De ayting: «Bu mening yo‘lim. Men Allohga basirat bilan da’vat qilaman, men va menga ergashganlar. Allohning poki va ulug‘ligi ulug‘dir; men esa sherik keltiruvchilardan emasman».166

Say [O Muhammad], “This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.”166

Payg'ambar Muhammad ﷺ hech qachon odamlarni o'ziga sig'inishga chaqirmagan. U hatto odamlarning unga haddan tashqari hurmat ko'rsatishiga ham ruxsat bermagan, doim Ilohiy zot bilan o'z insoniy tabiati o'rtasida keskin farq qo'yib kelgan va uning xonaga kirganida odamlarning uning uchun o'rnidan turishiga to'sqinlik qilgan (2-bobga qarang). U ﷺ odamlarning gaplarida uni va Allohni yashirin tarzda tenglashtirishiga e'tiroz bildirgan,167 vafot etish oldidagi so'nggi damlarida esa o'tmish xalqlarning payg'ambarlari qabrlarini ziyoratgohga aylantirgani haqida ogohlantirgan.168 Uning ta'limotining eng muhim asosi odamlarning qalbida tavhidning eng sof tushunchasini saqlash va insonlar bilan Xudo o'rtasidagi bevosita va shaxsiy aloqaga to'sqinlik qiladigan har qanday to'siqni yo'q qilish bo'lgan.

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم never asked people to worship him. He did not even allow people to display excessive reverence to him, would always make a sharp distinction between the Divine and his own human nature, and would stop people from standing for him when he entered a room (see Chapter 2). He صلى الله عليه وسلم objected to people implicitly equating him and Allah in their statements,167 and warned on his deathbed about the actions of past people who had turned the graves of their prophets into shrines.168 There was no greater keystone of his message than protecting the purest understanding of monotheism in people’s hearts and removing any barrier between individuals and their direct and personal connection with God.

Lev Tolstoy (vafot etgan 1910) aristokratik rus oilasidan chiqqan va ba'zilar tomonidan barcha zamonlarning eng buyuk romanchilaridan biri deb hisoblanadi. Ko'pchilik uning nasroniy bo'lishiga qaramay, Islomga katta hurmat bilan qarаganini xabar qilgan, chunki uning fikricha, Islomda o'z kengroq auditoriyasiga yetkazishni xohlagan qimmatli unsurlar mavjud edi.

Leo Tolstoy (d. 1910) hailed from an aristocratic Russian family and is described by some as one of the greatest novelists of all time. Many have reported his great respect for Islam, despite being a Christian, because he thought it contained valuable elements that he wanted to make accessible to a wider audience.

U'zi inbsaniyat tarixidagi eng ko'zga ko'ringan mutafakkirlar va xalqlar haqidagi "Eng ajoyib mutafakkirlar" nomli kitoblar seriyasiga u Muhammad ﷺ ni ham kiritdi.

He included the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم in a series of books entitled The Most Remarkable Thinkers of All Times and Peoples.

Ushbu seriyada Tolstoy Islom haqida yozadi: Bu dinning mohiyati shundan iboratki, Yagona Haqiqiy, Qodir Alloh tarafidan boshqa hech bir iloh ibodatga loyiq emas, U rahmli va adolatlidir hamda har bir insonni alohida, uning imoni va yaxshi hamda yomon amallarining tarozisiga qarab hukm qiladi: solih kishilar uchun tinchlik, yomonlar uchun esa halokat… U odamlar Uni, shuningdek bir-birlarini sevishlarini istaydi. Xudoga bo'lgan muhabbat ibodatda, boshqalarga bo'lgan shafqat, yordam va kechirimlilikda namoyon bo'ladi.169

In this series, Tolstoy writes about Islam, The essence of this faith came down to the fact that there is no deity worthy of worship except the One True Almighty God, that He is merciful and just, and will judge each person individually, according to his or her faith and the balance of his or her good and bad actions which means peace for the righteous, and damnation for evildoers… He wants people to love Him as well as each other. The love for God is expressed in a prayer, compassion for others, assistance and forgiveness.169

