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Imagine a car exhibition; it would be boring if
all the cars on show would be the same latest model.
There will be small and large, fast and slow, luxurious
and basic cars in a good exhibition, and a superb car is
only recognised as such in comparison to a lesser, or
different model. Each and every one of us is equipped
with different capabilities. None is worthless. But in
the end, you would only buy a car, if it drives. A posh
car without an engine will be abandoned in favour of a
basic car fit for the job. Equally, in this exhibition of
life, whilst we find out more about ourselves by
comparing with others, ultimately only those with faith
in Him will be accepted by Allah, and the rest will be
discarded. The strong believer is better than the weak
one, but a weak believer is better than a strong person
without faith.
OTHER RELIGIONS...
Allah does not accept that people, whom He
has made and equipped, should in turn deny Him and His
very existence. The religion with Allah has always been
"Islam", the voluntary surrender to Him by which man
achieves peace with Allah, himself, and his surroundings.
Yet, people have frequently altered this one true
religion to suit their own needs. Humans have little
patience with what they don't understand, and often they
try to bring the divine down to earth, making images of
God and trying to explain His existence and workings in
human terms. The fact remains, however, that whilst Allah
knows all about us, we know little about Him other than
what He has made known to us. The creature can never
understand the Creator.
Islam upholds the freedom of belief, and the
Qur'an clearly states that there should be no compulsion
in religion. A person's belief is between him and God.
However, Islam is more than a belief system, it is a
religious, moral, social, political, economic ideology,
and for that reason it will restrict practices of other
faiths where they threaten to undermine its social order
and the well being of its citizens. Certain religious
practices, like human sacrifice, for example, will never
be permitted, even though adherents of a particular
religion may think them justified. Other practices might
only be permitted in the privacy of people's homes or
places of worship. Islam would not tolerate the public
display of idols, as these are an insult to Allah, the
only God and Creator.
Principally, Islam distinguishes two categories of
other religions: those of a monotheistic tradition (known
as the people of the book, because their religion is
based on earlier revealed scriptures), and the
polytheist. The public worship of the people of the book,
like Jews and Christians, is safeguarded in an Islamic
society, and their places of worship are protected. Even
though Christianity has moved away from the original
monotheistic teachings of Jesus, followed Paul in
abandoning the laws of the Old Testament, and
introduced the Trinity, which
became Church doctrine some three centuries after Jesus,
Muslims are not permitted to desecrate the crosses which
form part of Christian religious expression. The Qur'an
denies that Jesus died on the cross, Islam does not have
a concept of original sin nor the need for its redemption
by an innocent, and calling Jesus the son of God is
considered blasphemous - nonetheless these matters are
left for Jesus himself to sort out when he returns near
the end of time. Christian and Jewish communities may
also retain their own legal code with regard to personal
and family laws and disputes amongst members of their own
faith. Public proselytising and attempts to convert
Muslims would, however, not be
tolerated.
The situation is different with polytheistic
religions, for these are considered human inventions. The
worship of man made idols is seen as a degradation of the
human spirit, and whilst nobody can be forced to give up
superstitions and false beliefs, the public display of
such practices is not considered to be conducive to the
common good.
For the same reason, whilst Islam permits the
inter marriage between Muslims and people of the book, it
does not permit Muslims to marry polytheist. This may at
first looks, appear to be discriminatory,
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