One Message, Different Religions. Why?

One Message, Many Religions: A Human Failure, Not Divine Confusion

By Tajjamul Aly :

If God sent one message, why do we see so many religions across the world? Shouldn’t humanity have followed a single path if all prophets came with the same call—to worship One God and live righteously? The question is deep, but the Islamic answer is crystal clear, rooted in the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Universal Call: One God, One Message

Islam teaches that Allah (God) sent His message to every nation, at different times and places, through thousands of prophets and messengers. The essence of this message never changed, worship Allah alone, live justly, and prepare for the Hereafter.

> “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid false gods.’”

(Qur’an, 16:36)

From Adam to Noah, Abraham to Moses, Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them all), every prophet came with the same foundational truth. But if the message was one, why did religions multiply?

The Human Hand in Distortion

The answer lies in human distortion over time. People began altering divine revelations—some intentionally for power and influence, others out of ignorance or cultural pressure. They added their own rituals, myths, and customs. Over generations, these changes grew into rigid systems of belief far removed from the original divine guidance.

“So woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ to exchange it for a small price.”

(Qur’an, 2:79)

Over time, when people began to distort the original message, they added different rituals and rites, included outdated beliefs, and gradually shaped a form of religion that was completely opposite to the true message. As a result, different regions of the world gave birth to different religions, each one being a perverted form of the original divine message.

The Qur'an confirms that messengers were sent to every nation, but they were limited to their own communities or regions. So, when that one true message was altered and lost, we began to see multiple religions around the world.

The Final Messenger and the Preserved Message

Then finally, the last Prophet was sent, not for a single nation, but for all of humanity. This time, the message was preserved by Allah Himself, because it was meant for everyone, for all times to come.

> “And We have not sent you but as a bearer of good news and a warner to all mankind.”

(Qur’an, 34:28)

This time, Allah did not leave His message vulnerable to corruption. He took it upon Himself to preserve the Qur’an forever.

> “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an, and indeed, We will be its guardian.”

(Qur’an, 15:9)

A powerful hadith of the Prophet explains this beautifully:

 “The example of me and the prophets before me is like a man who built a beautiful house, but one brick was missing. People admired it but said: ‘If only this brick were placed!’ I am that final brick, and I am the Seal of the Prophets.”

(Sahih Bukhari)

The Call of Truth Still Echoes

Today, Islam stands as the last untouched revelation, calling humanity back to the original message of all prophets: worship One God, follow His guidance, and live with purpose.

Wherever truth exists in other faiths, it is a reflection of the light that once came from Allah. But only Islam preserves that light in its pure, original form through the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

A Final Thought

Religions multiplied not because God sent different truths, but because humanity altered, forgot, and fragmented the one truth. The diversity of faiths is not a sign of divine inconsistency, but of human failure.

Now, with the Qur’an in our hands and the life of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh as our guide, we are invited to return, not to a new religion, but to the original path of all prophets, now preserved forever in Islam.