Short answer
Consider Islam because it answers the questions beneath customs that many Chinese families keep. In a 2018 survey in mainland China, about one adult in ten identified with any religion. Yet three in four had visited a family grave in the past year. About one in four had visited a temple or shrine in the past year to pray for wealth or good fortune. Beneath those customs lie real questions. Where are the dead? Who hears a prayer? What is a life for? Islam's answer is one Creator, who hears every caller. It teaches one life, which is a test, and one Day of Judgement (67:2; 3:185). Islam is more than a label on a survey. It is a complete way of life, with belief, worship, family and character together. Read the Qur'an, and test it.
Full explanation
What one survey found
In 2023 the Pew Research Center, a research organisation, published a report on religion in mainland China. Among other surveys, it drew on the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), a large survey of adults there. In that survey, only 10% of adults identified with any religion. Yet three-quarters had visited a family member's grave at least once in the past year. And 24% had visited a site, usually a temple or shrine, in the past year to pray for wealth or good fortune. These figures show that "I have no religion" and family customs often go together.
Reports that only 10% of adults in mainland China identified with any religious group in the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). In the same survey, three-quarters of adults said they had visited a family member's grave at least once in the past year. Also in the same survey, 24% said they had visited a site, typically a temple or shrine, in the past year to pray for wealth or for good fortune in school, business or other matters.
The questions beneath the customs
A family that sweeps a grave is remembering someone it loved. The visit also raises a question. Where is that person now? Someone who prays at a temple for good fortune is asking for help. That raises a second question. Who hears the prayer, and who decides what comes? Behind both stands a third question. If every life ends, what is a life for? These are not questions for religious people only. Every thoughtful person meets them, often at a funeral or in a hard year. Saying "I have no religion" does not answer them. It leaves them open. Islam says they have answers, and that the answers can be tested.
Reports that only 10% of adults in mainland China identified with any religious group in the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). In the same survey, three-quarters of adults said they had visited a family member's grave at least once in the past year. Also in the same survey, 24% said they had visited a site, typically a temple or shrine, in the past year to pray for wealth or for good fortune in school, business or other matters.
“"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?"”
Being practical means testing, not ignoring
Many people call themselves practical. They trust what works and what can be checked. That is a good rule, and Islam asks to be judged by it. A practical person does not dismiss a claim unheard. He weighs the reasons. Three lines of reasoning point to a Maker of the world. Everything in the universe depends on something else. The evidence points to a beginning: the universe is expanding from a hot, dense early state. And it has an order that our minds can read. The pages "Can we know if God exists?" and "Why is there something rather than nothing?" weigh these reasons. The Qur'an asks the same: "Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators?" (52:35). A wise Maker who made beings able to ask why they are here would be expected to answer them. That is an expectation, not a proof. But it makes every message that claims to be His worth testing.
“Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, they have no firm belief.”
Islam's answer: who hears a prayer
Islam's answer is that one God hears every prayer. He says, "I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me" (2:186). No temple or go-between is needed. A person may call on Him in Chinese, at any hour, in his own words. Only God (﷾) knows what is hidden, even what lies ahead (27:65). So Islam turns every prayer for help to Him alone: "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek" (1:5). Of those called on besides Him, the Qur'an says, "if they were to listen, they cannot answer your (prayer)" (35:14). And it says, "if any one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him" (65:3).
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except Allah, knows what is hidden: nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up (for Judgment).”
“Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.”
“If ye invoke them, they will not listen to your call, and if they were to listen, they cannot answer your (prayer). On the Day of Judgment they will reject your "Partnership". and none, (O man!) can tell thee (the Truth) like the One Who is acquainted with all things.”
“And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish his purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion.”
Islam's answer: one life, and a Day of Judgement
Islam teaches that each person lives one life on earth. God (﷾) gave life where there was none. He will cause death, give life again, and to Him is the return (2:28). Life is a test. God (﷾) "created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed" (67:2). The Qur'an asks whether we were made in jest, and would not be brought back to God (﷾) for account (23:115). Every soul will taste death, and will be paid in full on the Day of Judgement (3:185). The Qur'an describes a man who, at death, asks to be sent back to do the good he neglected. The answer is no: "Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up" (23:99-100). The Partition (barzakh) is the barrier between death and the Day of Judgement. So the dead are not reborn into new lives, and there is no cycle of rebirth. Every soul goes on to the Judgement. That is Islam's answer to the belief in rebirth. Someone once asked who could give life to dry bones. The Qur'an answered: "He will give them life Who created them for the first time!" (36:79).
“How can ye reject the faith in Allah?- seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return.”
“He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving;-”
“"Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us (for account)?"”
“Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.”
“(In Falsehood will they be) Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life),- "In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." - "By no means! It is but a word he says."- Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up.”
“And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own (origin and) Creation: He says, "Who can give life to (dry) bones and decomposed ones (at that)?" Say, "He will give them life Who created them for the first time! for He is Well-versed in every kind of creation!-”
Islam's answer: what about my ancestors?
