This article addresses the question of how to deal with
religious diversity from an Islamic perspective. It is divided into five parts.
Part one is the introduction. The second part describes three important
responses to the phenomenon of religious diversity and is accompanied by a
mention of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches. The third
part mentions an Islamic approach to the solution of the problem.
The fourth part mentions three criticisms on that solution and my responses to
them. The fifth part concludes the article.
I Introduction
Despite the undeniable contribution of religion to human
welfare, it threatens to be seriously divisive, especially if limits of
disagreement amongst religious people are not properly respected. Whereas
diversity of religious traditions can ideally help people in comparing the
relative strengths of the teachings of their respective faiths and in adjusting
accordingly, religious bigotry – the tendency to claim truthfulness of one’s own
faith and treating all others as worthy of condemnation – leads not only to
suffering for many, it also results in drawing many people away from the idea of
taking religion seriously. Although in the recent past religious bigotry was
beginning to appear less pronounced, many events have led the conscientious
people of the world to realize that the monster is very much alive. The bloody
civil war in Bosnia, the horrible events of September 11, 2001 and their
consequent aftermath, the lingering bloodshed in Israel and Palestine, the
unending manifestations of hatred between Hindus and Muslims in India and many
other similar unfortunate examples around our misery-stricken world strongly beg
all religious groups of the world to urgently attend to the curse of extreme
religious bigotry.
II Approaches to deal With the Phenomenon of Religious
Diversity
a) The Exclusivist Approach
The most commonly known approach on religious diversity is
the one followed by Religious Exclusivists who imagine that they are the sole
custodians of religious truth to the complete exclusion of all others. It was
the followers of this approach amongst Christians, for instance, who sent an
open letter in September 1991 to all Clergy in the Church of England and the
Church of Wales claiming that salvation is offered only through Jesus Christ who
is the only savior and the only way to God.
Similar strong Exclusivist views are to be found amongst Muslims and Jews as
well. The Qur’ān mentions the Exclusivist approach of the Jews and the
Christians of the Arabian society at the time of its revelation thus:
وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ
إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى (١١١:٢)
They claim: No one shall enter the Paradise except the
one who is Jew or Christian. (2:111)
Ironically, the same Exclusivist approach has been adopted
by many Muslims who claim that it is only they who shall enter Paradise. They
claim that their understanding is based on the Qur’ānic teachings which mention
that all Kuffār (plural of Kāfir) will enter Hell. Many Muslims understand that
since all non-Muslims are Kāfir, therefore all of them are destined to Hell.
The basic problem with the Exclusivist approach is that it
prevents the believer in a particular religious tradition from conceding that
adherents of other traditions can have any possibility of following some version
of religious truth to any degree. This leaves hardly any room for imagining that
salvation in the afterlife is possible for those who don’t formally believe in
the Exclusivist’s faith. The consequent understanding of hopelessness in the
religious status of non-believers that naturally results can at times lead to
hatred against them which in its worst manifestation expresses itself in the
form of violence. Even if an Exclusivist is peaceful and apparently respectful
towards people belonging to other faiths, he is not doing so as a consequence of
his genuine understanding that the other person deserves it. He only does it as
an unavoidable social adjustment or as a part of a cleverly contrived long-term
strategy of undoing the other faiths.
Commitment to the Exclusivist approach by a group of people is a potential
dynamite that can explode any time if exploited by a misled religious leader or
a political opportunist.
However, it could be mentioned on the positive side of the
Exclusivist approach that it enables the believer to have the much needed
confidence in the ultimate truth of his belief. Khan has rightly pointed out
that the only purpose of religious truth is to provide man with confidence. Man
desperately needs confidence of certainty to live in this world. Religious truth
provides him with exactly that. In
case of absence of conviction, a religious belief is reduced to a mere
philosophical hypothesis or the final product of a confused collection of a few
spiritual experiences.
