THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY: Islam’s Ethical and Spiritual Outlook

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT intellectual suppression they have imposed is abolished, and the system of intellectual freedom intended by God can be established in the world.’ The artificial state would then be removed, and the original natural state restored on earth. This has now been fully achieved across the world and has opened the doors to every form of human progress. THE SPIRIT OF MUTUAL GUIDANCE The Quran states that in this world, only those people are safe from loss who engage in urging one another to uphold truth (tawasi bil-haqq) and urging one another to stay patient (tawasi bil-sabr) (Quran, 103:3). Similarly, the Quran describes the special quality of the best community as the presence of a system of enjoining what is right (amr bil-ma‘ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (nahi ‘anil-munkar) among them (Quran, 3:110). What does urging one another to uphold truth or enjoining what is right mean? In the words of a hadith, it means that when a person sees something wrong, they should try to correct it—if they have the strength, then with their hand; if not, then with their tongue. Urging one another to uphold truth is the initial level of this practice, and enjoining what is right is the next stage. The first condition for carrying out this required religious practice in any society is the complete freedom of