Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Tafseer Raheemi » Why Do People Leave Islam?

Why Do People Leave Islam?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Tafseer Raheemi

Is it because there is something wrong with Islam? 
It seems that these poor souls had never studied Islam properly, they had never been practising. Because belief & faith is such a thing that when it’s delight & pleasure enters the heart, there is no turning back. The peace of mind and tranquility just keeps increasing as you practice. Lack of practice and increase in disobedience reduces this peace, to the extent that the person ends up in a no mans land; i.e. confusion, disbelief, rejection, & rebellion. 

When we analyse those who left Islam, we see that, along with ignorance and lack of practice, another reason for leaving Islam was anger and frustration at not having things going their way. But such people get angry over everything and upon everyone. It’s like someone who is angry with the boss at the office, or at the parents, or teachers or at someone else with authority. They abandon them, and then keep taking their anger out at them whenever and wherever they can. Such people can never be satisfied. We have to leave them as they are and move on. 

Another reason we see in some of these people is pride & haughtiness. They think they are it. They refuse to accept a good word of advice. They should learn to be humble and develop some humility. If they did have some humility, they would listen to their peers. They would try to find answers for any objections they might have had. We have plenty of learned people around. We have the technology. If they can’t find any scholars in their vicinity, then they can do their own research on the net. 

And the best solution would be to make ablution, get on the prayer mat, pray and ask the Lord almighty to inspire guidance in the heart, as it is He who is the ultimate Guide. He inspires, He guides, He talks to us in our hearts. He will surely guide a sincere seeker.

I don’t understand why the media is  so fascinated with ex-Muslims? Are there no ex-Hindus, ex-Christians? Do the reverts to Islam not go through any difficulties? In fact I know of reverts who have suffered much worse. Their parents kicked them out of the house. Their siblings disowned them. Their friends didn’t want to know them. They were homeless. No job. No benefits to survive on. However they remained strong and moved on.

Then again what is the aim of highlighting the cases of the apostates? It seems like they want others to do the same. So such programmes are in reality to advertise and promote this behaviour. The media will always find speakers who go into extreme, get carried away and say things which they would not normally say when they are calm. This is with politicians and others too. Why should they keep highlighting such remarks? Can they not find any good in Islam to talk about? Do we ever see on media the amazing charity work the Muslims do? Do we ever see a minute amount of the good that Muslims bring to this country? 

And then have you never heard of an ex-Muslim coming back to Islam?  I have. I once read this article of an ex-Muslim returning to Islam because she was feeling so empty after leaving Islam. There was no peace of mind. She left the circle of apostates, studied Islam with an open mind and saw the beauty of Islam unfolding before her eyes and now she has returned to Islam while fully understanding everything Islam has to say. 

I remember reading about the student who left Islam and remained in that state for a few years. Then he read a book about Buddhism, which put the brakes on his belief that material world is everything and that there is no such thing as spiritual life. The belief that we have to earn, eat, drink, sleep, and enjoy our lives because ‘you only live once, so make the most of it’. When he read the book he realised that we don’t just have the physical side we also have a spiritual side. However, Buddhism only focused on the spiritual side and did not allow the luxuries of life. 

Then one of his friends gave him a copy of a good English translation of the Quran. He began to read it in his free time. Quran merges the physical and spiritual sides of our lives. Quran teaches us that we can enjoy our lives, however, we have to work on our spiritual side as well by praying, fasting, being charitable, invoking God almighty, and contemplating, etc. He now realised the reality. He found the answers in the Quran. It was as though God was talking to him directly and pointing out his mistakes and providing answers and solutions to his queries. Being a humble seeker of truth he reverted to Islam, went for further studies and became a great scholar of Deen. He was none but the late Mawlana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (Rahmatullahi Alayhi). He went on to write a beautiful Tafseer of the Quran. 

May Allah guide us all towards the truth and keep us on the truth. May Allah forgive us and be pleased with us. 

Shaykh Abdul Raheem (hafizahullah)

This answer was collected from Tafseer-Raheemi.com the official website of Sheikh Abdul Raheem Limbada (Hafizahullah) of UK.

Read answers with similar topics: