Is merely belonging to the Messiah sufficient for salvation on the Day of Judgment from the torment of Hell ?
Let us begin with the most important question :
What is the difference between religion and belief? And why might the fate of a person in the Hereafter depend on it ?
Not everything a person believes is true, and not everything he inherited from his forefathers is necessarily what God intended for him.
A person may believe that he is on the right path and live his entire life clinging to it while in reality being mistaken.
As for religion, it is what God revealed to His prophets for the guidance of humanity, to teach people how to worship God, obey His commands, and walk on the path that pleases Him.
And why must we understand the difference between belief and religion ?
Because a person may inherit beliefs from his family and society and believe in their correctness merely because he grew up upon them.
Therefore, we should not be content with what we inherited, but rather seek the truth and verify what we believe in, to know whether it is truly what God revealed to His prophets, or merely a belief passed down through generations.
So is it sufficient for a person to say that he belongs to Judaism or that he belongs to Christianity,
or should he also ask himself :
Do I worship God as He commanded me, or as people taught me ?
And do I believe in God with a correct faith and truly obey His commandments, or am I content with belonging to a religion inherited from my forefathers without verifying that it is the truth that pleases God ?
So is what matters the name we are accustomed to hearing, or the truth that God intended for us to be guided to ?
Before we answer this question, we must start from the foundation : What is the religion that God revealed to His prophets ?
And what is the message with which He sent them to guide humanity ?
Did the prophets come to call people to belong to the names of individuals or peoples, or did they come to call them to worship God alone, submit to Him, yield to His commands, and obey Him ?
And here a fundamental question emerges: Did God name His religion after a prophet, a people, or a race, or is God Himself the One who clarified the name of the religion He chose for His servants ?
If we want to know the true religion of God, should we not return to His preserved revelation, the Noble Quran, to know how God named His religion, instead of being content with names we inherited from our fathers, or designations that people applied to themselves and their followers ?
Islam is submission to God alone, and this is not a new religion that appeared with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, but rather it is the essence of the call of all prophets.
Since God created humans, the prophets of God have called people to submit to God and worship Him alone, yield to His commands, and follow His guidance — and that is Islam.
God did not send the prophets to call people to worship them or to belong to their names and races, but rather He sent them to lead humanity to the worship of its Creator, and He made piety and obedience the basis of distinction among them.
The heavenly message has its source in God the Creator, and the prophets, peace be upon them, are messengers tasked with conveying it and calling to submission to God, worship of God, and following His commandments — they are not owners of an independent religion attributed to them.
God is the One who names, not humans.
And He has informed us in His Book preserved until the Day of Judgment, the Noble Quran, saying :
".19) Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account. ."
( The Noble Quran 3 : 19 )
So the origin of the call is one: submission to God and worship of God alone, belief in Him, obedience to Him, and following His commandments.
So why do people cling to names associated with individuals, instead of seeking the name of the religion that God legislated ?
In reality, many beliefs have been named after their founders or associated figures; Buddhism is associated with Buddha, Zoroastrianism with Zoroaster, Confucianism with Confucius, Mohism with Mozi, and Manichaeism with Mani.
But the most important question is :
Is the fame of the name or the antiquity of the belief evidence that it is the religion that God chose for humanity ?
Some people cling to beliefs that carry the names of individuals, even though God did not command them to belong to these beliefs.
Because a person often inherits his belief from his family and society, and becomes accustomed to what he grew up with until he thinks it is the truth that needs no investigation.
And with the passage of time, names and traditions become part of an identity that is difficult to abandon, even if its holder does not stop to ask about its origin and evidence.
Truth is not known by inherited names, nor by the abundance of followers, but by seeking the truth and the source of the message.
Contemplate this question fairly : If God is the One who created us, and He is the One who sent the prophets to guide humanity, is it not our right to know the name that He gave to His religion, instead of being content with names we inherited from our fathers and societies ?
And here a fundamental question emerges that deserves contemplation : Did the teachings of Moses, peace be upon him, mention that he named the religion he brought Judaism, or did he call people to adopt this belief that carries this name ?
And did Jesus, peace be upon him, declare that his message is Christianity and call for adopting this belief that carries this name ?
Or did both of them come calling to the worship of God alone and submission to His command ?
If God is one, and the prophets all call to His worship, why do we seek names that humans coined, and not seek the name that God Himself chose for His religion ?
And the matter that deserves contemplation is that God Almighty did not name His religion Judaism or Christianity even in the books of Judaism and Christianity themselves.
