contents may 2006, vol.101, no€¦ · tanveer khokhar publisher: al shirkatul islamiyyah...

Special contributors:Amatul-Hadi AhmadFarina QureshiProofreaders:Abdul Ghany JahangeerKhan and Shaukia Mir

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Basit AhmadBockarie Tommy Kallon.Fareed AhmadFazal AhmadFauzia BajwaMansoor SaqiMahmood Hanif Mansoora Hyder-MuneebNavida ShahidSarah WaseemSaleem Ahmad MalikTanveer Khokhar

Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

All correspondence shouldbe forwarded to the editor at:

The Review of ReligionsThe London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QLUnited Kingdom

© Islamic Publications, 2006ISSN No: 0034-6721

CONTENTS May 2006, Vol.101, No.5

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Chief Editor and Manager: Mansoor Ahmed Shah

Management Board:Mr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman)Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary)Mr Naseer Ahmad QamarMr Mubarak Ahmad ZafarMr Mirza Fakhar AhmadMr. Abdul Baqi Arshad

Steadfastness of the the Holy Prophet(saw) part 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7An impostor could not have remained steadfast to his cause in the face of bitterpersecution as did the Holy Prophet(saw). Steadfastness is higher than a miracle.

Recantation Under Islam – Part 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30The Holy Qur’an prescribes no punishment for recanters and there is no evidence to showthat the Holy Prophet(saw) punished anyone for recantation from Islam.

Establishing Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22The teachings of love and brotherhood that are relevant for the existence of smallsocieties as well as for international relations.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) – Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad – Khalifatul Masih V

The Council of Nicaea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53How the early Christian compromised the most basic tenets of their faith under pressureand fear of Constantine, the Great. By Bockarie Tommy Kallon, London, UK.

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62The Truth About the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam.

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru) – Khalifatul Masih IV

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru) – Khalifatul Masih IV

COVER PIC: Sunset over Fistral Bay – Newquay, Cornwall. (picture by Fareed Ahmad)

Editorial: Freedom of Conscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Bockarie Tommy Kallon, London, UK.

Notes & Comments: Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman’s Status in Islam . . . 4The donning of the veil does not deprive Muslim women of their rights and elevated status. Khullat Munir, New York, USA.

Islam possesses a dynamiccharacter. Muslims are dutybound to seek to persuade othersabout the truth of Islam and ofthe beneficent values itadvocates. This is because themessage of Islam is universal.While some religions have setterritorial or racial limits toparticipation in their commu-nion, Islam brooks no suchlimitation. Claiming to be basedon truth, it invites the whole ofmankind to its fold and naturallywarns, constantly and exten-sively, of the dire moral andspiritual consequences thatwould follow from the rejectionor even neglect of the values thatit propounds. Importantly, how-ever, it grants everyone thefreedom to exercise his or hervolition in choosing to subscribeto it or not. Belief is a matter ofconscience and the consciencecannot be compelled.

Islam, therefore, stands for thefreedom of conscience which it

considers indispensable to theachievement of the object ofman’s life on earth. This includesthe freedom to profess, practise,propagate and, should hisconscience so impel him, toabjure his religion. This freedomis repeatedly and emphaticallyaffirmed by the Holy Qur’an somuch so that there should not bea scintilla of doubt on the matter.The noble example of the HolyProphet(saw) also makes it clearthat no coercion is to be appliedin religious matters. No non-Muslim can be forcibly con-verted to Islam nor can anyMuslim be forcibly declared anon-Muslim. The doors ofingress into Islam are open toanyone who, convinced of thetruth and beauty of Islam, affirmsthat he is a Muslim just as thedoors of egress are open to anyMuslim who, for whatever ill-fated reason, chooses to disavowhis faith in Islam.

Unfortunately, despite all this, a

2 The Review of Religions – May 2006

Bockarie Tommy Kallon – UK

EDITORIAL

section of the priestly classeswithin Islam, motivated bypolitical factors, developed andpropagated the abominablenotion that a professing Muslimcan recant from Islam only on thepain of death. This is a notionthat is not only abhorrent toIslam but indeed to the humanconscience. It renders nugatorythe freedom of conscience that isso emphatically guaranteed byIslam. If this misguided notionwere to be upheld, Islam wouldbe guilty of hypocrisy byexpecting adherents of otherreligions to give up their beliefsto embrace Islam while at thesame time denying its adherentsthe freedom to renounce Islamshould they be so inclined andwould thus create barriers in thepath of its own objectives.

As is argued in RecantationUnder Islam, featured thismonth, freedom of conversion isin fact the litmus test of freedomof conscience. Everyone must befree to affirm his faith voluntarilyor to proclaim his denial withoutrestraint. It cannot be a one-wayfreedom. Hadhrat Mirza Tahir

Ahmad(ru) bases his arguments onthe Holy Qur’an, the practice andthe traditions of the HolyProphet(saw) and events of theearly Islamic era to divest Islamof this reprehensible appur-tenance.

The development to dogmawithin religion, however, is notconfined to the four walls ofIslam. The Council of Nicaea,reproduced in this month’sedition, shows how Christianitywas influenced by the power ofpolitics not only to promulgate adistorted concept of godhead butalso to punish those who dared toreject it. Thus was to begin theindoctrination of the unfortunatemasses which only the advent ofthe Holy Prophet(saw) and Islamcould reverse.

3

EDITORIAL

The Review of Religions – May 2006

A burqah-clad woman fearing asshe crosses a street in broaddaylight with her child’s hand inher own, the veiled head of awoman whose face cannot beseen and stories of “honourkillings” – all these images ofwomen pervade media coverageof the status of women in theIslamic world.

The media alone should nothowever, be blamed for suchnegative coverage. In someinstances, it only reports what itsees and hears. Nations thatclaim to govern their populationsby Islamically-principled law, orShariah, are perpetuating,through their own practices,images of subjugation in relationto the status of women in Islam.One would be hard pressed tofind a legitimate authority onIslamic law and practice thatwould find today’s treatment of

women in Islamic nations inagreement with the guidelines setdown in the Holy Qur’an and thetraditions of the Holy Prophet(saw).This erroneous distortion of therole of women in Muslim societyhas to do with the socio-economic and political factors ofeach respective Islamic nation –but that is a separate issuealtogether. The fundamentaltenets of Islam offer liberation inits truest sense to women – notby the western standards of the21st century but by thehumanitarian principles ofequality and justice.

The principal right granted towomen in Islam – and somewould argue the most important– is that of spiritual equality tothe rest of mankind. WhereasJudeo-Christian tradition re-counts the creation of womenfrom the rib of a man, the Holy


Comments&Notes

Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman’s Status in Islam

Qur’an explicitly does not talk ofwhich gender begot which:

...Fear your Lord who createdyou from a single being andcreated therefrom its mate,and from the two spread manymen and women.(Ch.4:V.2)

As a direct parallel to previousmonotheistic religions, the HolyQur’an could not be clearer intelling us that there exists noinferiority in the status ofwomen. Yet in another account,the Bible relates the story ofAdam and Eve and holds Eveculpable as a temptress andpersuader of evil. The HolyQur’an tells the same storywithout any isolated blame onEve:

But Satan caused them both[Adam and Eve] to slip bymeans of it and drove themout of the state in which theywere...(Ch.2:V.37)

With the absence of particularblame held over Eve, it is clear

that women are not perceived asharbingers of evil and temptationin Islam.

Some would argue that Islamdictates that women are inherentsources of temptation for men –and that donning the veilcounteracts this temptation.Some go so far as to say that theveil is worn for the sole purposeof keeping men’s temptations atbay. Again, this is a grievousmisconception. The veil isutilised as a means of protectionfor women; it is a physicallymanifested barrier betweenherself and the harm that maybefall her. It is widely known thatincorporating the veil into one’sexternal appearance effectivelyinstils confidence in one’spersona. No longer must awoman completely rely on herphysical beauty to achieve hergoals and be successful insociety. This proves to beespecially true in westerncountries.

The rights granted by Islam inthe seventh century wererevolutionary and incredibly

5

NOTES AND COMMENTS


progressive for the time. In aperiod when female infanticidewas prevalent and women werebartered like livestock, Islambroke the chain of social normsand elevated women to newheights. The roles of women asmothers and wives are highlyrevered in Islam.

The Prophet Muhammad(saw)

elevated the status of womenthrough his own example of thetreatment of women in his life.Not once did he abuse his wivesphysically or mistreat them inany manner. Rather, he isreported to have said, ‘The bestamong you is he who treats hiswife the best.’ Concerningrespect for mothers, the ProphetMuhammad(saw) has establishedthat they are due three times overthe respect that is due to fathers.In light of these precedents, howcan Islam be thought unjust in itstreatment of women? Whencertain rights such as voting,inheritance, initiating divorce,alimony, child support, propertyownership and the like weregiven to women in the West inthe 20th century, how can Islam

be barbaric and backward in itsgranting of these same rights inthe early seventh century? Inaddition to these particularrights, the duties andresponsibilities of a woman aredefined according to hercapacity. Contrary to popularopinion in the West, Islam doesnot deprive women of their rightsand elevated status in society butprovides for women in a way thatis not wholly recognised by thecultural norms of westernsociety.

Khullat Munir, New York, USA.

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NOTES AND COMMENTS


7The Review of Religions – May 2006

That Prophet is superior to allother Prophets who is the

great Instructor of the world, thatis to say, he at whose hands thegreat corruption of the world wasreformed and who re-establishedon the earth the Unity of Godwhich had been lost and haddisappeared. He overcame allfalse religions by proof andargument and removed thedoubts of every misguided one.He provided the true means ofsalvation by teaching the rightprinciples for which it was notnecessary to crucify an innocentperson, or to remove God from

His true and eternal station and toput Him in the womb of awoman. Thus, his beneficenceand his grace exceed those ofeveryone else and his rank ishigher than all. History pointsout, and the heavenly Book is awitness, and those who have eyesare able to observe, that theProphet who is thus establishedas superior to all other Prophetsis Muhammad, the chosenone(saw).(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol.1, p.97, footnote 6)

It is worthy of note how stead-

This series sets out, in the words of the Promised Messiah(as), Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics: ISLAM; ALLAH,THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET(saw) and THE HOLY QUR’AN. Theoriginal compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated intoEnglish, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad Sahib, Allahhave mercy on him and reward him graciously for his great labour of love. Amin. TheEnglish rendering is by the late Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, may Allah be pleasedwith him, and is quoted from The Essence of Islam, Volume 1. All referencesthroughout, unless otherwise specifically mentioned, are from the Holy Qur’an.

Steadfasteness of the HolyProphet(saw) - Part 8


fastly the Holy Prophet(saw)

adhered to his claim ofProphethood right till the end,despite thousands of dangers andhundreds of thousands ofopponents and obstructers andthreateners. For years, heendured misfortunes and hard-ships which increased daily andrendered success apparentlyhopeless, and by enduring whichpatiently he had not in mind theachievement of any worldlypurpose. On the contrary, byputting forward his claim ofProphethood, he lost what he hadand purchased a hundred thou-sand contentions and invited athousand calamities to overtakehim. He was expelled from hishome, was pursued by slayers,lost his home and all it containedand was poisoned several times.Those who were his well-wishers began to wish him illand those who were his friendsturned into enemies. For a longperiod, he had to bear hardships,to be steadfast under which wasnot possible for a cunningimpostor.

