Short answer
Be a real friend, whether or not your friend ever becomes Muslim. Start from the one Creator. Surat al-Ikhlas says Allah (﷾) is One and not begotten, and the Mul Mantar also calls God one and unborn. Speak honestly and gently (16:125). Never mock the Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib, uncut hair or the turban (6:108). If your friend raises the Gurus' deaths under Mughal rulers, say plainly that those deaths were wrong. If your friend quotes Guru Arjan giving up the Muslim prayer, fast and Hajj, admit it plainly. If asked whether you are trying to convert them, say no: only God (﷾) guides hearts (28:56). You are making them aware of Islam in a friendly discussion, not a debate, and the choice is theirs (2:256). If they say no, end as Muslims are taught: "To you be your Way, and to me mine" (109:6). Then keep the friendship. Leave out weak claims, such as 'Guru Nanak was a Muslim' or 'Sikhism is a blend'. Then read the pages written for Sikh readers together, and let the Qur'an speak for itself.
Full explanation
Be a true friend first
This guide is for Muslims with Sikh friends, neighbours or colleagues. Be a real friend, whether or not your friend ever becomes Muslim. Never befriend someone only to convert them. The Qur'an allows Muslims to deal kindly and justly with those who do not fight them over faith. It says Allah (﷾) loves those who are just. Guidance is God's (﷾) to give, not yours. The Qur'an tells the Prophet (ﷺ), "thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest". Your part is to speak clearly and kindly, and to stay a friend whatever the answer.
“Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.”
“It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.”
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
Start from the one Creator
Begin with Surat al-Ikhlas, the short chapter in which the Qur'an says who Allah (﷾) is. He is One, He neither begets nor is begotten, and none is like Him. Your friend's scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, which Sikhs honour as their living Guru, opens with the Mul Mantar. It is a short creed by Guru Nanak (Sikhs say Guru Nanak Dev Ji). It names one God (﷾), the Creator, without fear or enmity, immortal, unborn and self-existent. That shared ground is real. It is a start, not the whole. The question is not God's (﷾) name. It is how He asked to be worshipped, and the Qur'an says He sent a messenger to all people to teach it.
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
“There is but one God whose name is true, the Creator, devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
What your friend may value
Your friend may remember God's (﷾) name every day. He may prize langar, the free kitchen open to all, and seva, service given without asking anything back. The Gurus taught that no one is high or low by birth, and in langar everyone sits and eats together. Kabir was a devotional poet whose hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib. One of his hymns says all people came from the one Light. The Qur'an tells believers to praise Allah (﷾) often. It praises those who feed the poor, the orphan and the captive for the love of Allah (﷾) alone. It says God (﷾) made people into nations and tribes so that they may know one another, and that the most honoured in His sight is the most righteous. All that you can honour with your whole heart. Then be honest about where Islam's answer differs: whose words are God's (﷾), and how He is to be worshipped.
The Bhagat Kabir, whose hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib and who was not one of the ten Gurus, writes that first Allah created the Light, and then by His creative power made all mortal beings. From the one Light the whole universe welled up, so who is good and who is bad?
“O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do this often;”
“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive,- (Saying),"We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.”
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
Gentle words and real questions
The Qur'an tells Muslims to invite with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and to argue in the best way. It forbids them to revile what others call on besides God (﷾). The Prophet (ﷺ) told Aisha to be gentle, for God (﷾) loves gentleness in every matter. He said he was not sent to curse, but as a mercy. So never mock the Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib, or a Sikh's uncut hair (kesh) and turban. Use the names Sikhs use: 'Guru Nanak', 'the Guru Granth Sahib'. Never call Sikhs Hindus, or Sikhism (Sikhs also say Sikhi) a sect of another faith. Ask real questions and listen: 'How could we know which book is from God?' 'What does God ask of us?' 'What happens after death?' Take one point at a time, and stop when your friend has had enough. Questions about your own practice, such as visiting a gurdwara, are for a qualified scholar.
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”
“Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did.”
