Faith and Freedom
by Sheikh Muhammad Tufail
Al-Ahmadiyya, June/July 1980 Issue (Vol. 2, Nos. 6–7, pp. 3–4)
Freedom could mean freedom from righteousness and responsibility or freedom to do whatever one likes. Freedom which makes us free from trustworthiness and responsibility in fact leads us to chaos. What then is freedom — that so much cherished object in man’s life?
Broadly speaking, freedom is making oneself free from bondage, or from troublesome things in life. Freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of occupation and enterprise, freedom from want, disease and fear, freedom to feel equal with others, freedom to worship God, etc., are various concepts of freedom, for which men have lived and died. In whatever terms we define freedom, one point is, however, clear, that the path of freedom is the path of onerous responsibilities.
This is true in all walks of life. Whenever we talk of freedom we should always think of discipline, obedience, responsibility, restraint from evil, adherence to truth, and so on. The old saying,
“the good man only is free; all bad men are slaves,”
also points to this direction. The freedom which a good man enjoys can only be attained by his obedience to moral law; otherwise, man becomes a slave to his own lower self.
اَرَءَیۡتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ اِلٰـہَہٗ ہَوٰىہُ ؕ
“Have you seen him,”
says the Holy Quran,
“who takes his low desire for his god?” (The Holy Quran, 25:43; 45:23).
This man, in fact, is not free; he is a slave to his passions.
To a Muslim Real Freedom lies in Submission to God:
The desire to be free, no doubt, has a strong hold on man’s mind, but unless he is willing to accept the guidance of God, he would not be able to free himself from bondage. The Quran teaches that real freedom from bondage lies in submission to God and the purification of the self. This is the pivot of Islamic faith on which turns all that is dear to man — life, liberty, success, peace, happiness and wisdom.
But man is free to reject the message of God, if he likes. This is where he differs from the rest of the creation; otherwise, everything in the universe submits to the laws of God.
The directive power of God is working for man also, but in a different form, because man himself is different from other beings in some ways. When he is born, he is a helpless creature, but in this helplessness lies his greatest power. He is not like other animals who live only by instinct. Man is an animal who makes selections. A wolf would eat nothing but meat and a sheep nothing but grass, but with man food is an acquired taste. He may eat meat or may not touch it at all throughout his life; that depends in which class of people he has been brought up. In the preservation of his life and species man stands in line with other animals. All living creatures struggle hard to escape death, but man can kill himself if he likes. The act of committing suicide is peculiar only to this animal called man. No other animal does it, because it has no other choice except to complete its term of life, unless, of course, it meets with an accident.
Because man is different or has been made different, therefore God’s guidance to him is also given in a different way; that is, through the agency of prophets who have been raised in all lands and nations. The bee follows its prescribed (instinctive) course, but man has been given the choice, however limited that choice may be, to accept or reject the direction which comes to him through the prophets. The mere possibility of rejecting the messages of God shows that man was not forced to follow such guidance:
الۡحَقُّ مِنۡ رَّبِّکُمۡ ۟ فَمَنۡ شَآءَ فَلۡیُؤۡمِنۡ وَّ مَنۡ شَآءَ فَلۡیَکۡفُرۡ ۙ
“The Truth is from your Lord; so let him who please believe, and let him who please disbelieve” (The Holy Quran, 18:29).
قَدۡ جَآءَکُمۡ بَصَآئِرُ مِنۡ رَّبِّکُمۡ ۚ فَمَنۡ اَبۡصَرَ فَلِنَفۡسِہٖ ۚ وَ مَنۡ عَمِیَ فَعَلَیۡہَا ؕ
“Clear proofs have indeed come to you from your Lord; so whoever sees, it is for his own good; and whoever is blind, it is to his own harm” (The Holy Quran, 6:104).
لَاۤ اِکۡرَاہَ فِی الدِّیۡنِ ۟ۙ قَدۡ تَّبَیَّنَ الرُّشۡدُ مِنَ الۡغَیِّ ۚ
“There is no compulsion in religion — the right way is indeed clearly distinct from error” (The Holy Quran, 2:256).
This freedom of will and action is thus the basis of all virtuous life in the Islamic faith. It is here that man differs from the rest of the creation. An act only becomes a virtue when it is chosen by free will. The freewill is, however, restricted but it does not mean that man’s actions are pre-determined. Man’s deeds are recorded at the moment when they are done (50:17–18; 82:10–12). According to the Quran, man is born a free agent and is responsible for what he does here in this world. God expects him to follow the divine guidance but the decision is left to man himself, whether he likes to surrender his will freely to the will of God and thus work in harmony and participation with his Creator.