Islam keeps the remembering and changes the asking. A Muslim may visit the family graves (Muslim 977). He keeps close to the people his father loved (Muslim 2552). What changes is worship. Prayer and sacrifice are for God (﷾) alone (6:162). The Qur'an says, "invoke not any one along with Allah" (72:18). For a parent who died a believer, a child prays to God (﷾) for them and gives charity for them (Muslim 1631; Bukhari 1388). A Muslim does not ask God's (﷾) forgiveness for those who died outside Islam. The verse gives its condition: "after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire" (9:113). That rule is for his own prayers, not a verdict on anyone. God (﷾) visits no one with His wrath "until We had sent a messenger" (17:15). He is "never unjust in the least degree" (4:40). No Muslim may declare any particular person's fate. That belongs to God (﷾) alone. The pages "How should we honour our ancestors?" and "What happens to people who never heard of Islam or of Jesus?" explain this with care.
Buraida reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I used to forbid you to visit graves, but you may now visit them.
Abdullah ibn Umar gave his donkey and his turban to a desert Arab whose father had been a friend of Umar. He explained that he had heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that among the finest acts of goodness is for a man to keep ties with the people his father loved, after his father has gone.
“Say: "Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds: No partner hath He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His will.”
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that when a person dies, his deeds come to an end except three: lasting charity, knowledge that people benefit from, and a righteous child who prays for him.
Aisha reports that a man told the Prophet (ﷺ) that his mother had died suddenly. He thought she would have given charity if she had lived, and he asked whether she would receive the reward if he gave charity for her. The Prophet (ﷺ) said yes.
“It is not fitting, for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for Pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire.”
“Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).”
“Allah is never unjust in the least degree: If there is any good (done), He doubleth it, and giveth from His own presence a great reward.”
The Qur'an asks to be tested
Islam does not ask anyone to believe without looking. It says the Qur'an is God's (﷾) own word, and it invites a test. It challenges the doubter to produce a chapter (sura) like it (2:23). It asks the reader to look for contradictions in it. "Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy" (4:82). The page "Has anyone met the Qur'an's challenge to write a chapter like it?" sets out the test. A practical reader can start there.
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
A complete way of life
Islam is more than a label or a set of beliefs. The Qur'an calls Islam a deen: a whole way of living under the Creator. It says God (﷾) has perfected this religion for the believers and chosen Islam as their religion (5:3). It calls believers to "Enter into Islam whole-heartedly" (2:208). Belief, worship, family, food, honest dealing and character belong together. Your language and your family stay yours. The most honoured person is the most righteous, not any nation (49:13). Kindness to parents stays a duty, even if they never become Muslim (31:15). The page "What is Islam?" shows this whole way of life in one place. The page "If I become Muslim, do I lose my Chinese culture?" sets out what stays and what changes.
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
“O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.”
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
“"But if they strive to make thee join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration), and follow the way of those who turn to me (in love): in the end the return of you all is to Me, and I will tell you the truth (and meaning) of all that ye did."”
What Islam asks of you
Islam asks two things together. Worship God (﷾) alone, and follow Muhammad (ﷺ). The Qur'an calls him the Messenger of Allah (﷾) and the Seal of the Prophets, the last of them (33:40). It tells him to say, "O men! I am sent unto you all" (7:158). It calls him "a universal (Messenger) to men" (34:28), so his message is for Chinese readers too. Begin where a practical person begins. Read the Qur'an in a translation you trust, and test it. Ask God (﷾) for guidance in your own words. The Qur'an promises: "those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths" (29:69).
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not.”
“And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right.”
Questions and replies
Measuring Religion in China (2023)
Reports that only 10% of adults in mainland China identified with any religious group in the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). In the same survey, three-quarters of adults said they had visited a family member's grave at least once in the past year. Also in the same survey, 24% said they had visited a site, typically a temple or shrine, in the past year to pray for wealth or for good fortune in school, business or other matters.
Cited for
Hardly anyone I know has a religion. So this is not for me.
The response
Islam does not start from a label. It starts from the questions beneath any life. The Qur'an asks, "Did ye then think that We had created you in jest"? (23:115). What comes after death (3:185)? Whoever you are, those questions are yours.
Where it lands — Having no religion does not take the questions away. Islam answers them as a way of life.
Qur'an 52:35-36 — Surat al-Tur (The Mount), verses 35-36
“Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, they have no firm belief.”
Cited for
Religion is for the old or the superstitious. Hard work and science are enough for me.
The response
Hard work and science are good. But science studies how the world works. It does not say why there is a world, or what a life is for. The Qur'an asks, "Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators?" (52:35). The page "Can we know if God exists?" weighs the reasons. Every soul shall taste death (3:185), and death comes to the young as well as the old.
Where it lands — A practical person tests the claim before setting it aside.
Qur'an 9:113 — Surat al-Tawba (The Repentance), verse 113
“It is not fitting, for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for Pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire.”
