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Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah
The Muslim and the other, what is the relationship between them? What is my view of people who are not Muslims? Are they disbelievers and polytheists? But how can they be disbelievers when some of them treat me kindly and do good to me? Would I be pleased for it to be known that my religion considers them disbelievers? If I am proud of my entire religion, why do I hide this from them? Am I in harmony with myself? As a Muslim, do I have something that I am ashamed to show to people?
These are questions that arise in the minds of many, and they do not have clear answers. We will discuss them in light of the centrality of the Creator, which we spoke about in the past three episodes.
The term centrality is another expression for servitude to Allah, submission to Him, glorified be He, in all matters of our lives. To submit to Allah in your view of yourself and others, to submit to Allah in the positions you take towards others and in the way you deal with them in faith and trust in His justice, wisdom, and mercy.
Centrality is another expression for monotheism, that your sole source in judging things, people, and principles is Allah, the Most High. That your standards are derived from Allah, the Most High, alone, so you learn that His command is the sole truth and everything else is false.
Many of those who claim to be Muslims deviate from monotheism and servitude to Allah, and yet they consider themselves to be in the right. One of the clearest examples of this deviation is the abandonment of the divine rulings in the view of oneself and others and in dealing with them, and the rejection of the division that came in the verses and hadiths: faith and disbelief, believer and disbeliever. And doubting the ability of Islam to regulate relationships between individuals and societies.
Many of the children of Muslims no longer accept the centrality of the Creator and servitude to Him, and submission to the Creator, and the monotheism of the Creator in all of this. And they see that there is a need for alternative standards, and that we need to take from Islam its ethics and ritualistic acts of worship, and live our present with the concepts of secularism, global citizenship, and equality among citizens in one country or among the inhabitants of the earth regardless of their religions.
And that we rely on humanistic standards, for the good person is the one who is good to humans regardless of their beliefs and their relationship with the Lord of humans, and the bad person is the one who does wrong to humans regardless of their beliefs and their relationship with the Lord of humans. And this is one of the clearest manifestations of the centrality of man as an alternative to the centrality of the Creator, glorified be He.
Many of the children of Muslims now see that we should erase from our vocabulary the description of the other as a disbeliever or polytheist, because this threatens the social fabric in their opinion, and national unity and coexistence among the inhabitants of the planet.
And with the transfer of centrality from the Creator to man, the truth changes from absolute to relative, so the truth for these people is no longer what Allah, the Most High, says about it in the Quran that it is the truth, and what His Messenger, peace be upon him, says about it that it is the truth. But they say to you: This is true for you, but it is not true for the Christian or the Jew or the Buddhist. You see it as true, but they do not see it as true. As if the denial of others that Islam is true diminishes its truth in reality, as if their belief in what they are upon from falsehood makes this falsehood of theirs a relative truth. So there is no longer a centrality of the truth, but rather a multiplicity of it with the multiplicity of people. And with this, they try to get rid of the fact that the one who denies the truth that Islam has brought is a disbeliever.
Or you find some of them uttering the phrase: We are disbelievers in their religion and they are disbelievers in our religion, meaning that the word disbelief does not blame us or blame them as if we are equal. And all of this is a deviation from the centrality of the Creator, a deviation from servitude to Him, and from His monotheism by referring all matters to Him, glorified be He.
When we talk about shirk, we usually refer to the direction towards humans or stones with prostration, supplication, and prayer, or legislative shirk by setting aside Allah's commands at the level of ruling. But we overlook that there is a shirk practiced by individuals who turn to Allah in their prayers, but the direction of their hearts and minds is completely different. And this is a common disease among some of the children of Muslims.
Allah, the Most High, said: {But by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you a judge of what they differ in, then they do not find in themselves any discomfort from what you have judged, and they submit completely}. The judgment of the Messenger of Allah, which is derived from his obedience to Allah in everything, in judging things as right and wrong, correct and incorrect, injustice and justice, and judging people as disbelievers and Muslims. The judgment in all of this is for Allah and His Messenger, not for humanistic standards. So the Muslim proceeds in all of this by prioritizing the right of Allah and glorifying Allah, believing that He is the most just of judges, and that in His judgment there is the truth, wisdom, mercy, and justice among all humans.
In light of this introduction, let us discuss the relationship of the Muslim with the other. A binary division has taken root in the minds of many regarding the relationship of Muslims with others: either you say that they are disbelievers and thus mistreat them and perhaps even sanctify their blood and wealth, or you say that they are not disbelievers and thus treat them well and be just to them. And this is a false division whose cause is our ignorance and ignorance of our religion.
