Muhammad the Greatest

by Ahmad Deedat

page 30

     The Muslims were also the masters of India for a
    thousand years, but eventually when the sub-continent
    received independence in 1947, the Hindus obtained three-
    quarters of the country and the Muslims the balance of the
    one-quarter. Why? Because the Muslims did not force Islam
    down the Hindus' throats! In Spain and in India, the Muslims
    were no paragons of virtue, yet they obeyed the Qur'anic
    injunction to the letter -
 
    LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION
    IN RELIGION:
 
    FOR TRUTH STANDS OUT
    DISTINCT FROM ERROR.   Holy Quran 2:256          

The Muslim conquerors understood from this command
that "compulsion" was incompatible with true religion:
because
 
 (a} Religion depends on faith and will, and these
    would be meaningless if induced by force.
    Force can conquer but cannot convert.
 
 (b) Truth and Error have been so clearly shown
    up by the Mercy of God that there should
    be no doubt in the minds of any person of
    goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.
 
 (c) God's protection is continuous and His Plan is
    always to lead us from the depths of dark-
    ness into the clearest light. ¹
 
    Except for some eccentrics here and there, the Muslims
    as a whole adhered to the commandment of God in the
    lands over which they held sway.
 

 1. (a), (b} and (c) are Yusuf Ali's comments on verse 256. Obtain his translation with over  6000 explanatory footnotes from the IPCI.
  

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