The critics of this approach fear that this much-applauded
attribute of Exclusivists brings along with it the dreaded feeling of negation
of other faiths, or else the confidence that the believer is seeking would be
unachievable. However, I will show later that this conclusion is not necessarily
the only possible result which may proceed from an Exclusivist approach.
b) The Inclusivist Approach
In an Inclusivist approach, the presenter accepts the right
of other faiths to survive side by side with the faith of the Inclusivist,
despite not accepting their validity. It allows them reasonable breathing space
and the possibility to exist with dignity.
The Vatican, for instance, adopted the policy of Religious
Inclusivism through its Decree of 1967 which expressed sentiments of cordiality
for other important world religions. Words of sympathy were reserved in the
decree even for those who choose to follow the approach of Atheism.
There are, however, some scholars who believe that
Religious Inclusivism despite being a welcome improvement on Religious
Exclusivism doesn’t go far enough to address the menace of religious bigotry.
They believe that there is a tendency in it to see other faiths as good in so
far as they have points in common with Christianity. The Inclusive position
remains convinced of its own superiority, even though it recognizes how much it
has in common with other faiths and with all people of good will. Inclusivism
goes a long way but not far enough.
Badham’s criticism of Christian Inclusivists is only partly
valid. It is not quite fair to claim that the Vatican Decree acknowledges the
existence of other faiths only in so far as they have points in common with
Christianity. His observation is correct when one views the Decree’s approach
towards Muslims and Jews. However, with the magnanimity of the Decree in
accommodating Atheists, who share
nothing with the basic understanding of Christianity, the Vatican has done
enough to escape Badham’s criticism.
I disagree with the basic spirit of the Vatican Decree on
account of its inconsistency with the Biblical teachings. The New Testament of
the Bible states thus:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.
If the Christians believe this understanding to be correct,
they should not expend their energies to unnecessarily vindicate other faiths.
After all, if Jesus Christ (sws) is the only saviour for the humans, desperate
efforts should be made by Christians to ensure that those who don’t accept that
understanding should be made to believe in it. Praising the ‘misleading’
teachings of non-Christian faiths should be seen by committed Christians as an
attempt to guide the non-Christians towards destruction. The polite and
accommodating tone of the Vatican Decree doesn’t seem to be doing justice with
the real spirit of the Biblical text.
c) The Pluralist Approach
According to the Pluralist approach, all important
religions are genuine human responses to the same Transcendental Reality, even
though influenced by the respective cultural environments of the religious
leaders. Thus all of them are simultaneously correct, and all offer important
insights into the understanding of the Ultimate.
Religious Pluralism is claimed to be ‘totally open-ended
search for truth based on the assumption that all the major religions of
humanity have insights to offer, and it must also accept that much of the
secular critique of traditional religion is justified and needs to be taken on
board also.’ The Pluralist
position rejects both Exclusivism and Inclusivism and calls for genuine
Religious Pluralism.
According to an explanation of the rationale of Religious
Pluralism, in this religiously ambiguous world both faith and non-faith may be
equally valid responses. The issue has to be decided on the basis of the
individual’s own experience or non-experience of transcendent reality. The
person of faith may feel justified in believing as he does, because that is how
they interpret some of their most precious experiences. In the final analysis,
all our thinking about the nature of reality is interpreted on the basis of our
experiences.
The Pluralist solution of religious diversity has been
rejected by Khan, who maintains that truth can never be plural. If truth is not
singular, it is not truth. There isn’t any logical truth in the theory of
Religious Pluralism. Even though harmony amongst humans is indeed essential, it
cannot be achieved through artificial slogans like ‘I am on the truth, likewise
you too’. The only right way of achieving harmony is to consider all people
worthy of respect. The right formula leading to religious unity is: ‘Follow one,
respect all.’
Khan, however, doesn’t offer any methodology of inculcating
the basic spirit that would inspire that respect. You don’t show respect to
others for nothing. If respect is not inspired by a true theoretical clarity, it
is bound to be shallow, artificial, and brittle. It is likely to whither away
under pressure. Many religious people reject others as not worthy of their
respect because they believe that those others reject their perception of
religious truth. Something needs to be done to pacify that feeling or else
respect for other faiths would remain an unrealizable dream.
