❖ Is Disbelief a Divine Right or Merely a Test? ❖
By: Dr. Zahid Mughal✿ Secular Objection to Religious Expression
Secular critics often accuse religious individuals of presuming God’s role, as if they are speaking on behalf of God—asserting what He wants or doesn’t want. A common argument is that no one has the right to declare someone a disbeliever (kāfir), as such matters are between God and the individual.They frequently quote the Qur'anic verse:
﴿فَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ﴾
"So whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve."
as proof that disbelief is a right granted by God.
✦ Religion Confined to the Individual?
This line of thought takes various forms:➊ Avoid labeling non-Muslims as kāfir, since it's a personal matter with God.
➋ Avoid declaring wrongdoers as fāsiq, as their actions are judged only by God.
➌ Avoid issuing any religious rulings about one's relationship with Allah.
Such thinking assumes that Allah’s Book was revealed solely for divine reference, not as guidance and law for humanity—which contradicts the Qur’an’s very purpose.
✿ Declaring God's Commands Is Not Intrusion
Claiming that religious people “speak for God” is misleading. When someone cites the Qur’an to state that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, it is not a claim to divine authority, but rather an act of relaying revealed truth. This is not interference, but propagation of divine guidance.✦ Is the Freedom to Disbelieve a Right?
The verse:﴿فَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ﴾
does not affirm disbelief as a legitimate right, but simply indicates man's capacity to choose. There’s a fundamental difference between:
➤ Capability (ṣalāḥiyyah) – What a person is able to do.
➤ Right (ḥaqq) – What a person is permitted to do in the eyes of God.
✿ Capability vs. Right
➊ A person may have the ability to see, but that doesn’t mean everything is permissible to look at.➋ One may be able to take a life, but that doesn’t make murder a right.
➌ Similarly, a person may be able to disbelieve, but it is not his divine right to do so.
✦ Disbelief Is a Test, Not a Right
Disbelief is merely a temporary allowance within the framework of divine testing. Allah has granted the human being the ability to choose, but this does not imply divine approval of every choice.The only divinely sanctioned path is faith (īmān)—anything else is a deviation from the truth.
✔ Summary
➊ Secular critiques of religious expression are misguided.➋ Quoting divine revelation is not intrusion, but a duty of conveying truth.
➌ The ability to disbelieve is not a divine right, but a part of human trial.
➍ The only true right is that which Allah has legislated as truth—i.e., belief in Him.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ
