Assalamualikum everyone,

In this blog, I would like to answer a very common question raised by several Muslims and non-Muslims and that is, “Why has Allah not made everyone a Muslim?” or “If Allah is so great and is responsible for everything, why do we have so many religions?“

The main reason to choose this topic to blog today is because, in recent times, there have been numerous occasions where the media has tried to portray Islam as a forceful religion (directly or indirectly). In fact, there have been several cases where some misguided Muslims themselves have forced fellow Muslims to follow their idea of what Islam is about, a very extreme approach.

The answer to the above question lies in the following Quranic verses. These Quranic verses are easy to read and understand and hopefully you will be able to derive the conclusion yourself.

“Verily, we have sent down to you (O Muhammad peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) the Book (this Qur’an) for mankind in truth. So whosoever accepts the guidance, it is only for his own self, and whosoever goes astray, he goes astray only for his (own) loss. And you (O Muhammad SAW) are not a Wakîl (trustee or disposer of affairs, or keeper) over them.” (Az-Zumar 39:41)

“And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you (O Muhammad peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) then compel mankind, until they become believers? It is not for any person to believe, except by the Leave of Allah, and He will put the wrath on those who are heedless.” (Surah Yunus 10: 99-100)

“Verily! This (Verses of the Qur’an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah). But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (Surah Ad-Dahr 76:29-30)

“Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that we may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds. [i.e. those who do good deeds in the most perfect manner, that means to do them (deeds) totally for Allah's sake and in accordance to the legal ways of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)].” (Surah Al Kahf 18:7)

“There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut (false deities, idols, etc.) and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.” (Surah Al Baqarah 2:256)

These five Quranic verses mention four very important elements of Islam:

- Even the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not responsible to make others accept the guidance. He was a messenger and his task was to educate / invite others to the religion of Islam.

- A person will bear his/her own loss if he/she does not follow the religion of Islam.

- Only Allah can bring change in someone’s belief, no matter how hard one tries.

- Allah has made the life of this Earth to test mankind and man will be recompensed according to his deeds in this world.

Thus, Allah could have made everyone a Muslim but because the purpose of the world is to test the people and to award him according to his deeds, Allah wants us people of this world to understand the difference between right and wrong path and make our own choice and decision thereafter.

Here, I would also like to emphasize the difference between force and invitation. A Muslim should always do Da’wah (which means, to invite) or Tableegh (which means, to convey the message) to a fellow Muslim or a non-Muslim towards the religion of Islam, either directly or indirectly, through proper means. However, they should not and cannot force anyone to attend any religious gathering or convert into Islam.

JazakAllah

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