Why do Muslims believe Islam is the true religion, and not only one good path among many? It is a fair question, and Muslims answer it from their books, not from family custom or from the land they were born in. The answer has two sides that hold each other up. Allah states the claim Himself, in His own words. And the religion itself, when a person looks at it, shows the marks the books point to: it is complete, it agrees with sound reason and with the way Allah created people, it carries its proofs with it, its Book is preserved, and it was sent to stand above the religions that came before it. This page gathers what the scholars wrote on each of these, in their own words. It speaks about the religion; it judges no follower of any religion and mocks none.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di opens his short book The Merits of Islam with the whole claim in a few lines:
Verily, the religion of Islam which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came with, is the best and most complete religion. Its merits, excellence, mercy, and justice are testimony to the absolute perfection, wisdom and knowledge of Allah. It also testifies to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that he is the true Messenger of Allah and His real spokesman for the Truth.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Introduction (printed p. 12).
The Claim Itself, in Allah’s Own Words
The belief does not rest on a scholar’s opinion. Allah makes the claim in the Qur’an, in words that leave no space around them:
Verily the true religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. Those who were given the scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual envy and rivalry. But if any disbelieve in the revelations of Allah, then Allah is swift in reckoning.
Allah’s words in Surah Aal-e-Imran (3), verse 19, Tafsir as-Sa’di (Vol. 1, printed p. 388).
And He states what follows from it for anyone who looks elsewhere:
If anyone seeks a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him; and in the hereafter he will be among the losers.
Allah’s words in Surah Aal-e-Imran (3), verse 85, Tafsir as-Sa’di (Vol. 1, printed p. 444).
As-Sa’di explains the verse. Islam, in his words, is submission to Allah and sincere following of His Messengers, and there is no other door to salvation:
That is, whoever follows a religion other than the religion of Islam, which Allah wants His slaves to follow, his deeds will be rejected and not accepted, because the religion of Islam is what is meant by (willing) submission to the will of Allah and sincerely following His Messengers. So if a person does not adhere to it, then he is not taking the measures of salvation from the punishment of Allah and attaining His reward. All religions other than Islam are false.
Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, on Surah Aal-e-Imran (3), verse 85 (Vol. 1, printed p. 444).
Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab built a whole treatise on this verse and its sisters, The Superiority of Islam, and Shaykh Ibn Baz, in his explanation of the treatise’s chapter on that verse, gives its meaning in one sentence: “The meaning of this is that it is obligatory upon all of the Islamic Ummah and that there is no salvation for the Ummah, nor any happiness for it, except with Islam.” The Ummah is the Muslim community. The claim, then, is Allah’s own: the religion with Him is Islam, and no other religion will be accepted from anyone.
Complete and Perfected, Needing Nothing Added
A religion from Allah should not need men to finish it. The treatise on the superiority of Islam opens with the verse in which Allah declares this one finished:
This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.
Allah’s words in Surah al-Ma’idah (5), verse 3, as quoted at the opening of The Superiority of Islam (printed p. 5).
Shaykh Ibn Baz explains what stands behind the treatise’s first chapter: “The intent behind this is that Allah, the Most High, made Islam the best of all religions, and it is the religion of Allah, which brings about happiness and salvation.” That is his note on the chapter, in the held edition’s explanation (printed p. 9).
As-Sa’di closes his book of merits with the same completeness, describing what the religion is built on:
Islam is based on correct, beneficial beliefs, and honorable conduct which strengthens the spirit and the mind, and works that bring benefit, proofs for its fundamentals as well as its teachings. Islam is built upon rejection of all idolatry and dependence upon creatures, and practicing all of the religion for Allah, the Lord of the worlds Alone, and upon the rejection of all senseless myths and superstitions that contradict rationale.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Merit 21: The Comprehensiveness of this Religion (printed p. 47).
What this completeness covers, law by law and ruling by ruling, is treated on this site’s page What Is Sharia?, linked below. Here it is enough that the books present a religion declared perfect by its Sender, with proofs built into its fundamentals and its teachings alike.
In Agreement With Reason and the Fitrah
The fitrah is the natural disposition Allah created people upon, the inborn readiness to know Him and worship Him alone. Muslims hold that a true religion from the Creator will not fight the minds He gave, nor the nature He set in people, and the books say this one does neither. As-Sa’di devotes a whole merit to it:
The Shari’ah contains nothing that confounds reason nor anything that contradicts correct knowledge. This is one of the greatest proofs that Allah’s wisdom is resolute for every time and place.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Merit 19: The Religion that is Compatible with Reason (printed p. 43). The Shari’ah is Allah’s law.
In the first merit, on the foundation of faith, he says the same of the religion’s realities as a whole:
It commands every truth and recognizes every fact, its religious realities are determined by what Allah revealed to His Messengers, which are all in accordance with realities that are reasonable, natural, and beneficial. It neither rejects any truths in any way, nor confirms any lies, nor propagates any falsehood. Therefore, it stands out as the most believable over all of the other religions.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Merit 1: The Foundation of Faith (printed p. 19).
