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The Concept of Coexistence
in Islam
by Dr. Abbas Al Jirari
It is quite obvious that the concept of
coexistence arose with the emergence of societies, and grew out of the
affinities between its members, but soon afterwards coexistence evolved to the
point of arising as a result of necessity. Consequently, it is clear that
whenever the number of members of any human society grows larger, the element of
resemblance becomes weaker, in spite of its importance, and the element of
necessity becomes stronger and leads to a situation whereby coexistence becomes
imperative.
While this notion of coexistence in its general
linguistic meaning and according to the requirements of the Arabic grammatical
stem tafaa'ul, refers to the fact that one (group) has to live with the others,
in its modern conventional meaning, this notion refers to the idea that such a
coexistence has to be founded on peacefulness and quietude. This is confirmed by
the fact that the word coexistence most often collocates with the attribute
peaceful.
When one ponders over the depth of the meaning of
the expression peaceful coexistence, as well as its morphology and syntax in
various languages, one reaches the conclusion that the expression reflects
somewhat an uneasy position, fluctuating between peace in its clear and
straightforward meaning and war in its traditional and well-known meaning.
In reality, the new dimension, that the notion of
coexistence has taken, has been acquired during the period of and as a result of
the emergence of atomic armament, which has given rise after the two world wars
to two world powers, each one with its allies, which fought over world supremacy.
This competition was taking place within a new context, which preserves their
diplomatic relations, as well as some aspects of co-operation resulting from the
need of a feeling of overall security and the necessity to counter any attempts
of potential attack. This situation has led at the same time to the achievement
of desired common interests and has made the two superpowers endeavour to avoid
the conventional head on confrontation, which may otherwise lead to mutual
destruction. These powers also endeavoured to preserve some degree of balance
within the framework of the ideological differences which distinguish the two
camps.
In this context, which resembles more to a
situation of truce, the expression cold war was coined. This expression reveals
a sly and tricky situation whereby what is political is almost intertwined with
and indistinguishable from what is warlike, and even a situation whereby the
political aspects take on a warlike character. The reason is that the notion of
war has taken on another semantic dimension, which no longer makes of it a means
to secure a legitimate right or to impose a particular legitimacy. War has
instead become a means of imposing the supremacy of a particular power, and the
expansion of its sphere of influence, through relations which are based on
apparent understanding and underlying conflict at the same time. These relations
may also be based on conflict, which is expressed through an apparently peaceful
interaction, such as ideological confrontation, and economic and technological
competition, while at the same time racing to develop modern lethal arms.
In spite of the spontaneous collapse witnessed by
the eastern camp, the situation still stands, although it has started to take
another orientation the objective of which is to monitor powers whose
effectiveness is likely to emerge, or, at least, to recuperate this
effectiveness at the international level in order to neutralise it. Otherwise,
the purpose from this attitude is at least to stop the influence of these
countries before it spreads and before they reach the logically appropriate
position amongst the powers of the world. Historical experience can confirm the
extent of the occurrence of such a situation.
This is the context of the attitude towards Islam
and the Muslims, which consists in the attempt to present Islam and its
followers in a distorted manner. Among the characteristics of the distortions
that Islam is taxed with we find extremism, intolerance, chauvinism, and the
incapability to coexist with others.
It is from this particular angle that the present
monograph attempts to address the reality of the coexistence that Islam calls
for, beyond the usual meaning of the term even when it is modified by the
attribute peaceful. Going beyond this basic meaning, allows us to consider
larger meanings. One of such meanings is the possibility of living with one
another, outside the context of conflict and within the context of one of the
most important values of Islam and one of its distinctive features, i.e.
tolerance which allows for the full range of freedom that it conveys to all
humanity, and equality amongst all, without race or sex distinctions. This
attitude also conveys that all inherited enmity should be eradicated, and
assumes that all humans look at each other with noble and considerate feelings
and that they all aspire to truth and freedom. It also overcomes all the
selfishness which might control one's actions. And this is usually the case, as
can be witnessed by the bloody events recorded in history, which were greatly
influenced by the conflicts arising from cultural factors such as intellectual
and religious differences and likewise all the distinctions that thinking and
freedom of speech might unfold.
The importance of these issues and their great
influence on events and the outbreak of conflicts and wars is obvious, as is the
importance of the way peoples and nations look at each other's culture.
If it is impossible to imagine the likelihood of
eliminating the conflicts which arise from these factors and the characteristics
they provide each society and each group with, therefore it is undoubtful that
the reduction of the gap between countries and communities on the basis of
complementarity and on the strengthening of communication and exchange will lead
to rapprochement or to some kind of solidarity. This will allow the two sides to
realise the value of what the other has and the possibility of self-advancement
by inspiration from it. This might even lead to mutual attraction and otherwise
competing in case there is a big difference, without this leading, however, to
tension then to conflict. And this will only be possible through tolerance.
From the very start, we would like to insist that
tolerance is a very important value in Islam and that in Arabic etymology it
originates from the word meaning indulgence. It is an overall feature of Islam
which characterises all its aspects of worship, jurisprudence and behaviour.
The Prophet (PBUH) has highlighted the importance
of this feature and made it the epitome of Islam when he said : "I came with the
upright and tolerant religion".(1) And when somebody asked him (PBUH) : "Which
religion is liked most by God ?", he replied : "The upright and tolerant
religion."(2)
As to "the upright religion", it has been
mentioned in several verses of the Holy Qur'an, as in God Almighty's command
when he orders the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims to express their view
concerning what some people of the Book allege about Islam, including the
chauvinism expressed in their views and defamation of others, and to state that
they believe in all the holy Books and the messengers upon whom these books were
revealed : "And they say : Be Jews or Christians, then ye will be rightly
guided. Say (unto them, O Muhammad) : Nay, but (we follow) the religion of
Abraham, the upright, and he was not of the idolaters. Say (O Muslims) : We
believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed
unto Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which
Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord.
