Islam and the Freedom to Believe

by Imam Farooq Aboelzahab

My faith teaches that God created Man and made him the master of the Universe. Man has been given the freedom of choice including the freedom to Believe in or reject the Creator. This freedom of choice is clearly stated in Qur'an: "Say the truth is from your Lord; Let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject" 18:29.

The benefit or harm of one's actions is declared in the following verse: "If any one does righteous deeds, it is for the benefit of his own soul; and if he does evil, it works against his own soul" 45:15.

In the Divine Tradition known in Islam as Hadith Qudsi, God says: "O My servants, you cannot attain Me to harm Me, and you cannot attain Me to benefit Me. My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of anyone of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you and the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the wicked heart of anyone of you that would not decrease My kingdom in anything." That is the bill of rights declared in Islam 1400 years ago well before the Bill of Rights of the United States of America in 1789 or the United Nations in 1949.

The recent issue in Afghanistan regarding the conversion of Abdul Rahman out of Islam brought a vital question to the fore. Does God force us to believe? There is no such indication in the entire Quran and Hadith, which make up the main sources of Islamic law. On the contrary, God in the Qur'an invites people to use their intellect and believe, for then it is through conviction. If God had wanted us to believe by force, He would have made all people believers. There would have been no free will and the concept of responsibility would be rendered meaningless.

This freedom of belief in Islam was displayed by Prophet Muhammad in the first constitution of the Islamic state in Madina when he declared that the Jews and Christians with the Muslims of Madina form one nation. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam, upon arrival in Jerusalem granted safety to all non-Muslims and the guaranteed protection of property and houses of worship. Belief in Islam is based upon indisputable conviction, not by blind imitation or compulsion. The Qur'an reproaches those who do not employ there mental faculties and considers them to be of a level lower than that of animals. Every human being is free to choose or adopt any faith and to exercise his free thought even as an atheist. "If it had been your Lord's will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth. So will you then compel mankind against their will to believe?" (Quran 10:99), and also, "There is no compulsion in religion" (Quran 2:226).

Freedom of belief, choice, and expression have been recognized in Islam as the basic rights of an individual within the boundary of responsibility, which in turn safeguards those freedoms and the rights of others. The flagrant lack of this responsibility is manifested by the atrocities, killings, destruction, double standards and profiteering on the backs of the voiceless and underprivileged. The world is getting very uncivilized in the warfare that destroys our very humanness, our dignity, our relationships, and our future generations. Today people misuse their freedom by enforcing their style on others. Even to the point of denying nations the right to be free. Similarly, some Muslims have taken Quranic verses out of context and have come to irrational conclusions calling for the death of the Afghani man.

Apostasy is mentioned in the Qur'an in 13 verses in different chapters, but there is no mention of according punishment in this life. Similar incidents occurred at the time of Prophet Muhammad, but no one was sentenced to death for converting out of Islam. Complex issues such as this require a thorough and unbiased review of the Corpus of Islamic law. "To you be your religion and to me religion" (Quran 109:6) Nicely encapsulates Islam's stance. 

I pray that all religious communities and all nations treat others the way they would have others treat them. We must employ for others the same standard we demand for ourselves.

posted 5/14/2006