This is why, in the introduction to the same book, he says that explaining the merits of Islam is one of the great means of calling to it, because its merits “are acceptable to everyone’s intellectual reasoning and basic instincts”, and that the religion is “the truth, completely explained, with proofs that lead to absolute certainty” (printed p. 16). And Allah names the nature He created in people, in the verse the treatise on superiority builds a chapter on:
So set you (O Muhammad (ﷺ)) your face towards the religion (Islam) being Haneef (worshipping none but Allah Alone). Allah’s Fitrah (Islamic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind. Let there be no change in Khalq-illah (i.e. Allah’s religion); that is the straight religion, but most of mankind know not.
Allah’s words in Surah ar-Room (30), verse 30, as quoted in The Superiority of Islam (printed p. 50). A Haneef is one who turns away from all false worship and worships Allah alone; the book’s own brackets give the verse’s meanings as it goes.
The same treatise records that the Prophet ﷺ said, as narrated in the Saheeh: “The most beloved faith to Allah is the tolerant Haneefiyyah (i.e. Islamic Monotheism).” (Printed p. 8.) And as-Sa’di, closing his chapter on the spread of Islam, calls this religion “the religion of truth, the natural religion, the religion of unity and social welfare” (The Merits of Islam, printed p. 46). Natural, because it is the religion of the fitrah itself.
Its Proofs, and a Book Preserved
A religion that is true should not fear its proofs being looked at. As-Sa’di says this one is itself the proof:
The religion of Islam is the greatest proof and best testimony to Allah’s Unique and Absolute Perfection, and to His Prophet ﷺ, to his Messengership and his truthfulness.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Introduction (printed p. 13).
Among its signs, he counts the way it spread and the way people entered it:
This resulted as one of the great signs of Allah, proofs of His religion, and the miracles of His Prophet ﷺ. Thus, people entered into Allah’s religion in multitudes with peace of mind and tranquillity, not by force or compulsion.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Merit 20: The Miraculous Spread of Islam (printed p. 44).
Whoever were to examine this fact closely, will see that this religion is the truth, which will never accept anything false even when it becomes tremendously powerful and reaches its zenith in dominance. This is an undeniable fact which is easily seen by common sense.
Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, The Merits of Islam, Merit 20 (printed pp. 44-45).
And the Book at its centre is not left to men’s keeping. Allah took its preservation on Himself:
Verily it is We Who have sent down the Reminder [the Qur’an], and verily it is We Who will preserve it.
Allah’s words in Surah al-Hijr (15), verse 9, Tafsir as-Sa’di (Vol. 5, printed p. 151). The bracket is the translation’s own.
(and verily it is We Who will preserve it) at the time of revelation and after its revelation. At the time of revelation, Allah protected it from the tampering of any accursed devil, and after revelation Allah deposited it in the heart of His Messenger (ﷺ), where it took root, then it was deposited in the hearts of his Ummah. Allah protected its words from being changed and from anything being added or subtracted, and He protected its meanings from alteration. So no one can distort any of its meanings but Allah will inspire scholars who will highlight the true meaning. This is one of the greatest signs of Allah, and one of His blessings to His believing slaves.
Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, on Surah al-Hijr (15), verse 9 (Vol. 5, printed p. 152).
Sent to Stand Above What Came Before
Islam does not present itself as one more religion beside the earlier ones. Allah says He sent His Messenger ﷺ with this religion in order for it to prevail over religion altogether:
It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, so that He may cause it to prevail over all other religions, even though the polytheists hate it.
Allah’s words in Surah at-Tawbah (9), verse 33, Tafsir as-Sa’di (Vol. 4, printed p. 77).
The verse before it calls this religion Allah’s light, and as-Sa’di explains the name:
The light of Allah is His religion with which He sent His Messengers and sent down His Books. Allah calls it light because He illuminates thereby the darkness of ignorance and false religions. It is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it, and everything other than it is its opposite.
Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, on Surah at-Tawbah (9), verse 32 (Vol. 4, printed p. 79).
And he explains what the guidance and the religion of truth are: “(It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance) which is beneficial knowledge (and the religion of truth) which is righteous deeds.” (On 9:33, Vol. 4, printed p. 80.) He explains the prevailing itself in full:
Allah sent him with guidance and the true religion, (so that He may cause it to prevail over all other religions, even though the polytheists hate it) that is, so that He may make it prevail over all religions, by means of proof and evidence, and by means of fighting, even though the polytheists hate it and try to defeat it and plot against it, for evil plots harm no one but their authors. Allah will inevitably fulfil His promise and do that which He has guaranteed to do.
Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, on Surah at-Tawbah (9), verse 33 (Vol. 4, printed p. 80).
