World Blog by humble servant.No Compulsion in Religion : November 14, 2014 .1.Had your Lord willed, all the people on earth would have believed. Do you want to force the people to become believers? (10:99) 9+9=18+0=18+1=19
God created our physical Universe and everything therein is governed by His laws. No entity in nature can swerve away from its path or give up its function or task which was allocated to it by the Almighty. In other words, everything submits itself to the Will of God readily or reluctantly.
[3:83] Are they seeking other than GOD's religion, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly and unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned?
Everything is submissive to God whether by choice or constraint. The stars and planets, the plants and trees all precisely obey and are faithful to the laws of nature fashioned by God. Insects, birds and animals live by instinct and intuition and lack reason and higher intellect. They may or may not be docile and obedient. They have not asked for freedom of choice and free will for which they would have to be answerable to their Initiator. There is also an unfathomable amount of Angels who are invisible and strictly follow God’s commands.In God’s visible creation, the human is the only creature who demanded freedom of choice and free will (33:72). God endowed us with faculty of reasoning and intellect. We are capable of doing both good and evil. We can obey and disobey God or do both. We can choose to submit or even object.
[91:6-9-10] The earth and Him who sustains it. The soul and Him who created it. Then showed it what is evil and what is good. Successful is one who redeems it. Failing is one who neglects it.
The Most Merciful gave the human a gift of a conscience and a moral sense to help us make a distinction between right and wrong. Our conscience “pricks” us when we even contemplate to do something wrong.
We have all been given a fixed interim of life on Earth and during our stopover here we are tested and judged by God Almighty. We are on probation and trial. We are all accountable to God for our good and bad deeds for which we will be rewarded or punished.God instituted religion for the humans. The word “religion” comes from the Latin word “religio” which means “to bind together.” What does it bind? Three ingredients – theology, philosophy and spirituality. Islam has, by the Grace of God, accommodated them all in their correct and rightful proportions. Religion was introduced to uplift moral and social values, and the Monotheism is the natural instinct placed into the people by God:
[30:30] Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
Philosophy came about to improve the human’s mental attitude. The knowledge of philosophy is based on doubts and reasoning but when it reaches the boundaries of the future life, it fails in its objectives because there is no place for doubt in that world.Spirituality made the concept of spirit and soul emerge as external and internal powers respectively. Theology was applied in the form of “fear” of the unseen in earlier societies. The propagators of this concept were the rulers and/or “priests” who used rituals and human sacrifices to terrorize the people. They projected god as impersonal, harsh, angry and punishing and projected themselves as the link between the people and their gods.
The three ingredients of religion improve the morality of humankind and elevate society in three different ways – theology through fear, philosophy through logic and spirituality through love. Theology deals with the world of the unseen, philosophy through the world of the seen and spirituality with both. The last entity plays a vital role of bridging the gap between the two worlds.
The Quran was the evolution and understanding to the soul that highlighted love, humbleness, tolerance and obedience as its desired acts amongst other noble deeds. It also clarified that good deeds are pre-requisites for the follower of this path towards the world of the Hereafter. The concept also expresses God as love, kindness and justice who can be reached though good deeds and not necessarily panic or terror.
God sent Prophets and Messengers from time to time to direct humankind.
[16:36] We have sent a messenger to every community, saying, “You shall worship GOD, and avoid idolatry.” Subsequently, some were guided by GOD, while others were committed to straying. Roam the earth and note the consequences for the rejectors.
He sent His Warners to every community on earth.
[35:24] We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of good news, as well as a warner. Every community must receive a warner.These Prophets and Messengers conveyed the same Celestial Message to their respective communities, tribes and people. They did it with relentless struggle and persistent efforts. For example Noah lived a very long time with his people (950 years). On deputing him God says:
[29:14] We sent Noah to his people, and he stayed with them one thousand years, less fifty. Subsequently, they incurred the flood because of their transgressions.
God does not say “We sent Noah to the non believers.” Similarly, when Noah addressed his people he said:
[7:59] We sent Noah to his people, saying, “O my people, worship GOD; you have no other god beside Him. I fear for you the retribution of an awesome day.”
He was not commanded to say “O non-believers.”
God does not declare anyone unbelievers or disbelievers without giving them many opportunities even in this third and final chance. We also understand that Prophet Muhammad took 23 years to deliver the Quran. He worked in the cause of God with patience and perseverance. He had a huge responsibility and was required to accomplish his task. People were given ample time and opportunity to think and decide for themselves the itinerary for the future.
