By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
7 October 2020
The way you look at others must embrace all human beings as a token of love for their Creator, Allah Almighty. This is as simple as a blink of an eye. You just need to accept them as brothers in humanity. Once you consolidate this human relationship, your differences, whatsoever, in religions, races, regions, castes, thoughts and actions will keep your minds under control and not let you take the side of devils versus humans —the side that results into [Fasad fil Arz] disorder in the land and killing [Qatl], thereby a gross violation of the Quranic commands, “do not cause disorder (Fasad also translated as corruption) in the land” (2:11) and “Whosoever killed a person ... it shall be as if he had killed all mankind" (5:32).
Avoiding disorder in the land is an act commanded by Allah Almighty and must be an easy task for the righteous believers who primarily intend to seek nothing but the divine pleasure. For some, however, this task might be difficult when facing the challenges of mutual differences among human beings in creeds, religions, thoughts and actions. But not an impossible or undone task, as there have been the righteous people who avoided causing disorder in the land simply by accepting others as brothers in humanity, in spite of their mutual differences of severe nature. This denotes that their view of human relationship of brotherhood, as a dominant player, kept differences under control. Let me repeat that if one tightly holds the rope of brotherhood in humanity, one cannot be defeated by natural differences resulting into conflicts.
You cannot forcibly eliminate differences of human minds in religions. Allah Almighty Who has created their minds grants them freedom to select a path between right and wrong, as the Quran says, “There is no compulsion in [matters] of the Religion” (2:256). Instead of forcing others to embrace your religion and thereby turning them into brothers in religion, you must adopt the practice of accepting them as brothers in humanity.
In a society where people of different religions exist together and your religious differences disturb your peaceful interaction with them, you must develop the idea of accepting them as brothers in humanity. Moving forward you must develop the habit of gentleness while interacting with them as the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “God loves gentleness in everything and there is nothing done with gentleness except it beautifies it and nothing excludes gentleness except it disgraces it”.
Embracing people of other religions as brothers in humanity, it would be natural for you to deal with them with mercy, love and gentleness irrespective of their race, religion, caste and culture. This is how you can know one another, as God Almighty says in the Quran, “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. [Qur'an 49:13]. So God Almighty created us to know one another, not to hate and persecute one another. Here we should not forget that the most righteous of the people are the most noble in the sight of Allah and that one of the characteristics of the righteous people is that they accept people of different religions as brothers in humanity.
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A regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism
9:11 AM
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