When after a long time Islam

became supreme, the HolyProphet(saw) collected no wealthfor himself, nor did he raise anystructure, nor did he seek anymeans of comfort or luxury, nordid he derive any personalbenefit from anything. Whatevercame to hand was spent in takingcare of the poor, the orphans, thewidows and those burdened withdebt. He never ate his fill. Hewas so straightforward that byhis plain speaking and hispreaching of the Unity of God,he made enemies of all thepeoples of the world who weresunk in paganism. He convertedhis own people into enemies firstof all, by forbidding them idolworship. He upset the Jews forhe stopped them from indulgingin diverse types of creatureworship and exaltation of theirdivines and from misconduct.He stopped them from denyingand insulting Jesus(as) whichcaused them great heart burning,and they became his bitterenemies, and began to cast aboutfor means of destroying him. Inthe same way, he annoyed theChristians for he denied thegodhead of Jesus(as) and his being

STEADFASTNESS OF THE HOLY PROPHET(SAW)


the son of God, and denied hisbeing the crucified saviour. Thefire worshippers and the starworshippers were also annoyedwith him for they were alsoforbidden to worship theirdeities. The Unity of God wasproclaimed as the sole means ofattaining salvation. Were thesethe ways of winning the world?(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 1 pp. 108-109)

The Holy Prophet(saw) wasstraightforward and was ready tolay down his life for God, andturned wholly away from anyhope or fear of people, and puthis trust wholly in God, andbeing devoted to the will andpleasure of God, he cared notwhat calamities he would have toendure through preaching theUnity of God and what hardshipsmight be inflicted upon him bythe pagans. He endured everyhardship and carried out thecommandments of his Lord, andfulfilled all the conditions calledfor by his preaching andadmonition, and attached noimportance to any threat that washeld out to him. I say truly that of

all the Prophets there was nonewho put his full trust in God onall occasions of danger and wenton preaching against paganismand creature worship despite allhis enemies and was so steadfastand persevering as the Holy


The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was Hadhrat

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as). In 1891,he claimed, on the basis of Divinerevelation, that he was the PromisedMessiah and Mahdi whose adventhad been foretold by Muhammad,the Holy Prophet of Islam (peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him)and by the scriptures of other faiths. His claim constitutes the basis of thebeliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslimcommunity.


Prophet(saw).(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 1 pp. 111-112)

The calamities and hardships thatthe Holy Prophet(saw) had toendure during the thirteen yearsof his Makkan life cannot beimagined. My heart trembleswhen I think of them. Theydemonstrate his high resolve, hisgenerosity, his perseverance andhis steadfastness. What amountain of steadfastness he wasthat no difficulty could shakehim in the least. He did notslacken for a moment in thedischarge of his duty, nor was hesorrowful. No difficulty couldweaken his resolve. Some peopleout of misunderstanding enquire:why did he have to encounter allthese misfortunes and difficultieswhen he was the loved one ofGod and His chosen one? Iwould say to them that water isnot discovered till one digs in theearth and splits it through severalfeet. It is only then that agreeablewater is found which is the basisof life. In the same way, delightin the cause of God Almighty canbe procured only by stead-

fastness and firmness underdifficulties and misfortunes.How can those who are unawareof this spiritual experience evertaste and feel the delight offacing hardship? How on earthcan they imagine that wheneverthe Holy Prophet(saw) facedtrouble, a spring of felicity anddelight welled up in his heart,reinforcing his faith in God andin His love and succour.[Malfuzat, Vol. II, p. 307-308]

Divine Support for the HolyProphet(saw)

Is it not a matter for wonder thata poor, powerless, helpless, andunlearned orphan who was aloneat a time when every peoplepossessed a plenitude of finan-cial, military and intellectualmeans, brought such a brightteaching that he silencedeveryone with his conclusivearguments and clear proofs? Hepointed out the mistakes of thosewho were claimed as greatphilosophers. He exhibited suchpower that he pulled down rulersfrom their thrones and put poorpeople on them in their place. Ifthis was not Divine support, then



what was it? Can anyone over-come the whole world in reason,knowledge, strength and forcewithout Divine support?

Who was with the HolyProphet(saw) when he firstannounced to the people that hewas a Prophet? Did he possessthe treasury of any king relyingon which he took on the wholeworld as his opponents, or had heat his disposal a force relying onwhich he had become secureagainst the attacks of kings? Ouropponents know that the HolyProphet(saw) was at that time aloneand helpless and without anymeans. It was only God, Whohad created him for a greatpurpose, Who was with him andwas his sure support.(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 1 pp. 119-120)

On five occasions, the life of the

Holy Prophet(saw) was in seriousdanger and had he not been a trueProphet of God, he wouldcertainly have been destroyed.One was the occasion when thedisbelieving Quraish had sur-rounded his house and had swornthat they would kill him thatnight. The second occasion waswhen pursuers had arrived with alarge body of men at the entranceto the cave in which he had takenshelter along with Hadhrat AbuBakr(ra). The third occasion waswhen he had been left alone inthe battle of Uhud and theQuraish had surrounded him andattacked him in a body but werefoiled in their purpose. Thefourth occasion was when aJewish woman gave him meat toeat which had been saturatedwith a fatal poison. The fifthoccasion was when KhusroPervaiz, Emperor of Persia, hadmade up his mind to destroy him


He exhibited such power that he pulled down rulersfrom their thrones and put poor people on them in

their place. If this was not Divine support, then whatwas it? ‘ ’


and had sent his emissaries toarrest him. His delivery on allthese dangerous occasions andhis ultimate triumph over all hisenemies is conclusive proof thathe was righteous and God waswith him.(Chashma-e-Ma’rifat, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 263-264,footnote)

Perfect Morals of the HolyProphet(saw) in Adversity andVictoryProphets and saints are raised sothat people should follow them inall their moral qualities and thatall seekers after truth shouldtread the path along which Godhas made them steadfast. It isobvious that high moral qualitiesare proved by their exercise onthe proper occasion and it is onlythen that they are most effective.For instance, forgiveness ispraiseworthy when the wrongedone has the power to takerevenge, and piety is trustworthywhen it is exercised at a timewhen means of self-indulgenceare at hand. God’s design withregard to Prophets and saints isthat every type of high moral

quality should be manifested bythem and should be clearlyestablished.

To fulfil this design GodAlmighty divides their lives intotwo parts. One part is passed inhardships and under calamities,in which they are tormented andpersecuted so that those of theirhigh moral qualities might bemanifested which can only bemanifested during greathardship. If they are notsubjected to great hardship, itcannot be affirmed that they werefaithful to their Lord in the faceof all calamities and pressedfurther forward in the face ofhardships. They are grateful toGod Almighty that He chosethem for His favours andconsidered them worthy that theyshould be persecuted in Hiscause. God Almighty afflictsthem with misfortunes so thattheir endurance and steadfastnessand fidelity might be manifestedand they might illustrate theproverb that:

‘Steadfastness is higher thana miracle.’



Perfect steadfastness is notmanifested in the absence ofgreat hardships, and isappreciated when a person isgreatly shaken. These calamitiesare spiritual bounties in the caseof Prophets and saints, throughwhich their high qualities, inwhich they are matchless andpeerless, are manifested and theirranks are promoted in thehereafter. If they were notsubjected to severe trials, theywould not be awarded thesebounties, nor would their sterlingqualities be demonstrated to thecommon people. Their highresolve, fidelity and braverywould not be universallyacknowledged. They becamematchless, peerless, unique,unreachable, and so perfect andbrave as if each of them were athousand lions in one body and athousand leopards in one frame.Thus, their power and strengthheld high in everyone’sestimation and they arrived athigh ranks of nearness to God.

The second part of the lives ofProphets and saints is perfectedin victory, prestige and riches, so

that such of their high qualitiesmight be demonstrated for whichit is necessary to be victorious, topossess prestige, riches, author-ity and power. To forgive one’stormentors, and to forbear fromone’s persecutors, and to loveone’s enemies, and to wish wellto one’s ill-wishers, not to loveriches nor to be proud of them,and not to be miserly and to openwide the gates of beneficenceand generosity, and not to makeriches the means of self-indulgence, and not to makepower an instrument of tyrannyand transgression, are allqualities for the demonstration ofwhich it is necessary to possessriches and power. These qualitiesare demonstrated when a personpossesses both wealth andauthority.

As without passing through atime of trial and misfortune, andalso a time of prosperity andauthority, these two types of highqualities cannot be manifested,the Perfect Wisdom of the Divinedemanded that Prophets andsaints should be provided withboth these types of opportunities



which comprise thousands ofbounties. But the sequence ofboth these conditions is not thesame for everyone. DivineWisdom ordains in the case ofsome that the period of peace andcomfort should precede the timeof troubles, and in the case ofothers, troubles precede Divinehelp. In some these conditionsare not apparent and in othersthey are manifested to a perfectdegree. In this respect theforemost was the Holy Prophet(saw)

for both these conditions wereimposed upon him in theirperfection in such order that hishigh qualities were illumined likethe sun and thus was fulfilled theverse:

Thou dost surely possess highmoral excellences.(Ch.68:V.5)

The Holy Prophet(saw), havingbeen proved to be perfect in bothtypes of high qualities, thusproved the high qualities of allthe Prophets, inasmuch as heconfirmed their Prophethood andtheir Books and manifested theirbeing the favourites of God. Thisrepels the objection that themoral qualities of Jesus(as) inrespect of both these types werenot established to a perfectdegree, and indeed they were notestablished even with regard toone type. It is true that Jesus(as)

showed steadfastness underdistress, but the perfection of thisquality would only have beendemonstrated had Jesus(as)

obtained authority andsuperiority over his persecutors,had forgiven them from thebottom of his heart as the HolyProphet(saw), having obtainedcomplete victory over the


God Almighty bestowed great treasuries upon theHoly Prophet(saw) and he spent them all in the cause of

God and did not spend a penny on self-indulgence. Heraised no structures and built no mansions, but spent thewhole of his life in a mud hut, which was no differentfrom the dwelling of the poorest person.

‘’


Makkans and others and havingthem at his mercy, forgave them,with the exception of a few whohad been condemned by God toundergo punishment for theirspecific crimes. Having achievedvictory, he announced to them:

‘No blame shall lie on youon this day.’

On account of this forgivenesswhich had appeared impossiblein the estimation of hisopponents, who, consideringtheir own misdeeds, deemedthemselves already condemnedto death, thousands of peopleaccepted Islam within an hour.The steadfastness of the HolyProphet(saw) which he haddemonstrated for a long periodunder their severe persecutionbecame illumined in their eyeslike the sun. It is part of man’snature that the greatness of aperson’s steadfastness isillustrated perfectly when heforgives his persecutors afterobtaining power over them. Thatis why the high qualities ofJesus(as) in the matter ofsteadfastness and meekness and

endurance were not fullydemonstrated and it did notbecome clear whether hissteadfastness was by his choiceor was under compulsion.Jesus(as) did not acquire powerand authority over hispersecutors so that it cannot bedetermined whether he forgavehis enemies, or would haveavenged himself upon them.

As a contrast, the high qualitiesof the Holy Prophet(saw) weredemonstrated on hundreds ofoccasions and their reality shoneforth like the sun. The qualitiesof generosity, beneficence,sacrifice, bravery, piety,contentment and withdrawalfrom the world were demonstrat-ed more clearly and brilliantly inthe case of the Holy Prophet(saw)

than in the case of any otherProphet. God Almightybestowed great treasuries uponthe Holy Prophet(saw) and he spentthem all in the cause of God anddid not spend a penny on self-indulgence. He raised nostructures and built no mansions,but spent the whole of his life ina mud hut, which was no



different from the dwelling of thepoorest person. He behavedbenevolently towards those whohad persecuted him and helpedthem in their distress out of hisown resources. He lived in asmall adobe hut and slept on theground and ate of barley bread orwent without food. He wasgranted abundant wealth of theworld, but he did not soil his holyhands with it and alwayspreferred poverty to wealth andmeekness to power. From the dayof his advent to the day when hereturned to his Companion onHigh, he attached no importanceto anything except to his Lord.He gave proof of his bravery,fidelity and steadfastness inbattle against thousands ofenemies, solely for the sake ofGod, when death appeared acertainty.

In short, God Almighty mani-fested such high qualities asbenevolence, piety, contentment,bravery and all that pertained tothe love of the Divine in the HolyProphet(saw) the like of which hadnot appeared in the world beforehim, nor will appear after him. In

the case of Jesus(as), these highqualities were not clearlyestablished for they can only beproved in a period of power andriches and these were not grantedto Jesus(as). Thus in his case, bothtypes of qualities remainedhidden as conditions for theirdemonstration were not present,but this objection which can beraised against the deficiency inthe case of Jesus has been re-pelled by the perfect example ofthe Holy Prophet(saw) inasmuch ashis beneficent example perfectsand completes the case of everyProphet, and through himwhatever had remained hidden ordoubtful in the case of Jesus(as)

and other Prophets shone forthbrightly. Revelation andProphethood came to an end inthat holy person in the sense thatall excellences reached theirclimax in him. This is the graceof Allah. He bestows it uponwhom He wills.(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 1 pp. 276-292,footnote 11)

God Almighty divided the life ofour Holy Prophet(saw) into two




parts, one of pain and troublesand suffering and the other ofvictory, so that during the periodof suffering those qualities mightbe manifested which belong tothe period of suffering, and in theperiod of victory and power,those qualities might bedemonstrated that cannot beestablished without power. Thus,both types of qualities wereclearly established in his case byhis passing through both theseperiods. By reading the history ofhis period of distress, whichextended over thirteen years inMakkah, it becomes clear that hedemonstrated those qualitieswhich the perfectly righteousdemonstrate in the period ofdistress, that is to say, trusting inGod and abstaining fromcomplaining and not slackeningin his work and not standing inawe of anyone, in such mannerthat the disbelievers believed onwitnessing such steadfastnessand bore witness that unless aperson had full trust in God, hecould not endure suffering withsuch steadfastness.

