Question:-
There are many
rules in Islam. How do you quantify that "strictness". Do you
associate with people on the same level of strictness as yourself? How do you
know if another Muslim is strict? Do you mix with a Muslim who as 'strict' as
you? Or is it the case that unless someone is totally bad Muslims generally do
not pinpoint people like this? Just because someone doesn't pray regularly does
not mean that you will not to talk to him?]
Comment:-
It is a natural
thing for people to associate themselves with others in proportion to what they
have in common or according to mutual advantages.
It is also a
fact that people influence and affect each other in proportion to their
intimacies and shared lives.
Each person is
required to do as much as he can. We cannot judge others merely by looking at
their occasional outer deeds because we do not know their private and inner
lives - some may be making heroic efforts inwardly against great inner or outer
difficulties and appears to fail while another makes little effort and seems to
do good because it is advantageous to him, accidental or a natural tendency. It
is Allah who judges according to motives and efforts.
"Say: O my people! Work in your manner (or
work as and how you can), surely I too am working. But soon you will come to
know." 39:39
"If ye avoid great sins from which ye are
forbidden, We will remit (or expel) your lesser offenses (or all evil in you)
and make you enter a noble gate." 4:31
Muslims are
instructed not to associate too intimately with known non-believers and
miscreants. However, they ought to be friendly and they might through this
convert others. They are also required to promote and teach the good by
intervention, example and word and to prevent evil.
"Let not those who believe take
misbelievers for their friends rather than believers. He who does this has no
part with Allah at all, unless, indeed, ye guard yourselves against them. But
Allah bids you beware of only Himself, for unto Allah is your journeying."
3:28
"Hold fast, all together, to the cable of
Allah, and do not separate (divide or part in sects); but remember the favours
of Allah towards you, when ye were enemies and He made friendship between your
hearts, and on the morrow ye became brothers, by His grace. Ye were on the edge
of an abyss of fire, but He rescued you therefrom. Thus does Allah show to you
His revelations, perchance ye may be guided; And that there may spring from you
a nation who invite to goodness, and bid right conduct, and forbid what is
wrong (or indecent); these are the successful." 3:103-104
"And not alike are the good and the evil.
Repel evil with what is best, when lo! He between whom and you was enmity would
be as if he were an intimate friend. " 41:34
"Those who believe fight in the way of
Allah; and those who disbelieve fight in the way of Taghut (The Evil One);
fight ye then against the friends (supporters, protectors, patrons) of Satan,
verily, Satan's strategies are feeble indeed." 4:76
"They desire that ye misbelieve as they
misbelieve, that ye might be alike; take ye not friends from among them until
they too flee in Allah's way; but if they return to enmity, then seize them and
kill them wheresoever ye find them, and take from them neither patron nor help."
4:89
"O ye who believe! Take not misbelievers
for friends rather than believers; do ye wish to give Allah a proof (or
warrant) against you?" 4:144
"O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and
Christians for your friends (or patrons): they are friends (or patrons) to each
other. Whoso amongst you takes them for friend (or patron), verily, he is of
them, and, verily, Allah guides not an unjust people." 5:51
"Thou wilt
surely find that the strongest in enmity against those who believe are the Jews
and the idolaters (Pagans); and thou wilt find the nearest in love to those who
believe to be those who say, "We are Christians". That is because
there are amongst them men devoted to learning (or priests) and men who have
renounced the world (or monks), and because they are not proud." 5:82
"It may be that Allah will bring about
friendship between you and those whom you now hold to be your enemies among
them; and Allah is Powerful; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah does not
forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of
your religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show
them kindness and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of
justice. Allah only forbids you respecting those who made war upon you on account
of your religion, and drove you forth from your homes and backed up others in
your expulsion, that you make friends with them, and whoever makes friends with
them, these are the unjust. " 60:7-9
"Only Allah is your friend, and His
Messenger and those who believe, who are steadfast in prayer and give alms,
bowing down (in prayer). Whoso takes as friend Allah and His Messenger and
those who believe - verily, the Fellowship of Allah will be victorious! O ye
who believe! Take not for friends and patrons those who take your religion for
a jest or a sport, from either amongst those who have been given the Book
before or the misbelievers; but fear Allah if ye have true faith. Nor those
who, when ye call to prayer, take it for a jest and a sport; that is because
they are a people without understanding." 5:55-58
"Thou wilt see many of them taking those
who disbelieve for their friends. Surely, evil is that which their souls have
sent before them, for Allah's wrath is on them, and in the torment shall they
dwell. But had they believed in Allah and the Prophet, and what was revealed to
him, they would not have taken these for friends. But many of them are
evildoers." 5:80-81
"And yet amongst men are such who wrangles
about Allah without knowledge, and follows every rebellious devil; Against whom
it is written down that whoso turns to him for friendship, verily, He will lead
him astray, and will guide him towards the penalty of the blaze!" 22:3-4
"And the day when the wrongdoers shall
bite his hands and say: O, would that I had chosen the way with the Messenger.
