Are Humans Allowed to Question God?
I once asked my sister, a devout Muslim, “in Islam, are followers allowed to ask any question of Islam?” Her answer was affirmative. She said: “of course you can ask any question, but it is important who you are asking.” I knew what she meant. She still goes to religious meetings from time to time and there she asks her questions of a lady who is educated in Islam. However, this did not jive with other testimonies I have heard from Muslim women. I recall clearly, for example, listening to a testimony from a former Muslim woman who had been a very devout Muslim in Morocco. One day she asked her religious mentor why she needed to wear the hijab when she was praying all alone in her bedroom? “There is no one in the room but me,” she questioned, “and I am praying to Allah who has created me. Why should I have to cover myself if Allah sees all?” The mentor responded by saying: “you ask too many questions. Just do the right thing.”
So the question for me remains: can a Muslim ask any question about Islam or are there limits to the questions one can ask? And can I ask that same question of the Bible?
Ashmede Asgarali, an Islamic scholar, addresses my question this way:
“it is not wrong to question anything, but it is wrong to doubt anything that has been said by Allah -which is everything in the Quran. You may not like it, you may not want to do it, but do it you must or else, why are you Muslim?”
He goes on in his article declaring that if you are a Muslim by definition you have to believe everything that the Quran has to say. To put it simply, in Islam you can ask questions as long as they do not accuse the veracity and correctness of whatever the Quran has to say.
Interestingly, the Quran says this:
Surah 3:103 “And hold firmly to (the) rope (of) Allah all together and (do) not be divided...Thus Allah makes clear for you His Verses so that you may (be) guided.”
Islam views the Quran as Allah’s extended rope (lifeline) from heaven to earth. This verse commands Muslims to hold onto the Quran as the ultimate gift of Allah to humanity. It is the promise of hope to mankind. To Muslims, the Qur’an contains the guidance and direction a man needs to follow in order to end up in Paradise. This is a big component of Muslims hope for this life as well as the next. Muslims believe they have the one true path to godly living and eternal salvation. Therefore, its contents cannot be questioned.
Surah 5:101 “O believers! Do not ask about any matter which, if made clear to you, may disturb you. But if you inquire about what is being revealed in the Quran, it will be made clear to you. Allah has forgiven what was done ˹in the past˺.1 And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.”
102- “Some people before you asked such questions then denied their answers.”
I remember listening to the Moroccan woman talking about her question and thinking to myself “what a wonderful and logical question to ask.” Her question and the answer which she received provoked her doubt about Islam. She was being asked to distrust her own understanding and shut her own mind. Yet when I talk to my sister, she believes all questions are permissible for her. This principle is so ingrained in Islamic culture most Muslims don't even consider ever questioning it in the first place. The ones who do, are generally reproofed and rebuked for their questions.
What about the Bible? What does Yahweh say about questioning?
Proverb 25: 2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Acts 17: 10-11 “ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
According to the Bible, it is good to ask questions so we can become more convinced of the answers we find. Our Lord is not afraid of our questions. He is the Truth.
My hope is, through this discussion, we acknowledge the paradigm we come from is very different from the paradigm of a Muslim woman. You may ask her a question about her faith, like the question the Moroccan woman asked of her mentor, and think nothing of it. When, in reality, it could be much more concerning to her if your question causes her to doubt.
Our goal in reaching out to our Muslim friends should not be to prove their beliefs are wrong so that we can be right. Our goal is to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ and let His light shine through our words and deeds. The way we answer her questions and research her questions together will be more powerful than any blow to her faith.
Let me be clear: I'm not saying we should not ask questions in order to understand what she believes. I am suggesting it would be wise to limit those questions designed to criticize Islam. Deep down Muslims already know about the problems with their faith doctrines. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to illuminate their minds, open their hearts and call them to a lifelong fellowship with Jesus. Our job is to represent the love of Christ in both word and deed.