We make no distinction between any of them and unto Him we have surrendered."(1)
The upright is he who has a sincere inclination
towards what is right and who is truthful and obedient to God's command, without
wryness or hypocrisy following thus the pattern according to which Abraham
(PBUH) lived, and which later on became the characteristic of every Muslim on
the basis of the fact that Abraham's religion contains the roots of the creed of
God's oneness. This is the same point of view that was expressed in the
following verse of the Holy Qur'an : "The messenger believeth in that which hath
been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) the believers. Each one
believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We
make no distinction between any of His messengers."(2)
The Holy Qur'an considers this tolerant and
comprehensive belief a sign of being well guided and a proof thereof. If this is
otherwise, then such a belief is only a false appearance leading to ignorance
and conflict. God Almighty states : "And if they believe in the like of that
which ye believe, then are they rightly guided. But if they turn away, then are
they in schism."(3)
The link between divine guidance and Abraham's
uprightness occurs in many Qur'anic contexts as in God Almighty's verse : "Say :
Lo! As for me, my Lord hath guided me unto a straight path, a right religion,
the community of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater."(4)
As to the adjective "tolerant"it is related in
Arabic derivation to magnanimity, indulgence and permissibility. From an
etymological point of view it refers to meanings such as generosity, and
open-handedness. Then, it acquired the meanings of ease and leniency in
interaction with other people and contexts which call for tolerance and
generosity. The Prophet (PBUH) says : "Indulgence reaps benefit and
tighthandedness reaps misfortune".(1) He (PBUH) also says : "God Bless an
indulgent man when he sells, when he buys and when he is in need".(2) A man
asked him once : "O Prophet of God, which is the best work ?", the Prophet
(PBUH) replied : "Belief in God, almsgiving and fighting holy wars for the sake
of God and a blessed pilgrimage". The man said : "This is hardly possible to
achieve, O Prophet of God". The Prophet (PBUH) then replied : "Addressing others
tenderly, generosity, indulgence and treating others nicely".(3)
This notion of indulgence is attributed to several
factors which represent the true face of Islam. The most important amongst these
are :
First : It is a natural religion in the sense that
it suits the natural predisposition of man and is accessible to his
understanding and dedication. God Almighty says : "So set thy purpose (O
Muhammad) for religion as a man by nature upright - the nature (framed) of
Allah, in which he hath created man. There is no altering (the laws of) Allah's
creation. That is the right religion, but most men know not".(4)
Second : It is the religion of moderation. God
Almighty says : "Thus We have appointed you a middle nation..."(5) Moderation is
the best of attitudes. It may be between two extreme attitudes : negligence and
exaggeration or disengagement and excitement. And this is exactly what the
Prophet (PBUH) means when he states : "The best stand is the middle one".(6)
Third : It is the religion of ease. God Almighty
says : "Allah desireth for you ease, He desireth not hardship for you".(1) And
the Prophet (PBUH) says : "Religion is ease and it will overpower whoever wants
to make it otherwise, so be guided and be optimistic".(2) He (PBUH) also warns
against straying away from ease in religion : "Beware of exaggerating in
religion, those before you who did so only met with ruin".(3)
Fourth : It is a religion which insists on good
behaviour, which should be characterised by civility, gentleness and be based
upon good deeds, generosity and high morality. God Almighty gave the following
emphatic description of his Messenger (PBUH) : "And lo! thou art of a tremendous
nature".(4) He also gave him the following advice which rather highlights one of
the Prophet's characteristics : "Repel the evil deed with one which is better,
then lo! he between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he
was a bosom friend".(5) It is no surprise that the Prophet (PBUH) says later on
: "I was sent to perfect high morality in people".(6)
From this behavioural side and all aspects which
derive therefrom and which are related to Islam in its whole, the notion of
tolerance appears as a distinctive feature which characterises the society which
Islam advocates and where people are called upon to coexist. It is a religion of
magnanimity, in which there should be neither discomfort nor chauvinism, neither
exaggeration nor extremism, neither violence nor terrorism, be it towards
oneself or the others.(7) We refer here to all those who live in this society be
they Muslims or otherwise, and even those who belong to other societies as they
also have their rights, those we refer to today as human rights. These rights
concern the civil, political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the life
of the individual and that of the group. These rights focus on one central
aspect which is that of freedom. And as we know, freedom is a natural right for
all individuals. These individuals cannot survive without tolerance, i.e.
without the right to differ.
It still remains that the issue of tolerance
examined from this wide perspective needs clarification, albeit from a brief
discussion of the morphology of the word tolerance. The word tasaamuh (meaning
tolerance) has the same form as that of ta`aayush (meaning coexistence) already
referred to, and coined on the basis of the form tafaa`ul. It is closer in
meaning to the verb of origin which is that of forgiving, or to the meaning of
spontaneous compliance resulting from the tolerance of the religion itself and
its call to all Moslems to be tolerant. All this in spite of the fact that we do
not discard the form of tafaa`ul which refers to the notion of participating in
efficacy and reciprocity. This obviously points to the positive stand of Islam
towards mutual forgiving, if the other party is capable of doing so also. This
is what makes the reality of tolerance in Islam and the resulting coexistence
thereof point to three dimensions :
The First is internal to Islam and concerns Muslim
society;
the Second is also internal to Islam but concerns
the non-Muslims living in a Muslim society;
the Third is external to Islam and concerns the
relationships between the Muslim society and the other non-Muslim societies.
Before dealing with these three dimensions, we
should point out that Islam - as a religion - considers that religion is a
personal matter, on the basis of the fact that it concerns the individual, in
that religion is a relationship between the individual and his creator, with all
the necessary obedience, awe and contemplation that such a relationship
obviously presumes. At the same time, Islam is concerned with societal life in
the sense that it advocates the setting up of a legitimate society which has its
own legislation, regulations and principles which govern the different matters
of its life.
As such, Islam is a religion which concerns at the
same time the individual and the society(1). It takes the individual as a
starting point to encompass the group. It looks at individuality in its
philosophical and psychological meaning which is synonymous with personality. It
also looks at it in its social dimension making of individuality the state of
the individual which considers him a component unit amongst all the units which
make up society. Individuality is also looked at from the point of view of a
unit having its own features and faculties which make it capable of living
within that society, and which make it free of all the kinds of behaviour which
might lead the individual to be selfish and solitary, considering only his own
interests with the exclusion of the others'.
It is in this perspective that Islam is concerned
with the individual in the utmost manner and that is reflected in several areas,
the most important of which are the following :
First : Allowing him to enjoy his rights in order
for him to live freely with the due respect, honour and equality with others.
Second : Intrusting him with a number of duties,
which define his role, and make of him a responsible individual within society,
who undertakes a number of duties which enable him to gain his rank and
importance and above all which make him perform useful duties within that
society.
Third : Educating him in such appropriate manner
that allows him to benefit from his rights and to perform his duties. Such an
education is achieved only through the adequate and complete upbringing which
takes into consideration the two factors which make up the individual : his body
and his soul.
Such attention which is paid to the individual is,
by extension, the basis of the attention that the society as a whole enjoys. All
that concerns the individual, be it positive or negative, is eventually
reflected upon society. Society is nothing but this individual who constitutes
the basis and the seed which bears the fruit. As a result, the upbringing of
upright individuals is the basis of the constitution of a sound and healthy
society. The extent of these individuals spreads little by little in units and
families which grow gradually until we reach such a society.
Islam intended such a society to be tolerant with
itself and the others and coexisting with them. Such intention has many reasons
and motivations which we will summarise in the following three aspects :
First : Islam discredits all kinds of chauvinism,
be it racial or religious, because such chauvinism is based on nothing but
selfish and idiosyncratic tendencies in the exclusion and lack of respect for
others. Islam also insists on the individual being honoured. God Almighty says :
"Verily We have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the
sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them
above of those whom We created with a marked preferment"(1). God Almighty has
honoured the human beings by making them respectful and not lowly. They were
preferred over all other creatures and were given a distinct position in this
world. God thus gave them faculties to be civilised, to acquire different kinds
of knowledge and to achieve development. God also made opportunities for them on
earth and intrusted them with responsibilities that were beyond the capability
of other creatures. God Almighty says : "Lo! We offered the trust unto the
heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were
afraid of it. And man assumed it"(2). This honour was provided since birth, as
God created man from earth and breathed into him of His spirit, then ordered the
angels to prostrate to him in honour and respect. God Almighty says : "When thy
Lord said unto the angels : lo! I am about to create a mortal out of mire. And
when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down
before him prostrate"(3). Then, soon after that God provided man with the
knowledge to allow him to make his life and existence according to the way God
willed them to be as the following verse of the Holy Qur'an states : "And He
taught Adam all the names"(4).