Aisha reports that some Jews greeted the Prophet (ﷺ) with "death be upon you", and she cursed them in return. He told her to be gentle, for Allah loves gentleness in every matter. When she asked whether he had not heard what they said, he replied that he had answered them only with "and upon you".
Abu Hurayra reports that someone asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to curse the polytheists. He answered that he had not been sent as one who curses, but as a mercy.
If your friend raises the Gurus' deaths
Many Sikhs grow up with the memory of their Gurus' deaths. The Mughal emperors were Muslim rulers of much of India. Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, was put to death on the emperor Jahangir's order in 1606. Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was beheaded in Delhi under Aurangzeb in 1675. Guru Gobind Singh's two youngest sons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, were put to death at Sirhind on the order of the Mughal governor there. Sikhs honour them as martyrs (shaheed). Do not bring it up yourself: your aim is to talk about God (﷾), not to argue about history. But never hide it. If your friend raises it, say plainly that it happened, that it was wrong, and that you do not defend it. Do not say 'it was only politics', and do not blame anyone else. Jahangir's memoirs give two reasons. He had long wished to stop Guru Arjan's teaching or bring him into Islam. Then the Guru blessed Jahangir's rebel son, Prince Khusrau, and Jahangir ordered the Guru's death. So do not pretend religion played no part. The Qur'an says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion", so no one may be forced into Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the killing of children. Do not answer with the good deeds of other Muslim rulers either. Islam's proof is the Qur'an and the Prophet (ﷺ), not what any ruler did.
The Sikh reference work dates Guru Arjan's death to Jeth sudi 4, 1663 Bk, that is 30 May 1606, at Lahore, after a period of imprisonment and torture. It says the real cause was the emperor's own attitude, and quotes Jahangir's memoir on his wish to end the Guru's teaching or bring him into Islam, and on his order for the Guru's death, and records Prince Khusrau's visit to the Guru. It records that the Guru's death is honoured by Sikhs every year at Lahore.
“I ordered them to produce him and handed over his houses, dwelling-places, and children to Murtaza Khan, and having confiscated his property commanded that he should be put to death.”
“Khusrau happened to halt at the place where he was, and he came out and did homage to him. He behaved to Khusrau in certain special ways, and made on his forehead a finger-mark in saffron, which the Indians (Hinduwan) call qashqa, and is considered propitious.”
Records that Kashmiri Pandits, suffering under the policies of the Mughal governor of Kashmir, came to Guru Tegh Bahadur at Anandpur on 25 May 1675; that he resolved to give his life for people's right to practise their own religion; that he was arrested in July 1675 on Aurangzeb's orders and held for over three months; that in Delhi he was pressed under torture to accept Islam and refused; and that he was beheaded in public in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, on 11 November 1675.
Records that Zorawar Singh, aged nine, and his younger brother Fateh Singh were taken with their grandmother, Mata Gujari, after the evacuation of Anandpur in December 1705 and sent to Sirhind. There the faujdar, Wazir Khan, offered them riches and honours if they accepted Islam, then threatened them with death; they refused. Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan of Malerkotla interceded for the children. They were put to death on Wazir Khan's order on 12 December 1705, and Mata Gujari died on hearing the news. The site is now Fatehgarh Sahib.
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
Ibn Umar reports that a woman was found killed during one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) campaigns, and the Prophet forbade the killing of women and children.
If your friend quotes Ang 1136, admit it
An Ang is a page of the standard 1,430-page Guru Granth Sahib. At Ang 1136, in a hymn in Guru Arjan's section, the speaker says he keeps no fast and no Ramadan. He goes on no pilgrimage to Mecca, and he does not pray as the Muslims do. He gives up Hindu worship and pilgrimage too. He says he is neither a Hindu nor a Musalman, and that he takes the Formless God (﷾) into his heart. Sikhs read the hymn as their own path: the one God (﷾) served in the heart, apart from the rites of both faiths. Do not soften it, and do not say it means something else. Admit it plainly: the hymn sets aside the Muslim prayer, the fast and the Hajj. Then give Islam's answer. God (﷾) Himself commanded the prayer, the fast and the pilgrimage in the Qur'an. So the real question is whose word is God's (﷾). The Qur'an asks to be tested: produce a chapter like it, and look for discrepancy in it. Your friend may answer that the Gurus' hymns cannot be matched either. Do not dispute how highly Sikhs hold them. The Qur'an made its challenge in its own words, as a public test anyone can try. Read "Did God speak through the Sikh Gurus?" together; it sets out the Qur'an's tests one step at a time.