Pluralism is not an acceptable approach, because it assumes
that all religions are simultaneously correct, which is an obvious absurdity. An
individual seeks religion to get definite answers to the problems he is facing.
The problems that religion helps in solving can’t be solved through half-certain
answers. Uncertain answers to questions like purpose of life, truth about life
beyond death, and expectations of our Creator from us are in fact no answers.
The suggestion that God has manifested His will to different people in different
ways is, at best, confusing. It is in the very nature of the questions that
religion seeks to respond that answers to them should be offered in most certain
terms. Uncertain answers are as good as no answers. It is the task of religion
to inspire confidence in the believer. Failure to do so would push a
certainty-seeking religious person into an uncertain territory of philosophy,
which may claim to enjoy the luxury of objective reflection, but is devoid of
the pleasures of confidence that emerges from religious certainty.
An example would clarify my point. The New Testament of the
Bible mentions the claim that Jesus is the son of God.14
The Qur’ān, on the contrary, clearly rejects the possibility that God can have a
son. The two claims cannot be
simultaneously correct. Moreover, these claims do not seem to be influenced by
the respective cultural environments of the religious leaders. They are
confident, though conflicting, claims about a religious position.
There is no doubt, however, that it is this element of
certainty in religion that is the cause of many of its problems as well. Those
who believe that what their message is mentioning is the ultimate truth do so to
the complete exclusion of any possibility of respect for all other faiths. This
gives rise to bigotry amongst believers. In most cases, people belonging to one
religious tradition don’t realize that their counterparts in other traditions
are equally confident about the certainty of their own version of religion.
Badham rightly believes that this understanding is often the result of a
complete absence of interaction with people belonging to other faiths.
The above discussion gives rise to an important question:
How could one be certain whether what one is following is the true message of
his God? The answer is that an individual would need to be objective in
examining the teachings of his faith to inspire within him confidence about its
veracity. This objective appraisal would indeed raise questions that would seek
answers. The answers would either satisfy the believer to confirm his confidence
in his faith still further, or else would weaken it and as a consequence he
would be inclined to look for other alternative explanations. This struggle
would continue until the seeker of truth would either get relative certainty or
else he would continue his journey.
This quest for truth is helped by the preaching efforts of
believers of other faiths. An intelligent preacher would not only be conveying
his own message to others but would also be objectively receiving message from
those others as well. Thus believers of different faiths can enter into
meaningful dialogue for mutual benefit. The possibility of such exchanges are
severely curtailed by the understanding of Religious Pluralism, which takes away
the sense of urgency from the believer who considers the other religious
explanations equally valid too.
One might ask whether there is ever a realistic possibility
of such exchanges of religious views. Does it really ever happen that way? The
answer is in the affirmative. It does happen amongst religious people in many
cases. That is what explains the phenomenon of conversions that continue to take
place on a regular basis all throughout the world. If one were to accept the
explanation of Religious Pluralists, then all the religions of the world would
become strictly inward looking in religious matters and would cease to attempt
any possibilities of influencing people of other faiths. That would indeed
deprive religion and its followers of the vibrant spirit of serving their faith
that keeps them motivated. It would be a tragedy to kill that spirit because of
the fear that its misuse could cause damage. The fact that aeroplanes do
sometimes crash doesn’t lead us to conclude that we should do away with them.
What is attempted instead is that more measures are introduced so that the
frequency of such accidents could be minimized. Likewise should be our attitude
towards exchange of religious views and preaching.
This process also ensures that religious beliefs of people
do not remain the end result of the process of brain-washing but should be the
outcome of intelligent choice-making. It is this process of preaching and
exchanges of religious views that enables the intelligent believer to feel
confident that he is not believing in his faith as a consequence of being
subjected to the process of one-sided propaganda for his faith and that he is
not being negatively brain-washed against other faiths due to his ignorance. He
would know, and many religious people do know, that his faith is the end result
of a process of exchange and voluntary selection.