In Judaism, the word "Jew" is never mentioned in the Torah (the five books of Moses).
The term "Jew" appeared as an ethnic designation for the descendants of the tribe of Judah, and a person is considered a Jew if his mother is Jewish, even if he does not believe in God or practice religious rituals ; because Jewish identity is linked to ethnic nationalism.
The message of Moses, peace be upon him, is not called Judaism. This name is not mentioned in the Torah, the Talmud, or the Mishnah, and does not exist in the books of the Jews.
Rather, the message of Moses was complete submission to the will of God, and that is Islam.
And Moses is a Muslim like all the messengers in Islam, meaning that he submitted to the command of God and advised his followers to believe in God, worship God, and follow His commandments.
God says in the Noble Quran :
{.84) And Moses said, "O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then rely upon Him, if you should be Muslims [i.e., submitting to Him.] }
( The Noble Quran 10 : 84 )
The true followers of Moses, peace be upon him, were Muslims, meaning those who submitted to God alone, believing that there is no deity except God, and that Moses is the Messenger of God whom He sent to guide people.
So the essence of their message was not belonging to a name or an ethnic group, but rather the worship of God alone, belief in His messenger, and obedience to him in what he commanded.
The Noble Quran and the Torah mention that some people did not believe in Moses, peace be upon him, but rather denied him and opposed his message, even though God sent him to them with signs and clear proofs.
God Almighty said:
{ But no one believed Moses except a few of his people, out of fear of Pharaoh and their chiefs .}
( The Noble Quran 10 : 83 )
Only a group of his people believed in Moses, and they feared the tyranny of Pharaoh and their elders who did not believe in the message of Moses, peace be upon him.
And it came in the Book of Exodus 32 : 1– 4, 7–8 :
The text states that the Children of Israel gathered around Aaron and said:
"Make us gods who will go before us."
Then they made a golden calf and worshipped it, and it came in verse eight :
" They have turned aside quickly from the way which I commanded them."
Secondly : Did Jesus, peace be upon him, name the religion he brought Christianity ? And did he say to people: I am a Christian, or command you to be Christians ?
And did he inform people that they must belong to his name ?
Or was the reality of his message a call to people to worship God alone with no partner, submit to His commands, and follow what He revealed to him ?
Jesus, peace be upon him, did not name his message Christianity, nor did he describe himself as a Christian, and it is not recorded in the Gospels that he gave his followers the name Christians.
There is no text in the four Gospels indicating that this designation came from Jesus himself.
Jesus called his followers "disciples" :
Gospel of John 8 : 31 — Van Dyck translation
" So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.'"
These texts describe the followers of the Messiah as his disciples, and emphasize the importance of abiding in his teaching and keeping his commandments.
But describing them as disciples does not mean that he declared
" discipleship " to be the official name of his religion.
For Jesus is a Muslim like all the messengers of Islam, meaning that he submitted to the command of God and advised his followers to submit to God, worship God, and follow His commandments.
The content of the message that Jesus, peace be upon him, brought according to the Gospel :
Gospel of Mark 12 : 29, according to the Van Dyck translation :
" Jesus answered, 'The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one .'"
The Messiah did not command people to belong to his name, but rather called them to worship God, obey Him, and keep His commandments.
And it came in the Gospel of Matthew 22 : 37–38, according to the Van Dyck translation :
" You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment ."
This is the first and greatest commandment in the words of the Messiah : that a person love God with sincere love, and make His worship and obedience above all things.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the text quotes Jesus saying:
" You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve ."
[ Matthew 4 : 10 ]
And in the Gospel of John, he says in his prayer :
" And this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent ."
[ John 17 : 3 ]
It came in the Gospel of John 14 : 15, according to the Van Dyck translation:
" If you love me, keep my commandments."
And it also came in John 14 :21 :
" He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me ."
The Messiah links love for him with keeping his commandments and acting upon them. For love is not merely a claim with the tongue, but is shown in obedience and commitment to the teachings.
Ask yourself honestly: If Jesus, peace be upon him, was calling people to worship God, describing God as his Lord, affirming that he is a messenger sent from Him, and urging people to obey God and keep His commandments — is it not logical that we contemplate his teachings and follow what he actually called to ?
And among the texts that deserve contemplation is the saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew :
" Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. "
[ Matthew 7 : 21 ]
This text draws attention to the fact that merely saying with the tongue is not enough, and that doing the will of God is essential on the path to the kingdom.
The Messiah Jesus, peace be upon him, said in the Gospel of Matthew 5 : 17 :
" Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill ."
