Bigotry: The Dark Danger
Answers from the Qur'an
Answer to the "If religion is between Allah and His servant, why do we communicate religious moral values to other people?" DeceitIn the Qur'an, Allah commands Muslims to enjoin the good and remind people of the truth. Those believers who are aware of an unbeliever's vulnerability or of a new believer who does not practice religious morality correctly, feel responsible and therefore warn that person. All conscientious believers are told to give such warnings and admonitions with compassion and kind words. The Qur'an refers to this as "enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong." Allah's Messenger (pbuh), called attention to the same issue by saying: "By Him in Whose hands my soul lies, you should enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, otherwise He (Allah) will descend punishment upon you, and then you will ask Him but your supplications will never be answered.” (Tirmidhi) Similar to other acts of worship (e.g., prayer, fasting, or giving alms) specified in the Qur'an, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong is a religious obligation for every Muslim, and fulfilling it is one of the believers' basic attributes, for:
In another verse, Allah informs us that attaining salvation is associated with enjoining good and forbidding evil:
No Muslim is entirely irreproachable, for all Muslims can sin or make mistakes. Making mistakes out of ignorance, forgetfulness, or giving in to one's lower-self is a means to attain perfected faith and spiritual maturity. However, what distinguishes believers from unbelievers in this matter is that once believers recognize their mistakes, they abandon them and adopt what is right. This is revealed in the Qur'an, as follows:
Therefore, it is incumbent upon Muslims to advise other Muslims to abandon their mistakes or wrong actions. When a believer's rationale or attitude reveals any degree of incompatibility with the Qur'an, other believers must remind him or her of the truth immediately. This is a very important service that one believer can offer another. As this explanation suggests, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong is one of the major acts of worship in Islam. This way Muslims will purify themselves of all their mistakes, attain the perfection of faith described in the Qur'an, and thereby will hope to draw nearer to Allah. For this reason, Allah praises the compassionate believers who duly fulfill this act of worship in the following terms:
The scope of enjoining good and forbidding evil is quite broad, for communicating Islam's message to people who are far from the Qur'anic morality, summoning them to live by the values of true religion, and describing the Qur'an's values are essential acts of worship. Inviting people to the true path has been one of the major responsibilities of all Prophets and their followers. As the Qur'an tells us, the Prophets devoted their lives to carrying out this act of worship by inviting people to the truth and never yielding to any difficulty. The Qur'an quotes Prophet Nuh (Noah) (pbuh), as follows:
As stated in the Qur'an, there is no compulsion or oppression in religion, for faith is a matter of conscience that is left to people's preference after they have been provided with all of the relevant evidence and explanations. Those who convey this information have done their duty, and in no way will be held accountable if the people reject faith. Many verses relate this fact, among them the following:
Our Prophet (pbuh) has said that there is no compulsion in Islam and that religion is well wishing. “It is narrated on the authority of Tamim ad-Dari that the Messenger of Allah (may Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) observed: Al-Din is a name of sincerity and well wishing.” (Sahih Muslim, The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman) Chapter 24, Book 1, No.0098) Calling people to Islam and conveying the Qur'an's message do not interfere with humanity's bond with Allah. On the contrary, conveying the message is a religious obligation that makes it possible for all people to become informed of Islam's values and observe Allah's orders and prohibitions.
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