The World Organization of al-Azhar Graduates Branch in Nigeria held a seminar entitled “Shared human values among religions as the foundation of peaceful coexistence” at Hayat al-Atfal Islamic School in the Kasawagoz area, Borno State, Nigeria. The lecture was delivered by Prof. Ibrahim Omar Mohammad, Head of the Organization’s Branch in Borno, Nigeria, who explained the difference between religion and Islamic Law, as mentioned in the book Al-Qawl At-Tayyeb by His Eminence the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad at-Tayyeb. His Eminence stated, “Religion is the divine revelation concerning belief, fundamental ethics, and worship, while shariah consists of the divine laws that organize the lives of believers and their social conduct, which change from time to time and from place to place.”
He added that Islam is not specifically the message that was revealed to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), but rather it is the comprehensive name for all the messages carried by the prophets throughout their different times and places. He clarified that the commonality between Islam as the final message and the messages that preceded it is not merely a shared name or title, but rather a sharing in the content, essence, and reality of Islam.
He pointed out that the Holy Quran proves to us that what Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) brought in terms of beliefs, ethics, and conduct is the same as what all previous prophets brought. This is the evidence of the common religion between Muslims and other nations that preceded them, which is absolute monotheism, belief in Allah’s messengers and books, and faith in all of this without discrimination or sectarian or racial distinction between one messenger and another, or one book and another. He explained that there is importance for peace in Islamic law for humans, and even for animals, plants, and inanimate objects.