This is a statement about the religion’s standing before Allah and its proofs before people. It is not a licence to mistreat anyone, and the earlier Messengers, Abraham, Moses and Jesus among them, are believed in and honoured by every Muslim, as this site’s page on whether Allah is the same God explains, linked below.
So, Why Do Muslims Believe Islam Is the True Religion?
Gathering the page together:
- Allah states it Himself: the true religion in His sight is Islam, and whoever seeks a religion other than it, it will never be accepted from him (3:19; 3:85).
- Islam is submission to Allah and sincere following of His Messengers; there is no salvation and no happiness except with it (as-Sa’di on 3:85; Ibn Baz).
- It is complete and perfected by Allah’s own declaration, chosen by Him as the religion, and built on correct beliefs, honorable conduct and proofs for its fundamentals and teachings alike (5:3; Ibn Baz; as-Sa’di).
- It agrees with reason: its law contains nothing that confounds reason or contradicts correct knowledge, and its realities are reasonable, natural and beneficial (as-Sa’di, Merits 19 and 1).
- It agrees with the fitrah, the nature Allah created mankind upon, which He calls the straight religion; its Prophet ﷺ called this pure monotheism the most beloved faith to Allah (30:30; The Superiority of Islam).
- It carries its proofs with it: the religion itself is the greatest testimony to Allah’s perfection and to His Prophet’s ﷺ truthfulness, and its spread, entered by multitudes willingly, is counted among its signs (as-Sa’di, Introduction and Merit 20).
- Its Book is preserved by Allah’s own promise, its words protected from change and its meanings from alteration (15:9; as-Sa’di).
- It was sent with guidance and the religion of truth, to prevail over all other religions, and its light is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it (9:32-33; as-Sa’di).
So a Muslim’s belief that Islam is the true religion is not a guess and not an inheritance he never examined. It rests on Allah’s own statement, and on what the books show of the religion itself: complete, reasonable, natural to the hearts Allah created, proven, preserved, and sent to stand above what came before it. Shaykh as-Sa’di ends his little book by saying his chapters are only “some comprising fundamentals and principles by which the perfection and greatness of Islam may be recognized, demonstrating that it is the means of attaining real goodness with all things” (The Merits of Islam, printed p. 47). Whoever wants the full case will find it in that book, in Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s treatise The Superiority of Islam with Shaykh Ibn Baz’s explanation, and in Tafsir as-Sa’di on the verses quoted here. I hope this short page answers the question from the books themselves, and sends the reader back to them.
Further Reading
- What Is Sharia?: Allah’s law, its sources and its aims, and its completeness treated in full.
- Is Allah the Same God Worshipped by Christians and Jews?: the one God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and what the Qur’an says changed.
- Who is Muhammad ﷺ: the Messenger who brought this religion.
- Tawheed (Monotheism): the oneness of Allah, the foundation the whole religion stands on.
References
- Tafsir as-Sa’di, Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Vol. 1 (Juz 1-3), printed p. 388 (Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:19) and printed p. 444 (Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:85 and its explanation); Vol. 4 (Juz 10-12), printed p. 77 (Surah at-Tawbah 9:33), printed p. 79 (on 9:32) and printed p. 80 (on 9:33); Vol. 5 (Juz 13-15), printed p. 151 (Surah al-Hijr 15:9) and printed p. 152 (its explanation).
- The Merits of Islam (Ad-Durrah al-Mukhtasarah fi Mahasin ad-Din al-Islami), Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, Maktaba Darussalam, First Edition, December 2004, translated by Sidheeque M.A. Veliankodi, edited by Abu Khaliyl, ISBN 9960-732-05-3. Used for: the Introduction (printed pp. 12, 13 and 16); Merit 1: The Foundation of Faith (printed p. 19); Merit 19: The Religion that is Compatible with Reason (printed p. 43); Merit 20: The Miraculous Spread of Islam (printed pp. 44-46); Merit 21: The Comprehensiveness of this Religion (printed p. 47).
- Explanation of the Superiority of Islaam (Sharh Kitab Fadl al-Islam), base text by Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, explained by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Baz, Ibnul Qayyim Publications, First edition, May 2005, ISBN 0-9752953-0-6, printed in Canada. Used for: the treatise’s quotations of Surah al-Ma’idah (5), verse 3 (printed p. 5), the Haneefiyyah hadith (printed p. 8), and Surah ar-Room (30), verse 30 (printed p. 50); and Shaykh Ibn Baz’s explanation notes on the treatise’s chapters (printed p. 9 and the note to the chapter of Surah Aal-e-Imran (3), verse 85, printed p. 19).
Verified on 2026-10-24 against: Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vols. 1, 4 and 5, Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di (IIPH, English Edition 1, 2018); The Merits of Islam, Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di (Maktaba Darussalam, First Edition, December 2004); and Explanation of the Superiority of Islaam, base text by Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab with the explanation of Shaykh Ibn Baz (Ibnul Qayyim Publications, First edition, May 2005).