FREEDOM

God’s Quranic Gift

The Fourth of July in the USA reminds us that one of the major principles upon which this country was first founded is freedom of religion. This essential freedom was not just guaranteed by the struggles and the documents of the founding fathers, it was guaranteed by our Creator Himself. More than a thousand years before the founding of this country, God stated this critical principle in the Quran:

There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in God has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. God is Hearer, Omniscient. (2:256)

This precept, that there shall be absolute freedom of religion, is critical for the very existence of Submission, true Islam. Without complete freedom how can we tell if we are following God or if we are following what the society or our peers dictate? We are constantly being barraged with different opinions on everything under the sun. They come at us from all directions, from TV, radio, what we read, our friends, our family, etc. And these opinions range from politics, to laundry soap to religion. This latter is the area where we must be most careful to make our own decisions, but it is often the area we are most likely to take someone else’s opinion. Yet, God tells us:

You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them. (17:36)

In Submission we have been blessed with the knowledge that each of us is individually accountable to God alone. We are absolutely and completely responsible for our own belief, our own guidance. There is no religious hierarchy to dictate our religion to us. Only God is the Guide and the Teacher. Of course, He often teaches us through others….

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