Acceptance & Tolerance – Freedom of Choice of Religion and Religious Expressions
Lately we have come across three incidents
1) the backlash by Muslims against passing of bill to create Mandar for Hindu Minorities in Pakistan
2) the killing of a Qadyani in Peshawar Court and
3) destroying of Hindu idols in a shopping mall by a Muslim lady in Bahrain.
In each of these three incidents, what was shocking and sad was not only the mere event itself, but the response from the vast majority of Muslims across the globe. Instead of condemning these acts, the events were celebrated and the people involved were projected as being heroes and ideal Muslims. Looking at these responses we can not help but wonder **how we, the followers of Islam- being a religion of peace, love and compassion for all- have become this intolerant towards other human beings** and on the basis of what? Since all we can learn from Allah and Rasool, from Quran and Sunnah, is only love, mercy, compassion and kindness towards others- be a Muslim or a non-Muslim. We need to keep in mind following six important aspects in this regard.
1- No Compulsion, no force in Deen: First and foremost, we need to remember that as per Islam, everyone can choose and express whatever religion they chose; there is no compulsion or force as per Deen. These are the explicit instructions by God Almighty as communicated to us through Quran. Additionally, whoever is a non believer let him/her be. To punish them for their religious beliefs is in the hands of Allah and Allah Only, no one else. Please refer to the following Ayahs.
[Quran 2:256] There shall be no compulsion in the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.
[Quran Al-Kahf 18:29] And say, “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.” Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire…
[Quran An-Najm 53:29] So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.(let him/her be)
[Quran 17:15] Whoever is guided is guided only for] the good of [his own soul, and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to its detriment.
Refer to all the ayahs as above, the clear explicit instructions are to let them be- whoever choose whatever religion, its entirely their choice. The punishment, the judgment is ONLY in the hands of ALLAH and no one else. Also, refer to the ayah [Quran 109:6} For you your religion, to me my religion…. which signifies full religious freedom and tolerance towards others. Therefore, there is no compulsion no force in Deen as per very clear Quranic guidance.
2- Allah has given freedom to every Nafs: Allah has given freedom to every Nafs including the freedom to express and practice their religion. As Muslims we know that Allah has given Freewill to each and every one of us as Humans. The freedom of choice is mentioned and stressed times and times again in Quran as closely aligned with Accountability. This accountability is ONLY to be judged and undertaken by God Almighty. No one else. The Freewill is the basic foundations of our Deen, as Emaan on Akhira- the concept of accountability is actually built on this concept of freewill and freedom of Choice. Without free-will human beings could not be made accountable for their deeds.
[Quran 33:72] Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.
[Quran 13:11] For each one are successive before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah. Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves….
[Quran 91:8-10] And inspired it (the nafs) its wickedness and its righteousness. He has succeeded who purifies it. And he has failed who instills it [with evil & corruption].
[Quran 76:3] Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful.
As is obvious from above ayahs, once the God Almighty has given us Hidayah, then HE has left it in our hands on the basis of our freewill to chose one of the two paths. If we chose the right one, we will be successful and be the habitants of heaven. If we chose the wrong path, then we would be thrown in hell. Everyone should be allowed the right of their religious expressions, no matter who they are Hindus, Qadyanis, Christians, Jews, or any religion whatsoever. No one should be punished or hated based on his/her religious beliefs. They are exercising the right of freedom, which Allah has given to them. No one has the right to take this away.
3- No Prophet or Messenger could go against Allah
Few Muslims hate non-Muslims based on few hadiths and incidents where prophet approved of killing because of their beliefs. Whatever hadith or any incident is quoted we need to keep in mind two very important criteria of judging its authenticity. 1- being the beloved prophet and messenger of Allah, our beloved prophet Mohammad pbuh, could never go against the explicit Quranic guidance which goes against the violence or killing of any nafs. Its prohibited in Quran and killing of one Nafs/soul is termed as like killing of the whole mankind and 2) on logical grounds- do we really think that our beloved prophet could have sanctioned or approved such violence or killings in the name of disrespecting himself or even Allah??? When all we know about him was a person of love, compassion, mercy and blessings for everyone- Muslims and non-Muslims alike?
On one hand we portray and know the image of our beloved prophet pbuh to be of the person who was kind and Raheem to those around him even those who wanted to murder him and on the other hand we would believe such hadith to be sahih/authentic where he sanctioned such killings?? This is not possible! We always need to remind ourselves that either there is a problem with our understanding or interpretations of these hadith or such hadiths can not be accepted as sahih authentic hadiths at all if these hadith contradict Quran and/or contradict the image of our beloved prophet to be anyone but Raheem, kind and compassionate towards everyone around him.
The response and behaviour of our beloved prophet Mohammad pbuh was in exact accordance of the instructions given to him by God Almighty and as explained in Quran. Even to those who disrespected the prophet, he was advised to not to force the Deen and to leave them politely and through his best behaviour towards them full of politeness and kindness only. Please refer following ayahs for example (73:10) guarantees freedom and tolerance of speech
[Quran 73:10] Also the verse “And patiently endure what they say, and withdraw from them politely
[Quran 10:99] And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed – all of them entirely. Then, would you compel the people in order that they become believers
The lessons we can learn from our beloved prophet Mohammad pbuh is love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and kindness towards all around him regardless of their beliefs whether Muslims or non Muslims- Even to those who aimed to murder him, disrespected him or even Allah, his approach was that of silence, compassion and kindness. You can never eliminate hate with hate, only love can do that. This is what we, as Muslims, should really learn from his life and from Quran.
