“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loves not transgressors.” - Chapter 2:190, Al-Baqara (The Cow).
“Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them.” - Chapter 4:90, An-Nisa (The Women).
What does the Al-Quran say about PEACE?
“And do not allow your oaths in the name of God to become an obstacle to virtue and God-consciousness and the promotion of peace between men.” - Chapter 2:224, Al-Baqara (The Cow).
“O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.” - Chapter 49:13, Al-Hujurat (The Dwellings).
Muhammad and Non-Muslims
- In the Wathiqah Madaniyyah (Constitution of Medina) which Prophet Muhammad negotiated with the Ansar and Muhajirun tribes, as well as the Jews of Medina, Jews were included in the Community. They were allowed freedom of association and religion. This freedom forms up what is known today as Human Rights. Similar agreements and treaties were negotiated by Prophet Muhammad with the Jews of Tayma, and other cities in the Hijaz.
- Safwan bin Umaya, one of the chiefs of Mecca, was a great enemy of Muhammad and Islam. He promised a reward to Umair ibn Wahab if he managed to kill Muhammad. When Mecca was conquered, Safwan ran away to Jeddah in the hope of finding a berth that would take him to Yemen by sea. Umair ibn Wahab came to Muhammad and said, “O Messenger of God! Safwan ibn Umayya, a chief of his tribe, has run away from fear of what you might do to him and threatens to cast himself into the sea.” The Prophet sent him a guarantee of protection and, when he returned, Safwan requested Muhammad to give him two months to come to a decision. He was given four months, after which he became a Muslim by his own free will.
- The Prophet’s uncle, Hamzah, was one of the most beloved of people to the Prophet. Hamzah was one of the earliest to accept Islam. An Abyssinian slave of the wife of Abu Sufyan, Hind, sought out and killed Hamzah in the battle of Uhud. Hind then mutilated his body by cutting his chest and tearing his liver and heart into pieces. When she quietly came to the Prophet and accepted Islam, he recognized her but did not say anything. She was so impressed by his magnanimity and stature that she said, “O Messenger of God, no tent was more deserted in my eyes than yours; but today no tent is more lovely in my eyes than yours.”
- The tribe of Quraish were the archenemies of Islam and, for a period of thirteen years while Prophet Muhammad was still in Mecca, they would rebuke the Prophet, taunt and mock him, beat him and abuse him, both physically and mentally. They placed the afterbirth of a camel on his back while he prayed, and they boycotted him and his tribe until the social sanctions became unbearable. They plotted and attempted to kill him on more than one occasion, and when the Prophet escaped to Medina, they rallied the majority of the Arab tribes and waged many wars against him. Yet, when he entered Mecca victorious with an army of 10,000, he did not take revenge on anyone.
The Prophet said to the Quraish: “O people of Quraish! What do you think I will do to you?
Hoping for a good response, they said: “You will do good. You are a noble brother, son of a noble brother.”
The Prophet then said: “Then I say to you what Joseph said to his brothers: ‘There is no blame upon you.’ Go! For you are all free!”
- Habir ibn al-Aswad was a vicious enemy of Muhammad and Islam. He inflicted a serious injury to Zainab, daughter of the Prophet when she decided to migrate to Medina. She was pregnant when she started her migration, and the polytheists of Mecca tried to stop her from leaving. Habir physically assaulted her and intentionally caused her to fall down from her camel. Her fall caused her to miscarry her baby, and she herself was badly hurt. He had committed many other crimes against Muslims as well. He wanted flee to Persia but, when he decided to come to Muhammad instead, the Prophet forgave him.
- During the life of Muhammad, the Jews in Medina had a synagogue and an educational institute by the name of Bait-Al-Madras. He made sure it was preserved as well as all the Jews attending it were protected.
- Muhammad (Peace be upon him) made several treaties with the Jews. The following is an extract of a message that he wrote to form a treaty:
“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful. This message is from Muhammad, Messenger of God. Verily, whoever follows us from the Jews shall have the help and the aid; and shall neither be victim of injustice, nor taken vengeance upon. The Jews of the children of Awf are safe with the Faithful. They have their religion and the Muslims theirs and themselves, except those who oppress or sin, they will forfeit themselves and their families. The Jews of Bani Al-Najjar, of Bani Al-Harith, of Bani Saaedah, of Bani Aws and of Bani Belanah are Jews like the others.”
- There was an old woman who would collect thorns and twigs. She would wait until Prophet Muhammad was coming and she then threw them in the way hoping that Muhammad would step on them and get hurt. She would do this every day. One day, the prophet passed by as usual and saw that there were no thorns on the road. He asked people where she was. They told him that the old woman was ill and too sick to leave her bed. Muhammad went to visit her.
When he went to her house, he spoke to her in a respectful and kind manner. He spoke to her politely and said some kind words before he left her house.
The woman was so touched by his gesture that from that day on she never tried to hurt Muhammad again.
- The Prophet honored the Christians of Najran from Yemen who visited him in his own mosque in Madina. The Christians prayed according to Christian fashion inside the mosque, and the Prophet and his followers prayed in Muslim tradition.