When the stage of victory, power

and prosperity arrived the highqualities of the Holy Prophet(saw)

– his forgiveness, generosity,bravery – were demonstrated soperfectly that a large number ofdisbelievers observing thosequalities believed in him. Heforgave his persecutors and gavesecurity to those who hadexpelled him from Makkah andenriched their needy ones.Having obtained authority overhis principal enemies, he forgavethem. Many people, observinghis high qualities, testified thatunless a person came from Godand was truly righteous, he couldnot possess such qualities. Thatis why the old rancour of hisenemies was immediatelyremoved. The Holy Qur’antestifies to his exemplary moralsin this verse:

Say, ‘My Prayer and mysacrifice and my life anddeath are all for Allah, theLord of the worlds.’(Ch.6:V.163)

This means that: Tell them thatmy worship and my sacrifice andmy life and my death are all for



God alone, that is my whole lifeis devoted to manifesting theglory of God and providingcomfort for His creatures so thatwith my death they might regainspiritual life.[Islami Usul ki Philosophy,Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 10, pp.447-448]

Greater than all honours is thehonour of the Holy Prophet(saw)

which has affected the wholeIslamic world. His honourrevived the world. In Arabia,adultery, drinking and fightingwere rife. Human rights werecompletely disregarded. Therewas no sympathy for mankind.Even the rights of God wererepudiated altogether. Stones andplants and stars were investedwith Divine attributes. Diversetypes of shirk were widespread.Not only man but even humangenitals were worshipped. If aperson possessing a sane naturewere to observe those conditionseven for a short while he wouldbehold a terrible scene ofdarkness, wrongdoing andtyranny. Paralysis strikes on oneside, but this was a paralysis

which had struck both sides. Theworld had been completelycorrupted. There was securityneither on water nor on land.

The Holy Prophet(saw) appeared inthis age of darkness anddestruction, and reformedperfectly both sides of thebalance and re-established therights of God and the rights ofman on their true centre. Themoral power of the HolyProphet(saw) can be estimated byconsidering the condition of theage. The persecutions to whichhe and his followers were sub-jected and the treatment that heaccorded to his enemies, when heobtained power over them,demonstrate the height of hisrank.

There was no torment that AbuJahl and his companions did notinflict upon the Holy Prophet(saw)

and his devoted companions.Poor Muslim women were tied tothe legs of camels which werethen driven in opposite directionsand their bodies were thus tornasunder; their only offence beingthat they believed:



There is none worthy ofworship except Allah.’

He endured everything withsteadfastness and when Makkahfell, he forgave his enemies,reassuring them: No blame shalllie on you this day. This was theperfection of high moral qualitieswhich is not found in any otherProphet. Send down Thyblessings O Allah onMuhammad(saw) and his people.(Malfuzat, Vol. II, pp. 79-80)

True Victory of the HolyProphet(saw)

The community of the HolyProphet(saw) had developed suchunity and spiritual oneness thatthrough the spirit of Islamicbrotherhood, they had all becomelike the limbs of one body. Therays of the light of Prophethood

had so coloured their daily livesand their overt and covertconduct, that they had becomethe reflections of the HolyProphet(saw). This great miracle ofinner change, through whichrank idol worshippers becamesincere worshippers of God andthose who were sunk in the worldevery moment established suchstrong relationship with God thatthey shed their blood like waterin His cause, was the result oftheir spending their lives in fullsincerity in the company of thetrue and perfect Prophet(saw).(Fath-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in,Vol. 3, pp. 21-22)

The life of the Holy Prophet(saw)

was a life of grand success. In hishigh moral qualities, his spiritualpower, his high resolve, theexcellence and perfection of his

This great miracle of inner change, through whichrank idol worshippers became sincere worshippers of

God and those who were sunk in the world every momentestablished such strong relationship with God that theyshed their blood like water in His cause, was the result oftheir spending their lives in full sincerity in thecompany of the true and perfect Prophet(saw)

‘’



teaching, his perfect example andthe acceptance of his prayers, inshort, in every aspect of his life,he exhibited such bright signsthat even a person of lowintelligence, provided he is notinspired by unreasonable rancourand enmity, is forced to confessthat he was the perfect exampleof reflecting Divine qualities andwas indeed the perfect man.[Al-Hakam, 10 April 1902, p. 5]

Have you any notion what wasthe strange event that occurred inthe desert country of Arabiawhen hundreds of thousands ofthe dead were revived within abrief period and those who hadbeen misguided throughgenerations put on Divine colour,and those who were blindobtained sight, and those whohad been dumb began to speak ofthe understanding of the Divine,and the world underwent arevolution which had never beenseen or heard of before? It wasthe supplications during darknights of one who had losthimself in God which raised aclamour in the world, andmanifested such wonders as

appeared impossible in the caseof that unlearned helpless one.Send down Thy blessings andpeace, O Allah, on him and hispeople according to the amountof pain and anguish he felt for hisUmmah, and pour down uponhim the lights of Thy mercyforever.[Barakat-ud-Du’a, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 6, pp. 10-11]

Whatever happened in thebeginning of Islam was the resultof the supplications of the HolyProphet(saw) which he hadsubmitted to God Almighty withhis tears in the streets of Makkah.All the grand victories whichchanged the entire aspect of theworld were the result of hisprayers. The weakness of hiscompanions may be judged fromthe fact that in the battle of Badr,between them they possessedonly three wooden swords.[Al-Hakam, 17 September 1906,p. 4]

The reform that was carried outby our lord and master, the HolyProphet(saw) was very sweepingand general, and was acknow-

ledged on all hands. This degreeof reform had not been achievedby any previous Prophet. Ifanyone studies the history ofArabia, he would come to knowhow bigoted the idolworshippers, Jews, andChristians of the time were, andhow much their reform had beendespaired of for centuries. Thenthe teachings of the Holy Qur’an,which were wholly opposed tothem, proved so effective thatthey swept aside every falsedoctrine and every vice.Drinking was abolished, gam-

bling was discarded, infanticidewas put down and everythingthat was opposed to compassionand justice and purity wassuppressed. It is true also thatoffenders were suitably punishedfor their offences. No one can,however, deny the greatness ofthe reform that was carried out.(Nur-ul-Qur’an No. 1, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 9, p. 366 footnote)

21



References to the Holy Qur’an item count ‘Bismillah...’ (In the Name of Allah...) asthe first verse of each Chapter. In some non-standard texts, this is not counted andshould the reader refer to such texts, the verse quoted in The Review of Religions willbe found one verse less than the number quoted.

In this journal, for the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘(saw)’ or ‘saw’ after the words,‘Holy Prophet’, or the name ‘Muhammad’, are used. They stand for ‘Sallallahu‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning ‘Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’. Likewise,the letters ‘(as)’ or ‘as’ after the name of all other prophets is an abbreviationmeaning ‘Peace be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis salatu wassalam’ which arewords that a Muslim utters out of respect whenever he or she comes across that name.

The abbreviation ‘ra’ or (ra) stands for ‘Radhiallahu Ta’ala anhu and is used forCompanions of a Prophet, meaning Allah be pleased with him or her (when followedby the relevant Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘ru’ or (ru) for Rahemahullahu Ta’ala meansthe Mercy of Allah the Exalted be upon him. In keeping with current universalpractice, local transliterations are preferred to their anglicised versions, e.g. Makkahinstead of Mecca, etc.


All distinguished guests, ladiesand gentlemen

Assalamu alaikumwarahmatullahi wabarakatuhuthat is, Peace and blessings ofAllah be upon you.

Today I am going to say a fewwords about Islam with referenceto the present prevailingcondition in the world regardingIslam.

There are many religions in theworld today. A majority of these

religions are confined to theirrespective countries or specificareas. A majority of the believersof such religions belong to somecountry or region. Some of thegreat religions exist in manycountries of the world.

The Christians are said to top theleague followed by Muslims.Then there are Hindus, Budhistsand Jews. If we look around, thenbelievers of different faiths,somewhere or another, and insome form or the other, areengaged in a battle to express

Establishing PeaceAn address by HadhratMirza Masroor Ahmad,Head of the worldwideAhmadiyya Muslimcommunity to aninternational audienceof leading politiciansand dignitaries at areception in Sydney,Australia on 15 April2006.


their superiority in the area oftheir interest. According to thesereligions, by and large, thestruggle for rights cannot beattributed to their religion but isconceived as a struggle forfreedom and liberty or the rightsof that particular country.

But when Muslims struggle forthese rights, the world targetsIslamic teachings and condemnsit as being responsible for theviolence. Muslims or the religionof Islam is presented as a religionof terror. Admittedly, this may bedue to the wrong actions of a fewof the so-called Muslimorganisations. However, theknee-jerk response of theseorganisations is also due to thedouble standards that prevailamongst the superpowers.

I do not, for a moment, condonethe act of these so-called Jihadiorganisations; but I will say this,that if the powerful nationsunderstand their responsibilitiesand do not use double standards,then true justice can beestablished in the world.

If this does not happen then theresult is already there to see forus all. It is nearly one hundredyears since the nations agreedmutually to abolish wars and livein peace but they have notsucceeded in stopping the wars.What is the reason for this? Theanswer, as I have just said, is thatthere are double standards forjustice.

However, I stand here not tospeak on this subject. In this brieftime, I only want to speak aboutthe teachings of love andbrotherhood that are relevant forthe existence of the smallestcomponent of societies as well asfor international relations.

I would like to say one thing. Wecan have peace in this world ifthe majority of the believers inthis world, of whatever religion,develop in themselves the fear oftheir Lord.

We Ahmadis firmly believe thatwithout turning to God, all ourefforts for peace will provefruitless. It is for this verypurpose that Allah the Almighty

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has sent in this age, HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) ofQadian to unite people in thebeautiful teachings of Islam anddraw the attention of mankindtowards honouring anddischarging the rights of man. Inlight of this beautiful teaching ofIslam, Ahmadis are conveying itto the world.

I would like to present to yousome of the excellent teachingsfrom the Holy Qur’an so that youcan realise that Islam is not areligion of terrorism but gives amessage of peace.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

You are the best people raisedfor the good of mankind; youenjoin what is good andforbid evil…(Ch.3:V.111)

This is the fundamental lessonthat has been given to Muslims tocreate high moral standards andpeace in the world. It says thatyou are the best people or willbecome the best people onlywhen you are beneficial to God’s

creatures, when you promotegoodness and prevent evil.

Then, the Almighty Allah says:

…And help one another inrighteousness and piety; buthelp not one another in sinand transgression…(Ch.5:V.3)

Now, those who are orderedneither to transgress nor helpanyone in transgression arecautioned. Every sensible personknows the definition oftransgression. Everyone whoindulges in violating the rights ofhis neighbour is guilty oftransgression. Everyone whobreaks the law of the land isguilty of transgression. Anyonewho indulges in any vice is alsoguilty of transgression.

After enjoining to help each otherin good works and to desist fromsin and excess, the Holy Qur’anhas pointed out what the goodworks are. As Allah says:

And the servants of theGracious God are those who

ESTABLISHING PEACE


walk on earth in a dignifiedmanner, and when theignorant address them, theysay, “Peace!”(Ch.25:V.64)

In other words, these truly piouspeople walk on earth without anyarrogance. They are recognisedby their humility. They do theirutmost to avoid being involved inany disorder. How can one expectthat a home of such a personwould have any disputes or thathis neighbours would be upsetwith him or that he would commitan illegal act? Surely, he wouldnever do that.

