No Compulsion in Islam..

Asalamu Alaykum

I have come across some comments where the commentators after reading a few verses of the Qur’an which is usually done out of context,all of a sudden  feel confident to pass their own negative interpretations as solid and unmistakeable.

One of the comments that I remember is that and I will not specify , that some Muslim men marry other faith women in order to convert them and by procreating increase the Muslim population. Now this is something that I found somewhat strange. I am sure it would be hassle free and much simpler  to get married to a Muslim woman.

It is easy to comprehend  that you can not compel anyone in matters of Religion.

Believing in Allah (swt) and worshipping Him alone is a very personal matter and a matter of the heart. How can anyone convert anybody?

Say (O Muhammad SAW): “Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allâh knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allâh is Able to do all things.” (Aali Imran 3:29)

Allah (swt) Says for those who deny the truth:

Those who break Allâh’s Covenant after ratifying it, and sever what Allâh has ordered to be joined (as regards Allâh’s Religion of Islâmic Monotheism, and to practise its legal laws on the earth and also as regards keeping good relations with kith and kin), and do mischief on earth, it is they who are the losers. (Al-Baqarah 2:27)

The Qur’an recognizes the right to religious freedom not only in the case of other believers in God, but also in the case of not-believers in God (if they are not aggressing upon Muslims).

And if anyone of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allâh (the Qur’ân), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not. (At-Tawbah 9:6)

So for those who ask, the answer is a big no. No Muslim man is ever going to get married to another faith woman for reasons of conversion.

There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in Allâh, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower. (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

By Xenia