Religious Unity… Apostasy from Islam and Refutation of the Principles of Belief
It is no secret what Muslims endure across
the world from various crises. While the advocates of Islam resist waves of
atheism and heresy, counter ancient and modern false claims, curb
Westernization, and confront moral deviation, another calamity has emerged—one
of the most severe trials faced by Islam and Muslims. It strikes aggressively,
brazenly, and maliciously, aiming to undermine the desire for practicing Islam,
to dissolve personal faith in the religious arena, to chase the Islamic
movement, suppress its devout pioneers, and drag its followers into a
comprehensive apostasy.
This is evident in the public calls made by
Jews, Christians, and their followers to mix Islam with other
religions—“religious unity”—planting their cells deep within the Muslim
community, seeking to mold Muslims into a single entity where loyalty and disavowal
vanish, and the distinction between believer and disbeliever is erased,
claiming all are equal before Allah.
Hence, it is necessary to pause at this lie
of “religious unity” promoted by some: What motivates it? What goals does it
pursue? How credible are its slogans? What is Islam’s ruling regarding it, and
regarding Muslims participating in it, or those who advocate it, prepare the
ground for it among Muslims, or spread it in their lands? We examine this lie
from two aspects:
First aspect: The historical narrative of this lie
Tracing the historical stages of this lie, we find four temporal stages:
1. The first stage during the Prophet’s (peace
be upon him) time: Allah clarified in the Quran that Jews and
Christians continuously attempted to mislead Muslims, turn them from faith to
disbelief, and call them to Judaism or Christianity. Allah says: “Many among the People of the Book wish they could turn
you ˹believers˺ back to
disbelief because of their envy, after the truth has been made clear to them.
Pardon and bear with them until Allah delivers His decision. Surely Allah is
Most Capable of everything.” (Al-Baqarah 2:109) and “The Jews and
Christians each say, ‘Follow our faith to be ˹rightly˺ guided.’ Say, ˹O
Prophet,˺ ‘No! We
follow the faith of Abraham, the upright—who was
not a polytheist’” (Al-Baqarah 2:135)
Thus, through numerous verses in Allah’s
Book, we are warned against the deception of Jews, Christians, and others.
Allah says: “Do not mix truth with falsehood or
hide the truth knowingly.” (Al-Baqarah 2:42) Ibn Jarir
al-Tabari reported from Mujahid regarding this verse: “Do not mix Judaism and
Christianity with Islam,” and in Ibn Kathir’s tafsir, Qatadah said: “Do not mix
Judaism and Christianity with Islam, for the religion of Allah is Islam.”
2. The stage of post-classical propagation: Later, attempts reemerged under a slogan they
invented, deceiving the weak in knowledge and faith, claiming Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam are like the four legal schools among Muslims—each path
leading to Allah.
This was then adopted by proponents of
“unity of existence,” “union,” and “incarnation” among some self-styled Muslims
from mystic atheists, who even permitted conversion to Judaism or Christianity
and, for some, regarded the religions of Jews and Christians as superior to
Islam. This was refuted by Ibn Taymiyyah, and such calls were suppressed by
Islamic scholars, declaring them disbelief and apostasy.
3. Dormancy and revival: The idea remained dormant, concealed by its promoters
who outwardly appeared Islamic but inwardly denied it, until the first half of
the 14th century (Islamic calendar) when the “Sun Mon Tawhid” movement adopted
it, preceded by Freemasonry, under the guise of calling for unity among the
three religions and abandoning fanaticism, claiming all are believers.
4. Modern resurgence: What was thought extinct has reemerged in the era of
the “New World Order” and normalization with the Zionist entity. Jews and
Christians openly call for religious gathering with Muslims, i.e., “unifying
Judaism, Christianity, and Muhammad’s religion,” under labels like interfaith
dialogue, abandoning religious fanaticism, religious brotherhood, interfaith
congresses, Islamic-Christian friendship, religious unity, Abrahamic unity, or
unifying divine religions.
Second aspect: Islam’s ruling on this lie
Islamic creed requires belief in the oneness of the religion and the faith in
Allah, the Prophethood, the Last Day, angels, divine books, predestination, and
fulfilling the duties of conveying the message, warning, guidance, and
clarifying the truth to lead people from darkness to light, purifying souls
through monotheism, obedience, and avoiding deviation, judging by Allah’s laws.
This principle forms the core of all divine
messages. Calling for unifying Islam with other religions contradicts these
foundations, violates the sanctity of prophets and divine messages, invalidates
the truth of the Quran, and negates the finality of Prophethood with Muhammad
(peace be upon him). It is therefore an innovated, misguiding, and
disbelief-promoting call, forbidden by all Islamic evidence from Quran, Sunnah,
and consensus.
Muslims are thus prohibited from attending
conferences, forums, associations, or groups promoting such unity. They must
reject it, warn against its consequences, and remove it from Muslim lands and
consciousness. This falsehood is philosophical in nature, politically
motivated, atheistic in aim, targeting Muslims by:
1. Creating confusion, instigating doubts and desires,
and unsettling Muslims.
2. Attacking Islam’s foundations to weaken Muslims and
remove faith from their hearts.
3. Breaking the Islamic bond across the Muslim world to
replace it with a cursed brotherhood of Jews and Christians.
4. Shaping thought with hostility toward religion under
the guise of “religious unity,” isolating Muslims from their faith and laws.
5. Ultimately, spreading the influence of disbelievers
globally and waging a comprehensive attack against Islam through intellectual,
cultural, economic, and political channels, establishing a common market free
from Islamic law or moral authority.
A final objection: Why not cooperate among religions to benefit
humanity?
One might ask why Muslims cannot cooperate with other religions for humanity’s
happiness. Islam commands kindness to all who do not fight Muslims or expel
them from their homes: “Allah does not forbid
you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor
driven you out of your homes. Surely Allah loves those who are fair.” (Al-Mumtahina
60:8)
Yet Allah warns against their enmity: “Never will the Jews or Christians be pleased with you,
until you follow their faith. Say, “Allah’s guidance is the only ˹true˺
guidance.” And if
you were to follow their desires after ˹all˺ the
knowledge that has come to you, there would be none to protect or help you
against Allah.” (Al-Baqarah 2:120) How then could one
cooperate with people who harbor enmity and intend harm?
-------------------------------------------------------------
(1) The Concise Encyclopedia of
Contemporary Religions, Sects, and Parties, Dr. Mani’ bin Hammad Al-Juhani
(22/669–674), adapted.
(2) Refutation of the Logicians, Ibn
Taymiyyah, pp. 282–283, adapted.
(3) A suspicious movement calling for the
unification of religions and melting them into a single framework to eliminate
religious differences among people so that all merge into one crucible (Sun
Moon) – the Korean figure who appeared with a new prophecy in this modern era.
(4) The Awakening of the Sick Man,
Muwafaq Bani Al-Marjah (1/345), adapted.
(5) Refutation of the Theory of Mixing
Islam with Other Religions, Dr. Bakr bin Abdullah Abu Zaid, adapted.
Read Also:
-
The Tolerance of the Islamic Religion
-
Foundations and Reflections of Faith Brotherhood
-
Islam’s strength: openness, tolerance & respect for all faiths