Cited for
So Islam would say my grandparents are in the Fire.
The response
For those who died outside Islam, a Muslim does not ask God's (﷾) forgiveness (9:113). That is a rule for his own prayers. It is not a verdict on your grandparents. The verse gives its condition: "after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire". The Qur'an also says God (﷾) sends no wrath "until We had sent a messenger" (17:15). He is "never unjust in the least degree" (4:40). No Muslim may declare any person's fate. That belongs to God (﷾).
Where it lands — Islam states its rule for prayer openly, and leaves each person's fate to a God who wrongs no one.
Qur'an 23:99-100 — Surat al-Mu'minun (The Believers), verses 99-100
“(In Falsehood will they be) Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life),- "In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." - "By no means! It is but a word he says."- Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up.”
Cited for
Perhaps the dead are born again, and life comes round once more.
The response
Islam teaches one life on earth, then death, then the raising on the Day of Judgement (2:28). The Qur'an describes a man who, at death, asks to be sent back to make up what he neglected. The answer is no: "Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up" (23:99-100). So there is no cycle of rebirth, and every soul faces the Judgement. Each life matters, because it is the one we are given to live and be tested in (67:2). Islam asks you to test the book that says this (2:23).
Where it lands — One life, one test, and one Judgement.
Qur'an 2:185 — Surat al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 185
“Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (Should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.”
Cited for
Islam asks too much: daily prayer, fasting, and no pork or alcohol.
The response
Islam does ask real effort, and it is better to say so plainly. The Qur'an says, "Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties" (2:185). The ill may make up a fast later. God (﷾) places on no soul a burden greater than it can bear (2:286). The page "What is Islam?" shows the whole way.
Where it lands — Islam asks real effort, but within what each person can bear.
Qur'an 49:13 — Surat al-Hujurat (The Inner Apartments), verse 13
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
Cited for
If I became Muslim, I would stop being Chinese.
The response
The Qur'an says God (﷾) made people into nations and tribes "that ye may know each other". The most honoured is the most righteous, not any nation (49:13). It counts the variety of languages among God's (﷾) signs (30:22). Your family stays your family, and kindness to it is a duty (31:15). The page "If I become Muslim, do I lose my Chinese culture?" sets out what stays and what changes.
Where it lands — Islam changes whom you worship, not who your people are.
Qur'an 75:36 — Surat al-Qiyama (The Resurrection), verse 36
“Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)?”
Cited for
I do not know whether there is a God. Why should I spend time on it?
The response
Not knowing is a fair place to start. Life ends for everyone (3:185), and the Qur'an asks, "Does man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)?" (75:36). The page "If I'm not sure about God, what should I do?" begins there.
Where it lands — Not knowing is a reason to look, since the question reaches every life.
Perspectives
No religion: practical, with family customs
A reader may say that he has no religion and is a practical person. He may still visit the family graves, and sometimes pray at a temple for good fortune, but he calls these customs, not beliefs. He may also say that no one can know whether there is a God, or that Islam asks too much.
In a 2018 survey only 10% of adults in mainland China identified with any religion. Religion is simply not part of my life.
Rebuttal
The figure is a fair place to start. But how many people hold a belief does not decide whether it is true. Islam begins with questions everyone faces: why we were made, and what follows death (23:115; 3:185).
I am practical. Whatever can be known must be found by science, and what science cannot discover, no one can know.
Rebuttal
That rule is not itself a finding of science. A practical person tests a claim before he sets it aside. Reasons point to a Maker (52:35-36), and the Qur'an asks to be tested (2:23; 4:82).
In the same survey, three in four had visited a family grave in the past year. I do that too, and sometimes pray at a temple for good fortune. That is custom, not belief.
Rebuttal
Islam keeps the grave visit and the remembering (Muslim 977). It asks who hears the prayer. God (﷾) hears every caller (2:186), and those called on besides Him cannot answer (35:14).
No one can know whether there is a God, so I leave the question alone.
Rebuttal
Not knowing is an honest start, and it is a reason to look. Huxley's own rule was to follow reason as far as it will take you. Reasons can be weighed, and God (﷾) promises guidance to those who strive (29:69).
The Islamic perspective
Islam says one God (﷾) hears every caller, and that each person has one life and will be judged. It says the Qur'an is God's (﷾) word, which can be tested. It keeps the remembering of the dead and turns all worship to God (﷾). It leaves each person's fate to God (﷾), and it is a complete way of life.
God (﷾) is close and hears every caller. All worship and every prayer for help belong to Him alone.
Each person lives one life, which is a test. Every soul tastes death and is paid in full on the Day of Judgement.
A Muslim does not ask God's (﷾) forgiveness for those who died outside Islam (9:113). No one is punished before a messenger reaches them (17:15), God (﷾) is never unjust (4:40), and no Muslim may declare any particular person's fate.
The Qur'an invites everyone to test it, and calls Muhammad (ﷺ) the Seal of the Prophets, sent to all people.
Islam is a complete way of life, joining belief, worship, family and character.