“I practise not fasting, nor observe the Ramzan: I serve Him who will preserve me at the last hour. The one Lord of the earth is my God, Who judgeth both Hindus and Musalmans. I go not on a pilgrimage to Makka, nor worship at Hindu places of pilgrimages. I serve the one God and none other. I neither worship as the Hindus, nor pray as the Musalmans. I take the Formless God into my heart, and there make obeisance unto Him. I am neither a Hindu nor a Musalman. The soul and body belong to God whether He be called Allah or Ram. Kabir hath delivered this lecture. When I meet a true guru or pir, I recognize my own Master.”
“And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).”
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-”
“In it are Signs Manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah,- those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
What not to use
Some claims Muslims hear are untrue or unfair. Leave them out, because a Muslim says only what he knows to be true (17:36). Some Muslims claim that Guru Nanak was a Muslim. Do not say it: Sikhs do not hold it, and no one can claim what he does not know. The Janamsakhi stories, the traditional lives of Guru Nanak, say he travelled to Mecca. A story about a journey cannot settle which book is from God (﷾). So do not use it to prove anything, and do not call it made up. Do not say Sikhism is a blend of Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs reject it, and finding similar ideas in two faiths does not show where either came from. Do not say 'Waheguru is Allah', or argue from a word. Waheguru is the Sikhs' own word for God (﷾). Muslims call on God (﷾) by the names He gave Himself, and a shared belief in one God (﷾) does not make two faiths the same. Do not argue from old disputes among Sikhs about writings, manuscripts or leaders. It would be unkind, and it proves nothing about which book is from God (﷾). Never quote a line without the lines around it. That is unfair to the text and to your friend.
“And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).”
“I practise not fasting, nor observe the Ramzan: I serve Him who will preserve me at the last hour. The one Lord of the earth is my God, Who judgeth both Hindus and Musalmans. I go not on a pilgrimage to Makka, nor worship at Hindu places of pilgrimages. I serve the one God and none other. I neither worship as the Hindus, nor pray as the Musalmans. I take the Formless God into my heart, and there make obeisance unto Him. I am neither a Hindu nor a Musalman. The soul and body belong to God whether He be called Allah or Ram. Kabir hath delivered this lecture. When I meet a true guru or pir, I recognize my own Master.”
If politics comes up
A friend may raise the news, or quarrels between communities today. Do not turn the talk into politics. This holds for the politics of any country, your own included. Winning an argument about governments or communities is not your aim. What you hope to talk about is God, who made us, and the life after death. Listen kindly, say honestly that you would rather talk about faith, and return to those questions. The Prophet (ﷺ) was told to say: "This is my way: I do invite unto Allah".
“Say thou: "This is my way: I do invite unto Allah,- on evidence clear as the seeing with one's eyes,- I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah! and never will I join gods with Allah!"”
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”
Pages to read together
This site has pages written for Sikh readers. Share the one that fits your friend. Start with "I'm a Sikh: why should I consider Islam?" A friend who says we already worship the same God (﷾) can read "Do Sikhs and Muslims believe in the same God?" For the Guru Granth Sahib's own words on Muslims, Ang 1136 among them, read "What does the Guru Granth Sahib say about Muslims?" On revelation, read "Did God speak through the Sikh Gurus?" Then read "How can we tell if a holy book really comes from God?" On rebirth and the Judgement, read "Do Sikhs believe in one life or many?" Read "Is Sikhism a blend of Hinduism and Islam?" yourself, to see why Muslims should not make that argument. A friend who asks about caste can read "Isn't there caste among Muslims too?"
