Why Do Muslims Assume Islam Cannot Be Corrupted?
You think Islam can’t be corrupted? Why?
Christians believe their religion is the truth. Jews believe the same. Many of them are convinced that only they will enter Paradise. So what makes us, as Muslims, different from them? Why are we certain that our religion is the truth and theirs is not?
Have you ever actually asked yourself that question?
If your answer is simply, “Because my parents taught me,” or “Because my imam says so,” then how is that different from what Christians, Jews, Hindus, or anyone else does?
That’s not what Allah asked you to do. That’s what the other religions do as well—they listen to their parents or priests without seeking Allah.
Allah never tells us to inherit religion blindly. In fact, He repeatedly warns against it:
“And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.’ Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided?”
Quran 2:170
Religion is not an inheritance.
That is why the story of Ibrahim is so important. Ibrahim did not blindly follow the beliefs of his father or his people who were idol worshipers. He thought, he observed, he sought the One that created him, not stones that were created by human hands. And Allah guided him.
Did Allah promise something like that to you? They say they will have heaven, but Allah didn’t promise anything to them:
“And they say, ‘None will enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian.’ That is their wishful thinking. Say, ‘Produce your proof, if you should be truthful.'”
Quran 2:111
Every religion believes they are the exception. Every religion thinks corruption happened to everyone else. But if Allah keeps warning us about what happened to previous nations, shouldn’t we at least ask whether the same thing could happen to us?
Allah Promised to Protect the Quran, Not a Religious System
Many people say, “Islam cannot be corrupted because Allah protected Islam.”
But did Allah actually say that?
Islam existed long before the Prophet Muhammad. Allah didn’t promise to protect “Islam.” Islam was here long before Prophet Mohammed; we are named submitters (muslims) from Prophet Ibrahim. Allah promised to protect THE QURAN ONLY.
What Allah explicitly promised to preserve was His Reminder:
“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it.”
15:9
The promise is about the Quran, the Book, the Revelation. Not every interpretation, scholar, sect, narration, or tradition that would appear later.
No matter what religion you’re born into, religion is not an inheritance. All of us should ask questions, find the truth, and seek Allah. That’s why we have Ibrahim’s story in the Quran.
Why Does Allah Tell Us the Stories of Previous Nations?
One thing that surprised me when I started reading the Quran more carefully is how often Allah tells us the stories of previous communities. The Quran constantly returns to the people of Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa. Why? Allah tells us stories of people from before to contemplate about them, not just as stories.
Allah says:
“There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding…”
Quran 12:111
The stories are not there just to entertain us. They are there because human beings repeat the same mistakes, Satan’s corrupt in the same way over and over.
People receive guidance from Allah.
Then they slowly mix divine revelation with human ideas, traditions become more important than revelation, the religious authorities become impossible to question, and eventually people can no longer distinguish between what Allah revealed and what people added later.
The Story of Musa Should Make Every Muslim Reflect
One story in particular always makes me stop and reflect and that I mentioned in some of my articles:
The people of Musa witnessed miracles with their own eyes.They saw the sea split. They were saved from the Pharaoh who killed their babies and subjected them to severe punishment.
Then, when Prophet Musa left them for only 40 days to bring the message from Allah, and they still had Musa’s brother and prophet—Harun—among them, they still chose to believe Samiri and make an idol from their jewelry to pray to instead of Allah.
And how did Samiri deceive them? Telling them to just make an idol to pray to? No. By telling them that on the Prophet Musa’s footsteps was something miraculous. So he used the name of the Prophet Musa to deceive them.
Isn’t that similar to all other religions that were deceived in the name of a prophet? Isn’t that story telling you anything about today’s Islam?
How Were Previous Religions Corrupted?
The Christians started telling lies in the name of Jesus.
The Jews modified God’s law through oral traditions in the name of Moses.
And now I believe Muslims are repeating the same pattern in the name of Prophet Muhammad.
Every religion was corrupted in the same way: by raising the words of men to the level of divine authority.
Allah promised to protect ONLY His Book (15:9). He did not promise to protect the Hadith or the oral “sunnah.” The Quran never once uses the phrase “Sunnah of the Prophet,” but it repeatedly mentions “Sunnatullah”—the Way of Allah (33:62, 48:23).
It is tragic: Muslims have the Words of Allah intact and unmodified, yet they still choose to believe in additional books written by men. This is even worse than the situation of the Christians; they no longer have their original text, but we have ours and we still ignore it for the sake of human tradition.
How Satan Corrupts a Religion
If Satan wants to corrupt this religion—and that is his purpose—how do you think he will do it? Exactly how he did with the others. The deviation rarely arrives looking evil. It usually arrives dressed in religious language. People think they are becoming more devoted. More righteous. Closer to God. That is exactly why it is so dangerous.
The people who followed the calf did not wake up one morning intending to abandon Allah. They were deceived. Satan is not stupid. He does not walk into a community and say: “Reject God’s Book.“, Instead, he adds: a rule here, a tradition there, an extra source, an extra authority, an extra layer between people and revelation. Until eventually people become more attached to the additions than the original message.
This happened before.
But people who truly trust Allah can’t be deceived, only those who have wrongs in their heart. And it’s not an accusation if you are in that position or you were. Because all of us have some evil in our hearts—that’s why Allah tells us only after the judgment day, when we will be chosen to go to heaven, He will remove the last trace of evil from our hearts:
“And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment…”
Quran 7:43
So all of us have weaknesses and we will have all our lives our battles from this life to deserve Heaven. We have to deserve it. Some weaknesses are more about money, about envy, about owning property etc. All of us have those struggles in our hearts.
Why Sincere People Can Still Be Deceived
For example, when I was not so devoted to Allah, I know I did have more evil in my heart. And the more I returned to Him, the more I tried to win those battles, the closer I got to my faith and to Allah. So I’m in this journey, and the same are you. It’s no competition with others, only with a better yourself.
And if you’re uncertain of how to grow in faith, how to know if God exists or if Islam is the truth, I can make a series for those who want to start building their faith from 0, from the beginning like prophet Ibrahim did. Write me in the comments if you’d like to see content like this because I was in the position to think: What if God doesn’t exist? Who is truly God? What book is truly from Him?
We Will Stand Before Allah Alone
So we all have to seek Allah or God, or the only One who created us—call Him whatever you want—no matter in what religion we are born. Because on the Day of Judgment, we will not stand before scholars, we will not stand before imams, we will not stand before Bukhari, we will not stand before our parents. We will stand before Allah.
And I believe every one of us should ask: Am I following what Allah revealed? Or am I following what people attached to religion later?
The Quran repeatedly tells us to reflect, think, reason, and learn from the mistakes of those who came before us.
As an ex-Christian, the Christian priests teach us this: “believe and do not investigate”. That’s the rule to submit to Satan’s law. Don’t be like Christians. Don’t be like the people before you.
Write in the comments section what you would like to learn from the Quran. What subjects do you want to read next and subscribe to get notified when I post a new article?
Love this article and yes totally we need a from the ground 0 up piece on rebuilding our faith and connection with Allah.
Thank you for your comment, and I will surely make a series of articles that helps us building our faith from 0, without traditions and additions.