Punishment of Apostacy in Islam — Page 14
14 peace be on him, was a true lover of his Lord. So much did he love his Lord that he lost himself wholly in Him and that is why we believe that Muhammad, peace be on him, was a perfect manifestation of divine attributes. His life illustrates the degree of majesty and glory that he attributed to the Holy Quran. There is no direction of the Holy Quran that he did not illustrate in action and there is no prohibition which he contravened. He was a perfect exemplar, a pure and holy personage who illustrated every direction of the Holy Quran in action. It cannot be imagined for a moment that he may have said something inconsistent with the Holy Quran, or something that is not founded upon it. The Holy Quran has provided us with such ideal teachings on the freedom of conscience and the freedom of belief as furnish an example for all other religions and for all the thinkers who have invented all sorts of isms. Freedom of conscience and freedom of belief are the fundamental rights of man. His very creation is for that purpose. If man is not free in respect of these matters, if people are to be driven forcibly into Islam, then there can be no recompense by God for any human action. Can anyone be forced to declare himself a Muslim and be assured that though his heart is not convinced of the truth of Islam, yet if he performs the salat for show, God would reward him for it and would not be aware of his hypocrisy and the true condition of his heart? God affirms that He is fully aware of the innermost secrets of a person’s heart, then how would He be unaware of his hypocrisy? If He is aware of it, how would He reward such hypocritical action beneficently? On the other hand, if a person’s heart is filled with sincere faith and