Answer
Short Answer: Our knowledge of any religion – not only Islam – should be derived from the original sources of that religion. As for Islam, the original sources are the Quran and the Sunnah. Allah says He is the Most Merciful and he sent Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to the worlds. Allah promises in the Quran he will not show mercy to those who are not merciful to others. Since the vast majority of victims of terrorism are Muslims, the people perpetuating these acts of terror are not truly Muslim, and cannot expect any mercy from God.
Salam (Peace),
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Go Back To The Sources
We need to first of all acknowledge that our knowledge of any religion – not only Islam – should be derived from the original sources of that religion.
As for Islam, the original sources are the Quran and the Sunnah.
The Quran is the collection of divine revelation received by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The Sunnah is the model life led by the Prophet based on the Quran: it is the record of the sayings and deeds of the Prophet in particular contexts, which serve as examples for his followers in similar contexts.
For this reason, any Muslim scholar who gives a religious ruling (fatwa) on a topic should base his ruling on the Quran and the Sunnah.
Whenever a dispute arises among Muslims on a religious question, they return to the two Sources looking for an acceptable answer.
God Is Merciful
Following the same principle, we go to the Quran and the Sunnah to find an answer to your question, namely: “Is Islam a curse or a mercy to the world?”
113 chapters of the Quran, as you probably know, begin with the formula: “In the name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.”
Of all the attributes of God, the most important is Mercy.
We may read in the Quran:
Say: “Unto whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?” Say: “Unto God, who has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy.” (Quran 6:12)
And again:
Your Sustainer has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy – so that if any of you does a bad deed out of ignorance, and thereafter repents and lives righteously, He shall be [found] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace. (Quran 6:54)
Islam teaches that the very first act of God’s creation is an act of Divine Mercy.
The subsistence of everything in existence, every plant or animal, indeed every microcosm or macrocosm depends on Allah’s overarching Mercy.
Prophet Muhamamad: A Mercy for the Worlds
And Allah has appointed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as “a Mercy to the worlds”:
We have not sent you but as a Mercy to the worlds. (Quran 21:107)
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Quran which Allah revealed to him exemplify divine Mercy like no other.
Islam is conveyed through Divine Mercy as demonstrated and taught to the world by the Prophet himself.
And his outflowing compassion to his fellow beings in all circumstances of life is emulated by his true followers.
Allah Shows Mercy to the Merciful
The Prophet taught:
The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth, and He Who is in heaven will show mercy unto you. (Abu Dawud)
And that:
Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to people. (Bukhari)
If the foregoing is the truth, how can we account for attacks by “Islamic terrorists” including the recent London attack?
Muslims Are The Number One Victims of Terror
We know from media reports that there are certain groups in different parts of the world who commit atrocities on innocent people in the name of Islam.
But these groups are motivated by politics rather than religion.
Consider Iraq for instance. It was ruled by Saddam Hussein, a brutal dictator who oppressed his people.
He was a socialist who did not care for Islam or Muslims in the first place.
It was his arrogance that led him to his downfall and what followed was foreign occupation coupled with internal strife and anarchy.
And from the ashes of Iraq came up ISIS, which fueled the flame of vendetta apparently on Non-Muslims.
But who bore the brunt of the carnage? Muslims, no doubt.
A report in the British daily Independent from Sunday 3 July 2016 says:
At least 125 people have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq. A pickup truck packed with explosives blew up outside a crowded market in Karada killing at least 115 people and wounding up to 187 others, officials said. The attack struck as families and young people were out on the streets after breaking their daylight fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Under the hashtag #IsisAttackingMuslims people voiced their sorrow and outrage: ‘Before blaming Muslims for Isis, remember that Isis terrorist attacks is targeting more Muslims than any other groups’. ‘Isis is bombing Muslims in Muslim countries in the holy month of Ramadan. And you still say Isis represents Islam?’
In view of the foregoing can anyone in his senses believe that ISIS is “Islamic”, or that their objective is to promote Islam in the world?
As the British Prime Minister Theresa May said: The ISIS is neither Islamic nor is it a state.
Khalid Masood Was Not a Practicing Muslim
And Khalid Masood is certainly not a mercy to the world. And so he is not at all Islamic.
According to British newspaper The Telegraph, Khalid Masood was known to police and had several previous convictions across 20 years, including ‘grievous bodily harm’, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences:
Masood served time in Lewes jail, East Sussex, Wayland prison in Norfolk, and Ford open prison, West Sussex. It is quite likely he was radicalized during a spell in jail. A childhood friend of the man then known as Adrian Elms told The Sun newspaper he emerged as a Muslim after serving a jail sentence.
From the above report it is evident that Khalid Masood, who had a criminal past, either committed the terrorist act on his own, or came in handy as an instrument at the hands of ISIS or some other shady terrorist group.
As a discontented criminal he must have espoused the cause of a desperate gang to undertake the task of a terrorist attack in London.
Whatever be the case, we can confidently say that neither Khalid Masood nor any so-called “Islamic terrorist” knows the true Message of Islam, the Religion of Peace.
(From AboutIslam’s archives)
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