4- This is one of the basic Human Rights- no matter who you are or where you are in the world
If it’s a basic human right, it’s a right not just for Muslims in the Non-Muslim majority country, it’s a right for the minorities in Muslim majority countries as well. In the aftermath of the New Zealand shooting, when the terrorist killed over 50 Muslims during Jummah prayers, no one hailed and praised the terrorist. On the contrary everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, from across the globe condemned this act and the New Zealand government put in place security measures to ensure safety of the citizens, regardless of their beliefs and religions.
When the same incident happens in a Muslim Majority country against the non-Muslims, for instance the killing of the Qadyani in a Peshawar court or the destroying of Hindu Idols in Bahrain; the least we Muslims could have done is to condemn such acts of violence and intolerance and of non-provision of basic human rights!
When the same acts of religious in-tolerance and violence is accorded to us as Muslims in a non-Muslim country, we as Muslims ask for our basic human right of Freedom of choice and Freedom of Religious expressions but we are not willing to grant the same rights to non-Muslims in our Muslim majority countries? We, as Muslims, don’t want to allow creation of Mandir, Shrine, etc. in our Muslim Majority Countries, but we want Mosques and Islamic Schools in Non-Muslim Countries like Canada. How is this justice? To me this is not only injustice at its height but it also creates a bad name for Islam- the religion which promotes peace, love, compassion, equality, freedom and kindness to everyone- not just to Muslims.
The Deen-e-Islam we all are followers of, should reflect in our behaviours. The Freedom is the basic human right of each and everyone given to everyone by God Almighty and this freedom includes freedom of choice of religion and expression of religious beliefs.
5- The Man-made systems such as law & order, judicial Systems and our Duties towards these
The fact that the Hindu idols were being sold as approved by the authorities of the mall shows that these Non-Muslims were following the laws of the land; they had taken all the necessary approvals and these idols were their livelihood, their living. By destroying these idols, the lady had taken matters in her own hand. Similarly the Hindus who went through the proper channel to get the approval of the building of Mandir or even the fact that the person was standing in the court of law; all of this shows that they were following the law of the land. Sadly and on the contrary, those Muslims who took matters in their own hand, who broke those Hindu idols or who killed that person standing in the court of the law, were the ones, who went against the law.
Neither Quran nor the sunnah of our beloved prophet pbuh has given this right to anyone to appoint himself or herself as judge, jury and executioner for whatever reason that person deems fit. These and all matters have to go through the courts and the systems of justice and law and order. Even if one believes that the judicial system is slow or is not in order, the solution is not to take matters in your own hands while disobeying the laws of the land. The solution is to aim to correct the judicial system, wherever its not in order while at the same time, following the law of the land in letter and in spirit.
The obeying of the laws of the land and those people in authority, is the highest priority given in Quran as an explicit instruction to follow after Allah and Rasool. Refer to the following ayah
[Quran 4:59] O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.
These are the explicit instructions by God Almighty to follow those in Authority and these laws of the land. It’s the jobs and responsibility of those in authority to keep the law and order in place in the country. This is the reason why so much emphasis is placed in following the law of the land as per Quran. Rather than obeying the laws of the land or following those in authority, if everyone decides to take matters in their own hands (killing a non-believer or destroying the Hindu Idols or destroying the Hindu temples etc.), and go around killing people and destroying someone’s livelihood based on their religious beliefs and symbols, then this will be the law of the Jungal; where might is right; and we all will be behaving like animals.
6- Spreading Corruption, hatred and Violence is Against Quran- Islam is only peace and love
Peace is a condition where everyone feels safe. Peace is a condition of law and order in place, peace is the absence of disorder, violence, injustice, inequality, persecution and aggression. The Quran says that disorder is man-made and that Fighting and killing are not the aim of Islam and that Peace and Love is the ONLY solution!
[Quran 2:11] “Do not make disorder in the land.”
[Quran 30:41] “Corruption and disorder have been spread over the land and the sea in consequence of that which hands of men have worked.”
[Quran 19:96] “Those who believe and do good works, the Rahman (the Most Gracious Allah) will bless them with LOVE (for the fellow-human beings).”
Everyone is created by God Almighty and our love for Allah means we see Allah in each and every of HIS Creations, in each and every person. At the very basic level, as a part of our fitrat, is love and compassion for everyone, for each Nafs for each Insaan, regardless of our differences in terms of religion, race, color, sect, nationalities, tribes, gender, etc. . These differences are only for identity purposes, nothing more nothing less. So that we can identify and know each other.
[Quran 49:13] O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
Conclusion The Quran teaches love and inspires to promote love, mercy, compassion, kindness, brotherhood, equality, justice and peace to each and everyone on earth- regardless of one’s religious beliefs and/or any other differences whatsoever. This is the Deen-e-islam we all are followers of and our behaviours should reflect these teachings. The Freedom is the basic human right of each and everyone given to everyone by God Almighty and this freedom includes freedom of choice of religion and expression of religious beliefs. There is no compulsion or force as per Islam. No one has the right to judge, punish or discriminate against a non believer in any way whatsoever. Its only Allah who is the Malik-e- Youm ud Deen, only God Almighty who would judge and hold everyone accountable for on the basis of their beliefs and deeds, no one Else.
We really hope and pray that we become more tolerant and compassionate as Muslims. May we, as Muslims, truly reflect the teachings of Islam which are Love, kindness, peace and compassion. May Allah guide us all to the right path. Ameen