ALLAH SAYS IN the oft quoted verse:
لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ
Let there be no compulsion in deen, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood. (al-Baqarah 256)
The obvious understanding of this is that we cannot force anyone to become a Muslim. The truth is clearly the truth and stands apart from falsehood.
Unfortunately due to the effect of the liberalism that dominates the world today, modernists would have us believe that this ayah suggests that a Muslim can pick and choose from Islam as he pleases as there is no compulsion in the deen.
This is incorrect. Allah warns us about picking and choosing when He says:
أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍۢ ۚ فَمَا جَزَآءُ مَن يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْىٌۭ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَشَدِّ ٱلْعَذَابِ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
Do you believe in some of the Scripture and reject the rest? Is there any reward for those who do so among you other than disgrace in this worldly life and being subjected to the harshest punishment on the Day of Judgment? For Allah is never unaware of what you do. (al-Baqarah 85)
Consider too this simple sporting analogy. A football player whilst playing a match is bound by the rules of football. He cannot suddenly change the rules in the middle of the game because he doesn’t like them. On the other hand, the spectator (or someone who has nothing to do with football) is not bound by these rules. He is free to do what he wants.
Similarly, a Muslim, once he accepts Islam is bound by it. He cannot change Islam or its rules to his liking and benefit, rather he must submit to Allah to the best of his abilities and mould his desires to Allah’s Will.
The truth of Islam is clear. Allah has given people senses to recognize His signs in the Qur’an and the world around them, as well as the intellectual ability to conclude that Allah exists. Submission to Allah is the natural next step.
Of course, a person can also choose not to do so (although he is not free from the consequences of that choice in the akhirah).
A question may arise: If people can freely choose Islam without compulsion, why did the Messenger ﷺ, the sahaba, and later generations work so hard to establish a state and spread the message of Islam, often using armed struggle? If there is no compulsion, why not just share the message and let people decide?
To answer this, we need to take a step back and look at the nature of humans as Allah created them and history.
The truth that should be so obvious to all is often deliberately covered up or distorted by those who wish to control others to their advantage. It is a battle to find the truth, and those who manage to find it, face an even bigger battle holding on to it and practising it.
We saw how the Quraysh did everything they could to stop people from hearing the Messenger’s ﷺ call. This is no different from today where governments with the help of the media and state institutes build false narratives against Islam to turn the masses away from the truth whilst distracting them with entertainment and consumerism.
We also saw how the Quraysh treated those who managed to see beyond the propaganda and turned to Islam. They were not allowed to practice their faith and were hounded and tortured to force them to leave Islam. Again this is not much different from today. Muslims who want to practice their faith beyond secular liberal constructs are stopped from doing so and labelled as extremists or worse, banned and especially in the Muslim world, face prison or death.
Now we can understand why the Islamic way of life doesn’t leave matters to personal choice.
It establishes authority and power so that people can find and see the truth clearly, without lies and bias, and so then make an informed decision about Islam.
If they choose to accept Islam, the state then supports and protects their ability to practice their faith without fear. The state also supports those who choose not to accept Islam: Allah gives non-Muslims the right to practice their faith without compulsion.
This issue of non-Muslims living in Muslim countries has become a major topic of discussion since the fall of tyrants in Syria and Bangladesh. The West argues that Islam shouldn’t be allowed to govern even in Muslim-majority lands due to minority rights. It cites the same old negative tropes about Islam.
Yet the truth is very different.
The evidence that the Muslim world did not force others to convert to Islam is that after 1400 years of rule, Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists still live in lands once ruled by Islam. Even European historians cite Andalucia, Jerusalem, and Sarajevo as examples of Muslims, Christians, and Jews living together peacefully. Do they overlook that all three were under Islamic rule? Or forget that forced conversion was part of European history, such as during the Spanish Inquisition?
In public, Islam expects everyone, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to follow Islamic rules. However, non-Muslims are free to practice their own religion and culture in their personal lives and spaces. This has always been the Islamic way. One notable exception is when Mughal sultan Akbar banned sati, the Hindu custom of a widow self-immolating on her husband’s funeral pyre, as it violated the fundamental human right to life.
Muslims worldwide must understand their Deen and history to challenge such falsehoods with the truth. We should free ourselves of the colonised mind and work to shape the future of our lands based on our beliefs and way of life without compromising or repeating past mistakes.
يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِـُٔوا۟ نُورَ ٱللَّهِ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَٱللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِۦ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ
They wish to extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah will (certainly) perfect His light, even to the dismay of the disbelievers. (as-Saff 8)
Living For Islam 