[For every Prophet a sharīʿa and a minhāj]

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The core reality of the faith—the religion of the Lord of all worlds—is that upon which all the prophets and messengers are united, even though each of them was given a particular sharīʿa and minhāj.

The sharīʿa is the revealed law. Allah the Exalted says,
“To each of you We have appointed a sharīʿa and a minhāj.” (Q 5:48)

He also says,
“Then We set you upon a sharīʿa of the command; so follow it and do not follow the whims of those who do not know. They will never avail you in the least against Allah; indeed, the wrongdoers are allies of one another, but Allah is the ally of the God-fearing.” (Q 45:18–19)

The minhāj, on the other hand, is the path itself. Allah the Most High says,
“Had they remained steadfast upon the path, We would have given them abundant water, so that We might test them in it. But whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord, He will make him enter an ever-increasing torment.” (Q 72:16–17)

Thus the sharīʿa is like the river’s channel, while the minhāj is the road that runs alongside it. The intended destination is the essence of the religion: worshipping Allah alone with no partner. That is the very substance of Islam—namely, that the servant surrender himself to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and to no one else. Whoever surrenders to another has committed shirk, and Allah “does not forgive association with Him” (Q 4:48). Whoever refuses to submit to Allah out of arrogance is among those of whom He said, “Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell in humiliation.” (Q 40:60)

[Islam: the Religion of the Prophets]

Islam, then, is the religion of the first and the last of the prophets.