Mention the principle and message of …

The first principle of his message is the belief in one God. The message of humanism is inseparably bound together with his message of monotheism. The Quran has numerous verses which refer to Allah and his attributes but it is directed at man and his behaviour. 

The Quran acknowledges pluralism.

There is no compulsion in religion. Allah has created different communities on purpose, to try and test human beings in what has been given to them. It is His will that the people shall live in peace and harmony with each other.

The message of the Quran is one of hope but not of despair. Compassion and mercy are an ever present theme in the Quran. Hopelessness and the lack of trust in His mercy are condemned in the Quran. Even the sinners are assured not to be in despair of His mercy because Allah forgives all sins. Allah says in His Book: “My mercy encompasses all things.”

Mercy is also a quality of His Prophet, for we are told in the Quran that “to the Believers is he most kind and merciful”. Even a believer should aspire for, if not possess, mercy. The believers are those who are “compassionate amongst each other”, and “exhort one another to mercy”. Man is required to believe in Allah’s mercy and also practise it himself.