An atheist is asking: Why do you hate me?
Question

                I came across this site some time ago and have been intrigued but also felt a little uncomfortable and what has been written. As a non muslim i am well aware that you hate me, you have stated plenty of times when answering questions posed by others that non believers are to be hated and that you cannot understand why anyone would care about them or love them. In my opinion you view me as a lower form of life that is to be hated, why? what have i ever done to you? i feel insulted that you would blame me for actions i did not make or offences i did not give. i do not speak for others i speak only for myself. why should i convert if i will be surrounded by evil people who hate me.
Praise be to Allah.
      We appreciate your frankness and your courage in sending 
      this question, and we are very happy to answer it. Our hearts and the 
      heart of every Muslim are filled with mercy and compassion towards all of 
      creation, believers and disbelievers, male and female, young and old, 
      white and black. All of them are the children of Adam, and Adam was 
      created from dust. So the humanity that unites us reminds us Muslims that 
      our father Adam (peace be upon him) was expelled from Paradise as a result 
      of his sin, and that results in trials for his progeny so long as this 
      world remains. The one who adheres to the innate, sound human nature of 
      monotheism, to which Adam (peace be upon him) adhered, will be victorious 
      and will be saved, and he will return to his original home which is 
      eternal Paradise with the Lord of the Worlds. But those of the progeny of 
      Adam who are diverted by whims and desires and other distractions will 
      suffer true loss and will be deprived of returning to the eternal Paradise 
      from which our father Adam (peace be upon him) was expelled. 

    Our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

    “O people, Your Lord is One and your father is one. There is 
    no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, or 
    of a white man over a black man, or of a black man over a white man, except 
    in terms of taqwa (piety, God-consciousness).” 

    A saheeh (sound) hadeeth, narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, 
    no. 23489. 

    It is from this point that our relationship with you begins, 
    and it is with this philosophy that the Muslim is required to look at all of 
    creation, that they are prisoners of their own evil inclinations and the 
    Shaytaan (Satan), who are their real enemies, and it is essential to help 
    all of them to escape from these bonds by means of believing in Allah, the 
    One and Only, the Unique, the Eternal, Absolute, Who begets not, nor was He 
    begotten, and there is none like unto Him. This is the way to freedom, and 
    this is the message of all of His noble Prophets. 

    This is how our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) was; he shed tears and his heart was broken out of 
    compassion and sorrow for those who did not believe in him and did not join 
    his caravan that would take them back to their original home for which they 
    were created and from which they were expelled, which is Paradise. That 
    great compassion that filled the heart of the Prophet (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) deserved to be recorded by Allah in the Holy Qur’an, 
    where He said (interpretation of the meaning): “Perhaps you would kill 
    yourself (O Muhammad) in grief, over them (for their turning away from you), 
    because they believe not in this narration (the Quran)” [al-Kahf 18:6] 
    i.e., perhaps your grief for them would destroy you. 

    See Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem, 5/137 

    We do not hate you personally. How could we hate you when we 
    do not know you and have never met you; we could never despise you for your 
    colour, your race or your family. All of that is forbidden to us, to love or 
    hate people because of their colour, lineage or forebears. Rather our hatred 
    and enmity is directed towards the disbelief and atheism that you carry in 
    your heart and will soon destroy you and lead you to the eternal punishment 
    of Allah, and that will bring upon you misery in this world and in the 
    hereafter. We feel very sorry for you because of this misery and we are 
    striving to save you from it; we wish that we could do that! 

    It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) said: “Allah has taken away your pride of Jaahiliyyah (ignorance) 
    and your boasting about your forefathers. One is only a righteous believer 
    or a doomed evildoer. You are the sons of Adam and Adam was created from 
    dust. Men should stop boasting about their forefathers, who are no more than 
    the coal of Hell, or they will certainly be more insignificant before Allah 
    than the beetle that rolls dung with its nose.”

    A saheeh (sound) hadeeth, narrated by Abu Dawood (5116) et 
    al. 

