Islam for Non-Muslims

• RELIGIOUS FAITHS VS IRRELIGIOUS IDEAS
• 1 The Present State of the World Religions
• 2 Religious System as a Historical Reality
• 3 The Evidences of God across the Universe
• 4 The Absolute Oneness of God
• 5 The Reality of the Afterlife
• 6 The Growth of Irreligious Ideas
• 7 Worshipping Natural Elements
• 8 Worshipping Imaginary Idols
• 9 Worshipping Human Beings
• 10 Inventing Relationship to God
• 11 Inventing the Idea of Reincarnation
• 12 Inventing the Theory of Evolution (Darwinism)
• 13 Inventing ‘Nature’ as the Creator of the Universe
• 14 Importance of Religion in this Secular World
• ISLAM AS A RELIGION
• 15 Addressing the Criticisms of Islam
• 16 Islam as a Magnet for the Non-Muslims
• 17 The Quran as the Original Divine Book
• 18 The Quranic Reality in Archeological Findings
• 19 Muhammad (pbuh) as the Great Prophet
• 20 Islam as the True Religion
• 21 Islam as the Universal Religion
• 22 Islam as the Eternal Religion
• 23 Islam as a Practicable Religion
• 24 Islam as an Enjoyable Religion
• 25 Islam as the Peaceful & Savior Religion
• 26 Islam as the Progressive & Rational Religion
• 27 Islam in Health & Hygiene
• 28 Islam in Promotion of Science
• 29 Muslims in Practices of Science
• 30 Islam & Other Monotheisms: Similarities & Differences
• 31 Islamic Tolerance for Other Religions
• 32 Islamic Rights for Non-Muslim Citizens
• ISLAM AS A WAY OF LIFE
• 33 Islamic System vs. Human Ideologies
• 34 Moral & Social Impacts of Islamic Rituals
• 35 Moral Discipline in Islam
• 36 Sinning of 3 W’s: Women, Wine and Wealth
• 37 Dignity & Equality of Man in Islam
• 38 Human Rights in Islam
• 39 Social Duties in Islam
• 40 Dignity & Rights of Labor in Islam
• 41 Dignity of Women in Islam
• 42 Rights of Women in Islam
• 43 Marriage & Family Life in Islam
• 44 Political Philosophy in Islam
• 45 Economic Principles in Islam
• 46 Islamic Economy vs. Capitalism & Communism
• 47 Patriotism & Internationalism in Islam
• 48 Understanding Controversial Issues in Islam
• 49 Conversion to Islam: Problems & Prospects
• 50 Conclusive Message to the Non-Muslims

25: ISLAM AS A PEACEFUL & SAVIOR RELIGION

Introduction: Islam aims to establish peace in this life and provide salvation in the Afterlife. The starting point of these twin goals is found in its title ‘Islam’ which literally means both ‘peace’ and ‘submission to God’. These two words are complementary in the sense you can achieve peace in both phases of life only through loyalty and submission to God. What is more, one of the 99 nicknames of God is ‘peace’ as He is the source of peace. Now the following analysis will shed light on how your submission to God can help achieve the twin goals of peace and salvation.

(A)  Peace in this World: Islam shows numerous ways to achieve peace in the society.

(i) Maintaining Peace: With God being the “Source of Peace”, Islam teaches you how to be courteous to greet people saying “Peace be on you” (59:23; 6:54). Being first to greet others this way is considered optional but a precious good deed. But returning other’s greetings is more important, with preference that you return that “greeting with higher courtesy or (at least) equal courtesy” (4:86). For example, if someone greets you with “Assalamualaikum”, you should respond by saying “Walaikum Salam Wa Rahmatullah or by adding more phrases as better salute.

Islam designs a code of conduct governing relationships between people with an aim to create and continue peace in the society. Guided by this purpose, Islam acts to bury any elements that might disturb peace or sow seeds of chaos and disunity. These include prohibiting any actions harmful to others’ (i) mind e.g. backbiting, insulting etc., (ii) body e.g. injury, detention etc. and (iii) property like stealing, robbing etc. 

(ii) Promoting Peace: On the promotional side, Islam encourages or even mandates the type of actions that promote good relations, cooperation and peace in the society. Islamic cultures of congregational prayer, charity, interest free easy loans for the poor, gifts for friends, attending to the sick, caring for the family members and helping the neighbors are some cases in point.  Another potential force behind an orderly society consists in the words of encouragement for conflict resolution or “making peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers” without “distorting or declining justice” (49:10; 4:135).   In case of conflicts involving nations, God urges you to find ways of making peace through “treaty” and honor it “to the end of term” unless the opposite party breaks it (9:7; 9:4). At personal level, if you hear vain talk, turn away therefrom and say “Peace be on you” (28: 55). If you really care for these broad-based rules of humanity and morality designed by Islam, then peace may not remain far-off.

(B) Salvation in the Afterlife: Islam paves your way to salvation in the Afterlife, secured from sufferings and full of blessings. God promises to deliver the “righteous to their place of salvation” as He “never wishes injustice to His servants” (39:61; 40:31). Now we tell how that may happen.

(1) Faith Alone Cannot Erase Your Willful Future Sins: Comparison: Islam makes no false promise that all your future sins will be erased only by giving lip service of faith to God without any backing of virtuous actions commanded by Him. This marks a difference with the mainstream Christian belief that Jesus died on the Cross and thereby he absorbed all the future sins for anyone who would believe in him. Islam, by contrast, stands by the principle of your individual responsibility for any actions. Accordingly, you “will individually be held responsible only for yourself”, without “bearing the burden of other’s (sins)” (4:84; 17:15).