Proselytizing work (try to convert somebody) is a challenging and delicate task. It demands wisdom, deep sincerity, patience, steadfastness and extraordinary care. Our communication, behavior and style while transmitting the Message should not reflect any kind of compulsion. However, one has to warn:
[50:45] We are fully aware of everything they utter, while you have no power over them. Therefore, remind with this Quran, those who reverence My warnings.If there is force applied it would be counter productive to the very spirit of the Divine Plan to allow a human the power of choice and freedom. Any duress applied would snatch away the freedom of choice and free will. It also renders the concept of accountability meaningless and the demands of justice will not be met while awarding reward and punishment.
People think that the Prophet launched his campaign with “sword in one hand and Quran in the other.” But this is simply not true. Would he be the first to break God’s commandment? Early in the Quran God says:
[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.
How about Sura 109 - The Disbelievers (Al Kaferoon)? This Sura ends beautifully with the following peaceful statement:
[109:6] “To you is your religion, and to me is my religion.”
A quote from M.K. Gandhi regarding his views on Islam’s expansion in early days is worth noting:
“...I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement (withdrawing into the background; making yourself inconspicuous) of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity (courage), his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble.”
YOUNG INDIA, 1924.How to spread God’s Message is spelled out in the Quran:
[16:125] 6x 2=12+5=17+1=18+1=19 You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who are the guided ones.
[29:46] Do not argue with the people of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) except in the nicest possible manner - unless they transgress - and say, “We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitters.”
In this way, the Quran not only emphasized the use of the best available fundamentals but also the best possible method. Thus, there is no obligation of Islam on non believers. Coercion in any form or denomination does not exist at all in Quranic teachings.
It is the Divine Scheme that a human should be given absolute freedom to think and act feely. God does not snatch this freedom from us at any moment of our life span. All Prophets and Messengers were assigned the task to gently coax people into accepting and believing what was revealed to them. They just convey the message to humankind.
However, even the Prophet or the Messenger cannot guide us. Only God guides:
[28:56] You cannot guide the ones you love. GOD is the only One who guides in accordance with His will, and in accordance with His knowledge of those who deserve the guidance.
[24:46] We have sent down to you clarifying revelations, then GOD guides whoever wills (to be guided) in a straight path.
[6:149] Say, “GOD possesses the most powerful argument; if He wills He can guide all of you.”
[3:83] Are they seeking other than GOD's religion, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly and unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned?
Everything is submissive to God whether by choice or constraint. The stars and planets, the plants and trees all precisely obey and are faithful to the laws of nature fashioned by God. Insects, birds and animals live by instinct and intuition and lack reason and higher intellect. They may or may not be docile and obedient. They have not asked for freedom of choice and free will for which they would have to be answerable to their Initiator. There is also an unfathomable amount of Angels who are invisible and strictly follow God’s commands.In God’s visible creation, the human is the only creature who demanded freedom of choice and free will (33:72). God endowed us with faculty of reasoning and intellect. We are capable of doing both good and evil. We can obey and disobey God or do both. We can choose to submit or even object.
[91:6-9-10] The earth and Him who sustains it. The soul and Him who created it. Then showed it what is evil and what is good. Successful is one who redeems it. Failing is one who neglects it.
The Most Merciful gave the human a gift of a conscience and a moral sense to help us make a distinction between right and wrong. Our conscience “pricks” us when we even contemplate to do something wrong.
We have all been given a fixed interim of life on Earth and during our stopover here we are tested and judged by God Almighty. We are on probation and trial. We are all accountable to God for our good and bad deeds for which we will be rewarded or punished.God instituted religion for the humans. The word “religion” comes from the Latin word “religio” which means “to bind together.” What does it bind? Three ingredients – theology, philosophy and spirituality. Islam has, by the Grace of God, accommodated them all in their correct and rightful proportions. Religion was introduced to uplift moral and social values, and the Monotheism is the natural instinct placed into the people by God:
[30:30] Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
Philosophy came about to improve the human’s mental attitude. The knowledge of philosophy is based on doubts and reasoning but when it reaches the boundaries of the future life, it fails in its objectives because there is no place for doubt in that world.Spirituality made the concept of spirit and soul emerge as external and internal powers respectively. Theology was applied in the form of “fear” of the unseen in earlier societies. The propagators of this concept were the rulers and/or “priests” who used rituals and human sacrifices to terrorize the people. They projected god as impersonal, harsh, angry and punishing and projected themselves as the link between the people and their gods.
