Page 147 - Seekers Guide Book

The Seeker’s Guide
Crime is the name of a social harm – like committing
murder in society. Such a crime deserves punishment,
but holding a certain belief or idea is not something that
invites punishment. The Quran teaches:

So exhort them: your task is only to exhort,
you are not their keeper. (Quran 88:21-22)

No person is accountable to another person, he is
accountable only to God. Implementing punishment in
matters of thought or belief is to position oneself on the
throne of the Creator.

70 Why is the spirit of Islam being
lost in Muslims?

he degeneration that we see in present Muslims had
Tbeen predicted by the Prophet. According to a hadith:
A time will come when nothing except the
name of Islam will remain [among Muslims]
and nothing except the words of the Quran
will remain [among Muslims]. (Shuab al-
Iman, al-Bayhaqi, hadith no. 1763)

This is not surprising because every community
undergoes degeneration and Muslims are no exception
to this principle. This degeneration does not set in in the
first generation, but in the generations that follow. This is
why reformers are required to suggest what work needs
to be done to revive degenerated people. To regain the

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