Second : Islam advocates making acquaintance with
others. In other words it calls upon people to meet each other, to live together
and to give and take whatever is useful according to the needs of each other.
Thus it advocates coexistence, with all the giving and taking that it involves
and also the lasting mutual influence, avoiding all racial chauvinism, regional
discrimination and cultural arrogance. Thus, Islam does not recognise any reason
why one may be considered superior to the other, except in faith. God Almighty
says : "O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you
nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the
sight of Allah, is the best in conduct"(1). Best in conduct here refers to
asking for preservation and immunity from all the damage and adversities that
may befall one. The first verse of the Holy Qur'an that mentions those who are
characterised by this quality says : "Alif. Lam. Mim. This, the Scripture
whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)"(2), and
thus shows that in the Book that was revealed unto our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
there is advice and guidance leading to the righteous path, which takes one to
the righteous goal. The two following verses show that the faithful believers
are those who believe in the unseen and accept and trust everything that was
revealed upon the Prophet (PBUH), including what the brain and the feelings can
hardly fathom. Those are the ones who perform their prayers regularly and
without any interruption. Those are also the ones who spend what God has bestown
unto them in charity and who give alms and who are generous. Those are also the
ones who believe in all the Holy Books and the Messengers upon whom they were
revealed. Finally, they are those who believe firmly in the Hereafter, where
there is reckoning and recompense. God Almighty says : "Who believe in the
unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them. And
who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was
revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter"(3). Knowing people
presumes being able to do so, including the capability to accept difference in
opinion and difference in creed.
Third : Islam assumes that difference is an
inherent part of the essence of life and of the natural disposition of man. God
Almighty created the universe and all the things and creatures that live on it
on the basis of obvious difference both in terms of variety and quantity. This
is clear in all aspects and appearances. God Almighty says : "Lo! In the
creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day
are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of understanding"(4). He also says :
"And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
difference of your languages and colours. Lo! herein indeed are portents for men
of knowledge"(1). God Almighty stresses this truth which cannot be subject to
change and says : "And if thy Lord had willed, He verily would have made mankind
one nation, yet they cease not differing, save him on whom thy Lord hath mercy;
and for that He did create them"(2). In other words, God's rule on earth is
based upon the differences between human beings, be they race, language or
religious differences or any other difference in any one of the components of
civilisation and culture. Islam thus considers the matter to be under God's will
and the underlying motivation which is inherent in it. God Almighty emphasises
this will and what it engenders concerning the absence of coercion upon people
to adopt Islam and says : "And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth
would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are
believers ?"(3). This noble verse expresses the fact that if God had willed it,
he would have made all people have the same levels of understanding and
comprehension that would lead them to Islam. On the basis of this, His Prophet
(PBUH), cannot eradicate this difference whatever he did.
For all this, and especially from the perspective
of difference, Islam does not oblige or coerce anybody to adopt it. God Almighty
says : "There is no compulsion in religion"(4). In the same verse, God Almighty
responds to whoever might wonder about the reason for this lack of coercion :
"The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth
false deities and believed in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will
never break." This is a motivating response, which also means that God Almighty
promises the tolerant Muslims, who have faith that they are safe and successful,
like the man who holds unto a sturdy rope cannot fear that he will collapse or
fall.
Indeed, the secret in allowing difference is that
Islam advocates faith which should be based on observation, contemplation and
then choice. At the same time God Almighty has given the opportunity to those
who believe and who perform good deeds to reap requital and recompense, as
opposed to those who neither believe nor perform good deeds and who should
expect all the punishment that should ensue therefrom. It should be understood
that when Islam allows freedom of faith, it also leaves the final word to
difference about it to God Almighty who says : "It is your God who arbitrates
between them on the Day of Reckoning upon their differences (about
religion)"(1).
In this respect we should construe the verse :
"There is no compulsion in Religion" to mean that nobody should be made to adopt
Islam through the use of force, persecution and intimidation or similar means,
because it is a religion that is based on thought and contemplation. Thus, the
notion of freedom of faith, in the view of Islam, starts out from the idea that
religion is both faith and belief. Any personal and inner feeling has to be
based on conviction, inclination and ease. This is because adopting Islam means
that one has led and submitted himself to God Almighty.
There are those who may object to this, basing
their objection on the Prophet's (PBUH) saying : "I was ordered to fight people
until they declare that there is no God other than Allah and that I am Allah's
Messenger. So if they do they will have spared their blood and belongings thanks
to their declaration and for the sake of Allah "(2).
We wish to show that this order was issued to the
Prophet (PBUH), to urge him to face the attacks of the idolaters who confronted
him and stood in the face of the call of Islam in Mekkah, and forced him and his
followers to emigrate to Al Madinah. But after the conquest of Mekkah and the
establishment of Islam therein, our religion considered its adversaries with
tolerance, as long as they did not fight it and did not attempt to establish
tyranny or injustice and whatever persecution would result therefrom. God
Almighty says : "And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is
for Allah"(3). The notion of persecution refers to whatever stands in the way of
the call for Islam, which is permanent and continuous, or at least that is the
way it should be.
Islam distinguishes in its treatment of its
opponents between those who fight Muslims and those who are at peace with them.
As to the opponents who are at peace with Muslims, God Almighty says : "Allah
forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and
drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal
justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers"(1). As to the opponents who
actually fight Islam God Almighty says in the following verse : "Allah
forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have
driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends
of them. Whosoever maketh friends of them - (All) such are wrong-doers"(2).
If we now attempt to consider some of the aspects
of the coexistence that Islam advocates, we will find that they are reflected
across the three component levels that characterise the Islamic society and that
polarise its interest :
1- The Muslims who make up this society, be it in
totality or just a majority.
2- The non-Muslim minorities who live with them in
the same society, when the case arises.
3- The other societies which differ from them.
As to the Muslims, their glorious religion
commanded them to erect a society based on pillars of tolerance which can be
summarised in the following four points :
First : It is based upon love, generosity and
brotherhood. These values have been insisted upon in the Glorious Qur'an and the
Noble Tradition of the Prophet in several instances. God Almighty says : "And
the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another"(3). In
other words, these are brothers on account of religion, who support, back and
help each other. God Almighty also says : "The believers are naught else than
brothers"(4). In other words, there should not be any enmity between them. The
use of the privative particle 'innamaa means that there is no stronger and
sturdier kind of brotherhood than this, including that of blood and kinship. God
Almighty says : "Those who entered the city and the faith before them love those
who flee unto them for refuge, and find in their breasts no need for that which
hath been given them, but prefer (the fugitives) above themselves though poverty
become their lot"(5). This means that they prefer the other and deprive
themselves in order to give him, this is what is known as altruism. Its opposite
is selfishness, which means preferring oneself over the others. The Prophet
(PBUH) explains how the Muslims should exchange love, generosity and help. They
should also have compassion for the other in the case of adversity and says :
"The case of the believers in their mutual help and compassion is like the
situation of the body when one of its parts aches, the rest of it is subjected
to restlessness and fever"(1).