Agar insoniyatning eng katta mavjudlik ehtiyoji yagona haqiqiy Xudoni aniqlash va U bilan mazmunli munosabat o‘rnatish bo‘lsa, unda faqat Xudo va Uning yagonaligi haqidagi eng sof e’tiqod ularni o‘ziga jalb qiladi. Pew Research Center tadqiqot markazining demografiya tahlilchilari Islomning dunyodagi eng tez o‘sib borayotgan din bo‘lishi prognoz qilinayotganining sabablarini o‘rganganda, 170 ular “Islom e’tiqodlarini ma’qul ko‘rish/undan ko‘proq ma’no topish” va “Islomni o‘rganish/uning diniy matnlarini o‘qish” islomni qabul qilishning ikki asosiy sababi ekanini aniqlashdi. 171 Bu hayron qolarli emas. Inson o‘zini maqsadli mavjudot deb bilsa, o‘zini yaratib, unga maqsad belgilagan Zotdan yaxshiroq hech kim yo‘qligi ravshan bo‘ladi. Bundan shu odamlar uchun yana shunday xulosa kelib chiqadi: eng dono, eng rahmli Zot bu maqsadni ularga bayon qilgan bo‘lishi kerak. Shuning uchun dinning “ilohiy vahiy” modeli, ya’ni avval muhokama qilinganidek, “osmondan ilhomlangan elchilar” modeli doimiy jozibaga ega. Xudoni bilish uchun qadimiy izlanishning shu nuqtasidan keyin bizda ikki yo‘l qoladi: odamlarning eng dolzarb savollariga, hayotni nima mazmunli qilishiga javob bera olmaydigan cheklangan falsafalar yoki “Ibrohim dinlari”. Ibrohim dinlari nazariy jihatdan Xudoning yagonaligiga qo‘shilsa-da, undan keyin turli yo‘llarga ketadi. Eng muhimi, Islomni yahudiylikdan ajratib turadigan asosiy xususiyat — uning Xudoning yagonaligi va ulug‘ligiga alohida urg‘u berishidir. Yahudiylik Xudoni bitta qon chizig‘iga xayrixoh qabiladorchilik tarafdori deb biladi, o‘rtacha xristianlik esa Xudoni solih amallar o‘rniga imon da’volarini qabul qiluvchi soddalashtiruvchi deb biladi. Charles Le Gai Eaton (vafoti. 2010), the British diplomat and Islamic scholar, wrote on this point: Musulmon nuqtayi nazaridan, Yahudiylik tavhidni "millatlashtirgan", uni faqat bir xalqning mulki deb da'vo qilgan, nasroniylikda esa Iso shaxsi go'yo Xudolikni soyasida qoldirgan, xuddi oy quyoshni tutilishi kabi; yoki yana: Yahudiylik bu tavhidni barqarorlashtirib, unga uy va qo'shin bergan, lekin shu bilan birga uni musodara qilgan; nasroniylik haqiqatni umumlashtirgan, lekin uni suyultirib yuborgan. Islom doirani yopdi va Ibrohim dinining sofligini tiklab, Musoga va Isoga o'z olamida yetakchi o'rinlar berdi, tavhidning mohiyatini – Birgina Yagonaga yakkayu yagona ibodatni, Ilohiy Birlikning shaxsiy va ijtimoiy muvozanatdagi aksini – ilg'ab oldi: barcha qarama-qarshi kuchlar va inson tajribasining turli darajalari o'rtasidagi muvozanatni.

If humanity’s greatest existential need is to identify the one true God and develop a meaningful relationship with Him, then only the purest belief about God and His uniqueness will attract them. When demographics analysts at Pew Research Center investigated why Islam is projected to be the fastest growing religion in the world,170 they found that “preferring the beliefs/ finding more meaning in Islam” and “studying Islam/reading its religious texts” are in fact the two primary motivators for converting to Islam.171 This should not be surprising. When humans see themselves as purposeful creatures, it should follow for them that there is none better than the One who fashioned and designed them to inform them of their purpose. It also follows for these people that a supremely wise, supremely merciful being would have communicated that purpose to them, and hence the undying appeal of the “divine revelation” model of religion, or that of “heavenly inspired messengers” as discussed earlier. From this juncture in the ancient quest to know God, we are left with either limited philosophies that fall short of answering people’s most pressing questions on what makes life meaningful, or the search is narrowed to the “Abrahamic faiths” which agree on the oneness of God in theory but diverge thereafter. Ultimately, it is the unique emphasis of Islam on the Oneness of God and His glory that separates it from traditional Judaism which posits God as tribalist with partiality for a single bloodline, and mainstream Christianity which posits God as reductionist who accepts claims to faith in place of righteous works. As Charles Le Gai Eaton (d. 2010), the British diplomat and Islamic scholar, wrote on this point, In the Muslim view, Judaism ‘nationalized’ monotheism, claiming it for one people alone, while in Christianity the person of Jesus as it were eclipsed the Godhead, just as the sun is eclipsed by the moon; or again: Judaism stabilized this monotheism, giving it a home and an army, but at the same time confiscated it; Christianity universalized the truth, but diluted it. Islam closed the circle and restored the purity of the faith of Abraham, giving to Moses and Jesus positions of pre-eminence in its universe and seizing upon the quintessential nature of monotheism, single-minded worship of the One, and upon the reflection of the Divine Unity in personal and social equilibrium--a balance between all contrary forces and between the different levels of human experience.

