Let There be no Compulsion in Religion - Revision history

Asmith: fixed language and updated score

2026-03-27T01:47:53Z

fixed language and updated score

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	[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]		[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]
	Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often ~~mentioned~~ on ~~the topic of~~ freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to you your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite ~~such~~ verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].		Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often cited in discourse on freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to you your religion and to me (my) religion."]]) in Islamic contexts. Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite these verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].

	Patricia Crone wrote an extensive article on the history of interpretation of the no compulsion verse. She notes that Q 2:256 was commonly interpreted alongside {{Quran-range\|10\|99\|100}}, which uses the same verb, "to compel", ikrāh ("And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?"). Crone describes the widely varying views as to the time and context in which the no compulsion verse was revealed, as exegetes gave it legal implications but disagreed on how to reconcile it with {{Quran\|9\|29}}. She concludes that some exegetes had to interpret Q 2:256 as abrogated because by their time religion had come to function as a civic status and religious freedom had become undesirable. Nowadays, neither modernists nor Islamists consider 2:256 to be abrogated. In her view, the verse was plainly not uttered in a law-giving capacity but rather expressed the principle that religious choice cannot be coerced by people upon others, which had become a commonplace and self evident truth in the post-pagan, Christian millieu in which the principle became relevant.<ref>Patricia Crone. [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_la_ikraha.pdf No Compulsion in Religion: Q 2:256 in Mediaeval and Modern Interpretation] In Le Shi’isme Imamite Quarante ans apres: Hommage ‘a Etan Kohlberg. Edited by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Meir M. Bar-Asher and Simon Hopkins. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2009, pp. 131–78</ref>		Patricia Crone wrote an extensive article on the history of interpretation of the no compulsion verse. She notes that Q 2:256 was commonly interpreted alongside {{Quran-range\|10\|99\|100}}, which uses the same verb, "to compel", ikrāh ("And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?"). Crone describes the widely varying views as to the time and context in which the no compulsion verse was revealed, as exegetes gave it legal implications but disagreed on how to reconcile it with {{Quran\|9\|29}}. She concludes that some exegetes had to interpret Q 2:256 as abrogated because by their time religion had come to function as a civic status and religious freedom had become undesirable. Nowadays, neither modernists nor Islamists consider 2:256 to be abrogated. In her view, the verse was plainly not uttered in a law-giving capacity but rather expressed the principle that religious choice cannot be coerced by people upon others, which had become a commonplace and self evident truth in the post-pagan, Christian millieu in which the principle became relevant.<ref>Patricia Crone. [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_la_ikraha.pdf No Compulsion in Religion: Q 2:256 in Mediaeval and Modern Interpretation] In Le Shi’isme Imamite Quarante ans apres: Hommage ‘a Etan Kohlberg. Edited by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Meir M. Bar-Asher and Simon Hopkins. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2009, pp. 131–78</ref>

Lightyears: Automated script replacing USC-MSA hadith numbering system for Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud

2025-11-12T20:02:02Z

Automated script replacing USC-MSA hadith numbering system for Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud

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	====Hadith====		====Hadith====

	{{quote\|{{~~Abudawud~~\|14\|~~2676~~}}\|Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas<BR>		{{quote\|{{Abu Dawud\|\|2682\|darussalam}}\|Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas<BR>

	When the children of a woman (in pre-Islamic days) did not survive, she took a vow on herself that if her child survives, she would convert it a Jew. When Banu an-Nadir were expelled (from Arabia), there were some children of the Ansar (Helpers) among them. They said: We shall not leave our children. So Allah the Exalted revealed; "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error."}}		When the children of a woman (in pre-Islamic days) did not survive, she took a vow on herself that if her child survives, she would convert it a Jew. When Banu an-Nadir were expelled (from Arabia), there were some children of the Ansar (Helpers) among them. They said: We shall not leave our children. So Allah the Exalted revealed; "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error."}}

Asmith at 01:53, 17 May 2025

2025-05-17T01:53:15Z

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			\|title=Let There be no Compulsion in Religion
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Lightyears at 22:36, 17 December 2022

2022-12-17T22:36:17Z

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	* [[Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture]]		* [[Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture]]

	~~==External Links==~~

	*[http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#2-256 Muhammad preached “No compulsion in religion.”] ''- [[The Religion of Peace]]''

	==References==		==References==

Lightyears at 22:45, 15 December 2022

2022-12-15T22:45:45Z

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	Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often mentioned on the topic of freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to you your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite such verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].		Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often mentioned on the topic of freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to you your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite such verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].

