Through Force or Faith? — Page 271
Chapter 7 — Novelty in the Teachings of Muhammad 271 َو اُؤٰٓزَج ٍةَئِّيَس ٌةَئِّيَس اَهُلْثِّم١ۚ ْنَمَف اَفَع َو َحَلْصَا ٗهُرْجَاَف ىَلَع ِهّٰللا١ؕ ٗهَّنِا اَل ُّبِحُي َنْيِمِلّٰظلا And the recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof; but whoso forgives and his act brings about refor- mation, his reward is with Allah. Surely, He loves not the wrongdoers ( S u rah ash-Sh u r a , 42:41). Thus, it is Islamic teachings that appeals to good sense. Can any- one object to these teachings or bring forth anything better than this? Similarly, Islam provides another principle that one should not even go near the things that are prohibited by God: َكْلِت ُدْوُدُح ِهّٰللا اَلَف اَهْوُبَرْقَت These are the limits fixed by Allah, so approach them not ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:188). For, when a person shall go near them, the possibility is that, due to human weakness, he might end up trespassing. For this reason, Islam does not teach, unlike Christianity (Timothy 5:23), not to drink in excess. In contrast, it teaches that, though there are some benefits and some risks in drinking, the harms outweigh the benefits: ۤاَمِهْيِف ٌمْثِا ٌرْيِبَك َّو ُعِفاَنَم ِساَّنلِل١ٞ َو ۤاَمُهُمْثِا ُرَبْكَا ْنِم اَمِهِعْفَّن In both there is great sin and also some advantages for men; but their sin is greater than their advantage ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:220).