Second : Islamic society is one of solidarity,
which is an aspect of brotherhood and a corollary thereof. In such societies the
individual is under the protection of the group. The group protects his basic
rights and protects him from adversity. The Prophet (PBUH) says : "Muslims are
to each other like a building whose different parts hold each other"(2).
As the members of a society have duties to
perform, and if they do not perform them their society will perish, they also
have rights which, if not honoured, will also lead to the collapse of that
society. If the concern is over the rights of all members of the society, in the
case of solidarity particular attention is paid to those of senior citizens and
to those of the sick, along with those of the widows, orphans and the poor. In
such a situation rights and responsibilities take their natural course in the
context of the achievement of a humane environment for the individual and the
society. Such an environment includes food, security, justice, morality and
faith as well as all the wealth, happiness, freedom, respect and honour that
mankind aspires to and whatever else is necessary to make a just and fair living
for all.
According to Islam, solidarity within these
dimensions is a philosophy of life. It is on its basis that a sound society can
be erected, a society that has neither tyrants, nor tyrannised people, nor does
it have a man of right as opposed to a man of evil, nor a good doer as opposed
to an evil doer, nor those who monopolise wealth as opposed to those in need,
nor persons who are fully fed as opposed to those who are hungry.
It is a philosophy that is based on the notion
that working for the purpose of earning one's living is one of the means of
getting closer to God and attempting to live within the principles of
brotherhood and friendliness. This is what makes solidarity mean more than just
giving charity, especially the charity that is accompanied by boasting and
hurting. Charity requires that one looks at the other as he looks at himself in
all that one desires or abhors. The Prophet (PBUH), says "You only have faith
when you desire for your brother what you desire for yourself"(1).
Third : Life in this community presumes that every
member thereof is aware that part of the duties in this society are his
responsibility. The Prophet (PBUH) says : "Every one of you is a shepherd and
each shepherd is responsible for his herd, the king is responsible for his
subjects as the father is responsible for his family, and the woman is
responsible for her husband and his children, so everyone of you is a shepherd
and each one of you is responsible for his herd"(2). This responsibility
concerns both the outer and inner aspects of life, as well as what the human
talks about and what he keeps to himself. This responsibility is subject to
liability which necessitates a free, a sound, and a fully aware conscience that
takes into account God, the people and the self, through the principles and
values which regulate how these accounts are administered and through the
relationship of responsibility with good deeds. God Almighty says : "And say
(unto them) : Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger
and the believers, and ye will be brought back to the Knower of the invisible
and the visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do"(3). This is the
responsibility which relates to trust that God has made as one of the most
important duties of man and which He considers as one of the most important
aspects of honouring Him. Giving accounts for this responsibility surpasses all
legislations, because the self deals with it, and after people see it, it ends
in God Almighty's hand for the final and inescapable but just assessment.
There is no doubt that when a person is aware that
he is in charge of a responsibility, be it big or small, for which he is
accountable before God and about which there is no trickery and for which there
is no escaping divine justice, the sense of righteousness and fairness settles
in his mind and conscience. When this sense becomes part of the person's spirit,
then justice prevails, injustice is eradicated and solidarity is generalised.
Fourth : That it is established on the basis of
freedom which Islam considers an important value, as it relates to the nature
and innate instincts of man. This is what the Caliph Omar Ibn Khattab (may God
be pleased with him) expressed in his famous saying : "How can you enslave
people, at a time when they are born free". Freedom is one of the basics of
human rights and one of the most salient aspects of honouring God. We may even
say that the expression of honour, as already stated, is nobler than the
expression of "human rights" which has become of current use lately. The term
rights connotes that there is taking and fighting, whereas honouring refers to
the generous supply of wealth and favours.
The freedom that God Almighty has bestown upon man
concerns his faith, work, lodging, correspondence, thinking and his expression,
which form his personality and are the focus of his life, and which allow him to
be productive. This is also the basis of the strong and united society where the
sharpness of the struggle is subdued. The notion of struggle is used here in the
sense of competition between opposing factions which try to eliminate and
replace each other. This kind of fighting is a common human feature and law,
which is almost general. The reason is that Islam has turned that into a
competition which the Glorious Qur'an has insisted upon as in the following
verse : "For this let (all) those strive who strive for bliss"(1).
If Islam advocates freedom, it is because it is a
religion of life, which calls upon the person to exert his being by his
presence, activity and productivity. This presence is also supposed to be based
upon coexistence and characterised by dignity and honour. The primary aspect of
this behaviour is connected with the belief in only one God, a phase which
liberates man from idolatry in all its aspects, starting from the worship of
idols and fetishes through straying into idiosyncrasies and the giving in to the
tyranny of money and the exploitation of man by man.
In this way, the freeing of man from believing in
more than one deity has led to another level of freedom, that of freeing man
from all kinds of domination that might control him and hinder his existence.
Islam has thus allowed man to be sheltered from enmity, and tyranny, or anything
that might usurp his freedom, or his life, or his religion or deprive him of his
belongings, family and all his sacred values. God Almighty explained the
importance of security from hunger and fear and its reflection on worship in the
following verse from the Glorious Qur'an : "So let them worship the Lord of this
House, Who hath fed them against hunger and hath made them safe from fear"(1).
The Prophet (PBUH) stressed the importance of the psychological and social
security of man in the following Hadith : "Whoever becomes safe in his home and
society, and sound of health, who has his daily food, should consider as if he
were given the whole world"(2).
Thus Islam has been a precursor of all
constitutions and legislations which mention human rights and which have
highlighted its individual and general freedoms. Suffice it to only mention some
of the aspects that Islam has called for in this context, as is the case of the
protection of shelter about which God Almighty says : "O ye who believe! Enter
not houses other than your own without first announcing your presence and
invoking peace upon the folk thereof"(3). And also the freedom of correspondence
and all such instances where Islam forbids its violation by spying. In this
context, God Almighty warns people against trying to find out about what is not
readily apparent in people's personal life and says : "And spy not, neither
backbite one another"(4).
The most salient aspect of freedom is probably
that of the freedom of speech. In Islam it is considered as a favour that comes
directly after the favour of life. It is through this freedom that God Almighty
shows the superiority of man over the creatures which neither speak nor explain.
God Almighty says : "The Beneficent hath made known the Qur'an. He hath created
man. He hath taught him utterance"(5). It is in this context that we can explain
how the Glorious Qur'an makes man responsible for speaking the truth and
condemning the act of not doing so. God Almighty says : "Confound not truth with
falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth"(6). It is in this context that one
can talk about "enjoining right conduct and forbidding indecency", and Islam has
linked it with faith, and has made of it what has given the Islamic community
its distinguished stand and superiority. God Almighty says : "Ye are the best
community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and
forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah"(7).
As for the non-Muslim communities, which
constitute minorities in the Muslim society, Islam has shown such an extent of
tolerance that allows a coexistence which not only ensures their freedom of
faith and worship but also makes of them full-fledged citizens. Such citizens
who are very well integrated in this society with all the due freedom and
respect and with no feeling of loneliness or marginality. Suffice it in this
respect to mention only five aspects :
First : Warning Muslims against polemising,
especially with the people of the other Holy Books, except in a polite and
positive manner. God Almighty says : "And argue not with the People of the
Scripture unless it be in (a way) that is better, save with such of them as do
wrong; and say : We believe in that which hath been revealed unto us and
revealed unto you; our God and your God is one, and unto Him we surrender"(1).
