It is written in the Quran, "there is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who discards vain superstitions and believes in Allah has grasped a firm handhold which will not let go."
Everything else gives way and fails us at some point except the tie that binds the sons of men by duty to Allah
This is from an Eid-al-fitr sermon delivered by an english muslim named Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall in England in June 1919.
And that tie, that cable joining us to God, is the one certain and unfailing hope of human progress - the progress of mankind as a whole to peace and happiness. Self-sacrifice is the proof of true religion. But some people, when they speak of self-sacrifice, they mean the sacrifice of one human being for another! That may be antisocial, anti-human and unfair. It may happen that a worthy, useful and good person sacrifices himself or herself for a worthless, dangerous wicked person. The only sacrifice which has real human and religious value therfore is the sacrifice of the self to Allah, the surrender of our selfish and ambitious greedy aims to Allah's universal purpose.
In the same way, love of children, friends, relations, country and creed and the desire to serve them are admirable in their way but without the thought of Allah, they become detrimental to humanity and foster many types of corruption and injustices. Allah is the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe, no matter what. His mercy and His purpose are for all alike. And that is why we must please Allah when serving those we love and those around us, because everything else will perish and wither away..all men die.
No human being perfectly understands another. No human being can satisfy all the yearnings of another, no matter how much he/she is forced to do it. There is no such thing as a perfect communion of two souls. The inmost soul of every man and woman is solitary from the cradle to the grave, unless and until it surrenders to Allah and then it is no longer solitary anymore.
And the laws of Allah in the Quran are not negative; they are positive if only we all knew!
At the time of the coming of Muhammad(saw)(pbuh), religion was an obscur thing made apart from daily life. It was bound up with vain ideas of the miraculous and a high priest with questionable powers. When Muhammad came, the men of Mecca laughed"What is the matter with him? Why has not an heavenly treasure been bestowed upon him in his admonitions?" The Qur'an informs us of the truth: "We have not sent any messengers before but they assuredly eat food and walk the streets." In other words, the former prophets of Allah, including Jesus (as) whom they deified were only men.
Islam brought back religion to the light of everyday; it is a way of life. It cannot be dissected to a particular day or ceremony. Islam proclaimed the phenomena of everyday to be signs of Allah(swt), bearing testimony to His power more truly than any miracle that ever happened. Islam placed a goal of true religion in this world and gave men a true sense of bonding with His creator. "And do not die without submitting to Him utterly" This is a chance for every man and woman, adult and child.
The laws of Allah are flawless where as the laws of men are not and we have witnessed their failure. Usury is anti-social, gambling is anti-social, drunkenness is anti-social, adultery is destructive. Aggressive nationalism is a crime. The muslims should have no business in any of that. Obedience to the laws of Allah(swt) as revealed in the Qur'an is the only way to reconcile the claims of the rich and the poor, of governors and governed, of slave and free. When once the laws of Allah are accepted, all those troubles and strife will disappear.People of all creed mix in islam upon a footing of great belief in God, holding fast to the cable of Allah. There was no need of a police force for centuries in the muslim empire; such were the honesty and upright attitudes of muslims 1000 years ago. We, muslims have great cause to remember Allah's goodness.
Islam is a mercy for the whole of humanity and you know that whenever the Europeans are in trouble, they seek to torture a group of people and blame another. Why do so many Europeans deny the true Islam when it has given them so much already? When they drew their knowledge from it when they were in the pits of darkness? (this is written in 1919 before the 2nd world war?)
As muslims we have to strive to do good to everyone with whom you are in contact with, on an individual level; avoid evil actions, we have to acquire knowledge and skills, stand up for good and justice not just for muslims because good people everywhere yearn for the same thing - a belief in a Higher Judge who is truly most fair.
Let us hold fast to the cable that Allah gives to us wherever we may be.