Then, again, Islam teaches that ifyou develop such excellentmorals, you will be the recipientsof the love of the Almighty Allah.

As Allah says:

Those [meaning the God-fearing] who spend inprosperity and adversity, andthose who suppress anger andpardon men; and Allah lovesthose who do good.(Ch.3:V.135)

Muslims are enjoined to spend inthe way of Allah. It has beenexplained in another place that itis important to help the poor andthe needy and to spread the trueword of Islam. This is importantfor everyone who wishes tocreate peace on this earth.

Suppression of anger is also partof human nature. When someoneis oppressed or is exceedinglymistreated, the reaction is anger.In this verse, one is enjoined tosuppress anger and to develop ahabit of forgiveness, because ifyou suppress your anger andforgive, you will be doing goodand Allah likes those who dogood to others.

It may cross someone’s mind thatgiven such teachings offorgiveness, why do we see somany battles in the early historyof Islam? Why were these battlesfought in the time of the HolyProphet(saw)?

Before I discuss this, I mustmention that the teachings of theHoly Qur’an are entirely inaccord with human nature. All

ESTABLISHING PEACE


the commandments are focusedon developing peace anddiscipline in the society. Now, ifcriminals are also forgiven, thewhole society will be full ofcrimes. Therefore, Islam enjoinsthat the real purpose is toeliminate evil. If reformation cantake place by forgiveness and bydoing good, then that is fine; butif it cannot, then the mattershould be submitted to law andthe one who commits evil deedsshould be punished.

However, there should be noexcess because the real purposeof punishment is reformation andnot petty vengeance. This is thebeautiful teaching of Islam.

Now, let us see how and underwhat circumstances the battleswere fought by the Muslims.When the Founder of Islam, theHoly Prophet Muhammad(saw),claimed that he had been sent asa Prophet of God, his messagewas to worship one God and togive up the worship of manyidols. These idols were placed inthe Ka’aba and because theywere man-made they could not

grant anything. When theProphet(saw) invited his people tocome to the one God Who grantsevery need of human beings, heand those who believed in histeachings were mercilesslypersecuted and some weremassacred in the most brutalmanner. It was so cruel that amidexcruciating cries, they were tiedbetween two camels and thecamels made to run in oppositedirection leaving the victim splitinto two parts.

As a result of this torture andpersecution, the Holy ProphetMuhammad(saw) and his Muslimcompanions migrated toMadinah. Even here, theMuslims were not left in peaceand the disbelieving Makkansmade preparations and attackedthe Muslims in Madinah. Allahthe Almighty considered that tobe the last straw that broke thecamel’s back and grantedpermission to Muslims to fightback the disbelievers. As Allahsays in the Holy Qur’an:

Permission to fight is given tothose against whom war is

ESTABLISHING PEACE


made because they have beenwronged – and Allah indeedhas power to help them –those who have been drivenfrom their homes unjustlyonly because they said, “OurLord is Allah” – And if Allahdid not repel some men bymeans of others, there wouldsurely have been pulled downcloisters and churches andsynagogues and mosques,wherein the name of Allah isoft commemorated. And Allahwill surely help one who helpsHim. Allah is indeedPowerful, Mighty.(Ch.22:Vs.40-41)

It was in this condition that theMuslims were permitted torespond to the infidels. Becausethey had been victimised, Allahthe Almighty promised them thatHe would aid and assist them. Justover three hundred men, many ofwhom were weak and poorlyequipped for the battle, came outto face and ultimately overcamemore than a thousand well-armedand equipped infidels.

Allah Almighty clearly states

that ‘If I do not help you then onereligion will start attackinganother religion and thus destroypeace.’ Religion is a matter of theheart. Force is not permitted inreligion. If one does not like aparticular religion, one does nothave to follow it. By declaringthat there is no compulsion in thematter of religion, Islam hasgiven religious freedom toeveryone to adopt whateverreligion one likes.

In short, what I mean to say isthat wherever permission isgranted for battle, it is only forthe sake of defence, to maintainpeace and to stop terrorism. TheHoly Prophet Muhammad(saw)

always followed the way offorgiveness and doing goodworks as Allah the Almighty hascommanded.

I have already mentioned thecruelty and persecution that werecarried out against the Muslimsin Makkah and various armedattacks that were carried outagainst them afterwards. Wemust keep that scenario in mindwhen we look at the time the

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Muslims gained the final victoryof Makkah about eight yearsafter migration.

A majority of the persecutedMuslims many of whom werestill alive remembered what hadbeen done to them, their wivesand descendents who had beencruelly persecuted.

A ten thousand strong Muslimarmy finally entered Makkah butthe Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw)

declared, ‘I am a Messenger ofpeace to the world, I lovehumanity and I am an enemy oftyranny and persecution.Therefore, O Makkans! You willnot be punished today, providedyou do not fight. You can dowhat you like. You can practisewhatever religion you like. Noone will question you today.’ Hismagnanimity and forgivenessextended even to Ikrama, whowas the worst enemy of Islamand had even attacked theMuslims that day of amnesty.

When Ikrama fled after beingdefeated, upon the plea of hiswife, the Holy Prophet

Muhammad(saw) forgave him. TheHoly Prophet Muhammad(saw)

advised all his Muslimcompanions to forgive with openhearts their erstwhile enemieswho had persecuted them andhad subjected them to variouskinds of tortures. Therefore, theyall forgave their enemies. Thesewere the high moral standards offorgiveness that were displayedby the Holy ProphetMuhammad(saw) and hisCompanions. They not onlyforgave but showed grace becausetheir real purpose was to establishpeace and not take an eye for aneye. In view of this beautifulrevenge that they took from theirenemies, the enemies themselvesfell in love with them and startedgathering under their banner.

All this forgiveness and gooddeeds that were performed wereonly because the Holy ProphetMuhammad(saw) and hisCompanions wanted to gain thepleasure of Allah the Almighty.They had neither personalinterest in mind nor any desire toshow any superiority. Their onlywish was that the world should

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recognise their God and establishHis Kingdom on earth.

Therefore, instead of blamingIslam or any other religion, peacecan only be established if wecome together for the sake ofbetterment of humanity and forthe sake of gaining the pleasureof our Creator.

Alas! Were the world tounderstand this principle andgive up its false ego so that thisbeautiful world of God Almightycan become a paradise for Hiscreatures.

Finally, I am most grateful to allthe guests who have come heretoday and listened to me. This isalso an expression of love thatyou have shown. It is a livingproof that you possess thepatience to listen so that theworld can develop a climate ofpeace, amity and brotherliness.

Thank you and may Allah blessyou all and let you work for thecause of peace and let you, thosewho are MPs and other officials,work for the cause of your

country and nation and create apeaceful atmosphere in thiscountry.

Thank you very much.

ESTABLISHING PEACE


‘Write down for me the nameof everyone who calls himselfa Muslim.’Muhammad(saw)

The concept of apostasy, as itexisted in medieval Christianityand as expounded by MaulanaMaududi, is alien to Islam. Thereis not even a word for it in theArabic language. There is nodoubt that some early Muslimscholars of law consideredrecantation from Islam to be acapital offence, but theirdefinition of ‘Muslim’ was sobroad that no one calling himselfa Muslim could be called arecanter. The Prophet(saw) gave ustwo definitions of a Muslim. Atthe time of the first census ofMadinah, the Prophet(saw) said:‘Write down for me the name ofeveryone who calls himself aMuslim.’1 On another occasion

the Prophet(saw) said: ‘Whoeverprays as we pray and turns to ourQiblah and eats what we rituallyslaughter is a Muslim; he isdhimmat-Allah and dhimmat al-rasul. So do not put Allah incontravention of his dhimmah[responsibility].’2

But Maulana Maududi and theulema, supporting dictatorshipsand autocracies in Muslimcountries, have added variousqualifications to the Prophet’s(saw)

simple definition. In the words ofAl-Ghazali (450-505AH/AD1058-1113) they have limited: ‘Thevast Mercy of God to makeparadise the preserve of a smallclique of theologians.’3 Theresult of their effort has beensummed up by the former chiefjustice of Pakistan, MuhammadMunir, who presided over theCourt of Inquiry into the Punjab

RECANTATION UNDERISLAM– Part 6This is the sixth extract from the ‘Murder in the Name of Allah’ by HadhratMirza Tahir Ahmad, dealing with Jama’at Islami’s founder, MaulanaMaududi’s misinterpretation of the Islamic concept of Jihad.


(Pakistan) Disturbances in 1953.He said:

‘Keeping in view the severaldefinitions given by theulema, need we make anycomment except that no twolearned divines are agreed onthis fundamental? If weattempt our own definition, aseach learned divine has, andthat definition differs from allothers, we all leave Islam’sfold. If we adopt thedefinition given by anyone ofthe ulema, we remainMuslims according to theview of that alim, but kafirsaccording to everyone else’sdefinition.’4

Justice Munir’s observation mustbe read with reference to theProphet’s(saw) reprimand toUsama b. Zayd. In the raid ofGhalib b. Abdullah al-Kalbi,according to Ibn Ishaq, a manwas killed by Usama b. Zayd andanother. Reporting this incident,Usama b. Zayd said:

‘When I and a man of Ansarovertook him and attacked

him with our weapons hepronounced the Shahadah,but we did not stay our handsand killed him. When wecame to the Prophet(sa) andtold him what had happened,he said: “Who will absolveyou, Usama, from ignoringthe confession of faith?” Itold him that the man hadpronounced the words merelyto escape death, but herepeated his question andcontinued to do so until Iwished that I had never been aMuslim before that day andthat I had never killed theman. I asked him to forgiveme and promised that I wouldnever kill a man whopronounced the Shahadah.The Prophet(saw) said: “Youwill say it after me (after mydeath), Usama?” and I saidthat I would.’5

The Prophet(saw) knew that despitehis concern for the lives of Sha-hadah-pronouncing Muslims,they would still be killed bymisguided people under Islam’sname. According to the report inthe Musnad Imam Ahmad ibn

RECANTATION UNDER ISLAM – PART 6


Hanbal, the Prophet(saw) alsoasked Usama whether he hadopened his victim’s heart tocheck the authenticity of hisfaith.6 And yet the power-hungryand politically orientated ulemacontinue to incite ignorantMuslims to kill their Muslimbrothers – Muslims whoseviewpoint differed slightly fromtheir own – as if, on opening theirhearts, they had discovered thefaith of such Muslims was false.

Regarding recantation, theQur’an uses the word irtadda,which means that no one has theright to declare any other Muslimmurtadd. As Imam RaghibIsfahan7 explains, the wordirtidad means to retrace one’ssteps back to the point fromwhere one came. The word isespecially associated withrecantation – returning to kufr(disbelief) from Islam, e.g.‘Surely those who turn theirbacks after the guidance hathbeen manifested unto them’;(Ch.47:V.26) and ‘whoso of youbecometh renegade from hisreligion’. (Ch.5:V.55)

The Holy Qur’an has used theword ‘ridda’ in the intransitivemeasure (i.e. ifti’al) which meansthat everyone has an option butno one has been given the right todeclare another an apostate. It isa voluntary action and no outsideagency can play any part in it. Itis this aspect of free will whichdistinguishes irtidad from theChristian and Maududianconcept of apostasy, which wediscussed in the last chapter.Apostasy and its punishmentrequires an external authority, thechurch or state. It is likeexecution or, rather, murder.Irtidad is like suicide. One canexecute or murder, but no onecan ‘suicide’ someone.

Surah Al-Kafirun, revealed in theearly period of the Prophet’s(saw)

ministry, is a direct statement ofpolicy on the subject of freedomof conscience. The Prophet(saw)

was asked to tell unbelieversthere was absolutely no meeting-point between their way of lifeand his. As they were incomplete disagreement, not onlywith regard to the basic conceptsof religion, but also with regard



to its details and other aspects,there could not possibly be anycompromise between them.Hence, ‘For you, your religion,for me, my religion’.(Ch.109:V.7)

The Prophet(saw) was alsorepeatedly told not to worry ifunbelievers were not ready toaccept his message. He was nottheir wakil (guardian). God says:‘Thy people have rejected (themessage that We have sentthrough thee), though it is thetruth. Say: “I am not appointed awakil over you.”’8 This statementwas made in the Makkan period,when the Prophet(saw) and hisfollowers were persecuted. Yeton his arrival in Madinah, thestatement was exactly the same,even though he now had power.It was, in fact, made even moreexplicit.

