Islam Supports Freedom of Belief

In matters of belief, Islam offers people complete freedom, and in the very clearest language. That has been so ever since Islam was first revealed, and forms the basis of today's Islamic morality. The verses on the subject (2:256) are perfectly clear:

There is no compulsion where religion is concerned. Right guidance has become clearly distinct from error. Anyone who rejects false gods and believes in God has grasped the Firmest Handhold, which will never give way. God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

According to Islam, people are free to choose whatever beliefs they wish, and nobody can oblige anyone else. Yes, a Muslim has a duty to communicate Islam and explain the existence of God, to state that the Qur'an is the book of His revelation, that the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) was His messenger, to speak of the hereafter and the Day of Judgment and of the beauty of Islamic morality. Yet that duty is restricted to explaining the religion only. In one verse (16:125), God informs our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) that he is only a messenger:

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way. Your Lord knows best who is misguided from His way. And He knows best who are guided.

Another verse (18:29) states, "... It is the truth from your Lord; so let whoever wishes believe and whoever wishes disbelieve..." In Verse 26:3, our Lord warns the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), "Perhaps you will destroy yourself with grief because they will not become believers." He also issues His Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) this reminder (50:45):

We know best what they say. You are not a dictator over them. So remind, with the Qur'an, whoever fears My Threat.

People are free to choose correctly or wrongly. When Islam--the true path that God has revealed--is explained, they come to believe of their own free will, reaching this decision with no pressure being put on them. If they make wrong choices, they will face its consequences in the hereafter. On this subject, Verse 10: 99 of the Qur'an contains the clearest command and reminder: "If your Lord had willed, all the people on the earth would have believed. Do you think you can force people to be believers?"
When one of the faithful explains matters, one person might come to believe straightaway, whereas another might adopt a mocking and aggressive attitude. One who follows his conscience might decide to devote his life to pleasing God, even while another, doing as the deniers did, might respond to those same kind words with wickedness. Yet his denial won't lead whoever issued the invitation to suffer or despair. In Verses 12: 103-104, God has stated, "But most people, for all your eagerness, are not believers. You do not ask them for any wage for it. It is only a reminder to all beings."
What's important is that no matter what reaction he meets with, the person who abides by the Qur'an keeps on displaying the kind of morality that is pleasing to God, refuses to make any concessions on it, and leaves matters in God's hands. God has told us that His religion is to be explained in the most pleasing manner. In the words of the Qur'an (29:46):

Argue with the People of the Book only in the kindest way--except in the case of those of them who do wrong–saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him."

We must not forget that every event, large or small, takes place according to a destiny created by God. He reveals the true path to anyone invited to believe in Him. For that reason, the faithful feel no distress at the behavior of those who reject Him. The Qur'an gives several examples. In Verse 18:6, God tells our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) not to be distressed when those whom he calls on to believe refuse to do so: "Perhaps you may destroy yourself with grief, chasing after them, if they do not believe in these words." Another verse (28:56) reads, "You cannot guide those you would like to, but God guides those He wills. He has best knowledge of the guided."
That means that whatever invitations an individual issues, all his pleasant words, and every detail he goes into can make an effect only by the will of God.
A believer's only responsibility is to call people to the Qur'an. He cannot be blamed for atheists' refusal to amend their ways, nor with how they will earn the torments of hell for themselves. In Verse 2:119, our Lord told our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), "We have sent you with the Truth, bringing good news and giving warning. Do not ask about the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire."
God has given mankind both reason and a conscience. His messengers and the divine books revealed to them have shown the true path, and people are responsible for their own choices. Islamic morality can be lived only by a sincere decision to do so—by surrendering oneself to God and listening to one's conscience, which always commands one to do what is right. It is a total violation of Islamic morality to force anyone to believe, because what matters is an individual's surrendering himself to God with all his heart and believing sincerely. If any system obliges people to have faith, then those "converts" will become religious only out of fear. The only acceptable way to live a religion is within an environment that leaves one's conscience completely free. This is what God revealed to our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) (88:21-26):

So remind them! You are only a reminder. You are not in control of them. But as for anyone who turns away and disbelieves, God will punish him with the Greatest Punishment. Certainly it is to Us they will return Then their Reckoning is Our concern.

It's worth emphasizing that Islam leaves people free to make their own choices regarding religion and commands them to respect other religions. Even if someone believes in what the Qur'an describes as superstition, still he can live in peace and security in Muslim lands and freely perform his own religious obligations. In Verses 109:2-6, God commanded our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) to tell those who denied Him:

"I do not worship what you worship, and you do not worship what I worship. Nor will I worship what you worship, nor will you worship what I worship. You have your religion, and I have my religion."

Under the morality of Islam, everyone is free to carry out the obligations in accord with his own particular belief. Nobody can prevent any others from performing their particular religious duties, nor can he oblige them to worship in the manner he desires. That violates the morality of Islam, and is unacceptable to God. In the Islamic model of society emerges in which everyone is free to worship and perform the obligations attendant upon his particular chosen beliefs. The Qur'an (22:40) describes monasteries, churches, synagogues, and the places of worship of the Peoples of the Book as all under God's protection:

... If God had not driven some people back by means of others, [then] monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, where God's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. God will certainly help those who help Him—God is All-Strong, Almighty.

Our Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) life is full of such examples. When Christians came to see him pray in his own mosque, he left it for them to use. 21That kind of tolerance was maintained during the times of the caliphs who succeeded the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). After Damascus was captured, a church that had been turned into a mosque was divided into two, so that Christians might worship in one half and Muslims in the other.22