Islam is a religion without any mythology. Its teachings are simple and intelligible. It is free from superstitions and irrational beliefs. The oneness of Allah, the prophethood of Muhammad, and the concept of life after death are the basic articles of its faith. They are based on reason and sound logic.
All of the teachings of Islam flow from those basic beliefs and are simple and straightforward. There is no hierarchy of priests, no farfetched abstractions, no complicated rites or rituals.
Everybody may approach the Qur’an directly and translate its dictates into practice. Islam awakens in man the faculty of reason and exhorts him to use his intellect. It enjoins him to see things in the light of reality. The Qur’an advises him to seek knowledge and invoke Allah to expand his awareness: “… My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (20: 114) Allah also says: ” … Are those who know equal to those who know not? It’s only men of understanding who will remember.” (39: 9)
It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that: “He who leaves his home in search of knowledge (walks) in the path of Allah.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi) and that “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.” (Reported by Ibn Majah and al-Bayhaqi) This is how Islam brings man out of the world of superstition and darkness and initiates him into the world of knowledge and light.
Again, Islam is a practical religion and does not allow indulgence in empty and futile theorizing. It says that faith is not a mere profession of beliefs, but rather that it is the very mainspring of life. Righteous conduct must follow belief in Allah. Religion is something to be practiced and not an object of mere lip service. The Qur’an says: ” … Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah) and work righteousness, Tuba (all kinds of happiness or name of a tree in Paradise) is for them, and a beautiful place of (final) return.“ (13: 29)
Thus Islam’s simplicity, rationality, and practicality are what characterize Islam as a unique and true religion.
Unity of Matter and Spirit
A feature of Islam is that it does not divide life into watertight compartments of matter and spirit. It stands not for the denial of life but for the fulfillment of life. Islam does not believe in asceticism. It does not ask a man to avoid material things. It holds that spiritual elevation is to be achieved by living piously in the rough and tumble of life, not by renouncing the world. The Qur’an advises us to pray as follows: ” … Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good …” (2: 201)