The general concept of a "non-believer" has been widely misunderstood, particularly in the Islamic world.
The main concept here is that Islam concentrates on belief rather than cultural influences or traditional rituals. This is why nationality and background are completely irrelevant to a Muslim. Only 18% of the 1.6 billion Muslims of the world are Arabs. There is no inherit privilege to a Muslim just because they are Arab. It is merely that the Quran was revealed to an Arab prophet much like some of the previous scriptures were revealed to Hebrews. There is no "birth-right", and no preference towards one human being and another.
The only measure in Islam is faith.
Even to become a Muslim, it is merely a declaration of faith to acknowledge your belief in God, rather than to perform any special rituals.
To "submit" then, is the acknowledgement of the truth of God's existence, so you could say that the word "Muslim" is actually a descriptive noun... one who submits to the notion of the existence of God.
Further to this believe, is one's acknowledgement of the afterlife, that God created an eternal sanctuary after the trials of this life are done. Many non-believers ask why they will not be amongst those who enter this eternal sanctuary, but that question is in itself an oxymoron.
If one doesn't believe in God, that would imply he doesn't believe in the afterlife either, so why would it concern him to contemplate not entering a realm he does not believe exists in the first place?
Would it not make sense that if God created an afterlife, that at least the only requirement would be belief in His existence? Again I will emphasize that this requirement is not based on a "birth right" or an ethnicity or an attribution to one group or another, but rather the very simple concept of belief that He exists. In fact there is a Hadith that describes the requirement of this belief as "No one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell eternally". So it is a pretty simple requirement.
Moreover, just because I believe today, and you do not, does not mean that I am exempt or more "privileged" than you are in this regard. Quite the contrary.
We are still equal in the eyes of God because my last dying breath may be void of faith, and you may live your life with the eventual realization that God does indeed exist. You may grow to be much more pious than I ever was. Your belief may not even be realized by anyone. This is precisely why mankind is not entrusted as being the judges of faith, but rather the ones to be judged. It is God and God alone that has the right to determine ones true faith, especially when many could be impostors of the faith, only to pretend to believe just to receive acknowledgement from their Muslim peers.
The complexity of each and every one's personal circumstances also plays a big part in God's Mercy. A tribal African boy who has never had exposure to the teachings of the One True God, may be exempt from judgement of faith simply because the opportunity never found its way into his isolated life. A mentally disabled person also has his own circumstances, and so on...
The world is too complex for any one mere man to proclaim judgement of another man's faith, regardless of the systems we have in place to say otherwise. And for that reason alone, I can never say that you are a "kafir" and can never truly determine that you will not be of those who enter paradise to be in the company and Grace of the Almighty.
The main concept here is that Islam concentrates on belief rather than cultural influences or traditional rituals. This is why nationality and background are completely irrelevant to a Muslim. Only 18% of the 1.6 billion Muslims of the world are Arabs. There is no inherit privilege to a Muslim just because they are Arab. It is merely that the Quran was revealed to an Arab prophet much like some of the previous scriptures were revealed to Hebrews. There is no "birth-right", and no preference towards one human being and another.
The only measure in Islam is faith.
Even to become a Muslim, it is merely a declaration of faith to acknowledge your belief in God, rather than to perform any special rituals.
To "submit" then, is the acknowledgement of the truth of God's existence, so you could say that the word "Muslim" is actually a descriptive noun... one who submits to the notion of the existence of God.
Further to this believe, is one's acknowledgement of the afterlife, that God created an eternal sanctuary after the trials of this life are done. Many non-believers ask why they will not be amongst those who enter this eternal sanctuary, but that question is in itself an oxymoron.
If one doesn't believe in God, that would imply he doesn't believe in the afterlife either, so why would it concern him to contemplate not entering a realm he does not believe exists in the first place?
Would it not make sense that if God created an afterlife, that at least the only requirement would be belief in His existence? Again I will emphasize that this requirement is not based on a "birth right" or an ethnicity or an attribution to one group or another, but rather the very simple concept of belief that He exists. In fact there is a Hadith that describes the requirement of this belief as "No one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell eternally". So it is a pretty simple requirement.
Moreover, just because I believe today, and you do not, does not mean that I am exempt or more "privileged" than you are in this regard. Quite the contrary.
We are still equal in the eyes of God because my last dying breath may be void of faith, and you may live your life with the eventual realization that God does indeed exist. You may grow to be much more pious than I ever was. Your belief may not even be realized by anyone. This is precisely why mankind is not entrusted as being the judges of faith, but rather the ones to be judged. It is God and God alone that has the right to determine ones true faith, especially when many could be impostors of the faith, only to pretend to believe just to receive acknowledgement from their Muslim peers.
The complexity of each and every one's personal circumstances also plays a big part in God's Mercy. A tribal African boy who has never had exposure to the teachings of the One True God, may be exempt from judgement of faith simply because the opportunity never found its way into his isolated life. A mentally disabled person also has his own circumstances, and so on...
The world is too complex for any one mere man to proclaim judgement of another man's faith, regardless of the systems we have in place to say otherwise. And for that reason alone, I can never say that you are a "kafir" and can never truly determine that you will not be of those who enter paradise to be in the company and Grace of the Almighty.
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