Quran Garden

Session 282

Chapter 2

Verse 256

There is no compulsion in religion: The right course has become distinct from error, so whoever rejects the powers of evil and believes in God has grasped the firmest hand-hold, one that will never break. God is all hearing and all knowing. (Chapter 2: Verse 256)

In the previous verse, ‘Ayatul Kursi’, God gave us the core of Islamic creed; a creed that each one of us can be proud of and honoured by.  Allah, our Lord, there is no God but Him.  He is ‘the Ever-Living, the Ever Watchful. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave?’  Isn’t that a Lord who is worthy of worship? If you follow the Highest, doesn’t that bring you honor?  If you obey the Ever-Living, the Ever Watchful, who owns the heavens and earth, doesn’t that bring clarity and security to every aspect of your life?     

Thus, after presenting us with the solid foundation of faith and the compelling case of God’s Lordship, it was logical for God to follow with: “There is no compulsion in religion.”  Because if you force someone to believe in you, it means that you have a weak case.  If, on the other hand, you have a solid case, smart people would naturally come to you.  To clarify this point, let’s take the example of two people selling handbags.  The first one is selling fake cheaply made bags.  The salesman would lurk at street corners after dark.  He would show you the merchandise quickly under poor lighting, and he would pressure you into buying.  The second salesman has finely crafted top-material handbags.  He sets shop in an inviting space with brilliant lights.  He would let you examine each bag closely for as long as you like.  There is no pressure to buy because the salesman knows –and you realize- that the merchandise speaks for itself.  True value is clear. 

This brings us back to the verse; compulsion is to force another person to do an action that he or she does not want to do, or does not value.  When it comes to faith in God “There is no compulsion in religion: The right course has become distinct from error.”       

Here many people often ask: Aren’t there many worthwhile, beneficial causes in life that need compulsion?  We force our young children to take medicine they do not like.  As teenagers, our parents often forced us to study or go to school every day.  We answer that such actions are not coercion because they are done for the benefit of a child who does not have the full mental maturity to understand.  Always remember that Allah did not ask you to believe nor did he assign you any duties as a child.  You were asked to consider faith only after you reached the age of maturity.  Allah wants you to weigh matters with your mature mind properly, and to make sound choices.   

Allah did not compel us to abide by faith as He compelled the heavens, the earth, the animals, the plants and the non-living to do.  All creation, except humans and Jinn, are compelled to obey God.  Allah gave us intelligence.  He says in the 31^st verse of chapter 13:

Do those who have faith not know that if Allah had wanted to He could have guided all mankind?

And in another chapter:

It is God who subjected the sea for you––ships sail on it by His command so that you can seek His bounty and give Him thanks–– He has subjected all that is in the heavens and the earth for your benefit, as a gift from Him. There truly are signs in this for those who re?ect. (45:12,13)

Allah wants you to come to Him willingly out of conviction, not out of fear or coercion.  Compulsion proves power but does not prove love.  Allah did not use the power of compulsion because He, Almighty, wants the power of love and reason.  By extension, the prophets and messengers sent by God were not sent to compel people.  They were sent to inform and act as a living example of compassion for others to follow.  Had God wanted to force people into belief, there would have been no reason to send any messengers.  He says:

And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, O Muhammad, would you compel the people into belief? (10:99)

The Prophet is only required to convey God’s message, not to force anyone into faith. 

Here we should pause and address a common misconception:  There is a difference between the compulsion over religion and compulsion over the requirement of religion. You ask a Muslim: why don’t you pray? He or she is quick to quote the Quran: “there is no compulsion in religion." ‘I can do whatever I see fit.’  Here, you should tell him that the proper meaning of the verse is that there is no compulsion in selecting or entering into religion.  However, once you have voluntarily declared your belief in Allah, then you have joined the Muslim community, and you must abide by the rules of faith.  You cannot pick and choose what you like and do not like.  If you violate Islamic rules, there are consequences.  You are free to believe or disbelieve, but when you commit to the faith, you become obligated to implement your faith as required.  If you are a disbeliever and you drink wine, you are free to do so.  But if you are a believer and you drink wine, you have overstepped God's limits, and there are consequences.

We should also address another misconception, often propagated by the enemies of Islam:  They claim over and over that Islam was spread by the sword.  We say to them: look at the history of Islam.  Islam started very weak.  For well over a decade, early Muslims suffered all kinds of persecution, torture, loss of property and life.  They were driven out of their home, wealth and families, and were not able to defend themselves.  Allah had wisdom behind this initial period of weakness and persecution of early Muslims.  We ask those who claim that Islam was spread by the sword: who oppressed and forced the early Muslims into faith? For 13 years in Mecca, a person would lose all protection and become a target of violence when he or she became Muslim.  In other words, everything was used –including the sword- to force people out of Islam.   

Here is another fact to refute the claim of the sword.  Saying that Islam was spread by the sword implies that when the Muslims won battles, they forced their enemies into Islam.  Yet, the same people who make this accusation criticize Islam for imposing a tax –called Jezya- on the nonbelievers under their rule.  These charges are frail and, in fact, contradictory.  By imposing a Jezya tax on the non-believers, Islam officially recognizes their faith and their right to practice it.  If Muslims had forced people to embrace Islam, then there would have been no need to legislate the Jizya tax.  Hence, Islam did not impose faith on anyone; to the contrary, Islam freed the people from the powers which dominated them.  The Jezia tax guarantees the right of non-Muslims to practice their faith freely and guarantees them the protection of the state.  It is worth noting that non-believers are exempt from paying almsgiving –zakat- which is obligatory for the believers.    

             Here you may ask: if that was the case, then why did the Muslims go to war to begin with? We answer that the Islamic wars were fought for two reasons: The first was to defend the community from outside aggression.  And the second was to stand against those who oppressed and imposed a dictatorial rule on others.  Islam fought to give people the freedom to decide the most appropriate religion for themselves.  Why? Because the believers were confident that when people were free to choose, and when they saw the mercy of our Lord and the exemplary life of the Muslim society, they would naturally find the truth in Islam.  God says: ‘There is no compulsion in religion: The right course has become distinct from error.’