Propagation in Islamic state
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Brother Burhan,
Assalam o Alaikum,
I have various questions to ask, but I would start with the very basic one that
has been bothering me for quite some time.
Though we Muslims regard Islam as a religion without any compulsion, (The
Quranic verse stating that there is no compulsion in religion), and also regard
our religion as the most tolerant of other cultures and religions, yet there it
is not allowed for Christians, or those of another faith than Islam, to
propagate their religion in an Islamic country, or in a territory run by
Muslims.
I find it really hard to believe that on one hand it is being said that
everyone is free to follow whatever religion he or she wants to and on the
other you do not give anyone the choice to follow other religions than Islam.
Kindly help me in understanding the logic behind this. I would really
appreciate you. May Allah reward you for all that you have done and are doing
for His cause.
Wa`asalaam,
Your sister in Islam,
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
All
Praise is due to Allah Subhanah Alone, Who has made His approved way of life
(Al-Islam) the most tolerant religion in the world. Islam indeed forbids compulsion, but instead
exhorts the believers to propagate the religion of Truth in the most polite and
best manners, so that one’s heart may be encouraged to accept this way of Truth
with full logic and willingness.
Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 16, Surah An-Nahl Ayat 125:
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and argue
with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from
His Way and who is Rightly guided.
If one
who is invited to the Truth of Al-Islam, decides of his bestowed ‘free will’
that he does not wish to accept it; he will be allowed in an Islamic State to
practice his own religion, no matter what it may be. That is because Allah Subhanah has created
mankind for a test for a limited period of one life time and bestowed upon him
two things which He has not bestowed on anyone in His creation.
The
faculty of intelligence or power of reasoning
A free
will to choose whatever path he wishes to follow.
If a
person, after being invited to Islam, of his own free will wishes to follow a
path other than Islam, he will be permitted to do so. Such a person, even in a proper Islamic State
will not be compelled to accept Islam, but will be given the right to worship
and follow whatever path or deen he wishes to follow.
But this
allowance of Islam in no way means that Islam accepts their religion to be the
truth; but rather it only means that the believers accept and obey the guidance
of Allah and His Messenger (saws) that man has been created for a test, and
every person has a right to choose whatever path he wishes to follow. The final decision of who are on the Right
Path of Allah and who are misguided will be decided by the Supreme Judge and
Lord of the Worlds on the Day of Judgment.
In a
proper Islamic State, although the believers believe and know that the other
religions are false and wrong; the non-believers freedom of practicing their
religion will be protected. A
non-believer would be allowed to practice his religion in his house or in his
place of worship; but the propagation or spreading of his false beliefs would
not be permitted. In no righteous society would it ever be allowed that a wrong
or false thing is propagated, thus allowing mischief and chaos to spread in
society!
A simple
example would help to make the issue clear.
Lets suppose some people in a society have a contagious disease, example
Aids, etc. The society will try its
best to address the disease and help those involved in the disease in any way
they can; but no righteous society would ever allow that this contagious
disease is propagated and allowed to be passed around and spread in
society!
Similar
is the case with the spiritual diseases of the hearts such as disbelief and
polytheism; one who has such diseases will be allowed to practice their beliefs
of polytheism and disbelief in their homes and their places of worship, but
under no circumstances would it be allowed by a righteous society that they be
permitted to propagate and spread this disease openly amongst the believing
society.
If one
trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of
Allah and His Messenger (saws), he can
be assured of never ever being misled;
but if one believes, obeys and
follows any other guidance, other than
that of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
he can be assured of being led astray.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
