للَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
There is no compulsion in religion: rectitude has become distinct from error. So, one who disavows the Rebels and has faith in Allah has held fast to the firmest handle for which there is no breaking; and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing. (2:256)
Islam is the religion of all the Prophets and Messengers of God. Islam means submission to God, then it should be defended, expounded, and proclaimed.
Islam differs from all other religions in providing a complete code of life through its structured approach. Man is the vicegerent of God on earth “Behold thy Lord said to the Angels: I will create a vicegerent (khalifa) on earth” (2:30). The satanic claim to superiority is the source of arrogance. Islam considers it the worst sin since through arrogance all other sins are committed. Freeing humanity from the original sin, empowering human beings, and giving them full responsibility for their actions is the message of the Qur’an: “Every soul will be held responsible for what it had done” (74:38)—is the essence of morality and ethics in Islam.
He endowed Adam with knowledge of all things, as the Qur’an relates: “And He taught Adam the names-all of them” (2:31). The Angels had no knowledge of those things. Accordingly, Adam was on a higher level than the angels. It was for this reason that God commanded the angels to bow in obeisance for Adam: We said to the Angels prostrate before Adam; so, they prostrated except for Iblis (Satan, the Devil) who is from the Jinn. “He refused and was arrogant and became a disbeliever” (2:34). Allah said: What prevented you from prostrating (to Adam) when I commanded you? (Iblis) said: “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay” (17:12).
