Some are sometimes shocked when they see behaviors or ideas that contradict the orientations whose correctness they are certain of, and they imagine that their duty is to gather all people under the umbrella of a single orientation whose rightness they are sure of. .
Allah has given people freedom and has made them bear responsibility for the decisions they take, He—Almighty—being the only party responsible for holding them to account for them. This of course does not remove the responsibility of guiding people to what we believe to be correct and best, nor does it mean slackness in conveying to them the truth of which we are sure; rather, it means that we call them to good with all seriousness and persistence, and then leave them absolute freedom and choice. This meaning has been gathered in His saying, the Exalted: “So admonish—for you are only an admonisher, and not a taskmaster over them” (Qurʾan 88:21–22).
Any orientation, however much rectitude and correctness it attains—and even if its source is directly divine, like the Noble Qurʾan—it is not
possible for all people to submit to it; consequently, any attempt to impose any orientation upon them ends in inevitable failure. He, the Exalted, said: “Had your Lord wished, He would have made mankind one community; but they continue to differ” (Qurʾan 11:118). In this verse there is an indication of the impossibility of all people gathering on a single course and a single orientation, so their difference is an everlasting difference.
We may be shocked and saddened when we see what we consider negatives or “deviations” spreading among people; but we must not overlook that this diversity—with what it includes of following good and evil—is the path of humanity's advancement and of its knowing what is good for it, distinguishing between truth and falsehood, and striving—out of self-conviction—to spread virtue and fight corruption after seeing for itself its hateful effects. And more than that: the existence of the righteous and the corrupt, the guided and the astray, creates real opportunities for positive racing and constructive competition toward the better and the best. The existence of the one who errs is an opportunity for him and for the other to learn from the error and avoid it, so as to develop and advance.
Pluralism is a norm that Allah has willed, and without it the human being cannot attain completion, because completion is the outcome of the accumulation of experiences, orientations and parts that differ from one another; a single orientation cannot attain completion on its own. On the contrary, any current or orientation, if it loses what differs from it and opposes it, weakens and collapses as a result of the absence of criticism and of the possibility of benefiting from the successes of others and their mistakes as well. This appears clearly in the historical experiences that followed the approach of exclusivity and the cancellation of the other, even if they were very successful and right in some of their orientations; but they were always digging their graves with their own hands and dying of diseases they were unable to diagnose, as a result of the absence of a differing vision and of the other side capable of seeing their faults with full clarity.
It is not required of a human being to accept wrong approaches, nor is it required of him to impose the correct approach on them, or to hold them to account for their beliefs; rather, his responsibility is to convey the truth with all sincerity and devotion, and then to accept reality and coexist with others, even if they choose not to comply with this approach. For we live in a “world of opposites” built on this law that Allah has willed, and whoever goes against this law cannot live in this world successfully; rather, he becomes an anomalous element that is soon got rid of.
Side by side with the emphasis on propagation, reminding, enjoining what is right and denouncing what is wrong, the Noble Qurʾan has directed us explicitly, and in many verses, to open up the space of freedom for others and to coexist with them, as He said—Mighty is the One who speaks—: “Say, ‘Everyone acts according to his character. Your Lord knows best who is better guided with regard to the way.’” (Qurʾan 17:84), and He said: “To you your religion, and to me my religion” (Qurʾan 109:6), and “Our deeds belong to us and your deeds belong to you” (Qurʾan 42:15), and He said, addressing His greatest Prophet (s): “We know well what they say, and you are not there to compel them. So admonish by the Quran those who fear My threat” (Qurʾan 50:45).
Such too was the conduct of the Greatest Messenger (s), for he concluded the covenant of coexistence and cooperation with the Jews of Medina and its surroundings, while continuing his great efforts in calling them to Islam, conversing with them through reason and proof, and disputing with them in a manner that is best.
These beautiful meanings of the values of multiplicity, diversity and difference, and of the positive stances toward them, together with the emphasis on standing firm upon the truth and conveying it, are gathered in a single verse of the Book of Allah, which is full of verses of tolerance and freedom; and if there were only this verse, it would suffice: “..and do not follow their desires against the truth that has come to you. For each [community] among you We had appointed a code [of law] and a path, and had Allah wished He would have made you one community, but [His purposes required] that He should test you in respect to what He has given you. So take the lead in all good works. To Allah shall be the return of you all, whereat He will inform you concerning that about which you used to differ” (Qurʾan 5:48).
This is the nature of life, which everyone who wants to live in it with tranquility and calm should understand and accept, and not be distressed by the negative stances of others, if he has kept upright and exerted his utmost effort in conveying the message: “Is someone the evil of whose conduct is presented as decorous to him, so he regards it as good.... Indeed Allah leads astray whomever He wishes, and guides whomever He wishes. So do not fret yourself to death regretting for them. Indeed Allah knows best what they do” (Qurʾan 35:8).
This is not a call to indifference toward negatives, or to withdrawal from the arena of reform and evasion of the responsibility placed on the shoulders of each and every one of us; rather, it is a call to reason and wisdom in taking the courageous and effective decisions and steps of reform.
It is a call to tolerance and to following gentleness in facing defects, proceeding from the clear Qurʾanic logic in dealing with such circumstances. For Allah has willed that the difference of people and the diversity of their inclinations remain in this world for many wise purposes, some of which we have pointed to—according to our very limited understanding—and it is contrary to wisdom that we be disturbed, provoked or frustrated as a result of this natural difference. And let us always remember that the great character of the Messenger of Allah (s), and of those who followed his tolerant approach through the generations, was the first and most influential factor in people's acceptance of Islam, its continuity and its wide and rapid spread—which still terrifies some observers—despite all the fierce attacks, deliberate distortion and hostile currents.______________
* A writer from Saudi Arabia
