The Holy Quran Exhorts Muslims to Embrace People of All Other Religions as Brothers in Humanity
By Ghulam Ghaus
Siddiqi, New Age Islam
7 October
2020
The way you
look at others must embrace all human beings as a token of love for their
Creator, Allah Almighty. This is as simple as a blink of an eye. You just need
to accept them as brothers in humanity. Once you consolidate this human
relationship, your differences, whatsoever, in religions, races, regions,
castes, thoughts and actions will keep your minds under control and not let you
take the side of devils versus humans —the side that results into [Fasad fil Arz] disorder in the land and
killing [Qatl], thereby a gross violation of the Quranic commands, “do not
cause disorder (Fasad also translated
as corruption) in the land” (2:11) and “Whosoever killed a person ... it shall
be as if he had killed all mankind" (5:32).
Avoiding
disorder in the land is an act commanded by Allah Almighty and must be an easy
task for the righteous believers who primarily intend to seek nothing but the
divine pleasure. For some, however, this task might be difficult when facing
the challenges of mutual differences among human beings in creeds, religions,
thoughts and actions. But not an impossible or undone task, as there have been
the righteous people who avoided causing disorder in the land simply by
accepting others as brothers in humanity, in spite of their mutual differences
of severe nature. This denotes that their view of human relationship of
brotherhood, as a dominant player, kept differences under control. Let me
repeat that if one tightly holds the rope of brotherhood in humanity, one
cannot be defeated by natural differences resulting into conflicts.
You cannot
forcibly eliminate differences of human minds in religions. Allah Almighty Who
has created their minds grants them freedom to select a path between right and
wrong, as the Quran says, “There is no compulsion in [matters] of the Religion”
(2:256). Instead of forcing others to embrace your religion and thereby turning
them into brothers in religion, you must adopt the practice of accepting them
as brothers in humanity.
In a
society where people of different religions exist together and your religious
differences disturb your peaceful interaction with them, you must develop the
idea of accepting them as brothers in humanity. Moving forward you must develop
the habit of gentleness while interacting with them as the Prophet (peace be
upon him) is reported to have said, “God loves gentleness in everything and
there is nothing done with gentleness except it beautifies it and nothing
excludes gentleness except it disgraces it”.
Embracing
people of other religions as brothers in humanity, it would be natural for you
to deal with them with mercy, love and gentleness irrespective of their race,
religion, caste and culture. This is how you can know one another, as God
Almighty says in the Quran, “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male
and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.
Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of
you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. [Qur'an 49:13]. So God Almighty
created us to know one another, not to hate and persecute one another. Here we
should not forget that the most righteous of the people are the most noble in
the sight of Allah and that one of the characteristics of the righteous people
is that they accept people of different religions as brothers in humanity.
-----
A regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com,
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar)
with a Sufi background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/the-holy-quran-exhorts-muslims/d/123071
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African
Muslim News, Arab World
News, South
Asia News, Indian
Muslim News, World
Muslim News, Women
in Islam, Islamic
Feminism, Arab
Women, Women
In Arab, Islamophobia
in America, Muslim
Women in West, Islam
Women and Feminism