First and foremost, God did not grant any human being the authority to legislate in any religion. Rather, God’s call to all people is to live in this world in safety, peace, love, and cooperation in righteousness and piety. He prohibited cooperation in sin and aggression.
All inherited traditions and outdated customs among Muslims have no connection to the message of the Lord of the Worlds — a message of mercy, tolerance, love, competing in good deeds, and combating hatred, malice, arrogance, and superiority over others. All people are equal before God and before the law. No nation has superiority over another, and through His Messenger (peace be upon him), God made it clear that all humans are brothers in creation, as expressed in His clear Book:
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul” [An-Nisa: 1]
We are siblings in creation. God commands us to spread peace and cooperation among all people, as He says:
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression” [Al-Ma’idah: 2]
God called upon all people to enter into peace entirely through His legislation, as He says:
“O you who have believed, enter into Islam completely and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy” [Al-Baqarah: 208]
This divine command warns that anyone who promotes hatred among people is following the footsteps of Satan. God instructed His Messenger (peace be upon him) to convey His message:
“And tell My servants to say that which is best. Indeed, Satan induces dissension among them. Indeed, Satan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy” [Al-Isra: 53]
God also instructed all people to spread peace, as expressed through His Messenger:
“And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with one better than it or (at least) return it in a like manner. Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountant” [An-Nisa: 86]
God has laid down in His noble Book the rules for a Muslim’s behavior. Whoever violates these fundamental principles in dealing with others has broken their covenant with God and no longer represents Islam. Islam is a social system and a code of conduct that aims for people to live in love, mutual respect, and cooperation. Everyone should defend each person’s right to choose their religion, sect, and lifestyle. God created people free and did not appoint guardians to oversee their faith or scrutinize their religious practices.
Have they not respected the divine legislation that God established in the Qur’an, granting every individual complete freedom to choose their faith? That relationship remains exclusively between the individual and God.
God forbade anyone from interfering in the worship of others. Each person is responsible for their actions before God. He established freedom of religion in His legislation, saying:
“And say, ‘The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.’” [Al-Kahf: 29]
Even the Prophet himself was not granted authority over people’s faith. God said to him:
“Your Lord is most knowing of you. If He wills, He will have mercy upon you; or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], over them as a manager.” [Al-Isra: 54]
If God did not give His Prophet authority over people in choosing their religion, then the relationship between individuals and God must remain direct — without intermediaries like priests, bishops, or religious scholars. God is nearer to people than their jugular vein. He knows all that is in the heavens and the earth. He does not need agents acting on His behalf, nor overseers to monitor His servants’ worship.
Let all those who appoint themselves as guardians of religion and intermediaries between people and God cease their actions, for God Himself addresses His Messenger saying:
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me” [Al-Baqarah: 186]
God did not grant prophets or messengers the authority to legislate on matters of what is lawful or forbidden. He warned all people against interfering in His laws:
“And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, ‘This is lawful and this is unlawful,’ to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed.” [An-Nahl: 116]
Those who prohibit congratulating Christian brothers on their religious occasions are violating divine legislation, which encourages peace, tolerance, and compassion among all. Such false and satanic fatwas promote discord, turmoil, and confrontation in human societies.
The message of Islam must be understood as a message of peace for all people, crowned by one of God’s names — As-Salam (The Peace). So if we are true Muslims, we must uphold the Book of God and its verses that call for all people to live their lives in peace and security.
