Answer
Short Answer: A privilege that only Muslims have: the privilege of getting Allah’s special blessings given to those who accept His Guidance and lead a life of obedience to His commandments. Really the question is not about Islam’s superiority over other religions; rather it is: What is the true religion, the original religion, the religion taught by God for the whole of humanity for all time? And the answer is: Islam.
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Salam Sister,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Your second question pertains to privileges.
By privileges we normally mean special rights or exemption granted to persons in authority to free them from certain obligations or liabilities. If we mean such worldly privileges, Muslims are not entitled to get them any more than other religious communities. But in a country like Saudi Arabia a Muslim has certain rights which are not given to others: such as the right to enter the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
The privilege of being a Muslim
But we can consider another kind of privilege that only Muslims have: we mean the privilege of getting Allah’s special blessings given to those who accept His Guidance and lead a life of obedience to His commandments. Allah Almighty speaks in His Holy Quran about the special privileges He will bestow upon Muslims in several verses such as the following:
“Now as for those who have attained to faith and done righteous deeds, their Sustainer will admit them to His grace: that will be [their] manifest triumph!” (Quran 45:30)
“And unto those who attained to faith and did good deeds He will grant their just rewards, and give them yet more out of His bounty..” (Quran 4:173)
Islam teaches that the rewards awaiting Muslims are greater than all the wealth and laurels of this world. There is no comparing such bounties from Allah Almighty with any of the petty privileges of this world.
Questions 3 and 4 are about Islam’s “presumption of superiority” over “other religions”.
Islam is the natural and universal religion
First, one may note that Islam is not a new religion; it is a universal way of life and civilization. “Muslim” means “anyone or anything that surrenders itself to the Will of God”. By this definition, all beings and things in nature are “muslim”; because they are in a state of surrender to God’s will. In other words, they compulsorily follow Allah’s laws which are usually called “laws of nature”, thereby fulfilling the purpose for which God created them. That is the primary sense of ‘Islam’.
The second, but equally important sense of ‘Islam’ is the essential Message of Guidance that Allah revealed to all the Prophets. And finally, Islam means Allah’s Complete Guidance to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of humanity. This is in fulfillment of the covenant God had made with Abraham, who is called “the Patriarch of mankind.” Indeed the way of Islam is the same way of Prophet Abraham, who is described in the Bible and the Quran as a towering example for everyone, of a person completely submitted to God.
Allah in the Quran says:
“Abraham was neither a “Jew” nor a “Christian”, but was one who turned away from all that is false, having surrendered himself unto God; and he was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him.” (Quran 3:67)
Islam is the Religion of all the Prophets from the first to the last
Since all the prophets and messengers throughout history were Muslims (i.e those who willingly submitted to Allah the Lord of the whole universe), one can see that Islam has the most continuous and universal message over any religion.
For the above reason, what are usually called “other religions” were at the time of their inception basically the same religion of Islam. Their “otherness” is because of the changes that have overcome them owing to extraneous factors such as defective preservation and the selfishness and perversity of those who erected themselves as the mediators between God and humans.
Really the question is not about Islam’s superiority over other religions; rather it is: What is the true religion, the original religion, the religion taught by God for the whole of humanity for all time? And the answer is: Islam. And Allah Almighty says:
“For, if one goes in search of a religion other than Islam (i.e self-surrender unto God), it will never be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the lost.” (Quran 3:85)
May Allah guide us all to the truth of Islam, so that we can strive with our might and main to merit the innumerable blessings He has promised us!
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
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