	Yohanan Friedmann has writen extensively on these verses in his book, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam''.<ref>Yohanan Friedmann, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Quran 2:256 was discussed by early commentators in terms of the circumstances of revelation and seen as an injunction against forced conversion, though there was discussion on the question as to which groups of disbelievers it applied, and whether it had been abrogated by verses promoting jihad. The circumstances of revelation of that verse reportedly involved Jewish children in Medina whose parents wanted to force their children to join them in the new faith to prevent their expulsion from the city. Alternative, similar traditions held that Muhammad had been asked by a father in Medina to forcibly convert his sons, or a slave owner made the same request regarding his slave. Later commentators on 2:256 were interested instead in the theological issues regarding the feasibility of forcing belief and considered that forced belief would render meaningless the Quranic concept that life is a test.<ref>Friedmann, 2003, pp. 100-101</ref>		Patricia Crone wrote an extensive article on the history of interpretation of the no compulsion verse. She notes that Q 2:256 was commonly interpreted alongside {{Quran-range\|10\|99\|100}}, which uses the same verb, "to compel", ikrāh ("And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?"). Crone describes the widely varying views as to the time and context in which the no compulsion verse was revealed, as exegetes gave it legal implications but disagreed on how to reconcile it with {{Quran\|9\|29}}. She concludes that some exegetes had to interpret Q 2:256 as abrogated because by their time religion had come to function as a civic status and religious freedom had become undesirable. Nowadays, neither modernists nor Islamists consider 2:256 to be abrogated. In her view, the verse was plainly not uttered in a law-giving capacity but rather expressed the principle that religious choice cannot be coerced by people upon others, which had become a commonplace and self evident truth in the post-pagan, Christian millieu in which the principle became relevant.<ref>Patricia Crone. [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/hs/Crone_Articles/Crone_la_ikraha.pdf No Compulsion in Religion: Q 2:256 in Mediaeval and Modern Interpretation] In Le Shi’isme Imamite Quarante ans apres: Hommage ‘a Etan Kohlberg. Edited by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Meir M. Bar-Asher and Simon Hopkins. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2009, pp. 131–78</ref>

			Yohanan Friedmann has also writen extensively on these verses in his book, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam''.<ref>Yohanan Friedmann, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Quran 2:256 was discussed by early commentators in terms of the circumstances of revelation and seen as an injunction against forced conversion, though there was discussion on the question as to which groups of disbelievers it applied, and whether it had been abrogated by verses promoting jihad. The circumstances of revelation of that verse reportedly involved Jewish children in Medina whose parents wanted to force their children to join them in the new faith to prevent their expulsion from the city. Alternative, similar traditions held that Muhammad had been asked by a father in Medina to forcibly convert his sons, or a slave owner made the same request regarding his slave. Later commentators on 2:256 were interested instead in the theological issues regarding the feasibility of forcing belief and considered that forced belief would render meaningless the Quranic concept that life is a test.<ref>Friedmann, 2003, pp. 100-101</ref>

	==Qur'an==		==Qur'an==

Lightyears at 14:24, 15 November 2022

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	[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]		[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]
	Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often mentioned on the topic of freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite such verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].		Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often mentioned on the topic of freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to you your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite such verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].

	Yohanan Friedmann has writen extensively on these verses in his book, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam''.<ref>Yohanan Friedmann, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Quran 2:256 was discussed by early commentators in terms of the circumstances of revelation and seen as an injunction against forced conversion, though there was discussion on the question as to which groups of disbelievers it applied, and whether it had been abrogated by verses promoting jihad. The circumstances of revelation of that verse reportedly involved Jewish children in Medina whose parents wanted to force their children to join them in the new faith to prevent their expulsion from the city. Alternative, similar traditions held that Muhammad had been asked by a father in Medina to forcibly convert his sons, or a slave owner made the same request regarding his slave. Later commentators on 2:256 were interested instead in the theological issues regarding the feasibility of forcing belief and considered that forced belief would render meaningless the Quranic concept that life is a test.<ref>Friedmann, 2003, pp. 100-101</ref>		Yohanan Friedmann has writen extensively on these verses in his book, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam''.<ref>Yohanan Friedmann, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Quran 2:256 was discussed by early commentators in terms of the circumstances of revelation and seen as an injunction against forced conversion, though there was discussion on the question as to which groups of disbelievers it applied, and whether it had been abrogated by verses promoting jihad. The circumstances of revelation of that verse reportedly involved Jewish children in Medina whose parents wanted to force their children to join them in the new faith to prevent their expulsion from the city. Alternative, similar traditions held that Muhammad had been asked by a father in Medina to forcibly convert his sons, or a slave owner made the same request regarding his slave. Later commentators on 2:256 were interested instead in the theological issues regarding the feasibility of forcing belief and considered that forced belief would render meaningless the Quranic concept that life is a test.<ref>Friedmann, 2003, pp. 100-101</ref>

Lightyears at 19:58, 14 November 2022

2022-11-14T19:58:03Z

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	[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]		[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]
	~~This article analyzes~~ the ~~claim that verse 256~~ of ~~Surah al~~-~~Baqara~~ (the ~~Heifer~~) ~~advocates~~ freedom of and from ~~religion~~.		Quran 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion...") is a verse often mentioned on the topic of freedom of and from religion (along with [[To_You_Your_Religion_and_To_Me_Mine\|Qur'an 109:1-6 "to your religion and to me (my) religion."]]). Modernist and reformist Muslim commentators (who do not necessarily accept hadith in the traditional way) commonly cite such verses to advocate for religious freedom in Islam. Others argue that the verse relates only to conversion to Islam, but not [[Islam_and_Apostasy\|apostasy from Islam]].