Contemplate these words carefully! For the Messiah did not say that he came to cancel the law of God that was revealed to Moses and the prophets, but rather affirmed that he did not come to abolish it.
So what matters is not that you call yourself by the name of the Messiah, but that you worship God alone, submit to Him, and follow what He commanded you.
So if you love the Messiah and want to follow his teachings, begin with what he emphasized : worship God alone, be sincere to Him, obey His commandments, and make love for Him the foundation of your life.
Moses, Abraham, Noah, and all the other prophets called to the worship of God alone and obedience to Him, and Jesus, peace be upon him, did not come to demolish the origin of this message, which is submission to God through worship and following His commandments.
And in the Noble Quran, Jesus, peace be upon him, says :
( 51) Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path." )
[ The Noble Quran 3 : 51 ]
The true followers of Jesus are those who believed in God alone, submitted to Him, obeyed His commands, and believed in Jesus, peace be upon him, as a messenger from God, not a god to be worshipped besides God.
So the essence of his message was the call to the worship of God alone, and this is Islam in its general sense : submission to God through monotheism and obedience.
They believed that there is no deity except God, and that Jesus is the servant of God and His messenger, sent to guide people to the worship of their Creator alone.
The text in the Gospel of Matthew 15 : 24, Van Dyck translation :
" He answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .'"
The text clarifies that Jesus, peace be upon him, explained that his message was directed to the Children of Israel, which calls for contemplation of the nature of his message and distinguishing between it and the message of Muhammad ﷺ, whom God sent to all people.
It came in John 17:8:
Jesus said about his disciples in his prayer to God :
" For the words that You gave me I have given to them, and they received them and truly understood that I came from You, and they believed that You sent me."
In the Gospel of John 17 : 8, the Life Book translation :
" For I have passed on to them the commandments You commanded me with, and they accepted them, and they knew truly that I came from You, and they believed that You sent me ."
This text is clear in meaning: it shows that the disciples believed that God Almighty is the One who sent Jesus, peace be upon him, and they acknowledged that he is a messenger sent from Him. So the focus of their faith in this text is that God sent Jesus, not that Jesus is God.
Texts in the Gospel describing Jesus as a prophet sent from God :
1. Gospel of Matthew 21 : 11
" This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee ."
This text clearly mentions that people described Jesus, peace be upon him, as a prophet.
2. Gospel of Luke 24 : 19
" Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people ."
Notice that the text describes Jesus as a human prophet, and that he was mighty in his deeds and words before God and people. This is a clear testimony to his great status as a prophet sent by God.
3. Gospel of John 6 : 14
" This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world ."
4. The text from the Gospel of John 9 : 17, Van Dyck translation :
" They said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes ?
' He said, 'He is a prophet .'"
When the man whom Jesus, peace be upon him, healed was asked about his opinion of him, he answered simply and clearly. : " He is a prophet." He saw a great sign at his hands, but he did not say he is God or the Son of God, but described him as a prophet.
5. Gospel of John 17 : 3
Jesus said in his prayer to God :
" You are the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent ."
6. Gospel of John 7 : 16
Jesus said :
" My teaching is not mine, but belongs to the One who sent me ."
This clarifies that Jesus was attributing his teaching to God who sent him, not to himself as an independent source of the message.
7. Gospel of John 12 : 49
Jesus said :
" For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me gave me a commandment : what to say and what to speak ."
Jesus, peace be upon him, says that he did not speak on his own, but that God who sent him is the One who commanded him with what to say and what to convey.
And this raises an important question : If Jesus declares that his message is linked to the One who sent him, and that he conveys what He commanded him with, does this declaration not deserve that we stop at it and contemplate its meaning ?
And this agrees with the essence of the message of the prophets: that they call people to God and following His commandments, and that they convey what God commanded them with.
Loving Jesus, peace be upon him, is not merely by belonging to his name, or being content with raising slogans in his name, but by following his call and walking on his path ; by believing in God alone, submitting to Him, obeying Him, and following His commandments.
How did some Jews reject the message of Jesus, peace be upon him, despite the signs he brought ?
Some Jewish leaders rejected the message of Jesus, peace be upon him, and they were not content with not believing in him, but tried to prevent others from believing in him and declaring their acknowledgment that he is the Messiah.
The Gospel of John 1 : 11 says :
" He came to his own, and his own did not receive him ."
The Gospel of Matthew 23 : 37
says :
" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you ."
These words express Jesus's sorrow over Jerusalem, and evoke what the text attributes to some of its people of resisting the prophets and messengers.
