In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be
upon His Messenger. Dear questioner, thank you very much for
having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for
Allah's Sake, meet your expectations.
In Islam, freedom in its
general sense is a well-established fact. At a time when people were
enslaved intellectually, politically, socially, religiously, and
economically, Islam came to establish the freedom of belief, freedom of
thought, freedom of speech, and freedom to criticize. Islam strictly
forbids that people be forced to adopt a certain creed or to believe in a
particular religion. Allah Almighty says:
"If it had been thy Lord's
Will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth; wilt thou then
compel mankind, against their will, to believe?" (Yunus: 99) This was
in the Makkan era. In the Madinan period, Allah also revealed:
"Let
there be no compulsion in religion: truth stands out clear from
error." (Al-Baqarah: 256)
Responding to the question,
Dr.
Jamal Badawi, Member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research
and the Fiqh Council of North America, states the following:
�There are scholars who distinguish between apostasy on a personal
level, which is not punishable by death, and apostasy that is accompanied
by what we call today high treason, in which case the punishment is for
high treason, not for apostasy.
However, some scholars do not
distinguish between the two types. The issue pertains to the way of
interpreting texts in the Qur�an and the Hadith that deal with that
subject. A detailed answer to this question requires many more pages and
Allah willing it will be made available in the future.
As for the
second question, minority rights under Muslim rule is summed up in the
rule �for them (minorities) are rights like ours and on them are
responsibilities like ours.�
Furthermore, the Qur�an clearly
protects the freedom of religion (Al-Baqarah: 256). It also protects the
right of worship and respects all places of worship (Al-Hajj: 40).
On the outreach issue, the Qur�an does not forbid engagement in
respectful and peaceful dialogue with others, especially the People of the
Book, provided that neither side exploit the illiteracy or dire financial
need of others so as to psychologically manipulate them in the name of
outreach.
Moreover,
Sheikh Muhammad Nur Abdullah, ISNA
President and Member of the Fiqh Council of North America, adds:
�In brief, Islam believes in freedom of choice. Faith itself is a
choice in Islam. The Qur�an states:
�No compulsion in religion��
(Al-Baqarah: 256). All have the freedom to practice their own faith
without harassment or any kind of threat.
The history of Islam
proves this very well when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together in
dominant Islamic societies. We can contrast this to the Muslims who lived
in Christian Spain when they were persecuted and prejudiced against on
account of their faith.
Second, anyone has the right to choose to
convert to Islam or keep practicing his faith. But once a person converts
to Islam, he should practice his faith and never change it. If he changes
it, it is a major sin. Whether it is punishable by Islamic law is a
debatable matter among Muslim scholars. Some believe he should be punished
because they count this crime as betrayal, while others say that if
someone changes his faith and does not challenge the Islamic society, they
consider it a private matter between him and Allah and it is not
punishable by the Islamic faith according to their view. However, both
opinions agree that it is a sin punishable by Allah and that it is the
worst form of sin.
As for minority rights, the Shari`ah protects
the rights of non-Muslims living in an Islamic society. The Islamic state
has to guarantee protection for their life, property, and the places of
worship. The hadith states:
�Whoever harms a non-Muslim (Dhimmi) will
not enter Paradise.� As for spreading any other faith in the
Islamic state, non-Muslims are allowed to teach their followers about
their religion, but they are not allowed to go against the mainstream of
the society.�
You can also read:
Religious Freedom in the Eyes of Shari`ah
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write
back!
May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to
that which pleases Him, Amen.
Allah Almighty knows best.