The first Madinite surah inwhich the subject of freedom ofconscience was discussed wasAl-Baqarah. The 257th verse ofthe surah contains the clearestpronouncement on the subject:

There shall be no compulsionin religion. Surely guidancehas become distinct fromerror, whosoever refuses to beled by those who transgressand believes in Allah hassurely grasped a stronghandle which knows nobreaking. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.(Ch.2:V.257)

This is the confident declarationof a prophet who has organisedan umma in a town where hispower is supreme. Lest thesubject of jihad bemisunderstood, Muslims are toldthat true virtue lies in good worksand good faith (Ch.2:Vs. 255-258) and the Majesty of God iscalled to mind in the Throneverse (Ch.2:V.256). Thecommandment of ‘no com-pulsion in religion’ comesimmediately after the Throneverse. Readers of the Qur’anmight have thought God wantedMuslims to spread Islam byforce, because of its call to fightthe umma’s enemies and to offerspecial sacrifices to Allah. So theverse tells Muslims in no



uncertain terms not to resort toviolence in the name ofconversion. The importance ofthis verse can be gauged from ahadith quoted in Jami’ ofTirmidhi. He said that the peak ofthe Qur’an is Al-Baqarah andthat Satan shall not enter thehouse of anyone who recites tenverses of this chapter (i.e. thefirst four verses, the Throneverse, the two verses whichfollow it – 257-258 – and the lastthree verses).

This principle of no compulsionwas reiterated after the victory ofBadr (Ch.3:V.21) and again inAl-Ma‘idah, which is the lastrevealed surah. Now thatMuhammad’s(saw) authority wasfully established, not only inMadinah but also in Makkah, itwas vital to emphasise that theProphet’s(saw) only role was toconvey the word of Allah. ‘ObeyAllah and obey the Messenger,and be on your guard, but if you

turn away, then remember thatthe duty of Our Messenger isonly to convey the messageclearly.’ (Ch.5:V.93) And finally:‘The Messenger’s duty is only toconvey the message. And Allahknows what you reveal and whatyou hide.’ (Ch.5:V.100)Religious belief is a personalmatter. It is God alone – not thestate or the religious authorities –who knows what one reveals toGod or what one hides.

This verse leads to the subject ofmunafiqun – the hypocrites. Theterm munafiqun describes thoseinhabitants of Madinah who hadoutwardly accepted Islam, butwhose belief was suspect forvarious reasons. There are manyreferences to them in the Qur’an,but in four passages they aredefined as murtadd (recanters).The first reference is in SurahMuhammad. This is a Madinitesurah which briefly describes theaims of war according to Islam. It


Religious belief is a personal matter. It is God alone –not the state or the religious authorities – who

knows what one reveals to God or what one hides.‘ ’


says that while believerswelcome a revelation calling onthem to fight for Allah,munafiqun feel as if they arebeing led to their slaughter. Inthis way, true believers areseparated from those whose faithis shallow or false. It goes on tosay:

Surely those who turn theirbacks [irtaddu] afterguidance has becomemanifest to them, Satan hasseduced them, and holds outfalse hopes to them. That isbecause they said to thosewho hate what Allah hasrevealed, ‘We will obey you insome matters’ and Allahknows their secrets. (Ch.47:Vs.26-27)

The verses quoted above mentionno punishment for these people.

The next reference to themunafiqun is in the Surah Al-Munafiqun, which was revealedtowards the end of 6AH/AD628.The surah exposes the infidelityand dishonesty of the munafiqunand condemns their open

profession of faith as false andtreacherous. This was a publicreprimand:

Allah bears witness that thehypocrites are liars. Theirfaith is a pretext so that theymay turn people away fromthe way of Allah. Evil is thatwhich they practise. That isbecause they first believedand thereafter disbelieved; soa seal was set upon theirhearts and they have nounderstanding… They are theenemy, so beware!... it is thesame for them whether thouask for forgiveness for themor not. Allah will neverforgive them, surely Allahguides not a rebelliouspeople. (Ch.63:Vs.2-7)

The last two references to themunafiqun are in one of the lastrevealed surahs, Al-Taubah:‘Offer no excuse, you havecertainly disbelieved afterhaving believed. If We forgive agroup of you, a group shall Wepunish, for they have beenguilty.’ (Ch.9:V.66) Those to be



forgiven are obviously such ofthe munafiqun who repented andbecame sincere Muslims. Asregards those who are to bepunished, one verse further downwe read: ‘Allah promises thehypocrites – both men andwomen – and the disbelievers thefire of hell, wherein they shallabide. It will suffice them. Andthey shall have everlastingpunishment.’ (Ch.9.V.68) And,finally:

They swear by Allah that theysaid nothing, but they did saythe word of disbelief and diddisbelieve after they hadembraced Islam… So if theyrepent, it will be better forthem, but if they turn away,Allah will punish them with agrievous punishment in thisworld and the hereafter. Andthey shall have neither friendnor helper in the earth.(Ch.9.V.74)9

The Prophet(saw) knew thatAbdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul wasthe leader of the munafiqun, buthe took no action against him.On the contrary, the Prophet(saw)

prayed for him when he died.Umar b. al-Khattab(ra) is reportedto have said:

‘When the Prophets(saw) wentand stood by the dead body ofAbdullah b. Ubayy and wasabout to pray, I asked him:“Are you going to pray overGod’s enemy?” TheProphet(saw) smiled and said:“Get behind me, Umar. I havebeen given a choice and Ihave chosen. It was said tome: ‘Ask pardon for them orask it not. Even if you askpardon for them seventytimes God will not pardonthem’. If I knew that byasking pardon more thanseventy times he would be


Freedom of conversion is the acid test of ‘nocompulsion in religion’. It cannot be a one-way

freedom – the freedom to enter Islam, but not to leaveit. ‘ ’


forgiven, I would do it.” Thenhe prayed over him andwalked with his dead bodyand stayed at his grave untilhe was buried.’10

Freedom of conversion is theacid test of ‘no compulsion inreligion’. It cannot be a one-wayfreedom – the freedom to enterIslam, but not to leave it. Thereare ten direct references torecantation in the Qur’an: one inthe Makkan surah of Al-Nahl andthe remaining nine in theMadinite surahs. In none of theseverses is there the slightest hintof capital punishment for thosewho recant.

One of the Qur’an’s most explicitstatements on recantation is the143rd verse of Al-Baqarah. TheQiblah was changed fromJerusalem to Makkah in thesecond year of Hijrah. Ibn Ishaqreports:

‘And when the Qiblah waschanged from Syria to theKabah, Rifaa b. Qays,Qardam b.Amr, Kab b. al-Ashraf, Rafib Abu Rafi, al-

Hajjaj b. Amr and an ally ofKab’s, al-Rabi b. al-Rabi b.Abul-Huqayq and Kinana b.al-Rabi b. Abul Huqayq cameto the Prophet(saw) and asked:‘Why have you turned yourback on the Qiblah you usedto face when you claimed tofollow the religion ofAbraham? If you returned tothe Qiblah in Jerusalem wewould follow you and declareyou to be true.’ Their soleintention was to seduce himfrom his religion. So Godsaid: ‘We appointed theQiblah, which you formerlyobserved, only to distinquishbetween he who will followthe Messenger and those whowill not – to test and fetchthem out. In truth, it was ahard test except for thosewhom Allah guided.’11

The Qur’an prescribes nopunishment for these recanters.And history records thepunishment of no one whorecanted after the change of theQiblah.

Surah Al-Imran, which was



revealed after the victory ofBadr, 2AH/AD624, contains thefollowing two verses whichmention the recantation of someof the Jews of Madinah:

O People of the Scripture:why do you confound thetruth with falsehood andknowingly conceal the truth? (Ch.3:V.72)

And a party of the People of theScripture says: ‘Believe in thatwhich has been revealed tothose who believe at sunriseand disbelieve at sunset, inorder that they may return.’ (Ch.3:V.73)

Ibn Ishaq has given the names ofthose who hatched this plot:

‘Abdullah b. Sayf and Adiy b.Zayd and Al-Harith b. Aufagreed to pretend to believein the message ofMuhammad(saw) and hisCompanions at one time,deny it another to confusethem. The object was to getthem to follow their exampleand give up their religion.’12

None of these three Jews waspunished.

Another reference is in Al-Nisa.It says: ‘Those who believe thendisbelieve, then believe again,then disbelieve and then increasein their disbelief will never beforgiven by Allah, nor will Heguide them to the way.’(Ch.4:V.138) A recanter cannotenjoy the repeated luxury ofbelieving and disbelieving if thepunishment is death. A dead manhas no further chance of againbelieving and disbelieving.

The sunnah, the divinely inspiredbehaviour of the HolyProphet(saw), is the second sourceof the sharia. And there is nopenalty for conversion fromIslam in the sunnah either. Thenames of those who wereexecuted by the Prophet(saw) arepreserved in the sirah and thehadith and the names of peoplewho recanted and rejected Islamin his life are also preserved. ABedouin Arab was converted toIslam by the Prophet(saw) and soonafter suffered a fever while inMadinah. He asked the



Prophet(saw) to release him fromhis pledge. He made this requestthree times and was refused threetimes. He left Madinahunmolested. The Prophet(saw) onhearing of his departure,observed: ‘Madinah is like afurnace which separates the drossfrom what is pure.’13

Ibn Ishaq reports that theProphet(saw) had instructed hiscommanders when they enteredMakkah to fight only those whoresisted them. The onlyexceptions were the followingcriminals who were to be killedeven if they were found wrappedwithin the curtains of theKa’abah.14

1. Abdullah b. Sad b. Abi Sarah.2,3,4. Abdullah b. Khatal of B.

Tayam b. Ghalib and his twodancing girls, who used tosing satirical songs aboutIslam. One of them wasFartana, the name of the otheris not given by Ibn Ishaq.

5. Al-Huwayrith b. Nuqaydh b.Wahb b. Abd b. Qusayy.

6. Maqees b. Subabah.7. Sarah, freed slave of one of the

B. Abdul Muttalib.8. Ikrama b. Abu Jahl.15

Abdullah b. Sad was one of theProphet’s(saw) scribes in Madinah.He recanted and defected to theMakkan unbelievers. Since hewrote down the revelation,dictated by the Prophet(saw), andenjoyed a position of trust, hisdefection was bound to createconfusion among the Quraish ofMakkah about the authenticity ofthe revelation itself. After peacereturned to Makkah, his fosterbrother, Uthman b. Man,interceded with the Prophet(saw)

on his behalf and he waspardoned.16 Had there been aQur’anic penalty for recantation,the Prophet(saw) could not havedone so. The Prophet’s(saw) policyon intercession in respect of haddpunishment is well illustrated bythe incident of the Makhzumiwoman who was found guilty oftheft. When Usamah b. Zaydpleaded for her, the Prophet(saw)

rebuked him and said: ‘Do youintercede in respect of apunishment prescribed by Allah?Witness this: that if Fatima,daughter of Muhammad, were



ever guilty of theft, I wouldcertainly cut off her hand.’

