Part of Concepts of Ahl as-Sunnah (series completed)
· Lesson 13 of 1251
Summary of Sunni concepts | Concept (11) | Freedom of belief
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
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Freedom of belief.
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The statement of Allah the Exalted:
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“Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!” (18:29)
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Does not imply permission for disbelief.
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Rather, it is a threat and a warning of otherworldly punishment for those who choose it after the truth has been made clear.
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As evidenced by His statement thereafter:
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“Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!” (18:29)
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"And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, which scalds the faces."
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“Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!” (18:29)
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This is explicit in its warning and threat.
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It contains a clarification that disbelief is an injustice to the wrongdoers themselves.
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Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, does not permit disbelief nor is He pleased with it.
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Allah the Exalted said:
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“If ye are thankless, yet Allah is Independent of you, though He is not pleased with thanklessness for His bondmen; and if ye are thankful He is pleased therewith for you. No laden soul will bear another's load. Then unto your Lord is your return; and He will tell you what ye used to do. Lo! He knoweth what is in the breasts (of men).” (39:7)
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“If ye are thankless, yet Allah is Independent of you, though He is not pleased with thanklessness for His bondmen; and if ye are thankful He is pleased therewith for you. No laden soul will bear another's load. Then unto your Lord is your return; and He will tell you what ye used to do. Lo! He knoweth what is in the breasts (of men).” (39:7)
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However, the lack of permission for disbelief,
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Does not mean compulsion into faith and the true religion.
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For Allah the Exalted has said:
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“There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (2:256)
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And He the Exalted said:
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“And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?” (10:99)
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Compulsion into believing the truth is, in principle, inconceivable.
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Because the seat of belief is the heart,
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Which none can perceive except Allah, glory be to Him.
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Just as part of the honor bestowed upon man,
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Is his distinction from animals through thought and will,
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And leaving his affairs to himself,
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Regarding matters of guidance and misguidance in belief,
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While holding him responsible for his deeds and holding him accountable in the Hereafter.
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If it is good, then it is good; and if it is evil, then it is evil.
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The absence of compulsion in faith does not contradict the fighting of the disbelievers,
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Which is commanded in more than one verse of the Book of Allah the Exalted,
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Such as His statement, the Almighty and Majestic:
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"And fight the polytheists collectively as they fight you collectively."
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As they fight you collectively.
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And His statement:
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“O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).” (9:123)
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"And let them find in you harshness."
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The absence of compulsion in faith does not contradict this fighting.
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Because the purpose of fighting them is to prevent polytheism from appearing openly,
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And to prevent it from asserting dominance.
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It is to enforce the rule of Islam and its laws in the reality of life.
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If the disbelievers comply with that, restrict their polytheism to themselves, and do not proselytize it,
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And perform their rites in their temples without display or public declaration,
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And submit to the rule of Allah,
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Then they are not prevented from that,
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Except in the Arabian Peninsula,
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Where they are prohibited from settling.
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And upon them is the jizya (tribute),
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While their reckoning is with Allah.
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It is not hidden that Muslims cannot implement this ruling in such detail,
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Except in a state of strength and empowerment.
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As for when they are weak, humiliated, and their rule has vanished in reality,
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Then the dominance will be for disbelief and its misguided methodologies,
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Some of which may permit Muslims to perform their devotional rites,
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And establish their laws regarding personal status only,
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Without the rest of the matters of governance and politics.
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The matter of disbelief may intensify, and its laws may be obeyed in different times and places,
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Where even the devotional rites of Muslims are prohibited,
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As well as their laws regarding personal status.
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As happened before during the fall of Andalusia,
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And the establishment by the Christians at that time of what is called the Inquisition,
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Where they tracked Muslims and searched what was in their hearts,
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And forced them to embrace Christianity,
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Or else they would face horrific torture, death, and genocide.
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And as the Communists did during the Bolshevik Revolution,
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In the former Soviet Union.
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And as many Hindus and Sikhs are currently doing in India,
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And the Buddhists in Myanmar,
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And the Chinese Communists in the Uyghur region.
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A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.