Answer
Salam Dear Saima,
Thank you very much for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Maybe I need to start by stating that Allah (swt) is Just and does not do even the least bit of injustice to any one. He says in Surah 50, verse 29 that:
{The word changes not before Me, and I do not the least injustice to My servants.}
Then in Surah 3, verse 25 says that:
{But how [will they fare] when we gather them together against a day about which there is no doubt, and each soul will be paid out just what it has earned, without [favor or] injustice?}
Also Surah 21, verse 47 says that:
{We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and if there be [no more than] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it [to account]: and enough are We to take account.}
The above verses of the Holy Quran very clearly declare that God will not do even an atom’s weight of injustice. If a person is born in a non-Muslim family, it is not his fault; and definitely Allah will not punish him on that score.
Here we can see how Islam differs from other creeds, among which is Christianity. Islam teaches that all humans are born pure, innocent and free. This is unlike – for example – Christianity, which acknowledges Man to be a born sinner. Regarding this major point, Islam upholds Man’s original innocence against Christianity’s “original sin”.
As humans grow up, they are carried away from their true nature towards evil. The role of the prophets has been to teach us to return to our true nature; al-deen al-qaiyem or the straight path, by submitting to God’s will.
When we become mature, our duty is to seek truth and embrace it as we come to know it. If we don’t do so, we are answerable before God. In fact the word, kafir means one who rejects truth, by hiding it.
The case of a ‘born Muslim’ is no different from that of ‘born non-Muslim’. Both are equally accountable before God. A born Muslim has to consciously accept the truth as he becomes mature, like a born non-Muslim.
Imagine a born Muslim who rejects Islam after he/she becomes mature. Certainly he is not a Muslim simply for the reason that he was born in a Muslim family. This means that at any stage in one’s life one can become a Muslim, or become a non-Muslim.
Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran, in Surah 10, verse 44 that:
{Verily God will not deal unjustly with Man in aught; it is man that wrongs his own soul…}
Also Surah 30, verse 30 says that:
{So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the faith: [establish] God’s handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: no change [let there be] in the work [wrought] by God: that is the standard religion: but most among mankind understand not.}
May Allah bless us to understand His true religion and convey its message to others as best as we can!
Thank you again for your question and please, do keep in touch.
Salam.