Gospel of John 12 : 42 — Van Dyck translation :
" But nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue ."
And the text continues in John 12 : 43 :
" For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God ."
What is meant by the praise of men here is the status, appreciation, and acceptance that a person receives from others ; such as being keen to preserve his position, or his reputation, or the respect of those around him, or avoiding their criticism and rejection of him.
This text deserves contemplation; because it does not speak only about ordinary people, but mentions that many of the rulers believed in Jesus, peace be upon him, but they did not declare their faith for fear of social consequences and feared the Pharisees, and were afraid of being put out of the synagogue, and the text attributes that to their love for the praise of men more than the praise of God.
A person may fear losing his position, or the respect of his family, or the acceptance of his society, so he postpones declaring his conviction or hides it.
And the context of the Gospel of John itself shows this fear clearly ;
in the Gospel of John 9 : 22 — Van Dyck translation :
" His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed that he was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue ."
The text clarifies that fear of being put out of the synagogue was a reason for some people's hesitation in declaring their faith in Jesus, peace be upon him, as the Messiah.
Did the Messiah command taking the cross as a path of salvation from the torment of Hell ?
The position of some Jewish leaders toward Jesus, peace be upon him, was not limited to rejecting his message, but the Gospel texts reveal their fear that people would believe in him and follow him, which drove them to oppose him and seek to get rid of him.
They feared that the spread of faith in him would lead to the loss of their influence and status, and therefore the Gospels mention that they conspired against him, sought to kill him, and the matter ended with handing him over to the Roman authorities.
The Gospel of John clearly reveals the fear of some Jewish leaders of the spread of Jesus's call and people's acceptance of faith in him.
They said: in John 11 : 48 :
" If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation ."
Reflect on how the call of Jesus, peace be upon him, was portrayed before the authorities: he was accused of corrupting the nation, in the context of seeking to condemn him.
This shows how opposition to the call can turn into accusations used against its bearer instead of discussing what he is calling to.
It is stated in the Gospel of
Luke 23 : 2 the following text :
" But they began to accuse him, saying: We found this man corrupting the nation, and forbidding that tribute be given to Caesar, saying : He is the Messiah, a king ."
The Gospel accounts reveal that the opposition of the Jewish leaders to the message of Jesus, peace be upon him, did not stop at rejecting his message.
Rather, it reached the point of accusing him before the Roman governor with serious charges : they accused him of corrupting the nation, preventing the payment of tribute to Caesar, and claiming that he was the Messiah, a king.
To understand the seriousness of these accusations, we must remember that the Jews at that time were living under Roman rule, and Rome was imposing its authority on the Jews.
Therefore, accusing Jesus of being a
" king " was not merely a religious accusation, but was understood politically as a claim to kingship in a land subject to Caesar, and a challenge to the authority of the empire.
As for accusing him of preventing the payment of tribute, that was a direct accusation of opposing the Roman authority.
Thus his opponents placed him before the Roman governor in the image of a person threatening the political system, not merely a man calling people to the worship of God.
And it is stated in the Gospel of Matthew 27 : 20 — the Van Dyck translation :
" But the chief priests and the elders stirred up the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be killed ."
This reveals the extent of the danger of incitement when it comes from people of influence, as they can influence the crowds and direct them to demand the killing of an innocent person, instead of doing him justice and listening to the truth.
The Gospel of John says :
They conspired against him :
" So from that day on they plotted to kill him "
( John 11 : 53 ).
The opponents of Jesus, peace be upon him, were not satisfied with rejecting him, but plotted to kill him, as the Gospel of John mentions.
And it is stated in the Gospel of John 19 : 6 :
" When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. "
And it is stated in the Gospel of John 18:31, the Van Dyck translation :
" Pilate therefore said to them : Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him: It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. "
The text shows that the Jews were subject to Roman rule, and did not have the authority to carry out the death penalty, so they referred the case of Jesus, peace be upon him, to Pilate the Roman governor, saying : " It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death "
(John 18 : 31).
But these accusations do not mention that they conspired against him because he came to be crucified as an atonement for the sins of mankind; rather, the accusations mentioned in the trial relate to their rejection of the message of the Messiah and their accusation of him of corrupting the nation and claiming that he was the Messiah, a king.
And among these accusations there is no statement that his crucifixion was to atone for the sins of mankind.
If you read the four Gospels carefully, ask yourself: Did the Messiah clearly say that he came to be crucified as an atonement for the sins of mankind ?
And did he command people to take his crucifixion as a means of obtaining forgiveness and salvation on the Day of Resurrection ?
