Can previous revealed religions be called Islam?

Islam means submitting, surrendering, and obeying Allah (c.c.). According to the Qur’an, Islam is for a person to submit themselves solely to Allah, to be His servant, and to worship Him. This is the requirement of tawhid (the oneness of God). In this sense, Islam is not limited to the religion brought by the last prophet, Muhammad (s.a.s.), but is the belief system brought by all prophets. In this respect, the mission of all prophets in inviting humanity to the fundamental tenets of faith is the same. Accordingly, the first call of all prophets is to tawhid. For tawhid is the beginning of entering the path of truth and the first step in believing in Allah. Allah the Almighty commanded every prophet He sent to call their community to tawhid as follows: “We did not send any messenger before you but We revealed to him: ‘There is no god but Me, so worship Me.’” (al-Anbiya, 21/25)

Prophethood began with the first human and first prophet Adam (a.s.) and ended with Muhammad (s.a.s.). Therefore, the essence of the religion that Allah sent through His prophets at different times is the same, and all of them are called “Islam,” and their followers are called “Muslims.” The Qur’an clearly states this: “He named you Muslims before and in this Qur’an.” (al-Hajj, 22/78)

In the verse, “Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim, one who submitted to Allah.” (Al Imran, 3/67), the term Muslim is used for Abraham (a.s.). Also, in the verse, “Say: We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the descendants, and what was given to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims.” (al-Baqarah, 2/136), it is stated that the message of the prophets is essentially one and the same, and that this is Islam. However, since Judaism and Christianity in their present forms have not been preserved as they were revealed to the prophets, these religions in their current state cannot be called Islam. In essence, there has been no change in the basic principles of the true religion. However, Allah the Almighty (c.c.) has made some changes over time in the forms of worship and in rulings related to transactions. Jews and Christians are called non-Muslims because they do not believe in Allah’s (c.c.) last prophet Muhammad and the religion sent with him.

Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu