Belief is an individual choice ― or, rather, it is a choice involving the individual and God. Resoundingly, the Qur'an declares that 'there shall be no coercion in matters of faith' (2:256). And also: 'Whoever chooses to follow the right path follows it but for his own good and whoever goes astray goes but astray to his own hurt' (17:15). 'The truth from your Sustainer: Let, then, him who wills, believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it,' it says (18:29). Further, it holds that God gave humankind the intellect and ability to discern between right and wrong (17:15 6:104). The Qur'an emphasises that human beings have inherent worth and dignity. God created humans 'in the best of moulds' (95:4) and in doing so honoured humanity and conferred on it special favours (17:70). The Qur'an's anthropology ― which is shared by Christianity and Judaism ― views every human being as a creation of God, blessed with intellect and free will. The bedrock of the Islamic case for religious liberty is the Qur'an's vision of the human person. Both are remarkably supportive of the idea of individual and personal religious freedom. Such problematic texts are outweighed by the bulk of the texts and instruction provided by the two most important authorities in Islam, the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad's actual practice. The Prophet reportedly sometimes demands the death penalty for apostasy, the most obvious example of this being the hadith, 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him' (Bukhari, Sahih, 9, 84, hadith 57). Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

The people vs muhammad pdf