The Holy War — Page 232
232 of all causes and the Provider of the means for all causes, is the very reason that at times in the Holy Quran, God Almighty—removing ref- erence to the intervening causes—refers to Himself as being the Cause of all causes, just as He states that, ‘The ship that sails in the sea is by Our beneficence. ’ In short, we have given you ample reply here that an objection of compulsion cannot be raised against the Holy Quran nor are we called those who compel. You are still unaware of the doctrine of the Muslims; you do not even know that God Almighty orders for the hand of a thief to be cut off and that an adulterer should be stoned, so if the teachings were compulsive who could be stoned? In the Holy Quran there are not just one or two, but hundreds of verses which prove the free will of man and, should you wish, a complete list will be presented. Notwithstanding, you yourself even believe this much that man does not have complete free will from all aspects, and his faculties and abilities and other external and inter- nal causes are governed by God Almighty—this being our religion as well—so why do you unnecessarily prolong discussions with absurd reasoning? Notice that when I presented to you as a rebuttal that it is writ- ten in the Torah that the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and that it is also written in Proverbs that the wicked were made for a day of evil, you submitted rather shallow explanations and then it is strange how you oppose the clear verses of the Holy Quran with such callousness that has driven you to the extremities of baseless bigotry. How fitting is someone’s saying that this is what happens when one does not pay due regard to the dignity of others! The Holy Quran has not been revealed to explain just one half, but on just such occasions it is its responsibility to explain both halves. Sometimes, in regard to Him being the Cause of all causes, He explains the extent of His sovereignty and sometimes, by virtue of man being made accountable due to his given freedom of choice, He explains the authority that man has been granted. Hence, to take one statement