The questions that remain unanswered are: i) Is there any
one version of true religion? ii) If yes, then are all other versions untrue?
iii) Is it always guaranteed that if a person undertakes an earnest effort to
know the ultimate truth, he would get it? iv) If that cannot be guaranteed, then
what is the purpose of any such version of the ultimate truth? v) Is the
individual who despite sincere efforts fails to embrace the correct version of
the ultimate truth to be blamed for his failure?
The next section will attempt to answer these questions
from an Islamic perspective.
III The Islamic Approach
Muslims have normally been considered Religious
Exclusivists, who would not consider people of other faiths worthy of respect
for their religious commitments. This author believes that although this view
truly reflects the attitude of many – though not necessarily most – Muslims it
is not consistent with the correct understanding of the teachings of Islam. The
following presentation attempts to show how Islamic teachings propose to tackle
the issue of religious plurality.
Islam, on the one hand takes a firm position in claiming
that its teachings are the true version of reality from God, on the other hand
it also calls for genuine respect for all non-Muslims. Even though a person
influenced by the understanding of Religious Pluralism may not be immediately
impressed by this view, a better understanding of the various verses of Qur’ān
on the subject would suggest that not only is it the correct Islamic
understanding, this position can be supported rationally as well.
The Islamic understanding regarding religious diversity can
be briefly mentioned thus:
Man started his religious journey with utmost clarity. This
clarity was gifted to him by God a priori. However, because the temporary
worldly life was meant to be a trial, humans were granted freedom. This freedom
inclined them to differ and disagree in religious matters. In response, God sent
prophets who confirmed what was right and rejected what was wrong. In the
presence of the prophets, their addressees could see religious reality in its
pristine form and therefore they had no justifiable excuse to reject it. Those
who rejected it were declared, after an adequate time of effective preaching had
passed, Kāfir, which means a person who denies the truth from God despite
knowing it to be from Him. Some
of these prophets were Rasūl (messengers), which is a status higher than the
rest of the prophets, who are called Nabī.
In case of a Rasūl, if his nation rejected him, it got destroyed in this world,
either through natural calamities or through the military might of believers. In
times when prophets are not present, neither anyone can be identified as a Kāfir
nor can he be punished in this world for not believing in a message brought by a
messenger, because of the existence of the possibility that the message may not
have been properly and fully delivered by the non-prophet preachers. Believers
are therefore expected to only preach intelligently in the absence of prophets.
Since Muhammad was the last Rasūl (and Nabī), the possibility of anyone getting
labeled as a Kāfir or punished for his disbelief after his death is eliminated
for ever.
While they are preaching, believers are expected to show
respect to other faiths and behave in a manner that would not tarnish the image
of their own religion. In case a non-Muslim (or a disgruntled Muslim) is drawn
away from Islam because of a Muslim’s poor behaviour, the latter will be held
responsible for his misconduct and its consequences. The Qur’ān says:
ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ
بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ
بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ (١٢٥:١٦)
Call them to the path of your Lord with wisdom and words
of good advice, and reason with them in the best way possible. Your Lord surely
knows who stray from His path, and He knows those who are guided the right way.
(16:125)
In another passage it says:
وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا
أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ فَتَزِلَّ قَدَمٌ بَعْدَ ثُبُوتِهَا وَتَذُوقُوا
السُّوءَ بِمَا صَدَدْتُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَكُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ (٩٤:١٦)
So do not make your oaths a means for deceiving one
another, lest a foot should slip after having found its hold, and you taste of
evil for having hindered [others] from the way of God, and suffer a grievous
punishment. (16:94)
Politeness, concern, respect, and tolerance are therefore
at the heart of a Muslim’s desired behaviour towards non-Muslims.
a. Qur’ānic Evidence of the Given Understanding
i) All humans had the same religion. It was freedom of choice given to them
that led to differences. Prophets were then sent to clarify the truth. Teachings
of prophets clarified truth beyond any possibility of doubt:
كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً
فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمْ
الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا
اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمْ
الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ (٢١٣:٢)
Mankind were [to begin with]
one community [then they differed among themselves], so God raised prophets, as
bearers of good tidings and as warners, and sent down with them the book
containing the truth that He might judge between people wherein they differed.
