“And do not
insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity
without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds.
Then to their Lord is their return and He will inform them about what they used
to do.” (6: 109)
Respect
for other faiths is an essential part of Islam as it should be for all faiths
also. Respect for each other’s religion plays a vital role in maintaining peace
at familial, social, environmental, national and international levels.
To each
Muslim, liberty of religious belief and practice must be dear since tolerance
is a vital part of Islamic faith. Religious liberty practiced in any society
guarantees also liberty of scientific discussion within it and a tolerance of
the views of others, so essential to the growth of science.
The Quran
clearly states that the ultimate choice of belief is the concern of an
individual: “Proclaim Oh
prophet, this is the truth from your Rab, then let him who will believe and;
let him who will disbelieve.” (18: 30)
The next
verse makes the principles of freedom of individual belief or disbelief even
clearer and more precise.
“In the name
of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Say, ‘O disbelievers, I do not worship what
you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a
worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion’.” (109:
1-7)
This
concept of tolerance towards other beliefs is carried further with the Quran
defining clearly the role and limits of the ministry of the Holy Prophet of
Islam Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) in the following words: “Warn
mankind for you are but a Warner. You have no authority to compel anyone (to
believe).” (88: 22-23)
And again: “Say: O people! indeed there has come to you
the truth from your Lord, therefore whoever goes aright, he goes aright only
for the good of his own soul, and whoever goes astray, he goes astray only to
the detriment of it, and I am not a custodian over you.” (10: 109)
And yet
again: “We have
neither appointed you as a keeper over them, nor are you their guardian”. (6: 108)
This verse
is immediately followed by the next which I have read at the beginning of my
sermon which clearly states another basic principle: “And do not
insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity
without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds.
Then to their Lord is their return and He will inform them about what they used
to do.” (6: 109)
When the world
has since long been focused at imitating Islam and the Muslims and reproducing
to a certain extent the commandments of the Quran in their daily lives so that
they may benefit from the last law-bearing book, but without giving it the open
and agreeable credit for the positive changes in the world, then we know for
sure that despite not acknowledging the religion of Islam as the ultimate
religion to revolutionize mankind and his thoughts, the people of other faiths
do recognize the truthfulness of Islam, but agree to its teachings in secret.
If they
were to declare openly that the Quran holds such truths which had, has and will
continue to revolutionize man, his behaviour, culture and thoughts, then it
shall equally mean the death of their own power-thirst or egoistical attachment
to the erroneous thoughts and belief of their forefathers, who had hidden the
true teachings of God and His prophets so as to fabricate such falsehoods or
half-truths which have confused them on the matter of religion.
This reminds
me that recently Bible researchers and scholars have further discovered that
the Bible clearly shows that it was written over a thousand years after the
events mentioned in this book/s, and those who had written these biblical
stories have made huge mistakes in relating/writing down some stories that had
nothing to do with the Abrahamic era.
Despite
the serious interpolations which their forefathers made to religion and
religious books, but nevertheless the fruits of their loins are not responsible
for what their old fathers did. In fact, their forefathers were sent divine
warners to warn them, not the present generation, until now.
Nevertheless,
God Almighty has taught the Muslim to hold all faiths in a respectful manner,
and has taught that there cannot be compulsion in religion (2: 257). What is
needed is gentleness, and lots of patience, efforts and prayers to Allah so
that the Rab of all the worlds can change the hearts of the people.
Allah
clearly says, do not insult their false gods despite that you know that they
are in the wrong, for in return they can spitefully badmouth the real and true
God in ignorance and thus it is you, Muslim who shall be responsible for this
sin. But if the believers in general are meant to stay quiet to some degree,
but a prophet of Allah, whenever he gets precise instruction to go against
these kinds of people and their false gods, then he must do so in obedience to
the commandments of Allah. Therefore there is a big difference between the
common people from among Muslims and the prophet of Allah who is Muslim also.
Indeed the latter is the first of believers, because he has to believe in his
very own revelations which he is receiving from Allah and thus he becomes the
first of believers “Awwalul-Muslimeen”.
Then, the
Holy Book, in the clearest possible terms, makes religious liberty a
fundamental part of a Muslim’s faith. It states that the role of the prophet is
to convey Allah’s message; he has no authority to compel anyone nor has he a
responsibility regarding the acceptance of the faith he preaches. And at the
very least an attitude of respect is due to leaders of all faiths, but he the
duty to comply with the divine instructions and deliver the message as per the
divine instructions.
Sometimes
he is hard, sometimes soft depending on the situation he is facing and the
beings he is dealing with, and most important, according to the divine will and
command. Even in the times of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) where he
had to be hard to some people, be them friends, disciples or enemies and soft
to some others among the mentioned groups of people. This is mainly because of
the situation and the instructions he receive, because who knows better the
hearts of others if it is not God Almighty? Unless he receives a revelation
informing him about the people, the prophet of Allah remains a man like others
who does not know the realities and verities of his peers, but when Allah pours
down upon him revelation to enlighten him as to the true nature of some people,
then the prophet gets to a stage which the common man cannot always understand
and agree. That is why they prefer most of the time to label the prophet as a
madman, a sorcerer or a magician, because they are not prepared to admit that
the verities which he mentioned and which are right on target are of divine
source.
That is
why, there are three main categories of unbelievers:
(1) Those
who are initially unbelievers and who go on to become sincere followers of the
prophets of God;
(2) Those who are unbelievers, pretend to
believe and integrate the circle of believers to spy on the prophet and the
believers;
(3) Those
unbelievers who are stone-hearted people whose hearts and souls refuse to let
in the divine light.
As for the
hypocrites, they can accede to truth when they are in constant presence of the
Messenger of Allah and they can receive the light and be rid of unfaith
(although it is not always the case).
Whereas,
the third type of unbelievers are those whom Chapter 109 refers to, those who
are not at all interested in true faith and who prefer to remain attached to
their false beliefs. And to maintain a peaceful relation with them is the
objective of Islam, so that all people, Muslims or otherwise can live together
in peace, and it is for God Almighty to judge them all, according to their
beliefs, deeds and intention. The prophets of Allah have only to deliver the
message clearly so that tomorrow these people will not be able to say that they
were not aware of the truth.
Peace on
those who follow the true guidance. May Allah enable you all in the Jamaat Ul
Sahih Al Islam and the Muslims around the world to reflect the true spirit of
Islam and the tolerance it preaches for the wellbeing of one and all, and
essentially to prove through our own actions that the teachings of Allah are
not lost on us, that we are capable of holding firm the torch of Islam
successfully. Insha-Allah. Ameen.
-Friday Sermon of February 14, 2014 by Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius