Why is it that makes Muslims believe that Islam is a tremendous
bounty and a gift from God, when the rest of the world views ALL
religions as a burden on mankind created by backward cultures?

Islam is the faith that defines us, defines who we are, defines our
identity. In fact anyone who truly understands Islam will be well
aware of it's simplicity, elegance and the power to lead man for what
Muslims believe is mans true purpose. Why is there nothing like Islam
on earth? Why is Islam so revolutionary?

-It is Islam that has taught human beings that the Lord their God is
One and Only. That He has no partners, no wife, and no son, and that
there can be no compromise on the unity of God.

-It is Islam that has taught human beings that they are all equal and
that no Arab is superior to non-Arab, nor a non-Arab is superior to
an Arab and that the best of all of us is the one who is most
righteous.

-It is Islam that has taught human beings that they are all brothers
and sisters created from a single pair of a male and a female.
Therefore, Islam , unlike Hinduism, neither recognizes nor condones
the idea of a caste system. Islam is a war on caste systems, on
aristocracies, and hereditary social groups of all kinds.

- It is Islam that has taught humanity the value of the intellect,
the importance of reflection, and the role of the mind in attaining
faith. Christians teach that one can never become a believer except
when the Holy Spirit mysteriously occupies one's heart. Islam teaches
that faith is the fruit of reason and it is through continuous
reflection on the wonders of creation that faith can be obtained,
maintained, and nurtured.

-It is Islam that has has taught humanity that people of all races,
all colors, all ethnicities are perfectly capable of attaining faith
in the One and Only God. Hindus believe that Hinduism is just for
those privileged to be born in the faith and therefore they do not
invite the "less privileged" to embrace their faith. Jews believe
that they are the chosen race and even when they accept others to
embrace Judaism, those converts are always lower in rank than those
born as Jews. Islam rejects all that and calls upon all people of all
backgrounds to submit themselves to their Creator. Once they do, they
automatically become members of the community of Islam with the same
rights and duties as any other Muslim. Islam is not, and can never
be, the monopoly of one race or a certain linguistic group.

-It is Islam that has taught humanity that God is absolutely Just and
Merciful and that He will never punish one person for the sins of
others. Christianity teaches that Adam and Eve had bequeathed their
sin to all their descendants and thus all humans are born in
this "Original Sin" and therefore Jesus Christ had to be sacrificed
on the cross to redeem humanity of its 'original sin.' Islam says,
NO. Humans are not born in sin. No person will be held accountable
for another's mistakes. Every soul will pay for its own deeds, only.
Divine justice is absolute.

-It is Islam that has taught humanity that righteous deeds are
necessary for salvation. Faith is indispensable, but not sufficient.
Humans will be admitted to Paradise by their faith and their
righteous acts. They have to go together, hand in hand. Many
Christian denominations teach that faith in Jesus is enough for
salvations. If you accept Jesus sacrifice on the cross, then you are
saved regardless of what you may do afterwards because Jesus has
already paid for all your sins. Islam totally disagrees. No one can
pay for your sins. Faith, doing righteousness, avoiding evil, and
continuous repentance are the only ways for salvation. Islam does not
accept , nor condone the corrupting influence on the individual as
well as the society that can be caused by the idea of a "guaranteed"
salvation.

-It is Islam that has taught humanity how to balance the needs of
this life and the next. Islam does not accept the idea that
renunciation of this world is the best means to get salvation in the
next. Catholicism and Buddism teach that by living a reclusive life,
one can attain higher spirituality. Buddism even taught the recluse
must make his living by begging. Islam rejects the whole notion of
the alleged goodness of renouncing the world. Islam teaches that best
means for advancement in the next life is by getting involved in the
affairs of this world by commanding good and forbidding evil; by
helping one another in righteousness and piety; by doing Jihad, by
struggling against all forms of evil, injustice, tyranny,
intolerance...Islam does not teach rejection of the world, it teaches
involvement, struggle, and change.

-It is Islam that has taught humanity that kindness to parents, to
kin, to neighbors, and to fellow humans is an essential part of faith
and righteousness. Christianity claims that Jesus has taught that one
cannot come closer to God unless one hates one's father, mother,
wife, children,...(Luke 14:26) Islam teaches the opposite. One cannot
come closer to God unless one acts so kindly towards one's mother,
father, family, neighbors, etc.

-It is Islam that has taught humanity that God is very close to them
and that He is with them wherever they are and that He hears their
prayers and respond to them. Islam teaches that God is so close that
He needs no intermediaries to mediate between Him and His servants.
Islam does not accept the concept of priesthood and clergy acting as
mediators between God and humans. Islam teaches that one does not
have to confess one's sins to a priest in order to get forgiveness.
One can simply confess one's sins to God without any human
intervention, seek forgiveness, and God will grant it. Many Jews
today still believe that prayers cannot reach God and get a response
from Him unless the prayer is made at the Wailing Wall in Juresalem.
Some even fax their prayers or send it via the Internet to Jerusalem
so that someone there would take it and put it on the Wailing Wall to
reach God. Islam teaches that wherever one maybe, one can pray to
God, confess to God, seek God's help and forgiveness, and God will
certainly respond. No human intervention is needed, no special place
or time is necessary. God is always very close.