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”
Islam's answer, and your part
In the end, invite your friend to Islam itself. Islam is a complete way of life (deen): belief, worship, law, family and character together. The page "What is Islam?" shows it in one place. The Qur'an asks to be tested: produce a chapter like it. It says the Prophet (ﷺ) was sent to all people, and calls him the Seal of the Prophets, the last of them. Your part is to speak clearly and kindly. There is no compulsion in religion, so the choice is your friend's. Who is better in speech than one who calls to God (﷾) and does good? Inviting is your part; guiding a heart is God's (﷾) alone. That is why, if your friend asks whether you are trying to convert them, the honest answer is no.
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
“O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
“Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, "I am of those who bow in Islam"?”
“It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.”
What your friend may say
Qur'an 2:256 — Surat al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 256
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
Cited for
Are you trying to convert me?
The response
No. I am making you aware of Islam, and we are just having a friendly discussion, not a debate. I cannot make anyone believe. The Qur'an tells even the Prophet (ﷺ) that he cannot guide everyone he loves, but God (﷾) guides whom He wills. It also says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion". So the choice is yours. Read, think and decide for yourself. If you decide Islam is not for you, I will say what the Qur'an teaches: "To you be your Way, and to me mine." Whatever you decide, I am still your friend.
Where it lands — The Muslim shares Islam in a friendly discussion and presses no one. The choice is the friend's, and if it is no, the friendship goes on.
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1136 — Raga Bhairao, Guru Arjan
“I practise not fasting, nor observe the Ramzan: I serve Him who will preserve me at the last hour. The one Lord of the earth is my God, Who judgeth both Hindus and Musalmans. I go not on a pilgrimage to Makka, nor worship at Hindu places of pilgrimages. I serve the one God and none other. I neither worship as the Hindus, nor pray as the Musalmans. I take the Formless God into my heart, and there make obeisance unto Him. I am neither a Hindu nor a Musalman. The soul and body belong to God whether He be called Allah or Ram. Kabir hath delivered this lecture. When I meet a true guru or pir, I recognize my own Master.”
Cited for
Our Guru gave up your prayer, your fast and your Hajj. Why should I take them up?
The response
You are right that the hymn at Ang 1136 sets them aside, and I will not pretend otherwise. Muslims keep them because we hold that God (﷾) Himself commanded them in the Qur'an. So the real question is whose word is God's (﷾). The Qur'an asks to be tested: try to produce a chapter like it.
Where it lands — The hymn is admitted as it stands; the question is which book is God's (﷾) word, and the Qur'an offers its test.
Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, "Tegh Bahadur, Guru"
Records that Kashmiri Pandits, suffering under the policies of the Mughal governor of Kashmir, came to Guru Tegh Bahadur at Anandpur on 25 May 1675; that he resolved to give his life for people's right to practise their own religion; that he was arrested in July 1675 on Aurangzeb's orders and held for over three months; that in Delhi he was pressed under torture to accept Islam and refused; and that he was beheaded in public in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, on 11 November 1675.
Cited for
Muslim rulers killed our Gurus. Why would I join their religion?
The response
Those deaths happened, and they were wrong. I do not defend them, and I will not blame anyone else. Jahangir himself wrote that he had long wished to stop Guru Arjan's teaching or bring him into Islam. But the Qur'an says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion". No one may be forced into Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the killing of children. Islam's proof is the Qur'an and the Prophet (ﷺ), not what any ruler did. I ask you to look at those for yourself.
Where it lands — The deaths are admitted as wrong and not defended; the Qur'an forbids forcing anyone into Islam, and the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade killing children.
Qur'an 9:113 — Surat al-Tawba (The Repentance), verse 113
“It is not fitting, for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for Pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire.”
Cited for
Your Qur'an forbids you to pray for my family who have died. Are they in hell?
The response
For those who died outside Islam, a Muslim does not ask God's (﷾) forgiveness (9:113). That is a rule for his own prayers. It is not a verdict on your family. The verse gives its condition: "after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire". The Qur'an also says God (﷾) sends no wrath "until We had sent a messenger" (17:15). He is "never unjust in the least degree" (4:40). No Muslim may declare any person's fate. That belongs to God (﷾).
Where it lands — Islam states its rule for prayer openly, and leaves each person's fate to a God who wrongs no one.
Qur'an 17:15 — Surat al-Isra (The Night Journey), verse 15
“Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).”
Cited for
If my family may be safe because no one told them, why are you telling me?
The response
We do not say they are safe or lost; that is for God (﷾), who knows what reached each person. But the message is now reaching you. The same verse says: "Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss". I tell you because I believe it is true, and I want that good for you.
Where it lands — The message is a gift to whoever it reaches, and a choice for whoever hears it; God (﷾) judges each person justly.
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1 — Jap, Guru Nanak (the Mul Mantar)
“There is but one God whose name is true, the Creator, devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent”
Cited for
We already believe in the one God. Why would I need Islam?
The response
Belief in one Creator is a true start, and I respect it. The Qur'an asks for more than believing in Him. It asks that He be worshipped as He taught. It says He sent the Prophet (ﷺ) to all people. So the question is whether the Qur'an is His word, and it invites you to test it.
Where it lands — Belief in one Creator is the start; the Qur'an asks to be tested as His word and His way.
Perspectives
What a Sikh friend may say
A Sikh friend may say that the Gurus chose another way of worship, and that the name of God does not matter. He may add that a sincere worshipper of the one God is safe. And he may say that Mughal rulers put two of the Gurus to death.
In Guru Arjan's hymn at Ang 1136, the speaker keeps no fast and no Ramadan. He goes on no Hajj, and does not pray as the Muslims do.
Rebuttal
The hymn does say so. But God (﷾) Himself commanded the prayer, the fast and the Hajj in the Qur'an (2:43; 2:183; 3:97). So the question is whose word is God's (﷾), and the Qur'an asks to be tested (2:23).
The same hymn says soul and body belong to God, whether He be called Allah or Ram. Ram is a name for God in the Guru Granth Sahib, also used by Hindus. So His name does not matter; what matters is serving the one God in the heart.
Rebuttal
Islam's answer does not rest on a name. The question is how God (﷾) asked to be served, and whether He sent word to tell us. The Qur'an says He sent a messenger to all people to teach it (7:158). And it asks to be tested as His word (2:23).
Guru Arjan asks why those who adore God day and night should go to hell (Ang 724).
Rebuttal
No Muslim may declare any particular person's fate. God (﷾) punishes no one until a messenger has come to warn them (17:15), and He wrongs no one (4:40). But the Qur'an also says that a religion other than Islam will not be accepted. Whoever seeks one is among the losers in the Hereafter (3:85). Who has truly received the message is God's (﷾) alone to judge.
Mughal emperors, who were Muslims, put Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur to death.
Rebuttal
They did, and it was wrong. Jahangir wrote that he had long wished to stop Guru Arjan's teaching or bring him into Islam. But the Qur'an says there is no compulsion in religion, so no one may be forced into Islam (2:256).
The Islamic perspective
Invite with wisdom and gentleness, honestly and one point at a time. Admit hard facts plainly, leave each person's fate to God (﷾), and leave the choice to your friend.
Muslims are told to invite people with wisdom and kind, beautiful words. And they are told not to insult what others call on besides God (﷾).
God (﷾) loves gentleness in every matter, and the Prophet (ﷺ) was sent as a mercy, not to curse.
The Gurus' deaths were wrong, and this page does not defend them. The Qur'an forbids forcing anyone into Islam. And the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the killing of children.
God (﷾) Himself commanded the prayer, the fast and the Hajj. So the question between the two scriptures is: whose word is God's (﷾)?
Only what is known to be true is used: no one may claim what he does not know.
There is no compulsion in religion; the Muslim conveys, and the choice is the listener's.