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Freedom of Faith in Islam
Zain vs. Sina
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Hello I was going through your site and
have a few comments you might find helpful:
You have criticized Muslims in your site
for not having the ability to freely think yet every muslim from
day one has had the ability to freely read the quran and Islam's
teachings and develop a personal understanding, while reading of
the Bible in Christianity and personal interpretation was not
allowed by an average person for centuries before the church
reforms. In addition, it is every Muslim's responsibility to
research and investigate beliefs and religions upon reaching
puberty to find out what is the true religion he/she would wish
to pursue. I am simply sorry if this critical part of Islam was
not available in your sect and your particular experience with
Islam did not allow you to freely practice beliefs according to
your fancy.
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Dear Zain,
It is always refreshing to receive an email from a
polite Muslim. Go to the Muslims’
Comments page and you’ll see what I mean. Polite Muslim is a
rarity.
So when I see a polite Muslim I become interested
in him/her because I see a potential apostate and a fellow comrade. Of
course politeness is one essential ingredient to become an apostate, the
other, and perhaps the more important ingredient is fairness. I hope you
are as fair as you are polite.
You say in Islam people are free to choose their
religion. I beg to disagree. I am not going to talk about the practice
of the Muslims because this will give you the chance to say Muslims are
not following the true Islam. We all know that in no Islamic country
Muslims are allowed to leave their religion and become Murtad. We know
that the penalty of apostasy in Islam is death and we know that if
someone is caught preaching his religion to a Muslim he could be put to
death. Just ask how many Baha’is or Qadianis have been executed
because they left Islam to embrace these religions. Just ask how many
people in
Pakistan
were killed for converting to Christianity. Just ask how many Sunnis and
Shiites were murdered because the followers of each group call the
members of other group heretics. I am not going to talk about the
practices of the Muslims. But I am curious to know in which Islamic
country Muslims are allowed to investigate the truth of other religions
and leave Islam without fearing for their lives. We know that in
Saudi Arabia
, anyone who converts to other religions will lose his head. In fact if
you are caught with a copy of the Bible you are in deep troubles.
Let us see what
Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen says about freedom of faith in
Islam:
"if your wife leave
Islam and “if she does not repent then the ruling of Allaah should be
carried out on her, which is execution, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever changes his
religion [leaves Islam], execute him.”
Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqi, a popular
Pakistani writer on Islam and Islamic law, in his book The
Penal Law of Islam claims that:
". . . the sayings and doings of the Holy
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the decision and
practice of the Caliph Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him), the
consensus of the opinion of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah
be upon him) and all the later Muslim jurists, and even certain verses
of the Holy Qur'an all prescribe capital punishment for an apostate.
[Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqi, The Penal Law of Islam, (Lahore:
Kazi Publications, 1979) p. 97]
In several verses Muhammad makes it clear that the
apostates will be severely punished in the other world.
Sura
16:106-107, 109
“Anyone
who after accepting faith in Allah utters unbelief except under
Compulsion …. Allah will not guide those who reject faith. Without
doubt, in the hereafter they will perish.”
Sura
88: 23-4
"But
if any turn away and reject God, God will
punish him with a mighty Punishment".
Sura
3: 86-91 emphasizes
that on apostates rests “the
curse of God, of His angels and of all mankind.” And their penalty
will not be lightened. Then adds:
3:90
“But
those who reject faith after they accepted it and then go on
adding to their defiance of faith never will their repentance be
accepted; for they are those who have (of set purpose) gone astray.
91. As
to those who reject faith and die rejecting never would be accepted from
any such as much gold as the earth contains though they should offer it
for ransom. For such is (in store) a penalty grievous and they
will find no helpers.”
You may think that these are penalties in the other world. But not
so! Muhammad ordered the immigrants to kill their own peer if they
return back
to Mecca
and said:
4:
89 “if
they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find
them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them,
Now this does not give any impression that the
choice of religion in Islam is free. Dear Zain, you and I know perfectly
that you are lying when you say “It is every Muslim's responsibility
to research and investigate beliefs and religions upon reaching puberty
to find out what is the true religion he/she would wish to pursue.”
We both know this is not what Islam teaches and
this is not how Islam is practiced. So how about dropping that game of
deception and being honest to each other? You can play these games with
the gullible westerners but not with me.
A few hadith will make this point much more
clearer.
Bukhari9,83,17
Narrated 'Abdullah:
Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that
none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His
Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a
married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and
the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the
Muslims."
(Sahih Bukhari 4.260)
Narrated Ikrima:
Ali burnt some people [hypocrites] and this news reached Ibn 'Abbas,
who said, "Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them,
as the Prophet said, 'Don't punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.'
No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet said, 'If somebody
(a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' "
see also Sahih
Bukhari 9,84,57:
The following is
another Islamic site that unabashedly says:
“The punishment for apostasy (riddah) is well-known in Islaamic
Sharee'ah. The one who leaves Islaam will be asked to repent by the
Sharee'ah judge in an Islaamic country; if he does not repent and come
back to the true religion, he will be killed as a kaafir and apostate,
because of the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him): "Whoever changes his
religion, kill him." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3017).
http://thetruereligion.org/apostatepunish.htm
So, Muslims are free to investigate the truth of
other religions only though Islamic sources and at the end they MUST
accept Islam as or face death. They are not allowed to own or read a
Bible or the sacred books of other religions. They are free to
investigate these religions by asking about them from their Imams.
