I read your obviously neutral
thought on the above subject and it really calls for further scrutiny. Your
posts have been carefully premised on reasoning which really encourage
religious re-construction and re-thinking especially for individual like my
humble self who belief in strict adherence to the Glorious Quran and the noble
path of the Prophet Muhammed (SAW). Monotheism is the fundamental concept of Islam.
It teaches about only one true God (Allah), the Creator and Sustainer of the
universe. It stems from the following verses of the Glorious Quran among
several others:
“Say: He is God, the only One;
God the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is none
like unto Him” (Q 112:1-4).
AND ”O mankind! Worship your Lord, who created
you and those who came before you that you may become righteous” (Q 2:21).
The above verses clearly and
beautifully show that one true God’s existence is evident and He has created us
to know and worship Him alone. The Creator reasons with humanity to tell us
that He is Unique and Absolute in all ramification.
Contrary to your argument, Islam
teaches true Muslims to be just with all people, whether with friends or foes;
and at all times, in peace or in war as contained in the following verse:
“O you who believe! Stand out
firmly for Allah as just witnesses; and let not the hatred of a people make you
to avoid justice. Be just, that is next to piety, and fear Allah for Allah is
well-acquainted with all that you do ” (Q 5:8).
Again, the Supreme Being reasons
with humanity on justice and equity as the attributes of those that worship Him
as clearly demonstrated above even in the face of hatred and unfair treatment.
Concerning the freedom and protection of faith, the Glorious Quran states:
“There is no compulsion in religion as truth stand out clearly from falsehood”
(Q 2:256).
Is it true that truth will always
prevail over falsehood when the Creator emphatically calls Muslims not to force
individual to Islam? Certainly YES, then non-Muslims or “Kafirs” are not meant
to be treated with disdain as ordained in the Glorious Quran!!! Thus, Islam
honors mankind and does not compel anyone to embrace it faith by force. This is
the truth, beauty, justice, kindness and tolerance of Islam when dealing with
non-Muslims.(Please peruse “The Spread of Islam in The World; A History of Peaceful Preaching’’ by Prof. Thomas Arnold
on this account)
Beautifully, the Glorious Quran warns
terrorists, fundamentalists, extremists and their likes and points out that
whoever kills an innocent soul, hell is his abode thus:
“Whoever kills an innocent soul,
It is as if he had killed mankind entirely. And whoever saves one- it is as if
he had saved mankind entirely ” (Q 5:32).
Likening an innocent soul to the
entire mankind is the wisdom of the Creator in telling us that He alone is the
Owner and Creator of soul. Corroborating this sacred verse, the narration of
the Prophet Muhammed (SAW) known as Hadith explained quite explicitly that
whoever commits suicide with any weapon will be punished with that very same
weapon in the Hell Fire. In Hadith (Bukhari 7:670) Narrated by Abu Huraira, The
Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills
himself, will be in the Hell Fire falling down into it and abiding therein
perpetually forever; and whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he
will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the Hell Fire wherein
he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon,
will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in
the Hell Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever.’
Today, open-minded men and women
around the world embrace Islam without force. For instance recent UK statistics
of religion show that Islam is the fastest growing religion in Britain where
those who accepted Islam are based on wise, objective, sincere and superior
arguments. I will like to recommend this book for further study – Islam our
Choice: Portraits of Modern American Muslim Women – edited by Debra L. Dirks
and Stephanie Parlove.
COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS ARE
WELCOME!!!
Thank you very much Dauda for your contribution. It is clear and makes a
lot of sense. I believe that your sincerity is true and your position is what
Muslims from all over the world keep saying about the religion. I in fact
belief this to be a fact, not just from what you said but from what many have
preached. However, we cannot remove our eyes from the fact that Muslims do too
little in speaking out against and resisting extremism. I feel for Islam,
because these elements do much to damage the impression of Islam in the hearts
and minds of people than any critic can. And religion is a matter of the heart,
if the hearts of the people are turned away because of what they see people
claim to do in the name of Allah, it will be difficult to convince them
otherwise. Action, our people say, speaks louder than words. The action of the
few extremist elements I spoke about in my post is one and the inaction of
Muslims who know the truth is another. Until Islamic schools issue Fatwas
against extremists and Muslims reject their assault on the teachings of Allah,
it will be difficult to convince people otherwise. However, I have a lot of
Muslim friends and I know they are not violent. Once again, thank you for your
reaching out. Much appreciated.
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