O, woe is me! Would that I had not taken such a one for a friend. He verily led
me astray from the Reminder after it had reached me. Satan is ever a deserter
of men." 25:27-29
"He said, "Verily, ye take beside
Allah idols, through mutual friendship in the life of this world; but on the
Day of Judgment ye shall deny each other, and shall curse each other, and your
resort shall be the fire, and ye shall have none to help." 29:25
"Surely they shall not avail you in the
least against Allah; and surely the unjust are friends of each other, and Allah
is the guardian of those who guard (against evil)." 45:19
"Have you not seen those who befriend a
people with whom Allah is wroth? They are neither of you nor of them, and they
swear to falsehood knowingly." 58:14
"O you who believe! Take not My enemy and
your enemy for friends: would you offer them love (or friendship) while they
deny what has come to you of the truth, driving out the Messenger and
yourselves because you believe in Allah, your Lord? If you go forth striving in
My path and seeking My pleasure, would you manifest love to them? And I know
what you conceal and what you manifest; and whoever of you does this, he indeed
has gone astray from the Straight
Way." 60:1
Critic:-
You wrote in
your article on the Human Condition:- "There were conflicts and wars, the
righteous Caliphs was killed and affairs passed into the hands of
hypocrites."
The Quran
states:- "And among those around
you of the wandering Arabs there are hypocrites, and among the townspeople of
al-Madinah (there are some who) persist in hypocrisy whom you (O Muhammad)
knowest not."
And clearly
Allah says, "you know them not".
There should be
some reason rather than stating, more or less categorically, "the affairs
of the Muslims passed into the hands of hypocrites".
Comment:-
Thanks for the
comment. I note your objection. Yes I should have given reasons, but this would
have lengthened the article I wanted to be short. It also seemed to be rather
self-evident, particularly as the Prophet (saw) had predicted the corruption
after the Four Righteous Caliphs. But I am also little bewildered.
The Quran says
there are hypocrites. It describes them.
The Quran tells
us that the Prophet did not know some of the hypocrites who were among his
people, and you are implying that this means there are no hypocrites later. The
Quran describes the hypocrite and asks us to strive against them, but you tell
us it is futile?
Did the Islamic
system as established by the Prophet in Medina
collapse soon after his death because all the people were sincere and there
were no hypocrites?
A hypocrite is
(a) One who
claims to be a Muslim but does not, in fact, practice Islam, or
(b) One who
outwardly appears to practice Islam for show but his ideas are contrary to Islam
and these manifest in his behaviour.
(c) A person may
appear not to practice Islam but be inwardly sincere - he strives but fails.
Allah knows his inner state. We cannot know this until the inner state reveals
itself as it must.
(d) But it is
also possible for a person to deceive himself. He attributes good motives to
himself while hiding his real evil motives from himself. He rationalizes and
makes excuses.
(e) It may also
apply to spies and saboteurs or anyone who deliberate tries to use friendliness
in order to harm.
A study the
following verses will elucidate:-
“When the hypocrites come to you, they say,
"We bear witness that you are most surely Allah's Messenger; Allah knows
that you are most surely His Messenger, and Allah bears witness that the
hypocrites are liars.” 63:1
“O Prophet! Strive hard against the unbelievers
and the hypocrites, and be hard against them; and their abode is Hell; and evil
is the destination.” 66:9
“And He might know those who are hypocrites;
for it was said to them: Come, fight in Allah's way, or repel (the foe) But
they said: If we knew how to fight we would surely follow you." 3:167
“And when it is said to them: Come round to
what Allah has sent down and unto the Messenger, you see the hypocrites turning
from you in aversion.” 4:61
“What ails you that you have become two parties
regarding the hypocrites, when Allah hath cast them back for what they earned?
Do ye wish to guide those whom Allah hath led astray? Whoso Allah hath led
astray ye shall surely find for him no path.” 4:88
“The hypocrites fear lest there be revealed
against them a verse, exposing what is in their hearts. Say, "Mock ye!