This is undoubtedly a rigorous attitude on the basis of the sensitive aspects
concerning the issues of faith. These issues have been raised and are still
being raised at the level of the Muslim-Christian dialogue(2) especially
concerning the notions of idolatry and unbelief and the issue of Christ (peace
be upon him). This attitude is not in contradiction with the necessity to spread
the word and to continue to transmit it. The same is also true for the necessity
to "enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency"as both necessities are considered
pillars in the preservation of society and in putting it on the path of
development, progress and improvement. Islam, as has already been mentioned, is
a religion which concerns the individual as well as the group and endeavours to
the setting up of a brotherly and compassionate society where freedom and
tolerance prevail and where each member takes it upon himself as his
responsibility to develop it and to preserve it.
Second : Islam also ensures the freedom of worship
for non-Muslims of their religion in its rites and rituals and in its different
celebrations and seasons, with the observation of the holidays and fźtes.
Non-Muslims are also allowed to establish their own places of worship and to
preserve them and ensure their maintenance and their organisation, along with
the respect of the traditions and the customs, beginning with the observation of
the rites of birth and those of marriage and divorce and all other customs.
Among the facilities that ensure the freedom of worship these minorities are
given the right to establish and organise the supervisory bodies in charge of
their religious affairs. These include the justice issues related to family and
individual law and the resolution of disputes over contractual situations. All
this has been witnessed in the experience of the Islamic nation and it is still
being witnessed in its treatment of non-Muslims. It has been stated that "….if
they had disputes over their religion and if they differed in their beliefs no
opposition was shown them and their differences were not exposed. If they had a
dispute over one of their rights and they went to their governor, they were not
prevented from it"(1). Islam insists upon the freedom of faith and worship
without any coercion to interrupt or alter worship, even where the possibilities
of pressure were present. Further, if a non-Muslim asks a Muslim to protect him
and provide him with security, the Muslim has to accept and to make sure that no
harm reaches his protege, until he reaches the place where he feels secure, i.e.
his own house or the location of his people. God Almighty says : "And if one of
the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he
may hear the Word of Allah and afterward convey him to his place of safety"(2).
Third : Allowing marriage with peoples of the Holy
Books and the eating of their foods. God Almighty says : "This day are (all)
good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the
Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the
virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the
Scripture before you (lawful for you)"(3). What is meant here is the food of
Jews and Christians including all what they slaughter and what they cook.
Originally, all this was not allowed because of the slaughtering rites and other
conditions in Islam. Afterwards, God allowed this after they established
themselves and after they lived with other peoples. The meaning of this
refinement resides in the respect that Islam has for the peoples of the Holy
Books, on account that they follow a heavenly religion which requires rites of
cleanliness and the avoidance of uncleanness. This does not, in any way, mean
allowing Muslims to do what is originally disallowed for Muslims such as the
consumption of pork and alcohol.
As to the issue of marriage and the possibility of
the Muslim man to marry a woman who has adopted the religion of another Holy
Book, it is because his religion recognises hers and allows her to keep it and
to observe it freely. The man of the Holy Book can marry a Muslim woman only if
he adopts Islam. This is because societies agree that children belong to their
father's lineage. Therefore, if this condition is not observed, the child would
belong to another religion than that of the innate, that is Islam, because he
cannot do otherwise. Muslim society has reached far in achieving coexistence
while safeguarding its Islamic pillars.
Fourth : The nomination of non-Muslims to posts of
responsibility within a Muslim nation, especially in the political, diplomatic,
financial and administrative domains. Both in the remote and near periods of
Islamic history there is evidence that non-Muslims used to be and are still in
very crucial positions of responsibility and help with the most important
decisions. "It used to be said that it is allowed that a minister(1) may be from
non-Muslim citizens dhimmis"(2). It is well known that Omar Ibn Khattab employed
some prisoners from Caesurae in the services of the state. Among the examples
during the Ummayyad Dynasty we can mention "Antinaach Arrahaoui" who headed the
administration of Alexandria and who used to be referred to in official
correspondence as "The Great Secretary"(3).
Fifth : The use of the term "People of the Holy
Books" and "Book People" by Islam to refer to non-Muslims who live with Muslims
in the same society proves that Muslims recognise the Holy Books and the
Messengers upon whom they were revealed. They are also called the people of
protection or protégés (ahl adh-dhimma or dhimmis), i.e. the people of the
covenant, peace and security. This is a name that has a wider meaning than the
People of the Holy Books, because it includes the religions of the Holy Books as
well as other religions and which were known and recognised, as the Magians,
Samaritans and Sabians. It is related that some Muslims told Omar Ibn Khattab
about some people who worshipped fire and they were neither Jews, nor Christian
nor Peoples of the Holy Books. This caused a problem for Omar. Then Abdurrahman
Ben `Auf said : "I was witness to the Messenger of God when he said 'Deal with
them as you deal with the Peoples of the Holy Books'"(1). It is also related
that the Prophet (PBUH) accepted the tribute (Jizyah) from the Magians of Hajar
without allowing the consumption of the meats they had slaughtered or marriage
with their women. Then when Khalid Bin Walid was Abu Bakr's Governor, he
required it from the people of Iraq, who were Persian, in a correspondence to
their provincial governor. Afterwards, Omar Ibn Khattab accepted it from them,
and after him, Othman Ibn Affan also accepted it, and also from the Berbers, who
were Magians(2).
Then tolerance resides in the fact that the
different creeds were respected and people were given the right to practice
their own religions. The extent of the tolerance resides in the practice and
application within the society as a whole, on the basis of the Prophet's (PBUH)
instructions, as we read in the following Hadith : "Whoever harms a protégé is
my enemy and whoever is my enemy I ignore on the Day of Reckoning"(3) and :
"Whoever insults a protégé is punished on the Day of Reckoning with a whip of
fire"(4), and further : "Whoever kills a person of the covenant will not smell a
whiff of paradise"(5). These instructions have been followed by the Orthodox
Caliphs, the commanders of Islamic conquest in all the contracts and agreements
they signed(6).
And if it is necessary to reinforce these pillars
in all eras, it seems even more pressing to do so nowadays, because of the
misunderstanding of the real meaning of the notion of coexistence, be it for
Muslims or for others, and also because of its consequences in terms of
negligence in religious matters and straying away from religion in many walks of
life, and the deviance in the behaviour of the individuals and groups and all
that has resulted from that in terms of the crucial conditions within which both
the Muslims and whoever lives with them suffer from, and all this because of
internal and external factors. This necessitates that one should start by
self-correction and resolving one's problems which should result in the
strengthening of the society and all the Muslim societies in their internal
structures and to make them capable of facing up to all the challenges and
aggressions.
From this point of view, it is clear that the
non-Muslims live with the Muslims within Muslim societies, while enjoying total
equality, and differ from them only in that they pay the tribute. They pay this
tribute and in return their safety and security are ensured, and in exchange of
their waiver from observing two obligations that all capable Muslims have to
honour :
1. Paying tithes;
2. Participating in holy wars.
While paying tithes is a duty for Muslims,
non-Muslims pay the tribute instead. The tribute is subject to the intervention
of the state in terms of its collection or exoneration for those who are liable
to pay it without any obligating system. It should be noted, however, that
tithes are spent on the poor and the needy and others, without Islam being a
condition. Endeed, the non-Muslim may get money from the public treasury if he
is poor or needy just like the Muslim as we shall see later.
