Is My View That Non-Muslims Too Can Enter Paradise Against The Qur’an?

By Khalid Zaheer

Question:

What a perfect nincompoop you are! Unfortunately it is nincompoops like you who will be called scholars. You say while claiming in one of your YouTube presentations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMSNlcpYaf8) that 'there are verses after verses which clarify the point that non-Muslims can also enter the paradise yet you do not mention surah Al-Imran's verse 85 which clearly says: 'If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to God), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (... See More All spiritual good).' And you claim that this erroneous view is held 'by a large majority of them (Muslims)', that is you assume that majority of Muslims are mistaken or mislead whereas according to a prophetic saying Allah will not gather his followers (Ummah) upon misguidance. Also you have completely rejected by your nonsense exegesis of Quran the need to believe in Prophet Muhammed (Allah's peace be upon him). You have claimed that there are only three conditions to be met to succeed in the hereafter. In your own words if you satisfy these three conditions (a) belief in God (b) belief in hereafter (c) and good deeds, then you will have success and salvation in hereafter no matter who you are. Are you any different from Qadianis?

Response:

I wanted the comments of this brother about me to be retained in the question because I find that the Almighty has reproduced harsh comments of the unbelievers about the prophet, Alaihis Salam, in the Qur'an for them to stay in the book for ever. You find such comments as "saahirun, kazzaab" and "majnunun, mashur" [magician, liar, lunatic, influenced by magic] about him in the Qur'an. I therefore believe that if something indecent has been written against me, I must not get it removed. I am not accusing my brother of belonging to a morally low category of individuals, nor am I claiming that I am necessarily a person with a high moral character. It's simply a matter of following the right policy in the light of Qur'anic guidance.

My response to the brother is this: Thank you for pointing out that I didn't mention an important verse while making my point. Having said that, let me clarify that Qur'anic verses have to be interpreted in a way that they don't conflict with each other. Therefore, verse 2:62 (and 5:69) and verse 3:85 have to be explained simultaneously. Verse 2:62 clearly says that three conditions are enough for salvation: Beliefs in God and Hereafter and good deeds. Verse 3:85 says that Allah is not going to accept anything as religion except Islam.

There are two ways of responding to the apparent contradiction: Verse 2:62 has been abrogated (annulled) by verse 3:85, therefore meanings of verse 2:62 are not valid anymore. I find this explanation unacceptable. To explain that one verse has been cancelled because of another can sometimes be correct in case of practical injunctions when a certain difficult Shari'ah stipulation is planned to be applied gradually. However if we suggest that abrogation has taken place in case of a universal principle, it would imply that there was a change of mind, a conflict of strategy, and a contradiction in approach. There was a time when God decided that He will give success on the basis of three conditions but then He later decided that His earlier decision was, God forbid, incorrect and therefore needed to be withdrawn.

The other explanation could be that verse 2:62 (and 5:67) was making a universally applicable statement while verse 3:85 was a further explanation of it. The latter clarification ("Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam shall not be accepted from him") only means that God demands submission (Islam) as the correct religious approach (Deen). If a person is not prepared to submit himself intellectually and practically before God, no matter whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim, that religious approach shall not be acceptable to Him. However, if a person believes in God and does good deeds properly, he is showing the right attitude of submission (Islam) which God will accept from him.

The only question that remains unresolved is that given the above explanation was there a chance for a person who rejected the message by the last messenger to succeed in the hereafter? The answer is that such a possibility was not there. However, for a message to be rejected, it has to first properly reach the person who is doing so. A person who truly believes in God cannot reject His representative (the messenger), like a person who respects a king cannot disrespect his ambassador. However, whether a person received God's message through His messenger and rejected it knowingly or didn't receive the message in reality is a question that only the All-Knowing God can decide.

If a concept has been properly understood through the Qur'an, it hardly matters if many scholars had understood the issue any differently. The Qur'an is the ultimate criterion between right and wrong. It is the other sources that must submit to the understanding of the Qur'an. To show that my interpretation is wrong, the one disagreeing with me should point out how it is not properly clarifying the Qur'anic text. To prove another interpretation to be correct, the presenter of it has the obligation to show how it is making more sense in the context of the Qur'anic text. The mention of who says what is irrelevant to the discussion of Qur'anic interpretation.

As for the claim that the Muslim Ummah cannot agree on anything misleading, I believe that the relevant Hadith is saying that this Ummah will always have a few people at least who will understand and follow what is right. It is not saying that the majority view would always be correct.

URL: https://newageislam.com/ijtihad-rethinking-islam/is-view-that-non-muslims/d/12984