The description of disbelief is a divine ruling that we are not allowed to play with. At the same time, we believe that it is a ruling of the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Kind, the Forbearing, who is more merciful to His servants than a mother to her child, so we will not be more merciful to His servants than He, glorified be He.
And here is an important note: The description of a disbeliever does not contradict that some disbelievers may not have received the message in their language and thus are not judged based on their condition in this world with Hell or Paradise. So what does Allah do with these people? This condition was discussed in detail in the episode "Non-Muslims: Are They All in Hell?" Our discussion today is about your dealing with disbelievers in this world.
This divine ruling that some people are disbelievers does not initially call us to injustice and arrogance towards them, but rather calls us to mercy and compassion for them. It makes us eager to guide them so that we and they may be brothers in faith, and we and they may enter the Paradise of Allah that He promised to His believing servants.
Therefore, look at the people who have guided many in our time. All of them believe in Allah's ruling about others that they are disbelievers. Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, Dr. Zakir Naik, Dr. Abdul Rahman as-Sumait, and many others. When we strive to translate the series and lectures to reach disbelievers of different languages, our motivation for this is only mercy for them and the desire for their good and to fear Allah in them by inviting them to His religion.
Look, on the other hand, at those who are disgusted by the naming of disbelievers and deny it. How many of them have guided anyone from these people? If he does not see them as sick with disbelief in the first place, why does he strive to treat them from it?
The description of disbelief is heavy not because Islam is repulsive, but because the reality of the disbeliever is serious. It is a description that makes you feel the extent of their need to be saved from disbelief.
Therefore, if a peaceful disbeliever asks you, one who does not hate Muslims because of their religion, does not mock Islam, does not incite authorities or Western countries to harm Muslims, and does not kill those who convert from their religion, and asks you: What does your religion say about me? Tell him: It says that you should convert to Islam.
Okay, and if I do not convert, will I be a disbeliever? Does this mean you can harm me? No, we say to you: Allah, the Exalted, who has ruled that you are a disbeliever, is the One who has commanded me to be kind to you. To treat them well and be just to them, "Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly." My Lord has commanded me to be kind to you and said: "Indeed, Allah commands with justice and kindness" in general. My Lord has commanded me to be just with you and trustworthy with you, saying: "Indeed, Allah commands you to return deposits to their owners. And when you judge between people, judge with justice." Among all people. And to say good words to you: "And say to the people good words" to all people in general.
He commanded me to deal with you with loyalty to your goodness and to fulfill your covenant, saying: "And fulfill the covenant of Allah." He made my covenant with you one of the forms of Allah's covenant, attributing the covenant to Himself, glorified be He, to magnify the duty of fulfilling it.
My Lord has commanded me, if I have a disbelieving father or mother, to treat them kindly, saying: "And if they strive to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them, but accompany them in [this] world with goodness."
You, who ask me, my Lord has commanded me to maintain your family ties if you are a close disbeliever to me. As Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Allah has blamed those who cut off family ties and has magnified their cutting and has made their right obligatory even if they are disbelievers, due to His saying: "And fear Allah, by whom you are asked, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." And in the hadith: "He who cuts off family ties will not enter Paradise." And Allah has made the right of kinship obligatory even if they are disbelievers, for disbelief does not negate their rights in this world." Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Disbelief does not negate their rights in this world."
My Lord has commanded me, O you who ask me, to be kind to you even if you are a disbeliever, whether you are a parent, a relative, an orphan, a poor person, or a neighbor. He said: "And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and what your right hands possess." And as Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Everyone mentioned in this verse, their right is obligatory even if they are disbelievers."
You, O questioner, as long as you are not a combatant against my religion, my Lord has forbidden me to refrain from spending on you from the recommended charity because you are a disbeliever. When some believers refrained from giving charity to disbelievers, He said: "It is not upon you to guide them, but Allah guides whom He wills. And whatever you spend of good - it is for yourselves, and you do not spend except seeking the face of Allah." Your charities are to seek the pleasure of Allah, and Allah, who has ruled that they are disbelievers, urges you to spend on them and gain His pleasure thereby.
Dr. Al-Samit, may Allah have mercy on him and do good to him, many associations and charitable people in Africa were digging wells, opening schools, and building health centers for disbelievers and telling them about Islam, but they did not impose on them to convert before doing all this for them. They remember the saying of our Prophet, peace be upon him: "In every liver, there is a reward."
