Q.1. May I cite the case of a Muslim who lives in the midst of a community where the majority are non-Muslims, many of whom are courteous to him. Yet he knows that they will burn in hell. Nevertheless, he fails to speak to them about Islam or call on them to become Muslims. What will he be his status?
Q.2. These days people use the Internet to chat to people whom they do not know. Suppose that they talk to people of the opposite sex, and as this goes on the chat becomes too familiar, yet they are unlikely ever to meet them. What does Islam say about this?
Tairq Khan
A.1. How do I or anyone know what will be the status of any person, Muslim or non-Muslim, on the Day of Judgement? This is something determined by God on the basis of His knowledge of people’s actions and failings as they go through life. The very basis of the question is wrong, and the very premise that such people will go to hell is wrong. This is something God determines. It is not for human beings to try to sit in judgment on others. How does any of us know what will be his state of affairs tomorrow, let alone on the Day of Judgement? Can anyone tell that he or she will maintain his convictions and his way of life for the rest of his days on Earth? Obviously no one can tell. Hence, no one should imagine that what he thinks today will happen tomorrow.
There are a variety of reasons why people cannot talk about Islam to non-Muslims. This may be because they do not have enough knowledge themselves, or they are too shy, or the other person is unreceptive, or the general conditions do not allow. While the Muslim community as a whole is required to make Islam known to all people and to address them properly calling on them to accept Islam, individuals should do what they can to make Islam known to people and present the proper Islamic image. The best way to do so is to live our lives as Muslims, adhering to Islamic values and principles. People will come to respect us and realize that our code of morality and our principles are of the higher type. They will start looking for the reasons that give us this distinction and they will soon realize that it is our faith.
Many communities adopted Islam in this way. Indonesia and Malaysia as well as many African communities chose Islam as a result of dealing in trade with Muslims. They admired their honesty and high sense of morality. People like a person with good conduct and proper morality. What those traders did was to live according to Islamic principles and to inform their trade partners that it was Islam that gave them those principles and values. If we do so, we will have done our duty to propagate Islam. We are not supposed to take a hostile attitude to people. On the contrary, we should remember that the Prophet’s message is described in the Qur’an as ‘mercy for all the worlds.’ It is such love and mercy that we should stress.
A.2. We cannot give a blanket verdict that applies to all Internet chatting. It depends on what people say and what their intentions are and how they develop such talk to practical matters. A man who is chatting to a woman decently about something that helps either or both of them in their work or their lives does no wrong. By contrast, people who talk about immoral matters commit a sin.