Abdullah b. Khatal was sent bythe Prophet(saw) to collect zakat,accompanied by an Ansar whoserved him. When they stopped,he ordered his companion to killa goat for him and prepare somefood before going to sleep. Whenhe awoke the man had donenothing, so he killed him in angerand then recanted and defected tothe Makkan Quraish.17 He wasexecuted for the murder of anAnsari Muslim by Said b.Hurayth al-Makhzumi and AbuBarzah al-Aslami.18

One of Ibn Khatal’s two singinggirls was killed for creatingunrest by singing satirical songs;the other was pardoned.19

Al-Huwayrith b. Nuqaydh was inthe party of Habbar b. al-Aswadb. al-Muttalib b. Asad whoovertook the Prophet’s(saw)

daughter, Zaynab, when she wastravelling from Makkah toMadinah. Al-Huwayrith goadedZaynab’s camel. Zaynab waspregnant and had a miscarriage

because of the attack and had toreturn to Makkah. TheProphet(saw) sent a number ofpeople with orders that if theyfound Habbar b. al-Aswad or Al-Huwayrith they should killthem,20 but Al-Huwayrithescaped. In another report,Hisham says that Al-Abbas b.Abd al-Muttalib put Fatima andUmm Kulthum, the twodaughters of the Prophet(saw) on acamel to take them from Makkahto Madinah. Al-Huwayrithgoaded the beast so it threw thetwo women.21 Finally, Ali(ra)

killed him in Makkah.22

Maqees b. Subabah came toMadinah from Makkah and said:‘I come to you as a Muslimseeking recompense for mybrother, who was wronglykilled.’ The Prophet(saw) orderedthat he should be paid for hisbrother Hisham. Having receivedrecompense, Maqees stayed withthe Prophet(saw) for a while. But,as soon as he got an opportunityhe killed his brother’s slayer,recanted and defected toMakkah.23 Maqees was executedby Numaylah b. Abdullah for



killing an Ansar, on whose behalfthe payment for killing hisbrother had already been paid.24

Sarah, who was accused ofcreating disorder, was not killedduring the Prophet’s(saw) lifetime.

Ikrama b. Abu Jahl fled to theYemen. His wife, Umm Hakim,became a Muslim and askedimmunity for him and this wasgranted by the Prophet(saw).25

There appears to be no evidenceto show that the Prophet(saw)

punished anyone for recantationfrom Islam.

The death of the Prophet(saw) inl1AH/AD632 confronted theyoung Muslim administrationwith a major crisis. Disorderbroke out in parts of thepeninsula and many tribesdetached themselves fromMadinah by refusing to payzakat. This movement is knownas Al-Riddah. The main task ofthe Prophet’s(saw) successor, AbuBakr(ra), was to put down thisunrest. His first job, however,was to send the expedition the

Holy Prophet(saw) had orderedbefore his death. So an armyunder the command of Usamahb. Zayd b. Harith was sent to theSyrian border on the second dayafter the proclamation of hiscaliphate.

After Usamah and his army haddeparted, most of the tribes fellaway from Madinah. OnlyMakkah, Madinah and theirsurroundings remained loyal tothe central administration.Muslim agents appointed to therebel tribes by the Prophet(saw)

just before his death were forcedto flee their posts and to return toMadinah. It was a full-fledgedrevolt.

Having decided to fight therebels, Abu Bakr(ra) sentmessengers to some loyal tribescalling them to come to his aid.While Abu Bakr(ra) was waitingfor reinforcements, Kharjah b.Hism, led by Unaynah b. Hismal-Fazari and Al-Aqra b. Habisal-Tamimi, staged a surpriseattack on the Muslims. TheMuslims fled in confusion, butthey re-assembled and counter-



attacked Kharjah’s men, whowere defeated.

Before the skirmish at Dhu al-Qassa, a delegation of Arabtribes went to Madinah tonegotiate with Abu Bakr(ra) overthe question of zakat, but AbuBakr(ra) refused. Some early andprominent muhajirun disagreedwith Abu Bakr’s(ra) decision tofight those who withheld thezakat. That these tribes wereanxious to negotiate showed theyhad not recanted, and did notwant to sever their relations withMadinah, yet were not preparedto accept Madinah’s control overthem. The issue was not belief inAllah and His Prophet(saw), but thezakat (tax). A group of well-known friends led by Umar(ra)

objected to Abu Bakr’s(ra)

decision to fight the rebels.Umar(ra) is reported to have saidto Abu Bakr(ra): ‘What right doyou have to fight these people?The Prophet(saw) has said, ‘I wasordered to fight people until theysay there is no God but Allah. Ifthey say this, they safeguardthemselves and their propertyfrom me.’26

After the departure of thedelegation from Madinah, AbuBakr(ra) gathered the Muslims ofMadinah and addressed them asfollows:

‘The delegation has observedjust how few of you there arein Madinah. You do not knowwhether they will attack youby day or night. Theirvanguard is only a stone’sthrow from Madinah. Theywanted us to accept theirproposals and make anagreement with them, but wehave rejected their request. Somake ready for their attack.’Within three days theyattacked Madinah.’27

The war of Riddah caused a greatdeal of bloodshed. It wasinexplicable to the subsequenthistorians of the Arabian statethat after the death ofMuhammad(saw) so many warswere necessary on Arabian soil;they accounted for this fact by aRidda,28 a religious movementagainst Islam. The jurists, whohad failed to find Qur’anic orsunnah authority for the



execution of Muslims accused ofkufr or war, against opposingMuslim political powers,accepted the assumption withoutmore ado.

Discussing the legality of AbuBakr’s(ra) war against Muslimrebels, Imam Al-Shafi’i says:‘Riddah is falling back from apreviously adopted religion intodisbelief and refusing to fulfilpreviously accepted respon-sibility.’29 Recantation is notenough. It must be aggravated byallegations of the breach of anagreement. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, ascholar of a very different school,in his commentary of the Nahjal-Balaghah, clarified the matterwhen he said: ‘The tribes whichrefused to pay zakat were notrecanters. They were called so,metaphorically, by the Compan-ions of the Prophet(saw).’30

According to Wellhausen,Riddah was a break with theleadership in Madinah and notwith Islam itself. Most of thetribes wanted to continueworshipping Allah, but withoutpaying tax. Caetani agrees with

Wellhausen and says the Riddahwas not a movement ofrecantation and that these warswere purely about politics.Becker, following Wellhausenand Caetani, concludes:

‘The sudden death ofMahomet gave new supportto the centrifugal tendencies.The character of the wholemovement, as it forces itselfon the notice of the historian,was of course hidden fromcontemporaries. Arabiawould have sunk intoparticularism if the necessitycaused by the secession of Al-Riddah had not developed inthe State of Madinah anenergy which carried allbefore it. The fight against theRidda was not a fight againstapostates, the objection wasnot to Islam, per se, but to thetribute which had to be paidto Madinah; the fight was forpolitical supremacy overArabia.31

Bernard Lewis makes it quiteclear that Riddah ‘represents adistortion of the real significance



of events by the theologicallycoloured outlook of laterhistorians’. He goes on to say:

‘The refusal of the tribes torecognise the succession ofAbu Bakr was, in effect, not arelapse by converted Muslimsto their previous paganism,but the simple and automatictermination of a politicalcontract by the death of oneof the parties. The tribesnearest to Madinah had infact been converted and theirinterests were so closelyidentified with those of theumma that their separatehistory has not been recorded.For the rest, the death ofMuhammad automaticallysevered their bonds withMadinah, and the partiesresumed their liberty ofaction. They felt in no waybound by the election of AbuBakr in which they had takenno part, and at oncesuspended both tribute andtreaty relations. In order to re-establish the hegemony ofMadinah, Abu Bakr had tomake new treaties.’32

Ali(ra) was assassinated in 661.With him went the concept of aMuslim ruler who combined thefunctions of head of state and ofreligion. The dynastic reign ofthe Ummayyads (661-750), thepolitical rulers of Islam, beganwith Muawiyah. They had noneof the religious outlook of thepious caliphs and were regardedmore or less as secular kings. Asguardians of the sharia the ulemacame to occupy a positioncomparable in many ways to thatof the clergy after the conversionof Constantine. Like the clergy inmedieval Europe, they wererespected for learning and pietyand their support was sought tolegalise the political power of adespot or unpopular ruler. Theyalso acted as the leaders of theopposition and tried to influencepolitical power rather thanassume it themselves.

Political and social revolts werenow justified in religious termsand dynastic struggles overpolitical power soon hardenedinto deep rifts in religiousdoctrine. Kharijism and Shiism,the two main movements that



split off from the main body afterthe assassination of the thirdcaliph, Uthman(ra) (644),originated during a struggle forsuccession. Kharijites were thefirst Muslims to suggest that agrave sinner no longer remainedMuslim. They were also the firstto proclaim jihad againstMuslims who, according to them,were not true believers, andoriginally belonged to Ali’s(ra)

party; they left him, however,over a disagreement aboutarbitration between him andMuawiyah, intended to settletheir differences arising out ofUthman’s(ra) murder. They said:‘judgement belongs to Allahalone’ and not to humantribunals. Kharijites were keyfigures in the development ofdogma. They were particularabout a Muslim’s qualificationsand his attitude towards hisfellow men, Muslim or non-Muslim. This group was the firstdistinct sect to appear in Islam,and was also the first to reject theprinciple of justification by faith.They maintained that a gravesinner no longer remained aMuslim and could not re-enter

the faith; instead, he should bekilled with his family. Theyconsidered all non-Kharijites tobe outlaws and non-Muslim. Aswe saw earlier, the Prophet(saw)

knew the munafiqun of Madinahand their leader, Abdullah b.Ubayy, and yet he took no actionagainst him. He did not judge thequality of a Muslim’s faith.

The Kharijites conflicted directlywith the teaching of the Qur’anand the sunnah of the Prophet(saw).Their declaration that ‘judgementbelongs to Allah alone’ (lahukma illa lillah)33 was in totalcontradiction to the sunnah. TheProphet(saw) appointed Sad b.Muadh as hakam to decide thefate of the Jewish tribe of B.Qurayzah and his sentence wascarried out.34 Commenting on theSahih Muslim report of Sad’sjudgement, Al-Nawawi (d.AH127/AD676) said: ‘In theirdisputes Muslims are allowed toresort to tahkim’.35 In fact, if twoMuslim groups are at war, it isthe duty of other Muslims tomake peace between them. TheQur’an says:


46



Surely, all believers arebrothers, so make peacebetween brothers, and bemindful of your duty to Allahthat you may be shown mercy.(Ch.49:V.11)

Declaring Muslims to be‘disbelievers’ and then punishingthem just because their standardsare different from the standardsof a certain religious authority –takfir – is alien to Islam. TheProphet(saw) himself defined aMuslim as one who declares faithin the Unity of Allah and theprophethood of Muhammad(saw)36.This is the only definition bywhich a Muslim can be judged.Discussing the subject of takfir,Bernard Lewis says:

‘Even open rebellion did notautomatically involve takfir.In 923 the chief Qadi ibnBuhal refused to denouncethe Carmathian rebels asunbelievers since they begantheir letters with invocationsto God and the Prophet andwere therefore, on the face ofit, Muslims. The Shafi’i lawinsists that the sectarian, even

in revolt, is entitled to betreated as a Muslim; that is tosay, his family and propertyare respected, and that hecannot be summarilydespatched or sold intoslavery once he becomes aprisoner.’37

Takfir38 was, however, foundedby jurists. As we saw earlier, itwas a Kharijite excuse fordenouncing Ali(ra). But havingadopted this Kharijiteinnovation, the jurists could notarrive at an agreed definition of aMuslim.

To comb 1300 years of Islamichistory to find the number ofMuslims executed because oftheir conversion from Islamwould prove futile. There wereunsuccessful attempts to executeMaimonides in Cairo,39 theMaronite Amir Yunis inLebanon,40 and to persecuteRashid-ud-Din in Tabriz,41 butsuch instances were very rare. InMughal India, there is only onerecorded case. A Portuguese friarhad embraced Islam and thenreverted to his former faith. He

47



was executed at Aurangabad.42

The reasons for his executionwere political, not religious. Thefriar was under strong suspicionof spying for the Portugueseunder the cover of Islam.

Jadd ibn Dirham was put to deathon the orders of Hisham b. Abdal-Malik in Kufa or Wasit in 124or 125AH/AD746 or 747. Hewas accused of having advancedthe Mutazili doctrines of thecreated Qur’an and of freewill. In167 or 168AH/AD788 the Iraqipoet Bashir b. Burd was accusedof zandaqah, beaten and throwninto a swamp in Batiha. Al-Husain b. Mansur al-Hallaj wasexecuted in 309AH/AD930 forblasphemy because he claimed tohave substantial union with God(hulul). Shihab-ul-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi was put to death onthe orders of Al-Malik al-Zahir(578AH/AD1199). His crimewas to regard all that lives,

moves or has its being as truthand he even based his proof ofGod upon the symbol of light.

The seventeenth-century martyrwas Muhammad Said Sarmad.Born of Jewish parents atKashan, Sarmad was a rabbibefore embracing Islam. A greatPersian poet, he was a monistand denied the existence ofmatter. He was executed in thereign of Aurangzib (reigned1658-1707). His mazar (tomb)which is opposite the JamiMasjid in Delhi, attracts dailyhundreds of Muslims, offeringflowers and Fatihah.

