From the beginning of mankind on the face of the earth, God sent revelations to His chosen prophets; and the first prophet was the first man, Adam and thereafter came thousands of prophets to the peoples who inhabited different lands in different periods of history. The Holy Qur’an mentions, by name, only twenty-five of these prophets, who include Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all). All these prophets of God taught basically the same religion of Islam [submission to God] to their people.

The word ‘Islam’ today is mostly used to refer to the final form of the religion of God taught by the last prophet, Muhammad (pbuh). It is often counted as the latest of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this sense, Islam emerged in the ..Arabian Peninsula.. through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Judaism is based on the teachings and the laws of Prophet Moses, while Christianity, in its original form, was based on the teachings of Prophet Jesus. All the three religions have their roots in the teachings of the patriarch Abraham, who also was a great Prophet of God.

In the course of hundreds of years, the teachings of Moses and Jesus got corrupted or misinterpreted, and the true religion had to be restored by another prophet from God. Thus, it was that Muhammad was sent to fulfill and perfect the divine guidance. While the Books revealed to other prophets are not available now in their original form, the Holy Qur’an alone remains in its pristine purity. This was because God had promised that He would protect it from corruption.

Thus, we can say that Islam, as taught by Muhammad, is a continuation and culmination of the religion of God, taught by all the prophets of God. Originally, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were the same religion. As time passed on, as mentioned above, the earlier religions were obscured or distorted, and hence the differences that we see among them.

Muhammad (pbuh) taught people, the Book of God; the Qur'an, and instructed them as to how they should lead a life in submission to God. The details of the guidance of God exemplified in the life of this last prophet are called the sunna or the traditions of the Prophet. The Qur'an and the sunna together form the foundation of Islam; and it is on this foundation that the Great House of Islam stands.

The major distinction of Islam is that it is the perfected form of the other two religions. Also, Islam is meant for the whole of humanity, while the earlier religions were not. Judaism and Christianity were addressed to the Children of Israel alone. Those who argue that Jesus’ mission was to the whole world should ponder over Jesus’ response to his disciples in Matthew 15:24:

‘But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.