08-17-2005, 07:45 PM
Bismillah
Why take one verse when there's a whole Book?
It has been posted but once again:
(And whoever seeks religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers) (3:85).
There was a progression in the Qur'an being revealed. (I am sure this is known.) Allah is All-Wise and Knows that people need to change slowly for it to be easy for us humans. If the first verses from Allah were the ones prohibiting pork and alcohol, would people take interest in the Prophet's Message? Is this the most important part? No.
As muslims, all of our actions spring from our belief in Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah). At the time of the verse in question's revelation, muslims, jews and, christians were all in agreement on the point of monotheism. As Islam matured, Allah revealed to His people what it was He wanted us to exactly do now that we believed. [An "I love you" is hollow without actions to support it. Obviously from the past, when men are left to their own devices when concocting religions and their worship rituals, they get quite astray. Through the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, Allah has given mankind specific instructions on how to please Him, how to attain success in the afterlife, and how to be the best of people in this life.] Since muslims then had their specific instructions on how to be followers of Islam, anyone who did not follow this guidance would no longer be acceptable to Allah. Therefore, this verse was revealed: "And whoever seeks religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers (3:85). The window of opportunity for other faiths is closed. Sorry.
This has been an issue that I have had to deal with as a convert. The majority of people who are in my life are not muslims. Alhamdulillah, this life is in accordance with Allah's Will and not mine.
I hoped that I have helped clear up things and not made them worse. Astaghfirullah.