[But then they began to differ about the Book], and none differed about it
except those to whom it was given, after clear signs had come to them, out of
jealousies among them. (2:213)
ii) Islam is the true religion of God.
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ
الْإِسْلَامُ (١٩:٣)
Surely the true religion with God is Islam. (3:19)
iii) Those who deny the message from God do so deliberately
and therefore are worthy of condemnation:
الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمْ الْكِتَابَ
يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ
فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (٢٠:٦)
Those to whom We gave [a part of] the Book [earlier]
recognize him [Muhammad] as they recognize their sons. But those who ruin their
souls, they will not believe. (6:20)
فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مَا عَرَفُوا
كَفَرُوا بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ (٨٩:٢)
When there came to them that which they knew [to be the
truth] they rejected it. Let the curse of God then be on the disbelievers.
(2:89)
iv) Non-Muslims are not necessarily always Kafir.
a) Even during a certain stage in the presence of prophets,
non-Muslims are not Kāfir, until such time they deliberately reject their
message.
تَرَى كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ
الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَبِئْسَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ لَهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ أَنْ سَخِطَ اللَّهُ
عَلَيْهِمْ (٨٠:٥)
You shall see many of them [the Jews and Christians]
making friends with those who disbelieve [against Muslims]. Surely evil is that
which their souls have sent on before for themselves, so that God is displeased
with them. (5:80)
The expression used in the above verse is not ‘those who
are disbelievers” (i.e. those who are Kuffār) for Jews and Christians, but only
for those Arabs who had already knowingly denied the Prophet Muhammad (sws). The
People of the Book are only accused of being more friendly with the disbelievers
than the believers (i.e. Muslims). In other words, there was a stage in the
preaching mission of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) when the non-believing Jews and
Christians were not categorized as disbelievers (Kuffār)
b) So long as the Jews and Christians were not convinced
about the authenticity of Islam, they were required to follow the message they
thought was from God:
فَإِنْ جَاءُوكَ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ
أَوْ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَإِنْ تُعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ فَلَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ
حَكَمْتَ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْقِسْطِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
وَكَيْفَ يُحَكِّمُونَكَ وَعِنْدَهُمْ التَّوْرَاةُ فِيهَا حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ
يَتَوَلَّوْنَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ وَمَا أُوْلَئِكَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ (٥:
٤٢-٤٣)
[Muhammad!] if they [the people of the Book] come to you
[for judgment], judge between them or [if you so choose] turn aside from them,
they cannot harm you at all. And if you judge, judge between them with justice.
Indeed God loves those who are just. And how do they make you their judge when
they have with them the Torah, wherein is God’s judgment, yet in spite of that
they turn their backs. They are certainly not believers. (5:42-43)
It can be inferred from the above verse that an individual
is acknowledged as a believer so long as he honestly believes and sincerely
follows what he thinks is the truth. The Qur’ān is not condemning the people of
the Book for not accepting Islam in the above verse, even though the prophet was
in their midst. It is condemning them for not following a message they
themselves claimed was from God. That is what displeases God the most. The
Qur’ān says:
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لِمَ
تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا
لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (61:
٢-٣)
O believers, why do you profess what you don’t do? It is
most hateful in the eyes of God that you say what you don’t practice. (61:2-3)
c) Some non-Muslims have in fact been praised in Qur’ān for
their good character and attitude:
وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِنْ
تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ
بِدِينَارٍ لَا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَائِمًا (٧٥:٣)
Among the people of the Book there are those who if you
trust them with a treasure, will return it to you; and among them there are
those who, if you trust them with a dinar, will not return it to you, unless you
keep standing over them. (3:75)
لَيْسُوا سَوَاءً مِنْ أَهْلِ
الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ
يَسْجُدُونَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ
وَأُوْلَئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ (٣:
١١٣-١١٤)
They are not all alike. Among the people of the Book
there is a party who stand by their covenant; they recite the Word of God in the
hours of night and prostrate themselves before Him. They believe in God and the
Last Day, and enjoin good and forbid evil, and hasten to vie with one another in
good works. And these are among the righteous. (3:113-114)
وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَنْ
يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ
خَاشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ لَا يَشْتَرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُوْلَئِكَ
لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ (١٩٩:٣)
And surely among the People of the Book there are some
who believe in God and in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent
down to them, humbling themselves before Allah. They trade not the signs of God
for a paltry price. It is these who shall have their reward with their Lord.
