Who is a Murtid (Apostate)?

An apostate is one who turns away from the religion. God sent all prophets and messengers including Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Prophet Mohammad, along with their respective celestial books and knowledge. Then why is it that a Muslim can make a Christian recite his Kalima to become a Muslim, but if a Muslim recites the Kalima of Prophet Abraham to become a Jew, the Muslims declare him to be a Murtid (Apostate)? We strongly believe that the Torah, Bible, Psalms of David and Quran are all the Divine Word and whosoever does not believe so is expelled from Islam. If the Americans, the Canadians, the Australians, the English and the European countries make it a law that no Christian may convert to Islam or that if anyone accepts Islam, they would be given capital punishment, then the Muslims would declare all these countries to be against Islam. Do not be so biased; God did not send Islam only and to think as such is a great disrespect to God. Were the other messengers' religions and the celestial books revealed upon them sent by another God?

Muslim clerics are of the opinion that a Murtid is one who quits the religion of Islam and becomes a Christian or a Jew. In our opinion this is wrong. The greatest verse in the Quran is about 'Irtidad' (apostasy).

  

... يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَن يَرۡتَدَّ مِنكُمۡ عَن دِينِهِ

[5:54]

When you turn away from your religions....

God did not relate the act of becoming a Murtid to one religion only. The Quran clearly states, 'Whomsoever turns away from his/her religion...' Muslims think that one who converts to Christianity from Islam is a Murtid, but what about those whom Prophet Mohammad converted to Islam? They were either Jewish, Christian or idol worshippers. Why did Prophet Mohammad invite them to accept Islam and recite the Kalima (Declaration of Faith)? It is not possible for Prophet Mohammad to make a mistake and on the other hand, turning away from any religion is apostasy. Yet, Prophet Mohammad invited all to embrace Islam. Why was that? Religious scholars do not have the answer to this because they do not have complete knowledge, nor does the common man.

During the era of Prophet Mohammad, Christians and Jews lived in the Arab Peninsula also; however, the spiritual system of their respective religions had been terminated. There was no Momin (True Believers) left in those religions. In that case, such a person may enter any religion and it will not make a difference. However, if one becomes a Momin whilst following a religion and then he accepts another religion, he becomes a Murtid and deserves death. It is not possible for a person to have his heart enlightened in one religion and then enter another religion and expect his heart to be initiated again. No matter what the religion, God initiates the hearts. However, it is very rare that one becomes a Murtid, because once God grants guidance, he gives that person a Spiritual Guide. The Spiritual Guide protects the person from deviating off the spiritual path. But one who develops a bad conjecture for the Spiritual Guide quickly turns into a Murtid. 

In this era, what difference does it make if one becomes a Muslim from a Christian or a Christian from a Muslim when all lack Emaan (faith or presence of Divine Light in the heart)? A Murtid is one who has Emaan and then turns away from this religion; when the religions are void of Emaan, what is the use of such a religion? For example, you are on the motorway, driving an expensive branded car and the car suddenly breaks down in the middle. On the other hand, you have a run-down car that is getting you from point A to point B; in this case, the run-down car is better than the branded car because it is getting the job done. Prophet Mohammad invited people to embrace Islam when the spiritual system and sainthood in all other religions had been terminated. None among the followers of those religions was a Momin and therefore those religions were not beneficial. Today, the followers of Islam are void of Emaan; they are Shiites, Sunnis, Wahhabis or Ahle Hadith. Have you ever heard them say, 'I am a Momin,' or, 'I am an Ummati (follower of Prophet Mohammad)?' But if they had Divine Light (Noor) in their hearts, they would say, 'I am a follower of Prophet Mohammad.' When the Divine Light exited their hearts, they were expelled from the Ummah also. When the religions are void of Emaan, converting to any other religion is neither harmful nor beneficial because followers of all religions are the same from inside. What difference then does it make which religion they choose to follow physically?

One cannot become a Momin without the will of God, regardless of what the religion is in which he became a Momin.

Quran:

فَمَن شَرَحَ ٱللَّهُ صَدۡرَهُ ۥ لِلۡإِسۡلَـٰمِ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ‌ۚ فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلۡقَـٰسِيَةِ قُلُوبُہُم مِّن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ 

[39:22]

One who has opened his heart with the name of God, he is on the path of guidance from God. Destruction is for those whose hearts have become so hard that they are not capable of absorbing the Name of God.

Destruction here does not refer to those who do not offer Salat or austerities. When God's name enters the heart and generates Divine Light, Emaan is established. The people of Arab said, 'We are Momin,' and God said to Prophet Mohammad in the Quran, 'Tell them, "You are not Momin, rather have recited the Kalima and accepted Islam. You will become Momin when the Divine Light of the Kalima enters your heart."' [49:14]

The Quran states,

أَلَا بِذِڪۡرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطۡمَٮِٕنُّ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ 

[13:28]

Verily, the content of the heart lies in the Remembrance of God (Dhikr Allah).

When we feel hungry, we need food such as meat and bread. Similarly the heart feels hungry also, but the diet of the heart is not meat and bread, rather the Name of God and its Divine Light is the diet of the heart. There is a method by which the heart obtains its diet.

The Quran says, 

وَمَن يُؤۡمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَہۡدِ قَلۡبَهُ ۥ‌ۚ

[64:11]

The sign of a Momin Billah (True Believer in God) is that God guides his heart.

But this particular verse is not talking about Emaan or a Momin because there is no guarantee when it comes to Emaan. Here it is referring to one who has become a Momin Billah. We cannot see the heart, so how can we determine who is a Momin Billah? Momin does not mean one who has a beard or wears a turban or holds a rosary, then how can you tell if a heart has received guidance from God?

The Quran states:

ٱلَّذِينَ يَذۡكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمً۬ا وَقُعُودً۬ا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمۡ وَيَتَفَڪَّرُونَ فِى خَلۡقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقۡتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلاً۬ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ 

[3:191]

A Momin Billah is one who is never heedless to the Remembrance of God (Dhikr Allah) but this too is happening inside the person and cannot be seen by any other. However, there is one thing that will reveal a Momin Billah.

And then the Quran said:

  

إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ‌ۗ

[29:45]

Salat refrains one from the commitance of bad deeds.

When you know that a person was not capable of mending his ways but upon obtaining Dhikr Allah from Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi, he began to offer Salat and automatically refrained from the commitance of sins, then this is a sign of being a Momin Billah. The more he offers Salat, the more Divine Light is generated in his heart and from there it is pumped throughout his bloodstream. When this Divine Light enters his eyes, he will not look at any woman with ill-intentions. He will not engage in wrongdoings and this will reveal that he is a Momin Billah. But if one is offering Salat and engaging in sins, then know he is not even a Momin.