    We think that you will agree with us that all humans are free 
    to believe in and to love or hate any idea or belief. This is one of the 
    freedoms that are guaranteed by modern constitutions. But no human being has 
    the right to mistreat those who differ from him in belief by wronging them, 
    annoying them or betraying them, or trying to cause them harm, just because 
    of the differences in belief between them. 

    If you were living among Muslims who truly adhere to Islam, 
    you would be living a good and happy life, and you would have the rights 
    brought by Islamic law over fourteen hundred years ago, which are not 
    surpassed by the rights brought by modern civil societies. At that time the 
    earth was filled with oppression and tyranny that trampled upon human 
    dignity. The first of these rights is the right to follow the beliefs that 
    you choose, as is the view of many of the jurists and scholars. Ibn 
    al-‘Arabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: All of our scholars said that 
    the jizyah (a form of tax paid by non-Muslims in return which they are 
    granted protection and freedom of worship by the Islamic state) is to be 
    taken from every disbeliever, and this is the correct view. End quote from
    Ahkaam al-Qur’an, 1/156; there is a similar remark in Tafseer 
    al-Qurtubi (8/110). If your belief is Judaism or Christianity or 
    Zoroastrianism, then you have complete freedom according to the consensus of 
    the jurists. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
    “There is no compulsion in religion” [al-Baqarah 2:256]. 

    If you lived among Muslims, you would be safe from any harm 
    by any means. The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) said: “Whoever kills a mu‘aahad (non-Muslim living under Islamic 
    rule) will never smell the fragrance of Paradise, although its fragrance may 
    be detected from a distance of forty years.”

    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6914. 

    If you lived among Muslims, you and all of your property 
    would be safe against any transgression. The Prophet of Islam Muhammad 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) disavowed anyone who transgresses 
    against non-Muslims. 

    If you lived among Muslims and you fell sick or were stricken 
    by harm or calamity, they would hasten to visit you and they would support 
    you in the hope of reward from Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. They 
    would always be eager to save you from the Fire even if you were on your 
    deathbed, at which time you would have no power to cause them harm or bring 
    them benefit. In such a situation they would not hope for anything from you 
    except what they would hope for you now when you are healthy, which is that 
    Allah should save you from the Fire. 

    Have you not heard the report from the Prophet Muhammad 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he had a Jewish servant who 
    served him and he treated him kindly? He (the Jewish boy) fell sick, so the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to visit him. He sat 
    by his head and said to him: “Become Muslim.” (The boy) looked at his 
    father, who was there with him, and he said to him: Obey Abu’l-Qaasim [i.e., 
    the Prophet] (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). So he became 
    Muslim, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) left, 
    saying: “Praise be to Allah Who has saved him from the Fire.” Narrated by 
    al-Bukhaari, no.1356 

    If you lived among Muslims, society would allocate to you a 
    monthly stipend to help you with living costs. In the covenant that Khaalid 
    ibn al-Waleed wrote for the people of al-Heerah in Iraq, who were 
    Christians, it says: “I allocate to them: for any old man who is incapable 
    of working or who has been stricken by calamity, or who was independent of 
    means and then became poor and his coreligionists start giving charity to 
    him, the jizyah is waived and a stipend is to be given to him and his 
    dependents from the bayt al-maal (treasury) of the Muslims.”

    End quote from al-Kharaaj by Abu Yoosuf, p. 144. 

    The title that may be given to the mission of our Prophet 
    Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in brief is: mercy. 
    Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We 
    have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the worlds” [al-Anbiya’ 
    21:107]. And Allah knows best. 

    And our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) said of himself: “O people, I am but a mercy that has been 
    bestowed.” Narrated by ad-Daarimi, 15; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. 

    If we were to quote examples of Islamic tolerance throughout 
    the history of the Islamic state, that would fill dozens of pages. If you 
    would like to read and study further, you could read the book by Prof. ‘Umar 
    ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez entitled Samaahat al-Islam (Islamic Tolerance), 
    published by al-Maktabah adh-Dhahabiyyah and Maktabat al-Adeeb. 

    We ask Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, to guide you 
    and open your heart.