Those the idol worshippers made partners to Allah, worshipping them and believing in them as partners in creation and as gods under God, are in manifest error.
When studying even a single cell , the intricacies of the varying pathways and processes as well as the very structure of the cell itself amazes us. Put aside an actual living organism, like the Fly.
How could such a thing be attributed to material, shaped, seeable gods? You mould it, and it has constituent parts, you can break it up into pieces, you can see and comprehend it, and it occupies location. Some give their 'gods' a thousand images, ignoring the fact Allah azwj is beyond all comprehension.
There is only one God, the only God, immaterial, the giver of all forms who himself has no form. Creation can never be like the creator.
It is my belief that this is part of the fitrah of the human being.
Tawheed is the foundation of everything. It gives purpose to our lives, and the biggest blessing.
Additionally, there are those who i vehemently oppose in terms of a particular belief. But i do not equate the person with the belief [only actions]. So to soften my heart, i question if i too , would be holding the same belief as them, had i been born in their household, had the social conditioning they had, and was exposed to the same environment and biases. It may be i would have, and coming to what i now feel is truth, would have taken a bit longer.
It is wrong to think: Fulan is evil, because he holds a belief.
Rather it may be that Fulan has had social conditioning, family pressure, decades of misconceptions forming layer after layer, which will, if they truly seek truth, take a little longer to erode, if Allah so wills.
It may be that i would have been the Fulan i argue against if i had been born under another household and environment.
Maybe i should be aware of that, and be more humble and socially aware.
Wallah, i did not have anyone on my mind when writing this. It was a very general reflection on every debate, from other brothers, from those in speakers corner debating christians, atheists, and so on and so forth.
The first intended recipient of that reflection , first and foremost, was myself.
Some of our greatest ambassadors have been previously christian. It would be wrong to have judged them as wilfully ignorant and never to come to accept truth.
Ultimately, it is on Allah to guide whom he wills, and for us to be open, compassionate, and seek mutual understanding and respect.
I asked this question to two knowledgeable individuals once (Ustadh Tim Humble and Mufti Menk) as I was very confused about this issue. Both of them comfirmed it is okay as long as certain conditions are met: we must not engage in unnecessary chit chat with the opposite gender, usernames need to be appropriate (yes I violate this condition but i wasn't aware back then), and we need to maintain a modest conduct in general. Employing foul words etc.. is wrong. The thread should be utilized purely for the sake of Islamic benefit.