			Yohanan Friedmann has writen extensively on these verses in his book, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam''.<ref>Yohanan Friedmann, ''Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003</ref> Quran 2:256 was discussed by early commentators in terms of the circumstances of revelation and seen as an injunction against forced conversion, though there was discussion on the question as to which groups of disbelievers it applied, and whether it had been abrogated by verses promoting jihad. The circumstances of revelation of that verse reportedly involved Jewish children in Medina whose parents wanted to force their children to join them in the new faith to prevent their expulsion from the city. Alternative, similar traditions held that Muhammad had been asked by a father in Medina to forcibly convert his sons, or a slave owner made the same request regarding his slave. Later commentators on 2:256 were interested instead in the theological issues regarding the feasibility of forcing belief and considered that forced belief would render meaningless the Quranic concept that life is a test.<ref>Friedmann, 2003, pp. 100-101</ref>

	==Qur'an==		==Qur'an==

IbnPinker at 21:13, 7 March 2021

2021-03-07T21:13:57Z

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	[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]		[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]
	This article analyzes the claim that verse 256 of ~~[[The Holy Qur'an: Al-Baqara (The Heifer)\|~~Surah al-Baqara]] (the Heifer) advocates freedom of and from religion.		This article analyzes the claim that verse 256 of Surah al-Baqara (the Heifer) advocates freedom of and from religion.
	==Qur'an==		==Qur'an==

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	==See Also==		==See Also==

	~~{{Hub4\|Misinterpreted Verses\|Misinterpreted Verses}}~~		* [[Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture]]

	==External Links==		==External Links==

IbnPinker at 21:27, 24 February 2021

2021-02-24T21:27:12Z

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	{{page_title\|Let There be no Compulsion in Religion (Qur'an 2:256)}}		{{page_title\|Let There be no Compulsion in Religion (Qur'an 2:256)}}

	<!-- http://www.islamhelpline.com/node/3459 http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamhelpline.com%2Fnode%2F3459&date=2013-06-25 http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FInvasion_of_Banu_Nadir&date=2013-06-25 -->		<!-- http://www.islamhelpline.com/node/3459 http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamhelpline.com%2Fnode%2F3459&date=2013-06-25 http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FInvasion_of_Banu_Nadir&date=2013-06-25 -->[[Category:Society and human nature]]
			[[Category:Tafsir]]
			[[Category:Apostasy]]
			[[Category:Dawah]]

IbnPinker at 23:33, 17 August 2020

2020-08-17T23:33:20Z

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	[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]		[[File:Quran 2-256.png\|290px\|right\|thumb]]
	This article analyzes the ~~apologetic~~ claim that [[The Holy Qur'an: Al-Baqara (The Heifer)\|Surah al-Baqara]] (the Heifer) advocates freedom of and from religion.		This article analyzes the claim that verse 256 of [[The Holy Qur'an: Al-Baqara (The Heifer)\|Surah al-Baqara]] (the Heifer) advocates freedom of and from religion.
	==Qur'an==		==Qur'an==

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	===Context===		===Context===



	====Hadith====		====Hadith====

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	The wisdom behind this Law of prescribing corporal punishment for apostasy in Islam is only to manifest the value and worth of the declaration of ‘shahaadah’ which enables one to enter Islam, and the severity of the crime of becoming an apostate in the Sight of Allah, Islamic Law, and the believers.; for unless and until one, of his own free will and without any coercion or force, himself declares his apostasy in a Shariah Court of a righteous Islamic State, the prescribed punishment of apostasy cannot be implemented.}}		The wisdom behind this Law of prescribing corporal punishment for apostasy in Islam is only to manifest the value and worth of the declaration of ‘shahaadah’ which enables one to enter Islam, and the severity of the crime of becoming an apostate in the Sight of Allah, Islamic Law, and the believers.; for unless and until one, of his own free will and without any coercion or force, himself declares his apostasy in a Shariah Court of a righteous Islamic State, the prescribed punishment of apostasy cannot be implemented.}}

	~~===Summary===~~



	~~==Conclusion==~~



	==See Also==		==See Also==
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	==External Links==		==External Links==

	* [http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#2-256 Muhammad preached “No compulsion in religion.”] ''- [[The Religion of Peace]]''		*[http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#2-256 Muhammad preached “No compulsion in religion.”] ''- [[The Religion of Peace]]''

	==References==		==References==