How Those Other Human Beings Will Be Dealt With In The Hereafter!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 11 February 2023 Islam Particularly Disparaged Not Only The Followers Of Other Religions, But Also The Followers Of Ahle-Kitab And Believed That Non-Muslims Would Be Consigned To Hell. ------ Some reader has put this condescending question before a supremacist 'polymath': “How those other human beings will be dealt with in the Hereafter.” This very question smacks of ' otherness.' Almost all Muslims have this pontificating attitude towards the followers of other faiths. Dr Muhammad Iqbal's Professor of Philosophy at Lahore University, Thomas Arnold, told him that all Semitic faiths, esp. Islam, had this supercilious attitude towards other faiths. Islam particularly disparaged not only the followers of other religions, but also the followers of Ahle-Kitab and believed that non-Muslims would be consigned to hell. Muslims believe that their Allah belongs to them only. Quran calls Allah, Rabbul-Alameen (Lord of the Universe), not just Rabbul-Muslameen (God of the Muslims). So, when Allah lords over all; sees and treats everyone equally, why should he distinguish between a Muslim or a non-Muslim while allotting (yes, allotting!) Hell/Heaven to them? Didn't Alexander Pope say, “He sees with equal eyes as god of all/ a hero perish or a sparrow fall?” An 'educated' Muslim needs to come out of the quagmire of Islam and instead of wasting his/her time on useless and ever-inconclusive debates like what will happen in the Hereafter, who'll go to hell or heaven, who was Adam and what did he do, it's advisable to focus on becoming a good human. I remember Dr Edward W Said's words which he uttered in a private conversation with Professor Bernard Lewis of Princeton University, “Sub-continental Muslims will have to tone down their overenthusiasm regarding Quranic interpretations and Islam's perceived supremacy.” The world-renowned scholar, a Christian born in Palestine and an Arab-sympathizer conceded towards the fag-end of his life that Islam was at the receiving end across the world because of its own faults and delusion of religio-scriptural infallibility. He too believed like Crone and Cook that Quranic revelations were delusional, but was hardly vocal on this sensitive issue. He believed that Quran, like Bible, Torah and Talmud, was flawed and many of its passages were from the pre-Islamic era and of Aramaic and Syriac origins. So, think of improving your current status and learn a lesson from your neighbouring Pakistan which has gone to dogs because of pathological fanaticism. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/human-beings-hereafter/d/129076 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