You, O you who ask me, my Lord has commanded me to allocate from my zakat for you if I feel you are close to Islam, to win your heart to Islam. And those whose hearts are to be reconciled are among the recipients of zakat. My Prophet has commanded me to have mercy on you, saying: "The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Have mercy on those on earth, and He who is in heaven will have mercy on you." Those on earth in general.
I must support you if you are oppressed and strive to take your right if I can, even if your oppressor is a Muslim. For my Prophet, peace be upon him, praised the alliance of Al-Fadl, who stood up for the oppressed, every oppressed person. And my Lord has warned me against oppressing you and informed me that the supplication of the oppressed is not rejected, any oppressed person, even if the supplication of an oppressed disbeliever is against a Muslim oppressor.
You, O you who ask, as long as you do not fight my religion, my Prophet has commanded me to be a trustworthy person with you, so that you trust me with your blood and property, and I do not betray you or deceive you. He said: "The believer is one whom people trust with their blood and property." Thus, all people in general.
To deal with you with kindness, goodness, justice, kindness, loyalty, and honesty, and it is forbidden for me to harm your blood and property, to deceive you, or to betray you. Therefore, I am better to you than your fellow religionist by adhering to Allah's command regarding you. I am better to you than your fellow religionist by adhering to Allah's command regarding you. And the best I can do for you, offer you, and treat you with is to invite you to believe in Allah and leave your disbelief and polytheism, for I fear for you the consequence of your disbelief, loss in this world and fire in the Hereafter.
I deal with you with the same concern as the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he said, and the hadith is in Bukhari: "My example and the example of the people are like a man who kindled a fire, and when it illuminated what was around him, the insects and creatures that fall into the fire fall into it, so he pulls them out and they overpower him and fall into it again. I am pulling you back from the fire, and they are falling into it."
All of this does not prevent me from being honest and clear with you, O questioner, in refuting your creed as long as you are not on Islam. I will not flatter you or deceive you by making you think you are on the right path while you are in disbelief. My intention is not for you to accept me as a Muslim, nor to stop your polytheism against me, nor to benefit from you financially or with kindness. I want good for you because I have brought you out, "You are the best community ever brought forth to mankind."
And take note, take note, the most important thing is that I do all this with you out of devotion to the face of Allah the Exalted, not for the sake of nationalism, humanitarianism, and these floating meanings that do not guarantee continuity nor drive me to sacrifice, because this treatment sometimes involves hardship and obligation. When I maintain family ties with a disbeliever who cuts me off, and I do not accompany my parents with kindness while they strive to make me disbelieve, and I do not give you from my wealth in charity while I am of simple means. Nationalism does not have a Paradise for me to enter if I do this, nor a Hell to escape from, nor does humanitarianism have a Paradise or Hell, but with my Lord, who has commanded me to treat you this way, there is Paradise and Hell.
There are no Islamic societies in the world today, esteemed ones, that represent a suitable model for those living among them from the people of other religions, and these people of other religions are not in countries that protect them and support them if they convert to Islam and protect them from the fanatical aggressors among their people. Is all this an excuse for them not to convert? Certainly not, but it places a responsibility on us to compensate for this with our good morals with them and our disciplined dealings according to the rules of the Sharia, so that we may win them over and facilitate their entry into Islam.
I say this while knowing cases of brothers and sisters who have converted to Islam and are afraid of the injustice of their people towards them. What we have mentioned will open the door to many questions: Does this mean that I treat the non-combatant disbeliever as I treat the Muslim? Does this mean it is permissible to love the disbeliever? And what about the combatant disbeliever? We will answer, with Allah's permission, in the coming episodes.
Finally, dear guests, the Muslim is the kindest of people, the most honest of people, the most straightforward of people, and the most merciful towards others. We should take pride in our entire religion; we have nothing to hide. Our hidden agendas are our declared agendas: mercy to all the worlds, the best nation produced for mankind. Meanwhile, the enemies of Muslims have hidden agendas: they excommunicate Muslims but do not say this openly. Instead, they use every method to practice this excommunication by beautifying disbelief and demeaning Islam in the hearts of Muslims. They spread doubt in our religion under the guise of humanitarian work, cultural exchange, intellectual enlightenment. They fight innate human nature and spread corruption under the banner of personal freedom, sexual culture, and other slogans.
Those with hidden, secret, malicious agendas are deceitful traitors, while we are straightforward and open. They have the right to bury their heads in the sand, and we have the right to hold our heads high with our religion.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.