-It is Islam that has taught humans to accept and respect their human
nature. Islam recognizes the strengths, the weaknesses, and the needs
of humans. Islam never requires humans to behave as angels or to
ignore their physical and emotional needs. Christianity does not
allow divorce. Islam recognizes it as a human reality. Catholicism
considers celibacy an ideal. Islam does not. The Anglican Church
frowns upon second marriages. Prince Charles in order to become King
of England has to behave as a practicing Anglican. Therefore, he can
commit adultery openly with his famous mistress but he cannot marry
her or else he will lose the throne for violating the rules of the
Church of England. Islam never engages in such irrationality and
moral contradictions.

-There is nothing like Islam on earth. There is no faith, no
religion, no ideology, no system of belief that can rival Islam in
its clarity and simplicity ; in its submission to God, the One and
Only; in its rationality and intellectual depth; in its
egalitarianism and equality; in its spirituality; in its code of
ethics; in its unparalleled balance between the needs of this life
and the demands of the hereafter. Islam has elevated the human soul,
body, and mind to heights that have never been reached by any other
faith or tradition. Islam is the only religion that has truly enabled
human beings to fulfill their humanity.

-Islam is like a perfect piece of art at which the human eye can keep
looking and scrutinizing for days, weeks, years on end and still can
find no flaws, no defects, and no contradictions. All the human eye
can do is to keep wondering at the amazing beauty and coherence of
this faith of ours: Islam. Leopold Wiess, the Austrian Jew who
embraced Islam in 1926 and became one of the greatest Muslim
intellects of the twentieth century has expressed the same level of
astonishment at the overwhelming beauty and coherence of Islam, "I
was asked, time and again: 'Why did you embrace Islam ? What was it
that attracted you particularly ?' -- and I must confess: I don't
know of any satisfactory answer. It was not any particular teaching
that attracted me, but the whole wonderful, inexplicably coherent
structure of moral teaching and practical life program. I could not
say, even now, which aspect of it appeals to me more than any other.
Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its
parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each
other: nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the result of
an absolute balance and solid composure. Probably this feeling that
everything in the teachings and postulates of Islam is 'in its proper
place,' has created the strongest impression on me." In a nutshell,
Islam is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

-It is important to note that Islam is not just a set of ideals, it
is a tremendous force capable of transforming and regenerating
individuals as well societies and whole nations. The influence of
Islam upon the first society that embraced it, the Arabian peninsula,
was nothing short of a revolution. Islam has revolutionized Arabia in
all aspects of life: politically, economically, socially, and above
all morally:
 
-It was Islam that transformed the fiercely independent-minded Arabs
who knew no government, obeyed no authority, recognized no state into
a nation with a government, a capital, and a respected authority.

-It was Islam that taught the anarchic Arabs how to elect a head of
state from among themselves and how to run their government upon
principles of mutual consultation.

-It was Islam that taught the Arabs who never agreed on any form of
law to build a nation based on the rule of one sacred, just, and
merciful law. Islam also taught them that they were all equals before
the law and no one even the daughter of the Prophet was above the
law.

-It was Islam that transformed the intensely militant Arabs from a
group of tribes massacring each other all the time -- to the extent
that they had to agree on four months of peace every year to prevent
their whole race from extinction due to the incessant wars -- into
one nation with united tribal armies able to confront and defeat the
armies of the surrounding superpowers: the Byzantines and the
Sassanids.

-It was Islam that abolished usury from Arabia and taught the Arabs
how to make business transactions justly and fairly without
exploitation or abuse.

-It was Islam that abolished the gruesome habit of female infanticide
from Arabia.

-It was Islam that taught the Arabs that women were full human
beings, not mere chattel, and that they were their sisters in
humanity and in faith. It was Islam that guaranteed for Arabian women
their rights to: inheritance, property, divorce, and independent
legal personality.

-It was Islam that eradicated Alcohol, with all its evils, from
Arabia.

-It was Islam that ended all forms of prostitution, gambling, and
intoxicants from the Arabian society. And it was Islam that opened
all doors for freeing slaves.

-It was Islam that uprooted racism from the Arab mind completely to
the extent that the deeply racist and arrogant Arabs would accept to
be soldiers in armies whose leaders were black Africans.

-And above all, it was Islam that transformed the idolatrous and
superstitious Arabs into believers in the One and Only God. It was
Islam that transformed them from idol worshippers into a people who
stand together in one line in prayer and prostrate their heads to the
Almighty.

May Allah (swt) guide every human being to His Straight path - Ameen.