Surely God is swift in settling account. (3:199)
v) Disbelievers (Kuffar) are bound to fail.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ
الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أُوْلَئِكَ
هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ (٩٨:٦)
Indeed those who disbelieve from among the people of the
Book and the idolaters, will be in the fire of Hell, abiding therein. They are
the worst of creatures.(98:6)
Such statements as the one above, if not understood in the
right context, result in are extreme form of religious Exclusivism and bigotry.
vi) Well-meaning believers of different faiths have been
promised paradise.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ
وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (٦٢:٢)
Surely, those who believe [the Muslims] and the Jews and
the Christians and the Sabians,
whoever [from among them] believes in God
and the last day and does good deeds, shall have their reward with their Lord,
and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. (2:62)
Those not included in the above-mentioned list of people
who have been promised salvation in the Hereafter are the ones who deny God and
the Hereafter, or don’t perform good deeds.
The significance of this statement is that while there could be reasons for
people not accepting messages of rightful prophets because of lack of proper
information, belief in God and the life Hereafter and inclination to do good
deeds is naturally gifted in man. To turn one’s back on them amounts to
revolting against one’s God-given nature.
Concluding Remarks on the Islamic Approach
Although at the time of prophets, truth from God used to be
so clearly manifested that there was no possibility for anyone to deny it, and
therefore those who did so were considered worthy of being punished, no such
claim could be made for the non-prophetic periods. Muslims have therefore got to
perform only one role: preach and respect others for their faith, because they
can never be sure whether the other people have rejected or stayed away from
accepting the message of Islam despite knowing it to be from God.
This approach is different from Exclusivism in that it
allows other faiths the space to operate given the realization that full
information about religious truth is unavailable and it is not possible to
deliver the religious message of Islam to non-believers as effectively as
prophets did. This approach is neither Religious Inclusivism of the sort adopted
by the Vatican Decree, nor
Religious Pluralism as proposed by Rowland Williams, John Hick, and Paul Badham.
It allows the believer to be as confident about his faith as an Exclusivist, but
requires him to be as tolerant in dealing with the people of other faiths as a
Pluralist. It is, in fact, a call for religious tolerance because of the
possibility of lack of proper communication of the true message of God. Since no
body knows whether the other individual has been communicated the message of
Islam properly, therefore, no Muslim has the right to condemn any non-Muslim on
grounds of religious differences.
Having mentioned that, I feel that an important question
needs to be addressed: Why have all these differences been allowed by the
Almighty? John Hick has this to say about it:
He … has created us at an epistemic distance from
Himself in order that a response to Him can be genuinely free.