In Afghanistan, two Ahmadiswere executed for accepting theclaim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

of Qadian to be the PromisedMessiah, Sahibzadah AbdulLatif, who performed thecoronation ceremony of AmirHabib Ullah Khan, was stoned to

The Prophet(saw) himself defined a Muslim as one whodeclares faith in the Unity of Allah and the

prophethood of Muhammad(saw). This is the onlydefinition by which a Muslim can be judged. ‘ ’

48



death in 1903 and MaulwiN’imat Ullah in 1924. Both weregiven the chance of renouncingthe claims of Mirza GhulamAhmad(as), but they refused.

Muhammad Mahmud Taha wasexecuted in the Sudan in 1985.He believed the Madinite part ofthe Qur’anic law was no longerapplicable.

Significantly, the Ottomansultan, though the head of areligious empire and caliph of allMuslims, did not order theexecution of Baha Ullah (1817-92) for irtidad. Baha Ullahdeclared himself to be thePromised One, foretold by Bab,43

and founded Bahaism as areligion. Bahaism was and istotally different from Islam. Itdeclares that the arrival of BahaUllah makes the Qur’an and theteachings of Muhammad – maypeace and blessings of Allah beupon him – out of date. BahaUllah was jailed in Akka (Acre)near Haifa, then in Palestine,now Israel. But when SabbataiZevi (1627-76), a Jewish mystic,proclaimed himself the Messiah

in 1648, the Shaykh-ul-Islam ofthe Ottoman Empire ordered hisexecution. He was arrested,recanted from his claim simply toescape death, and embracedIslam. Baha Ullah claimed to bea new manifestation of God andleft Islam, but was not executeddespite his apostasy because hewas not a danger to law and orderin the Ottoman Empire.

As we have already seen, theconcept of apostasy is alien toIslam and there is no punishmentin this world for recanting. Butthe ulema who appeared beforethe Court of Inquiry, constitutedunder the Punjab Act II of 1954to inquire into the Punjabdisturbances of 1953, assertedthat ‘apostasy in an Islamic stateis punishable by death’. Theywere:

Maulana Abul HasanatSayyad Muhammad AhmadQadri, President, Jamiat-ul-Ulamai-Pakistan, Punjab;Maulana Ahmad Ali, SadrJamiatul-Ulama-e-Is1am,West Pakistan; Maulana-AbulAla Maududi, founder and

49



ex-Amir-i-Jamaati Islami,Pakistan; Mufti MuhammadIdris, Jami Ashrafia, Lahore,and member, Jamiat-ul-Ulamai-Pakistan; MaulanaDaud Ghaznavi, President,Jamaati-i-Ahl-i-Hadith, WestPakistan; Maulana AbdulHaleem Qasimi, Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Islam, Punjab; andMr Ibrahim Ali Chishti.44

Commenting on this assertion,the Court of Inquiry observed:

‘According to this doctrine,Chaudhri Zafrullah Khanmust be executed if he has notinherited his present religiousbeliefs, but has elected of hisown free will to be anAhmadi. And the same fateshould befall Deobandis andWahabis, (including MaulanaMuhammad Shafi Deobandi,member, Board of Talimat-i-Islami attached to theConstituent Assembly ofPakistan, and Maulana DaudGhaznavi) if anyone of theulema shown perched onevery leaf of a beautiful treein the fatwa (Ex. D.E. 14)

were the head of such anIslamic state. And if MaulanaMuhammad Shafi Deobandiwere the head of the state, hewould exclude those whohave been pronounced byDeobandis to be kafirs fromIslam. He would then executethem, if they came within thedefinition of murtadd,namely, if they had changedand not inherited theirreligious views.

The genuineness of the fatwa(Ex. D.E. 13) by theDeobandis (which says thatIthnashri Shias are kafirs andmurtadds) was questioned inthe course of our inquiry. ButMaulana Muhammad Shafiexamined the subject fromDeoband and received fromthe records of that institutionthe copy of a fatwa signed byall the teachers of the DarulUlloom, including MaulanaMuhammad Shafi himself.The records say, in effect, thatthose who do not believe inthe sahabiyyat of HazratSiddiq Akbar and who areqazif of Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa

50



and have been guilty of tehrifof the Qur’an, are kafirs. Thisopinion is also shared by MrIbrahim Ali Chishti whoknows and has studied thissubject. He thinks the Shiasare kafirs because theybelieve that Hadhrat Alishared the prophethood withour Holy Prophet(saw). Herefused to answer thequestion of whether a Sunniwho changed his views andagrees with the Shias is guiltyof irtidad, thus deservingdeath. According to the Shias,all Sunnis are kafirs and Ahl-i-Qur’an – persons whoconsider hadith unreliableand therefore not binding –are also kafirs. So are allindependent thinkers. The netresult is that neither Shias norSunnis nor Deobandis norAhl-i-Hadith nor Brelvis areMuslims. And that, if thegovernment of the state is runby a party which considersthe other party to be kafirs,then any change from oneview to another must result inthe death penalty.

It does not take muchimagination to judge theconsequences of this doctrinewhen it is remembered thatno two ulema have everagreed before us on thecorrect definition of aMuslim. Indeed, if all theirdefinitions are taken in total,the grounds on whichsomeone may be indicted forapostasy would be toonumerous even to count.’45

REFERENCES1 Sahih al-Bukhari, Bab

Kitabat al-Iman al-Nas.2 ibid., Kitab al-Salat, Bab

Fadl Istaqbal al-Qiblah.3 Al-Ghazali, Faysal al-

Tafriqah bayn al-Islam wa’lZandaqah (Cairo, 1901), seeBernard Lewis, Islam inHistory: Ideas, Men andEvents in the MiddleEast (London, 1973), 232.

4 Munir Commission Report(Lahore, 1954), 28.

5 Abdul Malik Ibn Hisham,Sirat Rasul Allah ed. F.Wustenfeld, 2 vols.(Gottingen, 1856-60), 984;trans. A. Guillaume, The Life

51



of Muhammad (London:Oxford University Press,1970), p. 667.

6 Musnad Imam AhmadHanbal, vol. V, 260.

7 Mufradat al-Qur’an.8 Qur’an, Ch.6:V.67. See also

Ch.6:V.108, Ch.10:V.109,Ch.17:V.55, Ch.39:V.42 andCh.42:V.7. The word wakil(guardian) has beenexplained by Imam Fakhrud-Din Razi in Tafsir Kabir(Cairo, 1308 AH), vol. IV,62-3 and also MuhammadAbduh in Tafsir al-Qur’anal-Shahr-fi Tafsir Al-Manar,ed. Muhammad Rashid Rida(Beirut, 1337 AH), vol. VII,501-3, 662-3.

9 Emphasis added.10 Abdul Malik Ibn Hisham,

Kitab Sirat Rasul Allah,op.cit., 927.

11 ibid., 381.12 ibid., 384.13 Sahih al-Bukhari (Cairo,

n.d.), vol. 1, book 3, 28.14 Ibn Hisham, op.cit., 818.15 ibid., 819.16 ibid., 818-19.17 ibid., 819.18 ibid.

19 ibid., 820.20 ibid., 468-9.2l ibid., 819.22 ibid. Al-Zurqani, Sharah al-

Mawahib al-Laduniyah(Cairo 1325 AH), vol. II,315; see Shair Ali, Qatli-Murtadd aur Islam(Amritsar, 1925), 119.

23 Ibn Hisham, op.cit., 728.24 ibid., 819.25 ibid.26 Muhammad Idris al Shafii,

Kitab al-Umm, ed.Muhammad Zahri al Nadjjar(Cairo, n.d.), vol. VIII, 256.

27 Abu Jafar Muhammad ibnJarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rasul wa al-Muluk, ed.MJ. de Goeje (Leiden, 1964),vol. IV, 1874.

28 CR. Becker, ‘The expansionof the Saracens’, TheCambridge Medieval History(New York: Macmillan,1913), vol. II, 335.

29 Muhammad Idris al-Shafii,op.cit., 255-6.

30 Abd al-Hamid Hibet-u-Allahibn al-Hadid, Sharah Nahjal-Balaghah, ed. MuhammadAbu al-Fadl Ibrahim (Cairo,1956- 64), vol.XIll, 187.

52



31 C.H.Becker, op.cit., 335.32 Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in

History (London, 1958), 51-52.

33 Ashari, Maqalat, vol 1, 191.34 Ibn Hisham, op.cit., 688-9.35 Sahih Muslim with Sharah

al-Nawawi (Lahore: 1958,62), vol. II, 112-13.

36 For various reports withslightly different wording seeSahih al-Bukhari and SahihMuslim, ‘Kitab al-Iman’.

37 Bernard Lewis, Islam inHistory, op.cit., 233.

38 See Bernard Lewis’s detailedanalysis of the genesis andevolution of this institutionin Islamic history in Islam inHistory, op.cit., 217-36 andalso The Jews of Islam(Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1984), 53-4.

39 Bernard Lewis, The Jews ofIslam, op.cit, 100.

40 Ignaz Goldziher, Mohammedand Islam, trans. KateChambers Seelye (NewHaven: Yale UniversityPress, 1917), 74, note 3.

41 Bernard Lewis, The Jews ofIslam, op.cit., 101.

42 Sir Judanath Sarkar, ShortHistory of Aurangzib(Calcutta, 1954),105-6.

43 But Bab (Door of the Spirit)Mirza Ali Muhammad, whoproclaimed his prophethood,was executed at Tabriz on 9July 1850.

44 Munir Commission Report,218, 219.

45 ibid., 219.


Constantine Becomes EmperorBy 312 AD, Constantine hadbeen at war with Maxentius forsix years and was eager forsomething to lend his cause extrasupport. Lactantius, a Christianobserver who produced accountsof the event a few years later inhis book On the death of thePersecutors claimed thatConstantine saw a Chi-Rhomonogram in a vision on the eveof the battle of the Milvianbridge, accompanied by thewords:

‘Hoc signo victor eris!’ [By thissign, you shall be the victor]

Whether this vision was actual ordictated by anxiety remainsquestionable. In any case, he hadcrosses painted on his army’sshields and won the battle,becoming the Emperor of Rome.This inspired his conversion toChristianity though he was notbaptised then. In Milan 313 AD,he issued an Edict of Tolerationto all religions. But believing hisbattleground success to be wonwith Divine providence, he

The Council of NicaeaThe Council of Nicaea summoned by the Emperor Constantine, the Greatin 325 AD,, was the first ecumenical council to be assembled primarily tothe deal with the Arian controversy which threatened the unity of theChurch. A study of this event shows how, with the accession ofConstantine to power, in addition to gaining resources and freedom topropagate their religion, the early Christians compromised some of themost basic tenets of their faith, many of which served to alienateChristianity from its Jewish origins. In what follows, we examine theemergence of Constantine through to the Council of Nicaea and itsramifications, so that in our review of events we may take in our stridethe radical effects the faith enunciated at Nicaea had on the futuredevelopment of the Church.

By Bockarie Tommy Kallon – UK (first published in The Reviewof Religions, May 1994)


sympathised more with theChristians, who hitherto hadsuffered sporadic persecution.The Emperor lavished huge sumsof money to build Basilicas andother Churches for them, coupledwith preferential treatments ofChristian candidates foradministrative posts. In this way,Constantine closed one era andopened another.

Constantine’s motives arebeyond reconstruction but it isclear he still needed to bind theEmpire – East and West –together and exercise influenceover the whole of theMediterranean. His conversionhad not divorced him from hispagan past. The Emperor washappy with the collection ofheavenly patrons. He believedreverence for deity to beindispensable for the tranquillityof the commonwealth and maywell have regarded the ChristianGod as just another heavenlypatron, not incompatible withothers although perhaps morepowerful. He maintained tieswith the Sol Invictus cult evenafter his conversion. It was not

until he was on his death bed thathe was finally baptised, just incase. The Sol Invictus cultworshipped the Sun god but wasalso acceptable to the followersof Orpheus, the priest of the Sun,Mithras, or the Sun god, Apollo.The response was for Christiansto begin representing Jesus(as) inthe guise of Apollo to maintainfavour while the Jews rejectedthe fashioning of the Divinethrough cultus images, therebysowing the seeds of divisionbetween Christians and Jews.

