Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has created man and given
him reason, and He has sent
down to him Revelation and sent
to him Messengers to call him to
the truth and warn him against
falsehood. Then He has left him
to make his own choice.
“And say: ‘The truth is from your
Lord.’ Then whosoever wills, let
him believe; and whosoever
wills, let him disbelieve
[al-Kahf 18:29 – interpretation of
the meaning]
Allaah commanded His
Messenger Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to convey the truth to all of
mankind. Then they have the
choice to do as they wish. If a
person obeys, he benefits
himself, and if he disobeys, he
harms himself, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Say: ‘O you mankind! Now truth
(i.e. the Qur’aan and Prophet
Muhammad), has come to you
from your Lord. So whosoever
receives guidance, he does so for
the good of his own self; and
whosoever goes astray, he does
so to his own loss; and I am not
(set) over you as a Wakeel
(disposer of affairs to oblige you
for guidance )’”[Yoonus 10:108]
Islam is the religion of the
natural state of man (fitrah), the
religion of reason and thought.
Allaah has distinguished the
truth from falsehood. He has
enjoined all that is good and
forbidden all that is evil. He has
permitted good things and
forbidden evil things. There is no
compulsion in religion because
the benefits or harms come back
upon the created being, not upon
the Creator. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“There is no compulsion in
religion. Verily, the Right Path
has become distinct from the
wrong path. Whoever disbelieves
in Taaghoot (false gods) and
believes in Allaah, then he has
grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that will never break”
[al-Baqarah 2:256]
And Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“Whosoever does righteous good
deed, it is for (the benefit of) his
ownself; and whosoever does
evil, it is against his ownself. And
your Lord is not at all unjust to
(His) slaves ”[Fussilat 41:46]
Guidance is in the hand of Allaah.
If Allaah willed, He could guide all
of mankind, for there is nothing
that He cannot do on this earth
or in the heavens. Nothing
happens in His Dominion except
that which He wills.
“Say: ‘With Allaah is the perfect
proof and argument, (i.e. the
Oneness of Allaah, the sending of
His Messengers and His Holy
Books, to mankind); had He so
willed, He would indeed have
guided you all ’”[al-An’aam 6:149
– interpretation of the meaning]
But in His Wisdom, Allaah has
created us with the ability to
choose, and He has sent down to
us guidance and the Criterion. So
whoever obeys Allaah and His
Messenger will enter Paradise
and whoever disobeys Allaah and
His Messenger will enter Hell, as
Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Verily, proofs have come to you
from your Lord, so whosoever
sees, will do so for (the good of)
his ownself, and whosoever
blinds himself, will do so to his
own harm, and I (Muhammad)
am not a watcher over you ”[al-
An’aam 6:104]
The Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)
has no part in guidance; all that
he and the Muslims have to do is
to explain and convey the
message, and show them
guidance but they cannot force
people to follow it, as Allaah said
to His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And had your Lord willed, those
on earth would have believed, all
of them together. So, will you (O
Muhammad) then compel
mankind, until they become
believers ”[Yoonus 10:99]
And Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“And the duty of the Messenger
is only to convey (the Message)
plainly ”[al-‘Ankaboot 29:18]
Guidance to the truth is in the
hand of Allaah alone and no
human being has any share in
that, as Allaah said to His
Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, you (O Muhammad)
guide not whom you like, but
Allaah guides whom He wills. And
He knows best those who are the
guided[al-Qasas 28:56]
Allaah guides whomsoever He
wills and sends astray
whomsoever He wills. He has
told us that He guides those who
obey Him and turn to Him, as He
says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“While as for those who accept
guidance, He increases their
guidance and bestows on them
their piety ”[Muhammad 47:17]
But whoever disobeys Allaah and
turns away from Him, Allaah will
not guide him, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Truly, Allaah guides not him
who is a liar, and a disbeliever”
[al-Zumar 39:3]
Allaah is Omniscient and knows
what has happened and is
happening and what is yet to
come. Allaah knows the believers
and the disbelievers, and what
they will do, and He knows what
their fate will be in the Hereafter.
He has written all that in al-Lawh
al-Mahfooz (the Preserved
Tablet), as He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And all things We have recorded
in a Book”[al-Naba’ 78:29]
Allaah has created man with the
ability to choose, and He has
created him able to do both,
either believer or disbelieve, as
He says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Verily, We showed him the way,
whether he be grateful or
ungrateful ”[al-Insaan 76:3]
Man has the choice in terms of
his reason only; if he loses his
reason by which he is able to
distinguish between the
alternatives of good and evil,
truth and falsehood, then he is
not accountable. Hence according
to Islamic sharee ’ah, the pen is
lifted from the insane person
(i.e., he is not accountable) until
he recovers his senses, and from
the child until he reaches the age
of understanding, and from the
sleeper until he wakes up. None
of these people are accountable
until they gain or recover the
reason by which they may
distinguish between the
alternatives of faith and
disbelief, truth and falsehood,
and so on.
Whatever direction a person
takes, there will be reward and
punishment, If he obeys, there
will be Paradise:
“Indeed he succeeds who purifies
his ownself (i.e. obeys and
performs all that Allaah ordered,
by following the true Faith of
Islamic Monotheism and by doing
righteous good deeds ”
[al-Shams 91:9 – interpretation
of the meaning]
and if he disobeys, there will be
Hell:
“And indeed he fails who
corrupts his ownself (i.e.
disobeys what Allaah has ordered
by rejecting the true Faith of
Islamic Monotheism or by
following polytheism, or by
doing every kind of evil wicked
deeds” [al-Shams 91:10 –
interpretation of the meaning]
The choice of one of these two
ways is something about which a
person will be questioned by the
Lord of the Worlds. Hence it is
clear that faith or disbelief,
obedience or disobedience, is the
matter of personal choice. Allaah
has made reward and
punishment dependent upon this
choice:
“Whosoever does righteous good
deed, it is for (the benefit of) his
ownself; and whosoever does
evil, it is against his ownself. And
your Lord is not at all unjust to
(His) slaves ”[Fussilat 41:46]
Whoever loves Allaah and His
Messenger and desires good in
this world and in the Hereafter,
let him enter Islam, and whoever
turns away from that and is
content with this world and has
no interest in the Hereafter and
does not submit, then his abode
will be Hell. The individual is the
one who will benefit or harm
himself. There is no compulsion
to choose either. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, this (Verses of the
Qur’aan) is an admonition, so
whosoever wills, let him take a
Path to his Lord (Allaah )”
[al-Insaan 76:29]
From Usool al-Deen al-Islami by
Shaykh Muhammad ibn
Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri
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