This understanding comes close to the Qur’ānic view on the
subject insofar as freedom is concerned. However the Qur’ānic understanding
would not entirely agree with Hick’s suggestion that we are at an epistemic
distance from God. The distance is there, but it varies from individual to
individual in all environments. It allows the individual to travel the distance
in his journey towards God freely within the constraints of his environment and
intellectual and spiritual potential. The important thing is that there is a
level of certainty which is achievable in this world. The Qur’ān calls it ‘Ilmu’l[-Yaqin’
(ie intellectual certainty). In
other words, these differences are there because of differences in circumstances
and abilities. These differences were created to test the moral possibilities of
individuals in different circumstances. The Qur’ān says:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ
الْأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا
آتَاكُمْ (١٦٥:٦)
And He it is Who has made you successors [of others] on
the earth and has exalted some of you over others in degrees of rank that He may
try you by that which He has given you. (6:165)
Religious differences, in other words, were meant to see as
to who performs well given his own range of information constraints. Had He done
it otherwise, it would have amounted to use of force on His part, which would
have defeated the very purpose of conducting a free test. The Qur’ān says:
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ
وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (٩:١٦)
And upon God rests [the showing of] the right way, and
there are ways which deviate [from the right course]. And if He had [enforced]
His will, He would have guided you all. (16:9)
The circumstantial differences will however not be allowed
to influence the all-important outcome in the life hereafter for the individual.
According to the Qur’ān, each individual shall be rewarded or punished in the
afterlife on the basis of a judgment that will be made strictly in accordance
with the individual’s circumstances. It says:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا
وُسْعَهَا (٢٨٦:٢)
God burdens not a soul beyond its capacity. (2:286)
أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى
وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى (٥٣:
٣٨-٣٩)
No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another.
And that man will have nothing but what he [himself] strives for. (53:38-39)
This understanding also helps in explaining why Muslims
should behave differently in their treatment of the non-Muslims despite the fact
that the messengers in some cases at least could be seen as inflicting
apparently harsh treatment on their opponents. The reason according to this
explanation lies in the fact that those who were treated that way were guilty of
an extremely serious crime: denying the message of God even after knowing that
it was from Him. As for the non-believers of the other periods, no one can be
harmed for his faith due to the realization of the other person’s information
constraints. This limitation was recognized even at the time when Muhammad (sws)
himself had preached with utmost clarity and was ultimately required to inflict
Divine punishment on the disbelievers for knowingly rejecting God’s message.
Even at that time the Qur’ān makes an exception for the people who may not have
received the message clearly. It says thus:
وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ
مَأْمَنَهُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (٦:٩)
And if anyone of the idolaters seeks protection of you,
grant him protection so that he may hear the word of God; then convey him to his
place of security. That is because they are a people who have no knowledge.(9:6)
The teachings of Islam emphasize that there should be no
religious persecution and individuals should be allowed the liberty to choose
and practice their religion freely. A Muslim state is allowed or, in some cases,
even religiously obliged to undertake Jihād (war) against the society which is
persecuting people because of their beliefs. The Qur’ān urges the believers
thus:
وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنْ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ
الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ
أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ
نَصِيرًا (٧٥:٤)
What has come upon you that you fight not in the cause
of God and for the oppressed men, women, and children, who pray: ‘Get us out of
this town, O Lord, whose people are oppressors; so send us a friend by your
will, and send us a helper’.(4:75)
The Qur’ān expects similar force to be used to defend
religious buildings of other faiths as is desired to be used to defend Islamic
places of worship. It says:
الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ
بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَنْ يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ
النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ
وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَنْ
يَنصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ (٤٠:٢٢)
And if God had not repelled some people by means of
others, cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of
God is oft remembered, would surely have been destroyed. And God will, surely,
help him who helps Him. God is indeed Powerful, Mighty. (22:40)
IV Criticism on the Islamic Approach
i) The point of view stated above has been created from
only a few verses of the Qur’ān. If the entire Qur’ān is considered to form an
opinion, then one could find many verses which appear extremely intolerant
towards non-Muslims. What has been presented is only a one-sided picture which
most fundamentalist Muslims don’t agree to and therefore they behave with
non-Muslims in an intolerant way. Even if the point of view mentioned in this
paper was assumed to be correctly reflecting the Qur’ānic view, the question
that still remains unanswered is this: Why then has it been mentioned in such an
ambiguous way that even most of the Muslim scholars were not able to understand
it?
