The history of religions is often presented as an evolutionary path: beginning with many gods and idolatry, then climbing gradually through the ages until it arrived at monotheism. But a closer reading of the Qurʾān and of history offers the reverse account: monotheism is the origin, and idolatry the later deviation. From the dawn of humanity the Creator did not leave man to grope in darkness, but sent an unbroken chain of prophets and messengers carrying one substance and a message that does not change.

One Source: The Single Religion of the Prophets

The message of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad — peace be upon them — is a single message in its creed: devoting worship and submission to the one great Creator. That conscious, willing submission is the literal meaning of the word *Islam*. The revelations never contradicted one another in the root of belief; each prophet confirmed the one before him and prepared the way for the one after.

The difference fell in the practical laws, which came detailed to suit the condition of each society and the needs of a particular era — much as a physician prescribes different medicines according to the patient's state at different stages of treatment, while the medical science he draws on remains one.

Innate Nature and Direct Access to the Creator

What most distinguishes an uncorrupted creed is its directness and simplicity, agreeing with reason and sound innate nature. The bond between a servant and his Lord, in its pure form, needs no human intermediary, no institution monopolising forgiveness, and no complexity by which the Deity becomes embodied in a man who eats, drinks and suffers.

God is *al-Ṣamad*: the great Creator, independent of His creation, to whom creatures turn directly in their needs. The moment you raise your hands and call upon Him, the connection is made between you and the Lord of the heavens and the earth, with no barrier and no rival. This absolute transcendence restores a person's dignity and frees him from intellectual or spiritual subservience to any created thing.

Why Were the Messages Sealed with Islam?

If the earlier messages were sound in their origin, why did wisdom require Islam to be the final religion, with no prophet after Muhammad ﷺ? Three considerations make this clear:

Preservation of the original text. The earlier messages were entrusted to human custodians — rabbis and monks — and through successive wars and translations the original manuscripts were lost and alteration entered the texts. The Qurʾān, by contrast, the Creator undertook to preserve in wording and meaning, so the need for a new prophet to correct a corrupted book fell away.

Universality of address. Earlier messages were sent to specific peoples within a closed territory and a limited time, as Moses — peace be upon him — was sent to the Children of Israel in particular. When the world opened and the barriers of geography broke down, the final message came universal in address, speaking to all mankind.

Comprehensiveness and flexibility of the law. The legislation came with overarching principles balancing spirit and body, individual and society, with a breadth able to absorb new circumstances and keep pace with development in every time and place.

Closing

Whoever looks at the history of religions fairly recognizes that Islam did not come to demolish the labour of the prophets before it, but to crown that edifice, to correct the human distortion that had entered it, and to return man's compass to its first and final direction: the worship of one God, without partner and without intermediary.