interest in it. How dare you ignore any sense of honor and of Arabism and write such an article that
embodies a call to abandon Islam, turn away from it, and cease to mention it in circulating journals. What is the value of a religion like that!! Glorified be Allah! How great is Islam! Indeed, Allah is Greater and more Exalted and His Religion is thereby Greater and Weightier than what you mentioned, editor.
Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says, You [true believers in Islâmic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) and his Sunnah] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin AlMa'rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm has ordained) and forbid AlMunkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh.
He (Glorified be He) also says, Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islâm), enjoining AlMa'rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do) and forbidding AlMunkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful.
He also says, And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allâh (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allâh's (Islâmic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."
O editor and readers, reflect upon these verses! See how the Lord (Glorified and Exalted be He) decreed success for callers to Allah and destined them to be the best of peoples for none is better than them in speech! However, the writer of the article warns against their approach, criticizes their way, and disapprovingly wonders at them.
Let us thus ponder whether Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) is pleased with the Muslims for mere carrying of Islamic names or belonging to an Islamic country or He demanded belief and action, which entail success, prosperity, and happiness in worldly life and in the Hereafter, from the Muslims.
Indeed, the matter is crystal clear; it is as clear as broad daylight. However, it is as Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says, Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind.
Had it not been for the fear that some ignorant people may be deceived by the article and its author, we would not have been entitled to refute his claims, since the falsity of his claims is manifest to all who come upon it of the common Muslims, not to mention the cultured among them. We ask Allah to guide the author and to direct us and him to sincere repentance.
It is worth noting that he claimed at the end of the article, after he mentioned Prayer, Zakah and Hajj, that,
"Verily, Islam embodies all these pillars. Yet, it implies them as rules upon which is based a whole system of life; life with all that is in it of activities and with all that it includes of values and visions which clarify that Islam in essence is a life system that is built on a special conception of life with all that is in it of values. On the basis of this sound conception, all the systems of government, economy, education, morality, etc. "
A: We say to this author that if Islam is a religion that embodies these bases and that is fit to regulate life in all its aspects, then how could you deny his people's calling for it and propagating its advantages, and claim that people are Muslims, even if by the mere name.
In case the mere name is sufficient for (a person to be) a Muslim, then these objectives and bases referred to above would not be fulfilled. Such is an odd claim and weird paradox, or a matter of confusion and deception.
Why did you not mention that it is a religion on which the uprightness of our affairs in worldly life and in the Hereafter, and which pleases its followers in this life and in the Hereafter? Why did you restrict it to this life only? Do you think that this religion came only to redress (the affairs of) worldly life without having a connection with the Hereafter?
Surely, the case is so clear that it needs no further detail. Besides, those with the minimum knowledge about Islam know that it is a viable system that encompasses everything that brings about happiness for humanity in this life and in the Hereafter. However, deficiency befalls some people due to their lack of knowledge about it or to their failure to apply its rulings.
Undoubtedly, past and recent realities testify to this fact and make it clear for whoever contemplates the conditions of the Muslims during the early era of Islam and after.
So, beware Allah, writer, call yourself to account, turn to your Lord in repentance, and go back on your mistakes, since return to the right is a virtue; rather, an inevitable obligation. Returning in the right is also better for you both in the present life and in the Hereafter than to persist in falsehood.
I ask Allah to direct me, you and the rest of the Muslims to that which pleases Him, and to guide us to His Way. He is indeed the Greatest of all those asked and the help of Him Alone is to be asked for. There is no power or might but with Allah Alone. Allah Alone is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us). May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Slave and Messenger, Muhammad, upon his household and upon his Companions.