There is no compulsion in religion.
Right guidance has been distinguished from error.
He who repudiates idols and believes in God
Has grasped a handle most firm, unbreakable.
God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
The Cow, Sura 2, verse 256
The Western World is largely unfamiliar with the intricacies of Islam. Having been fed a media diet of Jihadi violence coupled with historical teaching that presents Islam as a religion of force and conquest, it is not difficult to see why. Also, apostasy is a punishable sin under Islamic (or Sharia) law. Yet Sura 2:256 is clear, there is to be no compulsion in religion. If there is to be no compulsion, then it begs the question, why is there so much pressure to conform and submit to the extent of legal punishment?
Reading our verse in context sheds light on our question. Sura 2:256 refers to each individual’s personal faith. A nation may be governed by the principals of religion, yet it remains the individual’s choice as to whether or not he or she, will comply. So religion can both be a matter for the state, as a guiding light, and the choice of the individual. Adbullah Yusuf Ali, who translated the Holy Quran into English in the 1930s, said: “compulsion is incompatible with religion because religion depends on faith and will, and these would be meaningless if induced by force.”
Sura 2: 256 transcending message enshrines for me the principle of religious freedom. No one can be forced into any faith. Whether that compulsion is made manifest through fear and violence, or even under the compulsion of love and rational argument, the truth remains, no external force, apart from God, can truly define our inner beliefs. While externally we may comply, a true transformation of self is only possible with a personal revelation from God.
I pray that during this Holy month of Ramadan, we can embrace the freedom promised is this ayah. There is no compulsion in religion.
The Reverend Canon Andrew Thompson MBE is Senior Anglican Chaplain in Abu Dhabi and the author of Christianity in the UAE and Jesus of Arabia.