Ibn Taymiya (vafoti 1328) Islom Musо qonuni — adolat qonuni — bilan Masih qonuni — marhamat qonuni — ni birlashtirgan, deb hisoblagan; u Yahudiylikning qattiqligi bilan Iso alayhissalomning rahm-shafqati o‘rtasida o‘rta yo‘lni tutgan, deb ta’kidlagan. Shuningdek, u Muso alayhissalom Xudoning Ulug‘vorligini, Iso alayhissalom Uning Yaxshiligini e’lon qilgan bo‘lsa, Muhammad ﷺ Uning Kamolotini e’lon qilgan, deb aytgan.

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) maintained that Islam combined the Mosaic Law of Justice with the Christian Law of Grace, taking a middle way between the severity of Judaism and the mercy of Jesus; and he said that while Moses had proclaimed God’s Majesty and Jesus His Goodness, Muhammad proclaimed His Perfection.

Shu bilan bir qatorda, aytilishicha, Iso Muso yashirgan narsalarni, ya'ni Ilohiy rahmatning sirlari va Ilohiy muhabbatning boyligini ochib bergan va Islom nihoyat hammasini to'liq Haqiqat nuri ostida aniq ko'rsatib bergan.172

In the same context, it is said that Jesus revealed what Moses had kept hidden, the secrets of the Divine Mercy and the richness of Divine Love, and that Islam finally brought everything into perspective in the light of total Truth.172

Garchi Qur’onda Xudo Muqaddas Kitobda tasvirlanganiga ko‘p jihatlardan o‘xshash tarzda tasvirlangan bo‘lsa-da, farqlar sezilarli va oqibatlarga olib keladigan darajada muhimdir. Masalan, Qur’onda Xudoning birligi va mohiyati atrofida hech qanday sirli narsa yo‘q, uchlik ta’limotining noaniqligiga, uning murakkab tabiatiga qarama-qarshi o‘laroq, bugungi kunda xristian mazhablari o‘rtasidagi Xudoning shaxsi va tabiati borasidagi jiddiy ixtiloflarda aks etgan. Shuningdek, Qur’onning hech bir joyida Xudoning qudratli bo‘lishida istisno yo‘q, Eski Ahdda esa, masalan, Xudo Yoqub bilan kurashda yengilgani tasvirlanadi.173

Though God is described in the Qur’an similarly to how He is described in the Bible in many respects, the differences are significant and consequential. For instance, there is no mystery surrounding God’s oneness and identity in the Qur’an, as opposed to the obscurity of the trinitarian doctrine, with its convoluted nature reflected today in the fundamental disagreements between Christian denominations over the person and nature of God. Likewise, there is no exception to God’s omnipotence anywhere in the Qur’an, while the Old Testament depicts God, for instance, as losing a wrestling bout with Jacob .173

Faqat Islomda Xudoga alohida e'tibor qaratiladi: U o'zining birligida va kamolotida mutlaqdir, qudrati va adolatida yuksakdir, yaratilganlariga o'xshashlikdan va ularni yo'lsiz tashlab qo'yishdan ulug'dir va butun insoniyatga teng darajada mehribondir, ularning barchasiga bir xil xabar bilan murojaat qiladi.

Only in Islam does one find a distinct focus on God who is absolute in His Oneness and perfection, transcendent in His power and justice, glorified above resembling His creation or deserting them without direction, and equally compassionate to humanity at large, addressing them all with the same message.