The Message of Islam — Page 11
Freedom of Faith 11 There shall be no compulsion in religion, for guidance and error have been clearly distinguished… ( Surah al-Baqarah, 2:257) And again: َو ِلُق ُّقَحْلا ْنِم ْمُكِّبَّر١۫ ْنَمَف َءٓاَش ْنِمْؤُيْلَف َّو ْنَم َءٓاَش ْرُفْكَيْلَف١ۙ Proclaim, [O Prophet saw]: It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore, let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve ( Surah al-Kahf, 18:30): But of course, though the choice is free, the consequences of the choice will follow in accordance with Divine law. No one is forced. Everyone must choose and seek the purpose of his life on the basis of faith, or turn his back on the truth and destroy his soul, according to his choice. It has sometimes been suggested that belief in Divine revela- tion, and acceptance of revealed truth, tend towards intellectual rigidity and narrowness. The exact reverse is the truth. Revelation stimulates the intellect and opens all manner of avenues for the research and expansion of knowledge. The constant and repeated exhortation to reflect upon and ponder every type of natural phe- nomenon, with which the Quran abounds, is an express urge in that direction. History furnishes incontrovertible proof of this. Within an astonishingly brief period following the revelation of the Quran, darkness and confusion were dispelled over vast areas of the earth, order was established, all manner of beneficent institutions sprang into life, a high moral order was set up, and the blessings of knowledge, learning, and science began to be widely diffused.