Religion will be restored to its original state in the End Times

The hadith literature regarding the End Times gives us the glad tiding that the original religion will no longer be misunderstood. In the End Times, all heretical misunderstandings that entered Islam after our Prophet (may Allah grant him peace and bless him) will be eliminated, and the original religion will be restored: “Just as in the case of the Prophet, the requirements of the religion will be fulfilled.”(Ismail Mutlu, Kiyamet Alametleri (The Signs of the Last Day), Mutlu Publications, Istanbul, 1999, p. 163)

After the death of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his Companions, history records that unrelated heresies and forms of worship were introduced into the original religion, and that countless hadiths and judgments, most of which have survived to our day, were fabricated and attributed to our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Despite the best efforts of true Muslims to eliminate these fabrications, many practices done in the name of Islam today are not based upon the Qur’an.

As the Qur’an is the only source that can distinguish between the correct and mistaken practices, only its guidance can expose and remove these fabricated heresies. This way, the true religion will resurface.

Today, many people embrace the understanding of Islam that they inherited from their ancestors as the true religion. Both some pious people and those who oppose Islam consider this understanding to be the true Islam. However, in many respects this understanding of religion contradicts with the Islam described in the Qur’an. This traditional understanding is comprised of baseless myths and countless bigoted beliefs and rituals. This religion’s adherents base their knowledge of religion on myths and stories, rather than on the Qur’an.

The fact that many people considered to be pious by the public are unaware of the Qur’an’s verses reveals this perversion. Rather than adopting the Qur’an as their guide, they adhere to the rituals of a particular tradition. As a result, they are far removed from such concerns as pondering the verses of the Qur'an and trying to understand their divine purposes. They drift further from the Qur’an and become suffocated in details. However, in an environment where the Qur’an is disregarded, no one can know and live by Islam in its true sense. Indeed, as the Qur’an informs us, on the Day of Judgment our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will say that his people have treated the Qur’an as a forsaken thing:

The Messenger says: “My Lord, my people treat this Qur’an as something to be ignored.” (Surat al-Furqan: 30)

Allah warns those who turn away from the Qur’an as follows:

In this way We give you news of what has gone before, and We have given you a reminder direct from Us. Those who turn away from it will bear a heavy burden on the Day of Rising, remaining in it timelessly, forever. What an evil load they will bear on the Day of Rising! (Surah Ta Ha: 99-101)

The main reason why many people remain far from religion is the presentation of Islam in this perverted form. Most people notice that this religion, which is based on various traditions, harbors irrational elements and countless contradictions, and so wait for the facts to surface. In the End Times, Allah will restore the religion to its original state and make the Qur’an’s morality prevail. When this time comes, He will remove all deviations that hinder people from living by His religion, and will purify Islam from all heresies, false beliefs, and forms of worship. :

... He [the Mahdi] will practise the religion just as in the time of Our Prophet. He will eliminate the sects from the face of the earth. No sect except for the original true religion will remain..(Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji , Al-Isha‘ah li-ashrat al-sa‘ah, pp. 186-187)

In our own time, Muslims fail to agree even on some fundamental issues. Contrary to this situation, Allah commands Muslims not to disagree about issues concerning their religion:

This faith of yours is a single faith and I am your Lord, so heed Me. But they disagreed and split up, dividing into sects, each party exulting in what it had. (Surat al-Mu’minun: 52-53)

Those who divide the Qur’an into little pieces. (Surat al-Hijr: 91)

He has laid down the same religion for you as He enjoined on Noah: that which We have revealed to you and which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: “Establish the religion and do not make divisions in it.” What you call the idolaters to follow is very hard for them. Allah chooses for Himself anyone He wills, and guides to Himself those who turn to Him. (Surat ash-Shura: 13)

That is because Allah has sent down the Book with truth, and those who differ from the Book are entrenched in hostility. (Surat al-Baqara: 176)

In the Qur’an, Allah says that Islam is an easy religion to live by and that its commands are clear and easy. The Qur’an lays down what is right and what is wrong, as well as what kind of attitudes and behaviors lead one to Paradise or Hell. The fact that the Qur’an contains the basic knowledge that people may need at any time is stressed in many verses:

We have not omitted anything from the Book—then they will be gathered to their Lord. (Surat al-An`am: 38)

We have sent down the Book to you, making all things clear and as guidance and mercy and good news for the Muslims. (Surat an-Nahl: 89)

In another verse, Allah makes it clear that Islam is easy to live by:

He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion. (Surat al-Hajj: 78)

On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. (Surat al-Baqara: 286)

Allah does not want to make things difficult for you, but He does want to purify you and to perfect His blessing upon you so that hopefully you will be thankful. (Surat al-Ma’ida: 6)

The verse below reveals that one of the reasons why Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sent was to relieve people of their heavy loads and chains:

Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them, purify them, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surah Al`Imran: 164)

The true religion is truly easy. Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also stated many times that religion must not be presented as difficult:

Make things easy for the people, and do not make it difficult for them. Make them calm (with glad tidings), and do not repulse (them).( Bukhari, vol. 8, no. 146)

Allah did not commission me for clerical duties. The more pleasing thing in the sight of Allah is to choose the easy way of Allah's Oneness.( Ahmad Diya’al-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, vol. 2, no. 498)

Avoid exaggeration while practicing your religion. The ones preceding you perished for this reason.( Ibid., vol. 1, no. 176)

The End Times will be a time when people will truly live by Allah’s religion. Sincere Muslims will restore the religion to its original state by the will of Allah.