent of the influence of its beliefs. Islam, if looked at from this perspective, will be found to be one of the most influential religions on people. While it is similar to most religions in commanding justice, benevolence, prayer, etc., it teaches these matters with an ease that everyone finds pleasing. Moreover, it knows how to instill in people a firm faith that is not shaken by doubts.

There is no doubt that the political and civil influence of Islam was extremely great. Before Muhammad, the Arab lands were composed of independent emirates and constantly warring tribes. When Muhammad appeared, a century later, the Arab state extended from India to Spain, and civilization shone with its brilliant light in all the cities over which the Prophet’s banner fluttered.

Islam is one of the religions most suited to scientific discoveries, and one of the greatest in refining souls and in encouraging justice, benevolence, and tolerance. It is self-evident that, although it surpasses all the lofty religions in philosophy, it must undergo a complete transformation in order to be enjoyed by the masses. And it is undoubtedly inferior to Islam in this modified form.

The Arab civilization, which was created by the followers of Muhammad, followed the same pattern as all civilizations that appeared in the world: emergence, then rise, then decline, then death. Despite the decline that befell the Arab civilization,

Like the civilizations that came before it, the religion of the Prophet has not been affected by time, and it has the same influence as in the past, and it still has great power over souls, even though other religions that are older than it lose something of their power every day.

Today, more than one hundred million people profess Islam, and it has been embraced by the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, a large part of India, Russia, China, and then all of Africa to almost the equator.

The various peoples who have adopted the Qur’an as their constitution are united by a common language and the ties that result from the arrival of pilgrims to Mecca from all over the Islamic world.

All followers of Muhammad are required to recite the Qur’an in Arabic as much as possible. Arabic is, therefore, probably the most widely spoken language in the world. Despite the racial differences among Islamic peoples, there is a great solidarity among them that could one day unite them under one flag.

Historians who opposed Islam were amazed at the rapid spread of the Qur’an, attributing it to what they alleged of Muhammad’s corruption and brutality. It is easy for us to prove that these allegations are baseless. We say that whoever reads the Qur’an will find in it the same strictness as in other religions, and that what the Qur’an permitted of polygamy was not strange to the Muslim peoples who knew it before the appearance of Muhammad, and that these peoples did not find any new benefit in the Qur’an for this reason.

What was said as evidence of Muhammad’s dissolution was refuted long ago by the philosopher and scholar Bell. Bell said, after proving that the restrictions of fasting, the prohibition of alcohol, and the principles of morality that the Prophet ordered us to adhere to were more severe than what the Christians ordered:

It is a misguidance, then, to attribute the rapid spread of Islam throughout the world to the fact that it relieves man of the burden of burdensome duties and righteous deeds, and that it permits him to remain in bad morals. Hottinger has compiled a long list of noble morals and good manners among Muslims, and I believe, with the intention of praising Islam, that this list contains the most that a person can be commanded to do in terms of adorning himself with noble morals and avoiding faults and sins.

Figure 2-3 : An old Qur’an tray in the El Escorial Library (Spanish Museum) .

Among what the scholar Bell pointed out is that the paradise promised to Muslims is no greater than what was promised to Christians in the Bible. It is stated in the Bible: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him . ”

When the reader examines the Arab conquests and the reasons for their victories, he will see that force was not a factor in the spread of the Qur’an. The Arabs left the vanquished free in their religions. If it happened that some Christian peoples embraced Islam and adopted Arabic as their language, it was because they saw the justice of the victorious Arabs, something they had never seen from their previous masters, and because Islam was easy, something they had never known before.

History has proven that religions cannot be imposed by force. When the Christians conquered the Arabs of Andalusia, they preferred to kill and expel every last one of them rather than abandon Islam.

The Qur’an was not spread by the sword, then, but rather by preaching alone, and by preaching alone it was embraced by the peoples who had recently conquered the Arabs, such as the Turks and the Mongols. The Qur’an spread so widely in India, where the Arabs were merely passersby, that the number of Muslims increased to more than fifty million.