And did he say that belief in his crucifixion is the only way to salvation?
These are fundamental questions, because they relate to the eternal destiny of man.
If we search in the four Gospels, we will not find a clear text on the lips of the Messiah that he came to be crucified as an atonement for the sins of mankind, or that salvation from the punishment of God depends on belief in his death on the cross.
There is also no explicit text proving that God commanded one of His prophets to make the crucifixion of a human being a means of atoning for the sins of mankind and saving them.
So why is the eternal destiny of man made dependent on a doctrine that the Messiah did not declare in the four Gospels ?
And God has clearly stated that He raised Jesus to Himself, and purified him from the false claims that were said about him.
God Almighty said :
{55) [Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify [i.e., free] you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.
56) And as for those who disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers." 57) But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards, and Allah does not like the wrongdoers. }
(The Holy Quran 3:55)
God is one, and His religion in its origin is one, and His message with which He sent His prophets is one : that people should worship God alone, submit to Him in obedience, follow His commandments, and live according to what He has commanded. From Adam to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them, the prophets called to sincerity of worship to God, submission to Him, and following His guidance.
The origin of the call is one : that man should be a servant of God, not of others, and that he should seek His pleasure by following what He has revealed to His messengers.
So the real question for you is : If you believe in God, why do you not follow what He called to of monotheism ?
And why do you not follow the last of the prophets, Muhammad the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, who came with the same message ?
Whoever believes in the Prophet sent from God, and bears witness to the testimony of faith that there is no god but Allah, and that the Prophet —
God Almighty said :
( 13) These are the limits of Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. )
( The Holy Quran 4 : 13 )
And whoever disobeys the Prophet and turns away from his call, his destiny is the eternal Fire.
God Almighty said :
(14) And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits – He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment. )
( The Holy Quran 4 : 14 )
Hasten to embrace Islam before time runs out.
Do not postpone the search for the truth until tomorrow, and do not let your familiarity with a religion you inherited from your fathers prevent you from reflecting and asking. For life, however long it may be, does not last, and no one knows when his journey in this world will end.
And a day may come when a person will wish that he had given himself an honest opportunity to know his Creator, understand His message, and prepare for the meeting with God.
Ask yourself honestly : Who created me ?
And why do I live ?
And what does God want from me ?
And is it enough to be affiliated with the Messiah, peace be upon him, or should I follow what he called to of worshipping God and obeying Him ?
And did you search for the truth yourself, or were you content with what you inherited from others ?
The true teachings of the Messiah, as Muslims believe, are preserved in the Holy Quran ; for it presents Jesus, peace be upon him, as a noble prophet and a messenger from God, who called people to worship God alone, obey Him, and do righteous deeds.
God Almighty said on the tongue of the Messiah :
﴿Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the straight path.﴾ [ The Holy Quran 3: 51 ]
Reflect on these words: the Messiah did not call people to worship him, but called them to worship God, declaring that God is his Lord and the Lord of all of them.
And this is the message with which the prophets came, from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses to Jesus and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them: that God alone should be worshipped, without anyone being associated with Him.
Islam invites you to worship God alone without an intermediary, to purify your heart for Him, to submit to His command, and to follow His messengers. It does not ask you to reject Jesus, peace be upon him, but rather affirms belief in him as a prophet and messenger from God, and invites you to believe in all the prophets whom God sent to guide mankind.
So if the truth has become clear to you, why do you postpone following it ?
Hasten to embrace Islam before you die, not out of fear of death alone, but out of a desire to meet God upon faith and insight.
Start today, and turn to your Creator with a sincere heart, and ask Him to guide you to the truth; for what matters is not how many years you lived, but which path you chose, and upon which faith you want to meet God.
For the time that passes does not return, and the opportunity you have today is not guaranteed to remain until tomorrow.
Hasten to learn about Islam, and read the Quran with a fair heart, and ask about what you do not understand, and search for the truth sincerely.
And if you are convinced that Islam is the true religion of God, then do not let fear of people, or the words of others, or attachment to inherited tradition be an obstacle between you and faith.
So embrace Islam, the religion of all the prophets, now, and hasten to declare your faith in God alone before time runs out.
Say with a sincere heart and firm certainty :
" I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that Jesus is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon them both ."
With this testimony, you declare your faith in the One God, and your faith in Muhammad and Jesus, peace be upon them both, as messengers from God.
We ask God to guide every sincere seeker of the truth to the truth, to expand his chest for it, and to guide him to what He loves and is pleased with