- Muhammad selected a non-Muslim, Amr-ibn-Umaiyah-ad-Damri, as his ambassador to Negus, the king of Ethiopia.
- The Prophet respected the autonomy of the Christian churches. The nomination and the appointment of bishops and priests were left to the Christian community.
- Muhammad sent the following message to the Monks of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai:
“This is a message written by Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, far and near, we are behind them. Verily, I defend them by myself, the servants, the helpers, and my followers, because Christians are citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be changed from their jobs, nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate who force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christians is married to a Muslim, this is not to take place without her own wish. She is not to be prevented from going to her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation is to disobey this covenant till the Day of Judgment and the end of the world.”
ABU BAKAR ASSIDDIQUE - 1ST CALIPH OF ISLAM
In a letter written by Abu Bakar to the non-Muslims of Najran:
“In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This is the written statement of God’s slave Abu Bakar, the successor of Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of God. He affirms for you the rights of a protected neighbour, in yourselves, your lands, your religious community, your wealth, retainers, and servants, those of you who are present or abroad, your bishops and monks, and monasteries, and all that you own, be it great or small. You shall not be deprived of any of it, and shall have full control over it.”
UMAR AL-KHATTAB - 2ND CALIPH OF ISLAM
- Under Umar’s rule, the Muslims were forbidden to interfere with the religious freedom of the Dhimmis, a rule first set by Prophet Muhammad. Umar also issued strict instructions that all assessments in the case of Dhimmis should be fair.
- Umar al-Khattab gave the Dhimmis the freedom to follow their religious practices which were not offensive to the Muslims. The Christians were free to ring bells in their churches outside of the time when Muslims were offering prayers. The Christians were allowed to take out their crosses in processions but they were advised that such processions should avoid routes passing through settlements populated by Muslims.
- Jerusalem and its surrounding territory were and remain holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews. It was during Umar’s rule that Muslims first gained leadership of this territory. At one point in Jerusalem, the Christians asked him to pray in their church but he declined. He said he was afraid that in the future Muslims could use this as an excuse to take over the Church to build a mosque. The Christians gave the key of the Church of Resurrection to Muslims to be responsible for its safety. This key is still with the Muslims today as a sign and symbol of the mutual trust.
- When any non-Muslim was too poor to pay Jizyah, he was exempted from the levy, an exemption which also applies in the case of Zakat.
- On his death bed, in his bequest to his successor Umar said:
“My bequest to my successor is that covenants with the Dhimmis should be observed faithfully. They should be defended against all invasions. No injustice should be done to them. They should be treated as full fledged citizens and should enjoy equality before law. Their taxes should be fair, and no burden should be imposed on them which they cannot bear.”
- When Jerusalem was submitted to Caliph Umar, an agreement was made between Umar and the local Christians. The agreement goes as follows:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! This is the security which grants to the people of Elia. He grants to all, whether sick or sound, security for their lives, their possessions, their churches and their crosses, and for all that concerns their religion. Their churches shall not be changed into dwelling places, nor destroyed, neither shall they nor their appurtenances be in any way diminished, nor the crosses of the inhabitants nor aught of their possessions, nor shall any constraints be put upon them in the matter of their faith, nor shall any one of them be harmed.”
- The Second Caliph Umar, asked his Governor in Syria to recruit a Greek person who could put the accounts of their revenues in order. He also appointed a Christian to head his Administration.
During the Umayyad (first Islamic dynasty (661–750) and Abbasid caliphates (from 749 to 1258)
- Non-Muslims were holding the rank of Political, Ministerial and Administrative positions in Executive Councils.
- Non-Muslims were given judicial autonomy, not only for personal status, but for all affairs of their life: civil, penal and others.
- During the Abbasid Caliphate, Christian Patriarchs and Jewish Hakhams (Rabbis) held the highest positions in the Islamic state. They held the position of advisors in the cabinet of the Caliph himself.
- When the Muslim army reached the valley of the Jordan and Abu Ubaydah pitched his camp at Fihl, the Christian inhabitants of the country wrote:
“O Muslims, we prefer you to the Byzantines though they are of our faith, because you keep better faith with us and are more merciful to us and refrain from doing us injustice and your rule over us is better than theirs, for they have robbed us of our goods and our homes.”
- The people of Emessa closed the gates of their city against the army of Heraclius and told the Muslims that they preferred Muslim government and justice to the injustice and oppression of the Greeks.
- Mu’awiyah (661-680) employed Christians very heavily in his service, and the other members of the reigning house followed his example. Christians frequently held high posts at court.
- During the days of Umar Ibn Abd-al-Aziz (an Umayyad Caliph), some Muslims took a church to enlarge the Grand Mosque of Damascus (Al-Masjid Al-Umawee). Caliph Umar ordered the demolition of that part of the mosque and to restore the church. The Christians opted for a monetary settlement.
- Non-Muslims were given the citizenship of the Muslim country in which they lived including the right to vote for the election of the Muslim state. However, they were exempted from being drafted in the Muslim army.
- During the days of Caliph Harun Al-Rashid, Dr. Gabriel, the personal physician of the Caliph, was a Nestorian Christian.
