Question : A question was asked regarding whether freedom of thinking is a positive attribute, or whether it leads to freedom of faith.

Fatwa in Brief: Whoever argues that a person is entitled to complete freedom of faith [be it belief in any religion] is an unbeliever, guilty of the major sin of disbelief.

Shaykh Ibn al-‘Uthaymin, Fatwas of Doctrine, 217-218

Response:

There is a great deal of meaning in allowing the practice of free-thinking like in endorsing the principle of non-coercion in matters of conviction, and of co-existence with other people of other religions, and which may involve the sharing of meals, and [even] marriage with them.

Allowing people freedom of faith does not mean that we consent to people forsaking their [Islamic] religion; however, we are constantly dismayed by [the recent] insistence on charging Muslims with acts of apostasy for the smallest of reasons and remotest interpretations.

Commentary:

It goes without saying that people differ in opinion and in matters of faith and behavior since human nature is capable of erring. God Almighty says:

“And if thy Lord had willed, He verily would have made mankind one nation, yet they cease not differing. Save him on whom thy Lord hath mercy; and for that He did create them”. (Q. 11:118-9)

God has provided mankind with guidance, and revealed unto them the right path. He has encouraged us to take this path; and warned us against the dangers of evil. God told Adam and those with him [all this] when he brought them to earth:

“But when there come unto you from Me guidance, then whoso followeth my Guidance, he will not go astray not come to grief”. (Q. 20:123)

God send a succession of messenger to us to warn against danger and to inform us of the Truth. Some believed, while others did not, until the last of these messengers, the Prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace), arrived in order [to clarify God’s Message and] to emphasize its most important principles. The call [of the Prophet] to Islam was general, and not specific to a certain place or time. Rather, it was addressed to all people, regardless of whether they had previously embraced a religion. God Almighty says:

“And whosoever seeketh as religion other than the Surrender (to God), it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the hereafter”.

There is no compulsion in faith. Unless there is true conviction [on the part of the caller], beliefs will never take root in the heart [by those outside the faith]; [this being the case] the messenger or the Prophet (upon him be peace) has only to convey the message:

“Say: (it is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then, whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve”. (Q. 18:29)

“There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error”. (Q. 2:256)

The Prophet (upon him be peace) dealt with Jews; he ate their food, and called them to become Muslims. Yet, he did not put pressure on them to convert, and left them free to make up their own minds. Some chose to believe [in Islam], while the remainder did not. The Prophet (upon him be peace) criticized the Muslim who attacked a Jew after the latter had compared Muhammad unfavorably to Moses; and he forbade the Muslims to make comparisons in general between the Prophets, even though he [Muhammad] was the greatest among them. So as not to create sedition, in a hadith reported by Muslim, the Prophet declared: “Prophets are brothers from a single man and different mothers, and their religion is one; and I am the worthiest of Prophets after Jesus, son of Mary, because no Prophet has arrived in the time between us. On seeing a blind Jewish man, [the Caliph] ‘Umar decided to give him a considerable sum of money from the treasury; and he [‘Umar] wrote to the Muslim rulers in their various states so that they should assist the poor folk of the dhimma [i.e. the Christians and Jews living among them]. Such treatment of non-Muslims stems from the fact that Islam is [definitively] a religion of peace; and [it is worth remembering], it does not initiate a war against someone as long as he is peaceful. The Qur’an states:

“And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He, even He, is the Hearer, the Knower”. (Q. 8:61)

Islamic law permits marriage to “the women of the book”, women who are Jewish or Christian; and it permits Muslims to eat the meat of their slaughtered animals. Yet, Islam does not permit a Muslim husband to insist that his non-Muslim wife join Islam; rather, he is free to live with her while she is not a believer. Therefore, by supporting people’s freedom of choice, we do not approve of their non-Islamic doctrines, [or relinquish our Muslim identity.] Freedom of choice requires that we do not compel anyone to embrace Islam [against his/her will].

And God knows best.

Dr. Muhammad Fouad