Page 182 - Bigotry: The Dark Danger

Bigotry:
The Dark Danger

This fabricated hadith conflicts with the faith and conscience for
the same reasons cited above:

1. It seeks to force people to perform an observance that should
be performed with love;

2. It flies in the face of the verse that says there is no compulsion
in the religion;

3. It is based on violence, the exact opposite of the affection at
the heart of the faith;

4. Instead of encouraging people to love God and worship, the
main aim of the faith, it encourages people to feel anger and hatred

for religion and worship.
In addition to all these, fasting is an act that some people cannot

observe out of weakness, and that is not compulsory for the sick.
God makes this important condition about fasting clear in the fol-
lowing verses:

[Fast] for a specified number of days. But any of you who are ill
or on a journey should fast a number of other days. For those who
are able to fast [but with hardship], their ransom [substitution] is
to feed the poor. And if someone does good of his own accord, it
is better for him. But that you should fast is better for you, if you
only knew. (Qur'an, 2:184)

… Any of you who are resident for the month should fast it. But
any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number of
other days. God desires ease for you; He does not desire difficul-
ty for you. … (Qur'an, 2:185)

These two verses, which are quite explicit pronouncements con-
cerning fasting, say that people who are unable to fast during the
month of Ramadan because they are sick or traveling can make up

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