The three ingredients of religion improve the morality of humankind and elevate society in three different ways – theology through fear, philosophy through logic and spirituality through love. Theology deals with the world of the unseen, philosophy through the world of the seen and spirituality with both. The last entity plays a vital role of bridging the gap between the two worlds.
The Quran was the evolution and understanding to the soul that highlighted love, humbleness, tolerance and obedience as its desired acts amongst other noble deeds. It also clarified that good deeds are pre-requisites for the follower of this path towards the world of the Hereafter. The concept also expresses God as love, kindness and justice who can be reached though good deeds and not necessarily panic or terror.
God sent Prophets and Messengers from time to time to direct humankind.
[16:36] We have sent a messenger to every community, saying, “You shall worship GOD, and avoid idolatry.” Subsequently, some were guided by GOD, while others were committed to straying. Roam the earth and note the consequences for the rejectors.
He sent His Warners to every community on earth.
[35:24] We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of good news, as well as a warner. Every community must receive a warner.These Prophets and Messengers conveyed the same Celestial Message to their respective communities, tribes and people. They did it with relentless struggle and persistent efforts. For example Noah lived a very long time with his people (950 years). On deputing him God says:
[29:14] We sent Noah to his people, and he stayed with them one thousand years, less fifty. Subsequently, they incurred the flood because of their transgressions.
God does not say “We sent Noah to the non believers.” Similarly, when Noah addressed his people he said:
[7:59] We sent Noah to his people, saying, “O my people, worship GOD; you have no other god beside Him. I fear for you the retribution of an awesome day.”
He was not commanded to say “O non-believers.”
God does not declare anyone unbelievers or disbelievers without giving them many opportunities even in this third and final chance. We also understand that Prophet Muhammad took 23 years to deliver the Quran. He worked in the cause of God with patience and perseverance. He had a huge responsibility and was required to accomplish his task. People were given ample time and opportunity to think and decide for themselves the itinerary for the future.
Proselytizing work (try to convert somebody) is a challenging and delicate task. It demands wisdom, deep sincerity, patience, steadfastness and extraordinary care. Our communication, behavior and style while transmitting the Message should not reflect any kind of compulsion. However, one has to warn:
[50:45] We are fully aware of everything they utter, while you have no power over them. Therefore, remind with this Quran, those who reverence My warnings.If there is force applied it would be counter productive to the very spirit of the Divine Plan to allow a human the power of choice and freedom. Any duress applied would snatch away the freedom of choice and free will. It also renders the concept of accountability meaningless and the demands of justice will not be met while awarding reward and punishment.
People think that the Prophet launched his campaign with “sword in one hand and Quran in the other.” But this is simply not true. Would he be the first to break God’s commandment? Early in the Quran God says:
[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.
How about Sura 109 - The Disbelievers (Al Kaferoon)? This Sura ends beautifully with the following peaceful statement:
[109:6] “To you is your religion, and to me is my religion.”
A quote from M.K. Gandhi regarding his views on Islam’s expansion in early days is worth noting:
“...I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement (withdrawing into the background; making yourself inconspicuous) of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity (courage), his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble.”
YOUNG INDIA, 1924.How to spread God’s Message is spelled out in the Quran:
[29:46] Do not argue with the people of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) except in the nicest possible manner - unless they transgress - and say, “We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitters.”
In this way, the Quran not only emphasized the use of the best available fundamentals but also the best possible method. Thus, there is no obligation of Islam on non believers. Coercion in any form or denomination does not exist at all in Quranic teachings.
It is the Divine Scheme that a human should be given absolute freedom to think and act feely. God does not snatch this freedom from us at any moment of our life span. All Prophets and Messengers were assigned the task to gently coax people into accepting and believing what was revealed to them. They just convey the message to humankind.
However, even the Prophet or the Messenger cannot guide us. Only God guides:
[28:56] You cannot guide the ones you love. GOD is the only One who guides in accordance with His will, and in accordance with His knowledge of those who deserve the guidance.
[24:46] We have sent down to you clarifying revelations, then GOD guides whoever wills (to be guided) in a straight path.
[6:149] Say, “GOD possesses the most powerful argument; if He wills He can guide all of you.”
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