Who are Submitters and What is Submission?
Whether you have heard the usage of the words “Submitters” and “Submission” in religious context before, if you do not know exactly what they mean, you are not alone. But we hope that this is the right time for you to check out their true meaning. You may be surprised to find out that you have actually been a Submitter all your life but have not realized you were one, God willing, until you read this article.
Submitter and Submission
Although the word “Submitter” is the English equivalent of the Arabic word “Muslim,” and the word “Submission” is the English equivalent of the Arabic word “Islam,” the underlying implication of these words is very profound, and far from the superficial meanings that are traditionally understood or used.
A Submitter can be defined as a person who submits to the will of God. The state of Submission, which can only take place between the person and God Almighty, is considered to be the only acceptable form of worship by God. (3:19, 85). Therefore, Submission is not just a name of a religion; rather it describes one’s devotion to God alone.
Submission is a religion whereby one recognizes God’s absolute authority, and reaches a conviction that only God possesses all power; no other entity possesses any power that is independent of Him. The natural result of such a realization is to devote one’s life and one’s worship absolutely to God alone. This is the First Commandment in all the scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Final Testament (The Quran). |
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is One God!
Therefore you shall adore
the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
[Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 12:29-30, Quran 3:18]
The commandment to worship God alone is also found in the Hindu scriptures:
Let us meditate on God,
His glorious attributes,
who is the basis of everything in this universe as its Creator,
who is fit to be worshiped
as Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient
and self existent conscious being,
who removes all ignorance
and impurities from the mind
and purifies and sharpens the intellect.
[Gayatri Mantra, Yajur Veda]
Submitters only in Islam?
While every religion has been corrupted by innovations, traditions, and false, idolatrous doctrines, there may be “Submitters” within every religion. There may be Submitters who call themselves Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or anything else. This is a concept some of the traditional Muslims will fiercely object to, even though it is in the Quran, and we experience it constantly.
They are not all the same; among the followers of the scripture, there are those who are righteous. They recite GOD’s revelations through the night, and they fall prostrate. [3:113]
One of the reasons for this objection could be due to the implication of the terminology used. For example, the |
phrase “Christian Submitter” may seem to introduce a conflict, since the traditional definition of a Christian is one who believes in the divinity of Christ. However, there are Christians who consider this idea to be blasphemous, and consequently they believe that Jesus was only a messenger of God. Similarly, there are people in other religions who believe in God Almighty, believe that they are accountable for their works, and they are righteous. A criterion of the true Submitters is that they will find nothing objectionable in the basic Quranic teachings when they encounter them.
All these people are Submitters, and they collectively constitute the only religion acceptable to God.
Say, “We believe in GOD, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters.” [3:84]
Minimum Criteria
There are many more people out there who are Submitters in heart, but we may not be aware of them. Furthermore, they themselves may not know where to fit in. How can one know if he or she might qualify to be called a Submitter? The minimum criteria to be a Submitter are given in the following verses.
Surely, those who believe,
those who are Jewish,
the Christians,
and the converts;
anyone who
(1) believes in GOD, and
Cont’d on page 4
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