Is it prescribed to say that a person is free to choose his religion?
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Question:
What is the ruling on the one who says that a person is free to choose his religion, citing the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:256]
Answer:
If a person were free to choose his religion, Allah would not have sent the Messengers or sent down the Books, and He would not have prescribed jihad in the path of Allah.[Al-Anfal 8:39] [At-Tawbah 9:5] The religion is for Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is not permissible for there to be a religion other than that of Allah. Allah created the creation to worship Him. [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56].
So there is no freedom in religions; freedom is the worship of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. This is what He created man for. If he refuses to worship Allah, he is fought. Either he worships Allah, or he is killed and removed from existence, because it is not permissible for the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) to remain on the face of the earth, nor for the disbelievers, because they spread disbelief and they spread shirk (associating partners with Allah) on the earth. Therefore, they must be fought and their disbelief and shirk must be eradicated. If there were freedom in religions as they say, there would have been no need for the sending of Messengers, nor for the sending down of Books, nor for the prescription of jihad in the path of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. People would take their religion according to their desire, according to what they want. If they did not become servants of Allah, they would not be servants of Allah, but Allah created them as His servants, creating them to worship Him, Glorified and Exalted is He. As for the verse[Al-Baqarah 2:256], the scholars have answers regarding it. One of them is that it was abrogated by the verses of fighting. "There is no compulsion in religion"—this was in the beginning, and then it was abrogated by the verses of jihad in the path of Allah. The second opinion is that it is specific to the Jews and the Christians. If they pay the jizyah (tax on protected non-Muslims), they are left on their religion. If they pay the jizyah and submit to the rule of Islam, they are left on their religion. This is specific to the Jews and the Christians; it is not general for all disbelievers. Yes.
What is the ruling on the one who says that a person is free to choose his religion, citing the saying of Allah the Exalted:
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِAnswer:
If a person were free to choose his religion, Allah would not have sent the Messengers or sent down the Books, and He would not have prescribed jihad in the path of Allah.
And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah.
وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِkill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush
فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُوا لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍAnd I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِSo there is no freedom in religions; freedom is the worship of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. This is what He created man for. If he refuses to worship Allah, he is fought. Either he worships Allah, or he is killed and removed from existence, because it is not permissible for the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) to remain on the face of the earth, nor for the disbelievers, because they spread disbelief and they spread shirk (associating partners with Allah) on the earth. Therefore, they must be fought and their disbelief and shirk must be eradicated. If there were freedom in religions as they say, there would have been no need for the sending of Messengers, nor for the sending down of Books, nor for the prescription of jihad in the path of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. People would take their religion according to their desire, according to what they want. If they did not become servants of Allah, they would not be servants of Allah, but Allah created them as His servants, creating them to worship Him, Glorified and Exalted is He. As for the verse
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يشرع قول أن الإنسان حر في اختيار دينه؟ #فتاوى الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.