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You are under the odd impression that Islam
is a religion of oppression, yet the basic greeting consists of
exchanging wishes of peace and it foundations are against
tyranny and exploitation. I guess you are not aware of the
message of
Karbala
. You believe a person has no right to choose its faith and that
a muslim is somehow chained to Islam if he is born into it, yet
in the Quran it clearly states "There is no compulsion in
faith..." |
I don’t give a damn to what the basic greeting of Muslims is. Salam
was used by the pagans before Islam and even Jews have the same word for
greeting. Just because Muslims greet each other in the way the pagans
before them did does not make Islam a religion of peace. Actions speak
louder than words. There is no doubt that Muslims are more aggressive
than others and today 90% of wars are something to do with Islam and
Muslims.
Islam is tyrannical by its very nature and it has
been used as the perfect tool of domination. Please see this
article.
As for that verse “no compulsion in religion”,
it is abrogated. You can read all about the abrogators and the abrogated
in this article.
| You disturbingly call for acts of violence and persecution of
Muslims and Islam because you believe Islam is about violence
and terrorism yet it endorses not such measures. If you
previously hated hatred, violence and oppression you have simply
become what you hate. |
No, I am not for violence. But I firmly believe we
need to grab the Muslims' attention. The best way to do that is to treat
them the way their holy book says non Muslims should be treated. Muslims
will not wake up unless they are given a taste from their own medicine.
Here is a sample of the constitution I am proposing to be adopted in Dar
al Harb.
8:12
We will cast terror into the
hearts of Muslims. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every
fingertip of them.
3:28,
Let not the non-Muslims take for friends or
helpers the Muslims.
8:65,
Rouse the non-Muslims to the fight
against Muslims.
9:5,
Then fight and slay the Muslims
wherever ye find them,
9:14,
Fight the Muslims, and God will punish
them by your hands, cover them with shame.
9:23,
O ye the non-Muslims take not for
protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love Islam.
9:28,
O ye the non-Muslims! Truly the Muslims
are unclean.
9:123,
O ye non-Muslims! fight the Muslims who
gird you about, and let them find firmness in you.
47:4,
Therefore, when ye meet the Muslims,
smite at their necks; At length.
Is that very cruel? Is that violent and inhumane?
Does that bother you? Tell me why? Why these beautiful divine verses are
offensive to you? Please tell me why you don’t like them.
| You fail to recognize that the true Islam was not spread by
the sword, Prophet Muhammad never did not even allow the firing
of the first shot in a battle situations and even damaging green
and wildlife needlessly are considered to be sins! |
Really? Are you actually so uniformed of the history of Islam and its
expansion or you think I am? Do you know the wars of Muhammad were
called Qazwah and do you know that Qazwah means sudden attack or ambush?
All the wars of Islam were aggressive. If you really don’t know the
history of Islam, please get some education before debating with me. If
you know, please stop this game of deception. Take a look as these
hadiths.
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet offered the Fajr Prayer near Khaibar when it was still
dark and then said, "Allahu-Akbar! Khaibar is destroyed, for
whenever we approach a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be
the morning for those who have been warned." Then the inhabitants
of Khaibar came out running on the roads. The Prophet had their
warriors killed, their offspring and woman taken as captives. Safiya
was amongst the captives, She first came in the share of Dahya Alkali
but later on she belonged to the Prophet. The Prophet made her
manumission as her 'Mahr'.
(Sahih
Bukhari V.5 B.59 N.512)
"Narrated Ibn Aun:
I wrote a letter to Nafi and Nafi wrote in reply to my letter that the
Prophet had suddenly attacked Bani Mustaliq without warning while they
were heedless and their cattle were being watered at the places of
water. Their fighting men were killed and their women and children
were taken as captives; the Prophet got Juwairiya on that day. Nafi
said that Ibn 'Umar had told him the above narration and that Ibn 'Umar
was in that army.” Volume
3, Book 46, Number 717
It is narrated on the authority of
'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered
the date-palms of Banu Nadir to be burnt and cut. These palms were at
Buwaira. Qutaibah and Ibn Rumh in their versions of the tradition have
added: So Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, revealed the verse:"
Whatever trees you have cut down or left standing on their trunks, it
was with the permission of Allah so that He may disgrace the
evil-doers" (lix. 5).Muslim
019, 4324:
"It is narrated on the authority of
Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) caused
the date-palms of Banu Nadir to be cut down and burnt. It is in this
connection that Hassan (the poet) said: It was easy for the nobles of
Quraish to barn Buwaira whose sparks were flying in all directions.
in the same connection was revealed the Qur'anic verse:" Whatever
trees you have cut down or left standing on their trunks." 59:5
Muslim
019, 4325
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I understand that while Muslims in general
have not presented a handsome image of Islam, it is simply not
one that Islam deserves. I believe that with just a quick glance
of the true Islam you will come to know Islam of what it truly
represents and not of the one that people like modern day
villains and radicals preach. You only owe it to yourself.
Thank you and may you find knowledge and
peace.
Thank you for your time.
Zain
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I did glance at Islam and the Quran, not quickly
but very meticulously and I reject it as a cult of terror and barbarity.
I believe it is you who need to take a look at it. I am sure, that like
most Muslims you have never read the Quran in its entirety and have not
read any book on the history of Muhammad and the expansion of Islam.
Your knowledge is second hand and superficial. Just like all other
Muslims, you started writing your rebuttal before reading the debates
that I had with other Muslims and just like the majority of them you
don’t know the Quran, the hadith or the history of Islam.
I respond as I read and the reason I decided to respond to you is
because you are a polite person. Had I read your entire message and
realizing you have no knowledge of Islam and have not even read much
from this site, I would not have responded.
If you don’t want to read this site, that is
okay. But shouldn’t you read at least your own holy book before
challenging me to debate? This debate is not even fair. Please increase
your knowledge of Islam so we can have some meaningful debate.
Regards
Ali Sina
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