THE QUR’AN AND THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

The Qur’an makes it abundantly clear; every individual enjoys freedom of choice, and has full liberty, either to accept or reject any idea, concept or, way of life, utilizing the innate wisdom and ability to differentiate between right and wrong. This is also true with the constitution of the Qur’an, which can get a positive response or a negative one.  

In the verse 7:19, Allah presents this exquisite notion of personal freedom in an elegant manner. 

‘When the human beings finally reached [after 2.5 billion years of evolution] the status of Adam [a social entity, way above the closest primates] Allah advised the new species, “You are free to dwell anywhere on this earthly paradise and have complete independence to work and eat, wherever you want on this lovely planet.

But there are certain limits you must respect in order to protect your social setup from the adverse effects of too much freedom.

The humans belong to a single genus and constitute an extensively   large family, which must never divide into different groups or parties, with the end result of conflicts and dissensions amongst you. You must evenly distribute the sources of wealth on this planet, in accordance with Allah‘s Fiscal Policy, to satisfy every one’s needs. If there is a clash of interest amongst you, in that case your paradise on earth shall turn into a burning hell. Anarchy, pandemonium or, even mayhem may become order of the day.’ 

The Qur’an, in the verse 41:40, enunciates an excellent definition of freedom or that of the free choice, but it also stipulates a condition of voluntarily self-imposed restrictions to introduce checks and balances in the society. Unlimited liberty in any social setup means its total destruction, which beats the very purpose of freedom in the first place.

‘You have complete freedom of choice and you may select any way of life you want. But Allah’s system based upon eternal code is watching your every move and results of your action shall be compiled upon the basis of our infinite knowledge.’ 

Additionally, Allah comes out very clearly in the verse [35:1]; He established His set of laws and rest assured, He shall honor them, without any change, whatsoever.   

 ‘Certainly, Allah has established rules and regulations for every eventuality, within this universe and beyond. With the assistance of His immutable rules, He keeps a close watch, what goes on around? With the repetition of the same verse 35 times in the Qur’an, He assures every one; His laws are irreversible and there shall be no change in various limits imposed by Him for any one.’ 

Mohammad, addressing the whole world 1,400 years ago in Mecca, proclaimed, “This Qur’an is the truth coming down from your Sustainer. Hence, whoever wants to accept or reject this code of conduct is free to do so, but before making any choice, each individual must use its intelligence and perception to make the right choice.” [18:29] 

Their response was very simple; they would follow the path of their ancestors. [2:170] 

‘In response to the above declaration, they came up with a simple answer, “We would follow the path of our forefathers and keep on doing, whatever they did.” What an unintelligent line of reasoning; their irrational ancestors were not on the right path.’

Allah suggests, do not follow the Qur’an without complete comprehension! [25:73]

 ‘Allah accepts those people as real Muslims, who avoid adopting every commandment of the Qur’an, without complete understanding and comprehension, but use their innate intelligence and analytical logic for accepting or rejecting it.’  

There is no room for the idiosyncrasies of such blockhead dimwits, and morally corrupt individuals. 

‘The human mind is a witness of the absolute reality that every individual can instill wonderful equilibrium and commendable balance in its persona by adhering to Allah’s directives, as He has equipped every human being with the potential of self-destruction, as well as self-construction. Each individual possesses two choices, either to go for the first option or to get rid of it, by nourishing the second one and developing it to the highest level possible, utilizing the innate analytical prowess and impartial thinking. A person who really accomplishes that feat [by following the natural laws coupled with the Qur’anic principles] through his wonderful behavior is the real winner. Naturally, the one who destroys one’s persona through wrong pursuits, experiences personal failures, at every step of the way.’ 

Allah respects human right of freedom, by enunciating the directive, “No coercion, whatsoever, is required for the acceptance of the divine social order.” 

‘Despite the fact that Allah possesses unlimited power, yet He has no desire to enforce the divine social order, embodied in the Qur’an, on this planet or on other extraterrestrial life forms, by compulsion. It is against his plan of independent development and progressive approach. Indubitably, He clearly indicated the right and the wrong paths and then left humans free to come up with their own choice. Whoever forcefully rebels against the Qur’an or chooses to adopt the right path by rejecting oppressive powers, is making a definite decision. The one who has made the correct selection has indeed grabbed the trust worthiest hand, which shall never break away. This is the promise of Allah, Who possesses the best documentation system, in lieu of His unlimited knowledge.’ [8:29, 90:10, and 76:3]

In the verse 4:137, the Qur’an states, ‘The people who quit implementing the code of the Qur’an in their daily lives [through the establishment of some government], shall neither find protection from Allah’s judicious system, nor shall they ever find the right path to build a happy life.’

‘Those, who first accepted Islam [started struggling for the establishment of a peaceful society based upon the constitution of the Qur'an], then went back and joined the opposite camp [non-Muslims], once again turned around to become a part of the Muslim Ummah, but left one more time and then grew stubborn in their denial of the truth; such type of people shall neither be protected from the Laws of Allah, nor they shall ever find the right path. They shall plunge deeper into ignorance and ignominy.’

Therefore, according to the above verse of the Qur’an, you are free to accept or reject the commandments of the Qur'an. Additionally, there is no capital punishment for any Muslim, who wants to rescind his allegiance to Allah and the Qur’an. Every one has full liberty either to belong to the Muslim community or go the other way. There is complete freedom of choice for every Muslim to become Hindu, Christian, Jew or an agnostic; whatever suits someone’s palate of belief.

Death penalty for an apostate is the fabrication of the Islamic priesthood and Iranian Imams. They invented the term ‘apostate’ and injected it into the Islamic Shariah, with a view to keep a firm hold on their respective sects and dissuade their followers from wandering away or changing sides, due to the hanging sword of decapitation over their heads. This concept is, however, alien to the Qur’an and is nothing more than an erroneous belief.

However, in defiance to your unwarranted and unsubstantiated accusations, the Qur’an states in the verse 5; 32: 

‘If one kills a person without a just cause, it shall tantamount to the killing of the whole humanity. Conversely, if one saves the life of a single person, it shall be like saving the entire humankind.’

The Qur’an, contradicting the Islamic priesthood’s point of view, states in the verse 17:70:

‘Certainly, every individual [regardless of race, religion, color and nationality] on this planet is equally honorable, as far as Allah is concerned. Unquestionably, the noblest amongst you from Allah’s standpoint is the one, who obeys Allah’s commandments for the establishment of a peaceful and prosperous society in this world.’ [49:13] 

Jews can be Jews by birth and so can be Christians, but it is different with Muslims. They have to learn the Qur’an and understand the verses without any help from synthesized Sunnah, fabricated Ahadith, and mixed-up Fiqah. Since the Muslims have given up the right of choice, they are in the hellhole. Jews and Christians have become secular, because their revelations have become extinct, millennia ago.

The concept of foreordination of everything by Allah or, belief in one’s luck is Iranian addition to the Qur’an; this is an alien plant sowed in the soil of Islam.

The Qur’an regards human ingenuity and perseverance with high esteem and considers these qualities essential for revving up the human evolutionary development. As mentioned above, every member of this community works diligently according to its knowledge, training and skill, but this effort is not made only for personal gains or benefits; the overall social improvement and betterment of others remains to be the major goal of every person. [53:39] 

‘In that society, one works to the best of one’s ability [giving one’s best shot, as per American slang] and is rewarded in accordance with the efforts made.’ 

Naturally, under the ethics of work defined above, none would like to be on welfare. It would be tantamount to degrading one’s public status in the progressive society and no one would like to be labeled as a social outcast or a communal parasite, as Mullahs are.

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