Islam and the Quran

Islam and the Quran from the freedom that human beings have been given by God in this world. 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. Why is the spirit of Islam being lost in Muslims? The degeneration that we see in present Muslims had been 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 spirit of Islam, we need to identify the right reformers from the wrong ones.