Islam's Reformers .pdf

ta’âlâ says, “Certainly Allah does not forgive polytheism. Heforgives the sins except polytheism of whomever He wills,”(sûrat an-Nisâ, 47, 115) and the hadîth says, “Hadrat Jabrâ’îl(Gabriel) came to me. He brought the good news; he whodies without having attributed anything as a partner toAllâhu ta’âlâ, that is, without being a disbeliever, Paradiseis the place where he will go at last, even if he hascommitted adultery, even if he has committed theft.”The âyats and hadîths above indicate that belief andpractice are different from each other. The Mu’tazila and theKhawârij, who said that practice was a part of belief, put forth asdocuments the âyats, “If one becomes a disbeliever, it doesnot harm Allâhu ta’âlâ who needs nothing,” (âl ’Imrân, 97)and “Allâhu ta’âlâ made you love îmân. He placed it intoyour heart and He made disbelief, sins and disobedienceseem ugly to you.” (al-Hujurât, 7) They further said that thefollowing words of ’Umar (radiy-Allâhu ’anh) also emphasizedthe meaning they understood from the former âyat: “I wish Icould send official inspectors out to find those who haveproperties but do not go on hajj and to make them pay jizya, forthey are in disbelief.” However, the word ‘disbelief’ in the âyatand in this quotation means the ‘denial of hajj’. In the last âyat,îmân and sins are classified in different classes, but it does notmean that they are opposite. There are many things which maybe together though they differ in respect of beauty and ugliness.The âyat, “What a bad quality it is to be sinful after havingbelieved,” in the same sûra very openly defines the places ofîmân and sins. It tells that sinfulness is a bad qualityunbecoming to Muslims and that the sinner has îmân. The latteris understood from here, because real evil and atrocity is inbringing îmân and sinning together, hence a believer’s sinningis worse than a disbeliever’s sinning.A Muslim, who affirms the Existence and Oneness of Allâhuta’âlâ and the rules He has declared through His Prophet(’alaihi ’s-salam), certainly feels sorry if he somehow fails tofollow these rules. Someone else who does not acknowledgeAllâhu ta’âlâ and His Prophet (’alaihi ’s-salâm) and doesgoodness not as a command of Allâhu ta’âlâ but for some otherreason does not even accept to be a human slave to Allâhuta’âlâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ’s treatment of these two surely will not bethe same. A lazy son useless to others but decent and thinks of- 61 -