How can I look up to Islamic scholars when....

When they read verses like the following:


فَمَا لَكُمْ فِي الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِئَتَيْنِ وَاللَّهُ أَرْكَسَهُمْ بِمَا كَسَبُوا ۚ أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَهْدُوا مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ ۖ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ سَبِيلًا {88}
[Shakir 4:88] What is the matter with you, then, that you have become two parties about the hypocrites, while Allah has made them return (to unbelief) for what they have earned? Do you wish to guide him whom Allah has caused to err? And whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall by no means find a way for him.
وَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ كَمَا كَفَرُوا فَتَكُونُونَ سَوَاءً ۖ فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ حَتَّىٰ يُهَاجِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَخُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْهُمْ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا {89}
[Shakir 4:89] They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ أَوْ جَاءُوكُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَنْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ أَوْ يُقَاتِلُوا قَوْمَهُمْ ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ فَلَقَاتَلُوكُمْ ۚ فَإِنِ اعْتَزَلُوكُمْ فَلَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ وَأَلْقَوْا إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَمَ فَمَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سَبِيلًا {90}
[Shakir 4:90] Except those who reach a people between whom and you there is an alliance, or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people; and if Allah had pleased, He would have given them power over you, so that they should have certainly fought you; therefore if they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them.
سَتَجِدُونَ آخَرِينَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَأْمَنُوكُمْ وَيَأْمَنُوا قَوْمَهُمْ كُلَّ مَا رُدُّوا إِلَى الْفِتْنَةِ أُرْكِسُوا فِيهَا ۚ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَعْتَزِلُوكُمْ وَيُلْقُوا إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَمَ وَيَكُفُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَخُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكُمْ جَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا {91}
[Shakir 4:91] You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given you a clear authority.


It talks about hypocrites and if they turn on their backs, to kill them. But then it says if they offer peace and don't want to fight you, not to kill them and that there is no authority over them in that case.

But they read, and then say, if you apostate, you are to be killed.

If they are this brainless that they can't even read clear verses like this and check hadiths with Quran, how can I trust them with regards to the Shariah or being spiritual leaders I look up to?

And how can I look up to them spiritually when they attribute evil to God such that they think he commands to kill people who change their religion thereby forcing people to stay Muslim when Quran says "There is no compulsion in religion".

How can I look up to them, when they throw the book behind their backs and ignore the nature of God that he has put humanity upon and attribute evil to the religion of God!

I feel all alone with no community! Everyone wants to follow scholars dogmatically when obviously they can't even understand clear verses of the Quran! I can't be part of such people.

smaneck said:

ATF, I think there is one Ayatollah whose example is worth following. His name is Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani. Check him out.

"Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani is a senior Iranian cleric based in Tehran, Iran. Masoumi-Tehrani was born in Tehran to a distinguished cleric family and has reached the rank of Marja al-Taqlid or a "source of emulation." Masoumi-Tehrani is an accomplished calligrapher and spends much of his time engaged in this profession as he believes that money should not be made through religion. He strongly advocates human rights for all regardless of religious ideology or belief and has created in calligraphy form the Torah, Psalms and Quran to foster unity amongst religions."
Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Thank you. I'll do more research on what he has to say.

Inkachu said:

I'm not a Muslim, but I have a question. This passage seems to indicate that God/Allah causes certain people to become unbelievers or "to err"? Is this a belief held by Muslims? That God causes people to sin or fall away, and they don't do it by their own choice?

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مَنِ اهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۗ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا {15}
[Shakir 17:15] Whoever goes aright, for his own soul does he go aright; and whoever goes astray, to its detriment only does he go astray: nor can the bearer of a burden bear the burden of another, nor do We chastise until We raise a messenger.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ ۖ لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ ۚ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ {105}
[Shakir 5:105] O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did.

From what I understand, what it means that God guides the soul, is that when a soul intends guidance and seeks it, God facilitates that soul's guidance, and when a soul turns away from guidance and errs while knowing it, God facilitate it's misguidance by way of blinding the heart from what it knows to be true. He makes us accountable to our bad deeds, and it effects us to misguidance, so he takes is to task by our hands.

Inkachu said:

What does it mean "nor do we chastise until we raise a messenger?"

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God doesn't destroy a nation like the people of Noah or Lut, without a Messenger.