Negatives from Faith-only Obligation: Islam considers the idea unreasonable that only by means of faith, you get immunity from all future sins including the deliberate ones. In effect, that will amount to a license to do sins without any break, fearless of consequences. The result will be a flood of vices and drought of virtues, eventually leading to a world ugly with immorality and unfair with inhumanity. Would you welcome the idea that historically the most notorious dictators killing people by the millions should get blanket pardon for all sins only for their verbal acceptance of any particular religion or professing faith in God? How can their victims get justice then? A real God should not and would not loosen the moral standard by offering such concession, even if that may be an easy way of winning converts for any particular religion. 

Good Deeds Can Never be Neglected: Mindful of the above, Islam made its position clear that faith is necessary but is not sufficient without matching good deeds; faith is like a tree and actions are like its fruits. If you do nice things on this earth, Paradise will be your destination and if you do cruel things, you will pay price for that through Hell. This fear of penalty, acting as a deterrent, will keep bad people from inflicting potential harms on good people and will thus make the society peaceful. Nonetheless, Islam keeps the door open to erasing of past sins done by mistake followed by repentance and thereby paving your way to salvation in the Afterlife.

(2) More Promises of Reward than Penalty: In the Quran, there are much more talks about pardon and reward than sin and penalty. It is overloaded with verses like God “does not deal unjustly with man in anything. Your Lord is full of forgiveness to mankind for their wrongs. None of their good deeds will be rejected.  (God wishes) to turn to you in (Mercy). After a difficulty, God soon grants relief. He will give you a double portion of His Mercy. He graciously calls you to the path of Heaven and Forgiveness” (10:44; 13:6; 3:115; 4:26; 65:7; 57:28; 2:221). God also intends to “pass by” or “turn off” the worst deeds and give “reward according to the best of what you have done” (46:16; 39:35). He promised that you will get reward “tenfold” to your credit of good deeds while you will only be “punished in exact proportion of your sins” (6:160; 28:84). Those who have a mix of good and bad deeds and repent for their sins, God perhaps “will turn to them (in Mercy)” (9:102). 

    All these leave little doubt about God’s real intention of helping your way to salvation through forgiveness and not getting you in trouble for sins. “What can God gain by our punishment, if you are grateful and you believe?” (4:147). Further indication of this reality comes from His provision of 8 Heavens for reward compared to 7 Hells for punishment.

(3) Liberal Assessment of Sins: Only “sins and shameful deeds” are marked for punishment as part of broader need for social “justice” and ultimate wellbeing of the humanity (53:32; 16:90). This policy helps people to choose right over wrong and shield the weak from the strong. On top of such sin strategy comparable to crime management policy of any modern government, Islam goes an extra length to make your life easier as described below.

(i) No Original Sin: Islam hates the sin but not the sinner. It does not give any place to the concept of ‘original sin’ (linked to the sins of our original parents Adam and Eve) or ‘born sinner’. All babies are born sinless and remain so until they gain adulthood when they start sinning under environmental influence.

(ii) Only Sinful Actions (Not Thoughts) Count: If an unintended evil thoughts cross your mind, it will not be posted as a sin unless you translate that thought into action. By contrast, a good deed is counted for credit from the moment of your intention, even if that is later or never done.

(iii) Unintended Sins Exempted:  Those who stop sinning after “receiving direction from God, will be pardoned for their past (sins)” (2:275). It is your “intention of heart” that mainly counts toward accountability for sins (33:5). Forgiveness may apply to a sin done without intention or knowledge such as drinking wine mistaken to be water. You may qualify for divine pardon if you sin by “force of necessity” (like eating haram food during famine), “without willful disobedience” (eating haram with extreme dislike) and “without transgressing due limits” (eating that haram at bare minimum quantity needed for survival only) (2:173). For example, you may get lenient treatment for lying to your dangerous enemy if needed for saving your life. Similarly, if a chaste woman, despite her modesty in mind, clothing and behavior, is forced into rape, then she is innocent. Another group that may receive divine Mercy is insane or mentally unstable.

(4) Optimism for Forgiveness: God’s Mercy: If you slip into a sin despite warning from God, you are advised to take advantage of “God’s pardon” and be quick in the “race for receiving (His) forgiveness” (4:110; 3:133). God does not “destroy communities for a single wrong-doing” as He “blots out sins and forgives time and again” “if you turn to Him in true repentance” (11:117; 4:43; 17:25). You do not have to worry about small sins if you can avoid “great sins or shameful acts” (53:32).  In this way, not only your current sins are erased, but also all your “past sins would be forgiven” if you can “turn back” on unbelief (8:38).  This also means your sinful past will be entirely clean if you switch to Islam from other religions or the darkness of atheism, as did happen for numerous companions of the Prophet. 

Pardon through Compensation: God not only forgives sin, He also opens some doors to clear off sins. For example, “some of your evils (sins) may be removed from you by acts of charity” or other good deeds (2:271). If you deliberately break oaths, then the compensation will be “freeing slaves” or “feeding ten hungry people” (5:89). If you kill a believer by mistake, the compensation will be freeing a believing slave and paying compensation to the deceased’s family (4:92). Likewise, if you address your wife as “mom”, your marital link will be severed for this obscenity and you can reconnect this tie only through “freeing a slave” or “2 months of consecutive fasting” or “feeding 60 hungry people” (58:3/4).  

Conclusion: The aforesaid liberal policy of forgiveness suggests that a small percentage of your sins will finally end up in punishment. This will enhance your chance for going to the Paradise and such optimism will be real if you try toward that goal. It is therefore conclusive that real salvation in the Afterlife after enjoyment of peaceful life in this world has a better chance only within the framework of Islam.