Verily, Allah is disclosing what ye fear!" 9:64
“The hypocrites, men and women, are of each
other (influence, and agree with, each other, are tied together), bidding what
is wrong and forbidding what is right, and they clench their hands (in anger to
withhold charity, assistance, or power in the cause of Allah). They forget
Allah, so He has forgotten (ignored) them! Verily, the hypocrites are the doers
of abomination (rebellious and perverse).“ 9:67
“O thou prophet! Strive strenuously against the
misbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern against them; for their ultimate
resort is hell, an evil destination indeed.” 9:73
“O Prophet! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah
and do not comply with the wishes of the misbelievers and the hypocrites;
surely Allah is Knower, Wise.” 33:1
“And when the hypocrites and those in whose
hearts was a disease began to say, "Allah and His Apostle did not promise
us aught but delusion." 33:12
“And incline not to the misbelievers and the
hypocrites. Disregard their annoying talk, and rely on Allah; and Allah is
sufficient as a Trustee.” 33:48
“Have you not seen those who have become
hypocrites? They say to those of their brethren who disbelieve from among the followers
of the Book (the Jews): If you are driven forth, we shall certainly go forth
with you, and we will never obey any one against you, and if you are attacked,
we will certainly help you. Allah bears witness that they are most surely
liars.” 59:11
“They it is who say, "Do not spend upon
those who are with the Messenger of Allah." hoping that they will disperse
(or break up). But to Allah belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth,
and the hypocrites understand not.” 63:7
“They say: If we return to Medina, the mighty will surely drive out the
weaker there from; but Might belongs to Allah, and to His Messenger and to the
believers, but the hypocrites know not.” 63:8
Critic:-
The Shiahs do
assume the right to judge people in this manner and declare kufr upon whoever
opposes their party. Opposition to the party is proof enough for them. They do
this on their own responsibility and have no way to defend their actions in the
Sharia.
Comment:-
I am not at all
interested in what a sect believes what or does what - I am interested only in
whether something is true, good, useful in accord with the Quran or not.
So if I have
said something untrue, evil or harmful then as soon as I become convinced of
this I will repent.
Questioner:-
I am very
interested by the question of apostasy and how Muslims dealt with it in past
centuries.
Comment:-
The Shahadah by
which a Muslim enters into Islam is also an oath of allegiance to the Islamic
community.
When the Islamic
community is at war or under threat from an enemy then apostasy may well become
treachery and it is treachery for which there is severe penalty in all
societies. As for the faith, the Quran tells us that there is no compulsion in
religion.
The consequences
for conversion or apostasy are spiritual and Allah is the judge. The community
is responsible only for the consequences in this world. That is why we have
laws.
Questioner:-
I am sure you
know that for Muslims what the prophets have done or said is not only an
historical report. In fact, at least for the Sunni Muslims, it is the
foundation of the Islamic Religion and have in this case the value of a law
eternally valid.
Comment:-
It is my
position that that the Quran is a guidance as is stated in the Quran itself.
The Sunna of the Prophet consists of explanations and applications of the Quran
to the conditions in which he found himself. They are, therefore, examples of
how to apply the Quran.
These conditions
have changed. Had the Prophet lived today he would no doubt have dealt with
these changed situations differently. To prove that this is likely, the Quran
tells us that many Prophets were sent to the world in different places and
different times. All of them dealt with the different situation they were in,
in different ways. But despite these differences we are still required to
accept all of them and make no distinction between them.
It follows that
the mission and teachings lie at a higher more general level than at the
particular level you wish to confine them.
Questioner:-
Even if from the
same Quran we can find a huge number of verses which institute the freedom of
conscience, ALL jurists of all schools agree that it is forbidden to a Muslim
to change his religion and the apostate must be put to death. Their view (which
was a law and is still so in some country) are based on some hadith and
specially one attributed to ibn Abbas.
Comment:-
I have explained
above why apostasy may have led to the death sentence. You cannot make events
which happened in the past into a law when it does not, in fact, exist as such
in the Quran. If you say that they were executed for changing their faith and
not for treason, then you are telling us that it is O.K. to flout the Quran when
it says there is no compulsion in religion. If that is what these people were
doing then we must condemn their actions. Each sect can easily regard other as
apostates.
Questioner:-
This question is
not restricted for "certain Muslims" who have misinterpreted or
departed from Islam, but it is the official position of "Islam" as
defined by Sunnis at least and classically in general.
Comment:-
There is no
legitimate organized church or priesthood in Islam - there is, therefore, no
"official" position. Every Muslim is responsible for his own soul, he
is his own priest. He must make his own studies. On the Day of Judgment the
excuse that their leaders misled them will not be accepted.
I am sure you
have read the Quran and know about these verses. Unfortunately, knowing is not
enough. it is necessary to understand them by relating them together - by
"chewing, digesting and assimilating,” applying and utilizing them.