As to the participation in the holy wars, it is
replaced by the tribute for non-Muslims while it is an obligation for Muslims
which God has imposed on them to respond to the attacks of the enemy and to
defend themselves, their nation and their religion. This is not the case for the
non-Muslims who live in Muslim nations, and for whom the tribute is somewhat of
a substitute for the protection provided by the Muslims of their belongings,
honour, and individual and general liberties. All this ensures for them a
respectful life in a Muslim society, and also their protection from the
slightest harm which might befall them or which they might encounter, without
their own active participation in this protection. In his testament to the
succeeding caliph, Omar Ibn Khattab says : "I advise you to be good to the
people of the covenant, to fight in their place and not to impose on them more
than they can handle, if they have paid their dues to the believers"(1); for it
is not necessary to oblige a non-Muslim to risk his life defending a religion -
Islam in this case - in which he does not believe, bearing in mind that wars
used to be in old times of a religious nature.
The tribute is mentioned in the Qur'an, where God
Almighty says : "Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture
as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath
forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the religion of truth, until they pay
the tribute readily, being brought low"(2). That is, those who are able to pay
it should do so, and this is what is meant by the expression "readily". Such
payment is made in return for their submission to the state-system which takes
it upon itself to defend them and to safeguard their rights; and also as a token
in recognition of this system and their full acceptance and yielding to it, and
this is what is meant by "being brought low".
For further clarification of this glorious verse,
it is well known that the word meaning tribute in Arabic is "derived from the
word meaning recompense. Therefore it is the responsibility of the rulers to
obligate those People of the Book who have asked for protection to pay it in the
Muslim countries and to be compensated in return for two rights. The first one
is that of being left alone and the second one is to have enough protection so
that they are sure to be left alone in peace."(3)
It is also well-known that : "... the tribute is a
contract which ensures the preservation of life and the protection of the
belongings and honour and all other obligations that ensue from this. This
contract is a preserver of lives as Islam is; and God Almighty has subjected all
Muslims to all obligations in His contract of faith. In the same way He
obligated the protégés to all these conditions in his protection contract. The
tribute obligates us to honour some rights that they are entitled to, because
they are in our neighbourhood and our protection. They are also in the
protection of God Almighty, that of His Messenger (PBUH) and that of the
religion of Islam. Whoever harms them, be it with a bad word or slander of the
honour of one of them, or any kind of harm or even helps to harm them, will have
squandered God Almighty's protection and that of His Messenger (PBUH) and that
of the religion of Islam."(1)
But the tribute is dropped under one of two
circumstances :
1. Weakness and poverty : The Muslim jurisprudents
(fuqaha) stressed that "if he is established to be well-off , then you make him
pay, but if he is not, he does not pay because the poor are not obligated to pay
the tribute."(2) It was related that Omar Ibn Khattab was passing by some
people's house when a poor man was knocking at their door asking for charity, he
was an old and blind man. Omar held him by the arm and asked him : "Which People
of the Book do you belong to ?" The man answered : "I am Jewish." Omar asked :
"What has led you to begging ?" He said : "The tribute". Omar took him by the
hand to his house and gave him some charity. Then he wrote to the treasurer and
said : "look at this man and his likes, we have not been fair to him as we made
him pay during his youth and then we are still robbing him at his old age.
Charity should be available for the poor and the needy and this man is from the
poor of the People of the Book. Then he waived the tribute on him and his
likes."(3)
In this same context, Khalid Ibn Al Walid's letter
to the Al Hira family stated the following : "I have ordered that any old person
who has become too weak to work, or has been hit by some catastrophe, or was
rich and became poor, and the people of his own religion started to give him
charity, then he is waived from the payment of the tribute and is provided for
from the Muslim treasury as long as he lives in the house of migrants in a
Muslim country."(4)
2. The participation of non-Muslims in the
obligations of holy wars and defence, as long as this is the result of
volunteering, as was the case during the time of the Prophet (PBUH), who was
never witnessed to have forced a non-Muslim to participate in a war, as he was
never witnessed to have prevented non-Muslims from participating with the
Muslims in a holy war, except in one particular situation which will be
discussed below.
He thus made volunteering essential for the
participation of a non-Muslim in the holy war, as the latter's religious feeling
might be affected in some cases such as those when the Muslims may have to fight
adversaries who happen to have the same religion as his.
If the Muslim legists disfavour the help of
non-Muslims to Muslims during holy conquests, based on the following saying of
the Prophet (PBUH) : "I will not seek the help of an idolater"(1), in response
to one who requested from the Prophet to participate in the battle of Badr. The
origin of this disfavour is what is understood from the attitude of the Prophet
"that he (PBUH) noticed the impact of Islam on the man; and he, therefore,
refused his participation."(2) But in situations other than this, the help of
non-Muslims is allowed "because he (PBUH) used the help of People of the Book in
his battles against the worshippers of idols." (3)
There are events in the history of Muslims which
confirmed this interpretation of the Prophet's tradition, as in the case of what
happened after Abu Obeydah conquered Antioch and gave its governorship to Habib
Ibn Muslimah, who conquered Jurjumah, a city on Allukam, a mountain above
Antioch. "Its inhabitants did not fight him but they hastened to ask for safety
and truce. Then a truce was signed on the proviso that they help the Muslims and
be as armorers and soldiers on the Allukam Mountain, that they be dispensed from
paying the tribute, and that they pass over the loot of those whom they kill
from the enemies of the Muslims if they participate in a battle."(4)
This is the same as what happened between Captain
Abdurrahman Ibn Rabia when he had reached inner parts in Turkey, which was under
the rule of king Shahriyar, who was of Persian origin. The latter wrote to him
"and promised him to ensure his safety while visiting him. So he did and they
met. Then, Shahriyar said : 'I am in the presence of a wild enemy and that of
many nations without any proper genealogy. It does not fit those of noble origin
and reason to help such people or to seek their help to fight those with proper
ancestors and origins. Those of noble origin are indeed close to other people of
noble origin wherever they are. You have defeated my country and my nation; I
am, therefore, one of you now, and my hand is with you and my attachement is to
you. So may God bless us all. Our tribute will be paid to you, we will assist
you, and we will do whatever you want us to do.' Abdurrahman said : 'There is a
man above me who has given you his shelter, so go to him and take his
permission.' So he went to Suraqah and met him and said the same thing to him.
Suraqah said : 'I have accepted that' … and so Suraqah wrote to Omar Ibn Khattab
about all this and he gave him permission and appreciated what he did."(1)
It is in this way that the Muslims lived with
people who do not share their religion but with whom they shared social life.
They lived in a humane relationship, which is inspired from Islamic principles,
and which has no objection to accepting religions which believe in the principle
of monotheism. It is also from this principle that this relationship can draw
all the elements which relate the nation's parts to each other and which
continuously enriches its personality in a firm symbiosis between nation and
religion.
