I have received an email from one person who is from Australia and doing my free Online Islamic Course. He quoted the verse Holy Qur’an, Chapter 4, verse 60:
O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority among you.
And then commented:
“Authority Among you”, the Authority has to be Muslim it can’t be non-Muslim.Muslims should not live under the non-Muslim rule. And if they are forced to, they must migrate to another country where Muslims are the rulers.
Toward non-muslim: Muslims are not allowed to take non-muslims as leaders, close friends, or mix with them. Neither celebrate their festive seasons or follow in their footsteps.
Unfortunately, many Muslims and non-Muslims have these ideas, which creates hatred and tension. It is our duty to try and remove these misunderstandings and explain the true teaching of Islam. Afterall, if we are living in a non-Muslim country then with such messages, it can cause problems for that society for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
I explained to this person, that yes, as a Muslim obedience is very important. The word ‘Muslim’ means – ‘peace, obedience and submission’ - that through obedience and submission to Allah, you can find real peace. Hence, for a Muslim, Allah and His prophet must always come first.
The word ‘Obey’ in the verse, comes before Allah, the One God, and then again before His Messenger, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to point out that the priority obedience must always be to Allah. For instance, we are taught that we must obey our parents, unless they go against Allah i.e. they tell you not to pray etc., then you can disobey them.
The people in authority can be any sort of authority. Again, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has made this clear that whoever has been placed in authority over you, you should obey.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said:
A Muslim is obligated to hear and obey whether he likes it or not, except when he is required to so something that is sinful, in which case there is no obligation to hear or to obey (Bukhari & Muslim)
Again:
Hear and obey no matter who is placed in authority over you (Bukhari)
Obedience is very important for progress, and we should always be obedient, no matter who is placed above us in authority – Muslim or non-Muslim.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, the Promised Messiah guided us:
The Holy Qur’an commands, ‘Obey Allah and obey His Prophet and obey those in authority among you.’ Believers are to obey those in authority, besides God and His Prophet. To say that ‘those in authority’ does not include a non-Muslin Government would be a manifest error. For, a government or an authority whose ordinances are in accordance with the Shariah (Islamic Law) (that is, they are not in conflict with it) is ‘authority from among you.’
Those who are not against us are among us. The Qur’an, therefore, is very clear on the point. Obedience to government authority is vital.
This person quoted verses from the Holy Qur’an where Jews and Christians were enemies and should not be taken as friends. I explained to him that is for when you are in a state of war only.
For instances, Holy Qur’an, Chapter 5 verse 52 relates:-
O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends of each other. And whoso among you takes them for friends is indeed one of them. Verily, Allah guides not the unjust people
This verse should not be construed to prohibit or discourage just and kind treatment of Jews, Christians and other disbelievers. It is only referring to those Jews and Christians who were at war with the Muslims and who were hatching plots against them. This is why we are told not to take them as friends.
The Holy Qur’an further supports this in Chapter 60, verse 9:-
Allah forbids you not respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you out of your homes, that you be kind to them and deal justly with them; surely, Allah loves those who are fair and just.
Naturally, when a people are trying to drive Muslims from their homes etc., simply because they wanted to worship Allah, then because they are behaving like that, then you should not be friendly with them, you are fighting them. But it is only for the sake of Allah and being allowed to worship Allah. If then, circumstances arise, where you are allowed to worship Allah and live freely, then why should you show hatred to such people? Islam was not spread through war and hatred; it was spread through the beautiful message of Islam.
This is what we are trying to help our fellow Muslims to understand today, that terrorism and hate will never get them anywhere. Islam means ‘peace’ and it is a religion of peace and love. The Jihad for that time may have been a ‘holy war’, whilst people were trying to eliminate Islam, but the Jihad for this age is through the pen, not the sword. Through reason and logic and winning the people’s hearts.
No doubt if anyone is an enemy to Allah, His Messengers, Angels etc. then we should not be friendly with them, but we are all children of Allah and so we should help them understand who Allah is and what is His true message. If they do not accept, then that is their choice ‘for them is their religion and for me is my religion’ 109:7, but unless they are trying to fight us and wipe out Islam, then we can live side by side and if they are celebrating their festivals, which naturally we will not join in, but we can be happy for them, just as they may be happy when we are celebrating our festivals.
For a Muslim, we obey Allah and His messenger and as long as we are not being made to go against Allah, then we can live in a society and become a part of that society. When we love Allah, then you love ALL His creation, and it is our duty to help and serve that creation….no matter what they believe. Hence why our members throughout the world are constant serving mankind to create a better society.
Isolating ourselves and not intermixing, breeds hate and misunderstanding. That is not the way forward and not what Allah expects from us.