Are God’s
expectations from humans easy to fulfil? If they are, should we not let others
do what they are doing and not get involved in unnecessarily disturbing them by
declaring what they are doing as un-Islamic? Also, should we not let non-Muslims
remain what they are? Isn’t it an unnatural expectation from them to convert to
a completely new religion? If we are expecting non-Muslims to convert, why
shouldn’t Muslims be expected to conform to the truth within their own faith? Is
changing from one religious view to another not difficult? If it is, how then is
Islam easy to follow? Why can’t we follow the Keep-It-Simple rule in Islam?
God Almighty
wants us to make things easy for us. This is what He has to say: “Allah desires
ease for you; He does not desire hardship for you.” (2:185) The Prophet (sws)
strongly urged his followers to “make things easy and don’t make them difficult.
Give them good news and don’t scare them away.”
However, easiness in religion has to be done in the way the Almighty wants us
to do it. It should not be mistaken for casualness. Here are the outlines of the
easy way, as I understand, the Almighty wants us to follow:
i) One has
always got to remain open to truth. It is only in that way that one acquires
true faith. Laziness in matters of truth is an offence, though hopefully a minor
one, but unjustifiable stubbornness in the matter of truth is an inexcusable
crime. By the latter what I mean is that you refuse to take interest in the
truth simply because you are already attached to some other ideology and you
don’t want a new one to disturb you. In the process of comparing the contestants
for truth, if I am confused, the Almighty would accept it as a valid excuse,
inshā Allah. Ignoring the truth, however, can never be a part of the otherwise
desirable keep-It-simple formula.
ii) There is
no Muslim vs non-Muslim divide in the eyes of God. No one is at a disadvantage
in this trial of life. Muslims are expected to be open to truth quite as much as
the non-Muslims are. Those non-Muslims who know that the message of Islam is
from God and are still spurning it out of arrogance are criminal kāfir (the
condemned disbelievers) in the eyes of their Creator. Likewise is the case of
Muslims who are guilty of a similar crime in any aspect of the truth that comes
from God. So long as a person is confused about whether a certain message is
from God or not, he is not guilty. The ultimate decision on all such matters
will be taken, thankfully, by the All-Knowing God Himself.
iii) In
matters of practice, the rule is that you are expected to follow the truth as
much as is possible. God has promised that His expectations are simple. However,
we need to understand them in order to follow them. That strategy would ensure
that things are kept simple.
iv) In matters
of new findings on religion, science, or any other discipline, we again need to
remain open. Of course, not everyone is interested in everything, but if someone
tells me that what I am doing right now is not acceptable to my God, then I
cannot take it lightly. Even in non-religious matters, once we jump into a
discussion, we have to behave like truth-seeking believers and not like
truth-spurning kāfirs.
v) God
Almighty has promised that He is not going to make any soul accountable for
anything more than what his potential is. He has also promised that He will
forgive people who repent after realizing that what they were doing was wrong
and that He will only punish those who were insisting on a wrong, criminal
attitude knowingly. What better keep-it-simple approach could there be than
this?
vi) One of the
things I am expected to do as a good believer is to get involved in the process
of correcting those who are closely linked with me. Likewise, I should allow
others to influence me positively whenever I am going wrong. Such an attitude of
mutual correction is a demonstration of the believers’ concern for the welfare
of each other. In no way does it demonstrate an unnecessary interference in the
affairs of others. In fact, not doing so would be indicative of a lack of
interest in the spiritual and moral welfare of the other person.
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