Man is the basic element in this humane
relationship, in his quality as a set of capabilities and energies, which
constitute the features of his humanness. This instils in him the feeling of
existence within himself and with the others, and provides him with the
possibility to work and to produce, as it also provides him with the means of
efficacy and influence.
There is no doubt that among those capabilities
and may be among the most important ones, there is what is inherent in man's
nature, as he is an individual in a given land where he moves, consciously or
unconsciously, and on that basis, he tries to preserve himself and develop his
personality.
If the innate nature of man enables him to live on
earth with a horizontal and superficial dimension, the spiritual element
intervenes to allow man to transcend earthly matters through faith and religion.
The spiritual element gives him a celestial dimension which allows him to
achieve the necessary balance for a true human life with all the necessary
values and the individual and group behavioural principles. It also gives all
the requirements of a behaviour which preserves the relationship between the
individual, the universe and the creator.
Along with innate elements and the spirit, the
mind intervenes at the levels of consciousness, feeling, will and intellect in
order to guide, plan, execute and monitor man's movements. And this is what
gives citizenship its real meaning, i.e. as it is supposed to be in the mind of
Muslims and others who live in a Muslim nation.
Allegiance to this country resides in all what it
represents in terms of land, faith, history, civilisation, culture, present and
future. In other words, this allegiance resides in a set of principles and
values which everyone believes in and shares and which imbibes everyone's mind,
spirit and psyche. Thus it becomes the engine which incites one to militate and
endeavour to develop the society in the direction of progress and evolution.
There is no doubt that this is a noble and responsible citizenship which draws
its nobility from God's honouring of man as was stated earlier.
Islam provides the non-Muslim in a Muslim society
with an integrative presence within which he can preserve all the components of
his personality. The first one among these components is the religious element,
with all the related rites, rituals and traditions which allow him to express
his religious, cultural and psychological characteristics. With these he can
also confirm the characteristics of his identity, within the general framework
of the characteristics which make up the notion of citizenship. All this allows
one to belong to that Muslim society. Belonging to this society also gives one
the right to acquire the nationality of the country. It may allow him more than
that, since nationality is the legal framework which gives the individual his
political identity, and gives him also the citizenship and the membership within
the state which has given him the nationality. This individual becomes a member
of its people, and he becomes a national or even a patriot in opposition to the
foreigner who does not enjoy this citizenship. Evidently, this citizenship can
also be acquired through other means, such as birth, lineage, residency and all
the other possibilities which are provided for by the citizenship laws in the
different countries.
The extent of the coexistence of Muslims with
non-Muslims who belong to other societies remains clear in the peaceful
relations that they develop, in the friendly relations that they have, in the
security that they share, and in the fact that they are against wars. The
expression occurs in the Qur'an in several places and with its different
derivations. God Almighty says : "O ye who believe! Come all of you, into
submission (unto Him) and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Lo! he is an
open enemy for you"(1). It should be noted here that following the call to join
peace by advising against following the steps of Satan means that the opposite
of peace, i.e. war, is a suggestion of Satan. God Almighty also says :"And if
they incline to peace, incline thou also to it and trust in Allah"(2), that is,
if they feel an inclination towards peace out of a genuine desire and a true
faith.
In order to show the importance of peace in Islam,
it is sufficient to know that the term Islam itself is derived from it. It means
: following God's commands and being faithful to worshipping and serving Him;
this is referred to as peace.
Suffice it also to know that Assalam is one of the
attributes of God. God Almighty says :"He is Allah, than whom there is no other
God, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian,
the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. Glorified be Allah from all that they
ascribe as partner (unto Him)"(3). It is quite likely that the use of this name
for God resides in the peaceful meaning that we are discussing. It also resides
in the fact that God Almighty is free from imperfection and defect and of being
affected by the adversities that affect others like annihilation. God Almighty
also summons people to the abode of peace as in His saying : "And Allah
summoneth to the abode of peace, and leadeth whom He will to a straight
path"(4). The meaning is that of the abode of security, stability, and
happiness. Some interpreters of the Holy Qur'an explain the house of peace as
paradise.
We should also add that we invoke peace at the
conclusion of every prayer, and we exchange greetings with the same word. The
Prophet's (PBUH) exhalted saying states : "You will not enter paradise until you
have faith, and you will not have faith until you love each other. Do you want
me to point out to you something that will enable you love each other ? Spread
peace amongst you"(5).
Peace, in the meaning given to it by the True
Religion, does not mean giving in or weakness, it means the securing of one's
right. It also means the exchange of relations and services on the basis of
equality and mutual respect and also on the basis of agreements which are
binding to all parties, as will be explained below.
Whoever gives careful consideration to the Islamic
call for peace will realise that it has three underlying principles :
1. The principle of coexistence amongst human
societies which, in spite of the differences which may characterise their points
of view, their components and their interests which may lead to incompatibility,
requires models for its own development which should achieve a minimum level
allowing these societies to exchange services, needs and the means to fulfil
them. Among the most important aspects of these models is the acquaintance with
each other which the Glorious Qur'an has mentioned in a verse that we discussed
above. The verse says : "O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and
have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest
of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower,
Aware"(1).
2. It is a principle which confirms that
coexistence must be based on dialogue, which according to Islam allows the
making of acquaintance with each other and the exchange of points of view in
order to resolve differences with no recourse to violent confrontations whose
aim is to decide on who is the winner and who is the loser. God Almighty says :
"Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with
them in the better way. Lo! thy Lord is best aware of him who strayeth from His
way, and He is Best Aware of those who go aright"(2). God Almighty also says :
"And argue not with the People of the Scripture unless it be in (a way) that is
better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say : We believe in that which
hath been revealed unto us and revealed unto you, our God and your God is One,
and unto Him we surrender"(3).
3. It is also a principle which resides in the
fact that the Glorious Qur'an advocates on the necessity to avoid quarrels and
fights and what they might lead to in terms of losses. God Almighty says while
mentioning the story of Adam's (May God Bless Him) two sons, when Abel killed
his brother Cain, as a result of the jealousy created by the fact that one's
gift was accepted but not the other's : "But (the other's) mind imposed on him
the killing of his brother, so he slew him and became one of the losers"(1).
Quarrels and fights lead to strife that may squander everything. This what the
following verse refers to : "And guard yourselves against a chastisement which
cannot fall exclusively on those of you who are wrongdoers"(2). God Almighty
also says : "And obey Allah and His messenger, and dispute not one with another
lest ye falter and your strength depart from you"(3).
One issue that is generally raised in this context
and which is most of the time misunderstood is that of the call of Islam for the
holy war(4). We would like to raise the following three points in order to
clarify this issue :
First : Islam rejects the use of force to convert
non-Muslims to Islam. God Almighty says in a verse that we referred to earlier :
"There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct
from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath
grasped a firm handhold which will never break"(5).
Second : Islam's call for peace does not mean
giving in to enmity and tyranny, and letting evil deeds and injustice go
unspoken against and giving in to immorality or any such behaviour which is a
violation of human life which God Almighty has based its shari'a (Islamic law)
upon knowing each other, forgiveness, coexistence and living together.