Response: This point of view, in fact, claims to explain
each and every verse of the Qur’ān. The principle on which it is based is that
the Qur’ān was revealed to the prophet to enable him to accomplish his prophetic
mission. A part of the mission was to deliver a message which was meant for all
times to come. However, another part of the message of the Qur’ān was meant for
the prophet’s immediate mission of establishing the practical dominance of
Islamic teachings in the Arabian Peninsula. There are many verses of the Qur’ān
about which most Muslims agree that they were era-specific.
There are some others about which there is ambivalence, not in the text itself,
but in the understanding of the scholars who have not been able to place them
properly. Those who are presenting a more aggressive, militant understanding
because of their claim that all verses of Qur’ān have practical validity for all
times, would find it difficult to explain some of them.
ii) If the view presented in the paper is accepted, it has
to be conceded that God wanted non-Muslims at the time of the prophet to be
either crushed or subjugated. This understanding too is not going to sink too
well with the understanding of justice and benevolence a humane religion is
expected to display.
Response: The conclusion drawn about the non-Muslims of the
prophet’s era is true. Islam would not be apologetic about it. The reason is
that God wanted that the evidence of religious truth be established with
certainty and then people be allowed to decide freely about their religion. If
messengers (Rasūl) were not given the opportunity to dominate, the message of
truth wouldn’t have disseminated. Moreover, the Qur’ān doesn’t want believers to
have sympathy for the criminals who received God’s message most clearly and yet
rejected it. No system would tolerate the activities of a criminal who despite
being informed time and again that what he is doing is unacceptable still
continues to indulge in acts of high treason against the state. If an individual
was convinced that a letter was sent to him by his Creator and he tore it apart
out of arrogance, no punishment should be considered too harsh for him. On the
other hand, if Muslims were unfair in their understanding or implementation of
Islam, they too would not be able to escape accountability. The Qur’ān says:
لَيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلَا
أَمَانِيِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ وَلَا يَجِدْ لَهُ
مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا (١٢٣:٤)
It is neither dependent on your wishes [O Muslims] nor
the wishes of the people of the Book; whosoever does ill shall be punished for
it, and shall find no protector and friend apart from God. (4:123)
iii) Who is going to take the responsibility for the
suffering that has already taken place because of the incorrect understanding of
some Muslims?
Response: God Almighty has made this temporary life an
occasion for trial. The real life is the one to come that would be eternal. If
one is looking for complete justice in this world, one is living in a fool’s
paradise. This world is unfair and would remain so as long as human freedom is
allowed to be influenced by desire, prejudice, hatred, and other weaknesses. The
only reason why a Muslim is looking for justice here is because that it is going
to bring him success in the Hereafter. Those who suffer in this world innocently
will be compensated adequately in the Hereafter. Suffering in this world is a
part of the package of trial. We can only lessen suffering in this world, and
all good Muslims ought to aim at that objective. However, the way this life has
been designed, injustice and suffering cannot be eliminated. That is why,
according to the Qur’ān, it makes no sense to not believe in the life Hereafter.
God would make sure that all injustices of the worldly life are fully taken care
of in the next life. In fact, one cannot possibly do greater harm to the cause
of human welfare than to deprive humanity of a confident hope of a lasting life
after death, based on principles of justice.
V Conclusion
The correct Islamic approach towards non-Muslims is to
assume that all of them have, as yet, not been properly convinced about the
authenticity of the Divine origins of the teachings of Islam. It is for the
Muslims to help the non-Muslims to appreciate the truthfulness of the Islamic
teachings. That would require not only intelligent preaching on their part but,
even more importantly, a behaviour of respect for the fellow human beings,
irrespective of their faith. In case if they have to criticize other religious
views, they should criticize only ideas and those too intelligently.
The absence of the desired behaviour on the part of some
Muslims has been an important reason for their failure to present Islam as a
message that is worthy of being taken seriously by non-Muslims. It will only be
taken seriously by them if Muslims are peaceful, tolerant, and respectful
towards other faiths while they continue their peaceful struggle to convince
non-Muslims politely.
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