Question
Imagine there is a very religious Christian who does not believe that Jesus is son of God and is very much devoted to his religion and in general is a very good person. He seems to be a very good example of the verse of Quran that says not all of the people of the book are same and among them there are God fearing people who will be awarded in the here after.
Imagine that I’m almost sure that if he is invited to Islam by giving him books and talking to him he will not accept it.
Is it recommendable to invite such a person to Islam?
The dilemma is that according to Quran he is doing fine without becoming a Muslim however if he is invited to Islam and he does not accept it then it means that Hujjat has been given to him, in other words by not accepting the Hujjat he will become a rejecter and a Kafir. For the sake of argument let’s assume that the Hujjat will be really given to him in a satisfactory way.
So what is the best?
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To leave him with his own religion that according to Quran should be acceptable
Or
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Bringing him the Hujjat and thus putting him in danger of becoming a rejecter?
In other words, do Muslims have duty to invite those people of the books that are pious and devoted to their religion even if they know that they will never accept?
Thanks
Answer
The term Itmaam al-Hujjah implies that no stone has been left unturned in conveying the truth in its ultimate form to an individual and that the only reason for his/her denying and scoffing at the truth is sheer arrogance, pride and an inflated ego. One needs to appreciate that it is not for a lack of comprehension on the part of the addressee or an impediment in tongue on the part of the addresser that the truth gets rejected, if, and I emphasize, the addresser conveys it in its pristine form. This quality cannot be claimed to be possessed by anyone save the Messengers of Allah and that too only because the Almighty closely supervises all of their relevant movements and positively guides them to and furnishes them for this end.
Hence, it is hard for me to agree categorically with your assumption that Hujjah would be given to your Christian friend in the most satisfactory way. Human weaknesses inherent in the communication and understanding of a message can play a decisive role, except, as stated earlier, in the case of Messengers and their direct addressees.
In view of the above explanation, I advise you to do your best in presenting the message of Islam in the most beautiful manner to your friend and also pray to Allah for his guidance. Rest assured that if you do your utmost in exhortation, your friend will open up his heart to your call, and if he does not, you can always consider the possibility of a lack of perfection on your part as an exhorter. He will only become a rejector (Kaffir) if, even after fully appreciating your message and being convinced of its truthfulness, he persists on rejecting it.
You write:
So what is the best? To leave him with his own religion that according to Quran should be acceptable Or Bringing him the Hujjat and thus putting him in danger of becoming a rejecter?
In my opinion, a better way to analyze the situation is: If he accepts your untainted message of Islam, he well deserved to be exposed to it; if he does not, you continue with doing your best, thinking that it is Allah’s way of testing him.
It is indeed the duty of Muslims to call others to the way of Allah. The Quran proclaims:
Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and sincere exhortations and debate with them in manners that are most appropriate (Al-Nah’l 16:125)
Regards
Razi Allah
November 19, 2002