The Arian ControversyIn the Christian world at thetime, there was doctrinalpluralism vis-a-vis the nature androle of Jesus(as). In particular,there were strong views on eitherside of the Arian controversy,which was splitting the Churchand threatened the unity of theEmpire. Arianism was originatedby Arius who had been a studentof the celebrated Christianphilosopher, Lucian of Antioch.Arius put forward a theory whichnegated the eternity and fulldivinity of Jesus(as), just as theJewish-Christian groups such as

THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA


the Ebionites had stated. He wasprepared to say that ‘the Son hada beginning’, that ‘prior to hisgeneration he did not exist’ andthat ‘there was when he was not’,so that consequently ‘he is calledGod in name only.’1

On the other side of thecontroversy scholars such asAthanasius of Alexandria feltthat Jesus(as) would have been toodivine to need to eat, drink orrequire any other bodilyfunction. Arius was excommu-nicated from the Church for hisviews but there was growingsupport for Arianism whichculminated in the Council ofNicaea 325 AD.

The CouncilThe Council was to have takenplace at Ancyra but on the ordersof Constantine who had hisresidence at Nicaea the venuewas changed so that he couldpersonally control the pro-ceedings. The Synod took place

between June 19th and August25th2. The Emperor summonedall Church leaders with the aimof reaching a consensus over thestatus of Jesus(as).

The number of bishops whoattended is not known. Thetraditional figure is 318, whichgoes back to the late writings ofAthanasius of Alexandria;possibly a symbolic figure basedon the number of Abraham’sservants [Genesis 14:14]. Thecorrect figure is still probablyaround 300. In the version ofevents presented in the NewCatholic Encyclopaedia3, almostall were from the Eastern half ofthe Empire; more than 100 fromAsia Minor, about 30 from Syria-Phoenecia and less than 20 fromPalestine and Egypt.

Constantine regarded thereligious question exclusivelyfrom the angle of politicalexpedience. His interest was tosecure peace rather than any


Constantine regarded the religious questionexclusively from the angle of political expedience. ‘ ’


theological verdict. He hadalready adopted the Sol Invictusas the state deity, so if Jesus(as)

could somehow be deified hewould be more easily compatiblewith the Sol Invictus. As theparties were in conflict, the taskof deciding the fate of Jesus(as)

was deferred to Constantine whowas theologically incompetentand was inclined to makingdecisions on inadequate grounds.To him the deification of a manwould not have seemedimportant. He had his fatherConstantius deified on his deathand expected to be granted thesame honour on his demise.

He ruled in favour of Jesus’(as)

deification and demanded thatthe delegates should signacceptance to what becameknown as the Nicene Creed. ThisCreed is the first dogmaticdefinition of the Church and has

served as a tessera of Christianorthodoxy through the ages. Itdefined the relations of Jesus(as) tothe Father within the Godhead ashomoousion tot patri (of onesubstance with the Father)designed specifically to excludeArianism. Eusebius of Caesareawriting later is explicit that theEmperor himself proposed thisterm. The delegates that gaveassent to the Creedal statementwere to be invited to stay on atNicaea as Constantine’s guestsfor his 20th anniversarycelebrations, while those whorejected the Creed would bebanished.

Now here was an opportunity forChristians, some of whom stillbore the marks of persecution,who could still vividly recall thedays of suffering, to beconducted into the imperialchambers and be showered with


The delegates that gave assent to the Creedalstatement were to be invited to stay on at Nicaea as

Constantine’s guests for his 20th anniversarycelebrations, while those who rejected the Creedwould be banished.‘ ’


gifts and dine with the Emperorin the same palace from whencewere issued decrees ofpersecution. Little wonder thenthat all but two (Theonas ofMarmarica and Secundus ofPtolemais) of the staunchestsupporters of Arianism signedthe new Creed. The two‘dissidents’ were exiled toIllyricum. Little did those whosigned the Creed know that theiractions were to put the Church inchains, albeit in chains of gold.

Some scholars have argued thatthe crucial terms of the Creedwere not commonly understoodby all signatories. ‘Of onesubstance’ (homousious) wasambiguous, in that to some itmeant a personal identity, whileto others it meant a much widergeneric identity. Whether or notthis was a fortuity enablingConstantine to secure thesignature of almost every bishop,it is clear that many of thedelegates were uneasy about thedecision they had made. Theyhad signed the Creed underpressure from Constantine andfrom fear of being banished.

Eusebius of Caesarea, waspreviously one of the most die-hard Arians, but strangely,following the Council session, hewas willing to accept the Creed.In a letter home, however, heindicated the extent of thecompromise that had taken placeagainst the fundamentalprinciples of his knowledge ofJesus(as).

Relating this A.H.M. Jones4

writes:

‘How profoundly distressingthese changes were toEusebius of Caesarea can beseen from a letter which hehastened to write to hisChurch. It is a patheticdocument, equivocal up to thepoint of dishonesty.’

Some of the other delegates suchas Maris of Chalcedron,Theogonis of Nicaea andEusebius of Nicomedia weredeeply unhappy about theoutcome. They wrote to theEmperor5 saying:

‘We committed an impious



act, O Prince, by subscribingto a blasphemy from fear ofyou.”

Eusebius of Caesarea became afriend of Constantine and waskeen to make good use of hispatronage. He later wrote the Lifeof Constantine in which hegreatly flattered the Emperor. Inhis own book, The History of theChurch, he built up the line fromthe Apostolic fathers to the 4thcentury and devoted an entirechapter (one of ten in the book)to the deliverance of Christianityfrom persecution by the ChristianEmperor. In his book onConstantine, he gave expressionto a theology of the place of theEmperor in the Christian Empirewhich, according to somemodern historians, seemed rathera betrayal of the essential natureof the Gospel.

Commenting on the role ofConstantine, A.N. Whitehead6

wrote:

‘When the Western worldaccepted Christianity, Caesarconquered; and the received

text of western theology wasedited by his lawyers… In theofficial formulation of thereligion, it has assumed thetrivial form of the mereattribution to the Jews andthat they cherished amisconception about theirMessiah but the deeperidolatry, of fashioning God inthe image of the Egyptian,Persian and Roman imperialrulers, was retained. TheChurch gave unto God, theattributes which belongedexclusively to Caesar.’

This was to have profoundimplications on the futurephilosophy of the Church. IanWilson5 summarises the situationby suggesting that, ‘not a fewpeople felt that something of theoriginal Jesus and the spirit of histeaching had been fatallycompromised.’

After ShocksThe repercussions of the Nicenecreed are immeasurable as IanWilson writes:

‘Merely to enumerate the



ways in which the originalconcepts of Jesus and histeachings were adulterated asresult of Constantine’sactions and the consequencesof the Council of Nicaeawould take a book in itself.’’

Rome became the official centreof Christian orthodoxy, Trinitythe accepted doctrine anddeviation from this view wasnow considered not as a differentopinion, but as punishableheresy.

Next came the deification ofMary. Even though, in Mark 6:3,mention is made of Jesus’(as)

brothers and sisters, Hilary ofPoitiers and Didymus the Blindof Alexandria bestowed the titleof ‘Ever Virgin’ upon Mary. Thelogical consequence of this wasthe Council of Ephesus in AsiaMinor in summer of 431 ADwhich became known as the thirdecumenical council, where, inspite of resistance fromNestorious, then Bishop ofConstantinople, a formula offaith was agreed whichacknowledged Mary as the

Theotokos (Mother of God). In1854, Pope Pius IX made it aCatholic article of faith toproclaim Mary as incapable ofsin.

After Nicaea, the fate of the Jewstook a distinct turn for the worse.Following the deification ofJesus(as), they were considered ashaving murdered God!Constantine’s tolerance nolonger extended to the Jews whowere stripped of many of theirrights as Roman citizens. Withastonishing rapidity, Christiansforgot the days of penury andpersecution. The Church greetedConstantine’s orders not only aspermissible but praiseworthy.Meanwhile Christians, such asagnostics, with slightly unortho-dox views, were also denied thefreedom that was granted topagans. They had their literatureburnt, property confiscated andturned over to Christians, andwere terrorised by the Church.Within a generation, hardly atrace of their existence remained.Some agnostics managed toconceal documents and hence thediscovery intact of the Nag



Hammadi haul of scrolls inmodern times. This, however,provides only a partial picture ofthe theological thought of thetime. The memory of the Jewishprophet whose name the newreligion had taken was to be lostforever and with it the verycontext in which the messagewas intended.

There had been earlier instances ofcompromise. After Constantine’sedict of tolerance, Christians, withtheir newfound freedom andscope and association withConstantine, were willing tocompromise themselves tomaintain that position. In 321 AD,Constantine, in honour of the Sungod, enacted that on ‘thevenerable day of the Sun’, the lawcourts and all workshops were tobe closed, so Christianity, whichhad previously observed theSabbath on Saturday, took onSunday as its day of rest.

Similarly, Jesus’ birthday used tobe observed on January 6th, as itstill is in parts of Eastern Europe.However, for both Sol Invictusand Mithraism, the religious dayor Natalis Invictus wascelebrated on the midwintersolstice, December 25th, so theWestern Church adopted this dayalso. The aureole of lightcrowning the Sun god’s head alsobecame the Christian halo.

With so much of the originalfaith given away, Baigent, Leighand Lincoln7 write:

‘Christian doctrine aspromulgated by Rome at thetime, had much in commonwith the cult of Sol Invictusanyway; and thus it was ableto flourish unmolested underthe sun cult’s umbrella oftolerance. Christianity, as weknow it, is in many respectsactually closer to those pagan


The memory of the Jewish prophet whose name thenew religion had taken was to be lost forever and with

it the very context in which the message wasintended. ‘ ’


systems of belief than it is toits own Judean origin.’

The distorted formula of faithpromulgated at Nicaea laid theground work for the classicaldevelopment of ChristianTrinitarian theology, dissem-inating far and wide the seeds ofignorance and error.

References1. The Early Christian Church.

P.G. Davis, p.176.

2. The Encyclopedia ofReligion. (Macmillan 1987);vol. 4 p.125.

3. New Catholic Encyclopedia.(Mc-Graw Hill 1979); vol.10, pp.432-433.

4. Constantine and theConversion of Europe.Penguin Books, A.H.M.Jones; p.137.

5. Jesus: The Evidence. (PanBooks), Ian Wilson.

6. Process and Reality. (Cambs.,1929), A.N. Whitehead.

7. The Messianic Legacy. (Corgi1986), M. Baigent, R. Leigh& H. Lincoln.



From the earliest days till nowIslam and the world of Islamhave not been harmed soseverely by any external enemyas by some simple-mindedMuslim ulema themselves. Infact, the enemies of Islam haveutilised the unwise religiousedicts of these naïve ulema as abasis to attack Islam.

The wrong trend among theulema took place when, underthe influence of the changingsocio-political environment, theypreferred to adopt somepolitically coloured Islamicinterpretations and ignored theclear teachings of the HolyQur’an and the noble precedentset by the Holy Prophet(saw).

The killing of an apostate is onesuch erroneous trend andbaseless conviction. In fact, thismenacing tenet is based neither

on the Holy Qur’an nor on thepractice of the Holy Prophet(saw).

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru),the fourth successor to thePromised Messiah(as), in a lecturedelivered at the AnnualConvention of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community UK on 27thJuly 1986, which has subse-quently been reproduced in theform of a book, analysed in depthall aspects of this heinous crime.He showed it to be an utterlyfalse and unfounded belief andsmashed once and for all the so-called arguments of the ulema insupport of this claim. Hisarguments are based on the HolyQur’an, the Sunnah and Ahadithof the Holy Prophet(saw) and thehistorical events that took placein the eras of the RighteousCaliphs.

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru)

BOOK REVIEW

The Truth About theAlleged Punishment for

Apostasy in IslamBy Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru)

63

BOOK REVIEW


deals with the subjectextensively. It should helpunbiased researchers to fullyunderstand the true teachings ofIslam on the subject. It shouldalso go a long way to creating anew spirit in which Islamic

teachings are appreciated in theirreal essence and true nature andprejudice against Islam iseradicated.

(Islam International Publications Ltd)

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