Third : Through this Shari'a, Islam considers that
the basic attitude of man is his inclination toward peace, and that recourse to
war occurs only in absolutely necessary situations. Evidence for such a position
is clear in the Prophet's (PBUH) call to Muslims to avoid wishing for fighting,
and to be firm when they are led into fighting. He (PBUH) said : "Do not wish to
fight your enemy and ask for God's forgiveness, if you do encounter him, call
the Name of God and be firm"(1). As such he considers war a violation of peace
and thus a crime, as long as there are no particular situations which call for
war and which make it fair and legitimate. This is exactly what various modern
international treaties agree with. To mention only one of these treaties we can
refer to the United Nations Charter, which urges nations to solve their
differences through peaceful means, and to avoid the use of violence and threats
in order to preserve international peace, security and justice. This is also
what makes this charter prohibit war except in situations of legitimate defence
as has been defined in Article 51, which stipulates that : "there is nothing in
this Charter that weakens or curtails the natural right of nations, be they
individuals or groups, to defend themselves should an armed force attack any one
of the members of the United Nations, until the Security Council takes the
necessary measures to keep international peace and security."
Therefore, Islam advocates that holy wars should
have as a purpose to fight all the situations of the violation of the nature of
such law, and to defend its sound values, starting with legitimate defence
concerning the individual, his family and his belongings and also the defence of
one's society, nation and creed, in order to preserve one's sacred values from
being violated and for the protection of the individual and group entity from
being violated and ridiculed.
If the enemies of Islam have considered the Muslim
holy war as a sacred war which arouses terror and fear in the minds and hearts
of non-Muslims, the reality of these wars in the Islamic context makes them
synonymous with war and fighting with the aim of defending oneself, one's rights
and one's religion.
That is why the nation was addressed in such a way
as it is a nation (Ummah) with a mission and a purpose. This does not mean that
it is a belligerent religion as it was interpreted by some adversary thinkers.
There are even some defenders who believe that by making such statements they
make Islam look stronger. Even had it been the religion of wars and swords, it
would have vanished soon after the end of the heyday of its leading states and
would not have stayed alive in the minds of people.
By making such claims, they often compare it to
Christianity which has been claimed to be the religion of forgiving and leniency
and that it prohibits wars, whereas that is not true and that, like Islam, it
resorts to swords in necessity. Among the sayings of the Christ (peace be upon
him) in the Book of Matthew : "Do not think that I have come in order to cast
peace on the earth; I have not come to cast peace but sword"(1). He also said in
the Book of Luke, as he was asking his companions : "When I sent you without
bags, provision sacks, or shoes, did you need anything ? They replied : No! Then
he said to them : Now, however, he who has a bag should take it, and also a
provision sack; and he who has not any, should sell a garment and buy himself a
sword"(2).
Holy fighting in Islam has various dimensions and
stages including political activity, the spending of money and such activities
which are resorted to in order to secure one's rights and to react to aggression
and to save one's honour. The most noble kind of fighting is the fight against
one's lustful desires, idiosyncrasies and greed, or as it was called by the
Prophet (PBUH) the "higher holy" war when he said : "We have returned from the
lower holy war to the higher holy war. They said : What is the higher holy war
?. He said (PBUH) : The fight of the heart or the fight of the spirit"(3).
From the point of view of Islam, holy fighting
involves the person's heart and tongue, and only after that does it involve
one's property and one's self. Holy fighting which calls upon the self is always
linked with one's property. God Almighty says : "Go forth, light-armed and
heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of
Allah!"(1).
Yet, the first verse which allowed holy fighting
linked it with the fight against injustice, as it states : "Sanction is given
unto those who fight because they have been wronged, and Allah is indeed Able to
give them victory; those who have been driven from their homes unjustly, only
because they said : Our Lord is Allah"(2). The meaning is implicit in the verse,
that is sanction is given to fight. This meaning is confirmed in another verse,
in which God Almighty states : "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is
hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you,
and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye
know not"(3).
For this reason, Islam has given the utmost
importance to holy fighting involving one's self and money. It has also
considered this kind of fighting to be better valued than both the major and the
minor pilgrimage and all kinds of extra worship, be it in the form of prayers or
fasting. In order to highlight such a value, it will be sufficient to quote God
Almighty's following saying : "O ye who believe! Shall I show you a commerce
that will save you from a painful doom ? Ye should believe in Allah and His
messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your
lives. That is better for you, if ye did but know. He will forgive you your sins
and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings
in Gardens of Eden. That is the supreme triumph. And (He will give you) another
blessing which ye love : help from Allah and present victory. Give good tidings
(O Muhammad) to believers"(4). The Prophet (PBUH) also said : "The highest of
faith in Islam is fighting for the cause of God"(5). He (PBUH) also said :
"There are two kinds of eyes which are not harmed by hell's fire : one kind is
that which has cried from the fear of God and the other is that which has spent
the night watching out for the cause of God"(6). He (PBUH) also said : "He who
stays up one night for the cause of God is like one who has fasted and prayed
for one thousand nights"(7).
In spite of all this, when the Muslim state is led
to war, such a situation has idealistic and human laws, conditions, regulations,
and ethics which govern it. This is clearly stated in the Prophet's (PBUH) :
"Conquer in the name of God, for the cause of God, fight those who do not
believe in God; conquer but do not exaggerate or betray, and do not maim or kill
an infant"(1). He (PBUH) also said : "Go and fight in the name of God and for
the cause of God. Fight those who do not believe in God, without betraying them,
or exaggerating, or maiming. And do not kill infants or monks"(2). He (PBUH)
also said : "Do not kill an old weak man, or a small child or a woman"(3).
These laws also comprise the aftermath of war
including what concerns the prisoners of war, which the Prophet (PBUH)
summarises in his noble saying : "I am the messenger of mercy, but I am also the
messenger of fierce battles"(4). This is an important aspect which has been
dealt with quite profusely by the Muslim jurisprudence.
The Righteous Caliphs have followed the same path
as that of the Prophet in this domain. The first one of them is Abu Bakr As
Saddik who advised Yazid Ben Soufiane, the Commander of the Syrian Army as
follows : "… I would like to give you ten pieces of advice : do not kill a
woman, or a child, or an old man, do not cut a fruitful tree, do not destroy a
shelter, do not kill a sheep or a camel except for eating it, do not burn or
sever any palm trees, do not enslave the defeated and be not a coward"(5).
It is useless to mention that the Islamic state in
times of peace establishes political, economic and social relations with other
countries, and has exchange relations which are based on equality, mutual
respect, the preservation of common interests, and the endeavour to make these
interests last. This is done on the basis of contracts and agreements upon whose
respect the Holy Qur'an insists, as in the following verse : "Fulfil the
covenant of Allah when ye have covenanted, and break not your oaths after the
asseveration of them and after ye have made Allah surety over you. Lo! Allah
knoweth what ye do"(1). The agreement lasts as long as none of the agreeing
parties violates, and thus rejects it, in the same way as the Prophet (PBUH) did
with the idolaters about whom God Almighty said the following : "Freedom from
obligation (is proclaimed) from Allah and His messenger toward those of the
idolaters with whom ye made a treaty"(2). God Almighty has excepted from these
those who respect the agreement in the following verse : "Excepting those of the
idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated
nothing of your right, nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these),
fulfil their treaty to them till their term"(3). The issue of the respect of the
clauses of agreements and contracts has reached such an extent that the Prophet
(PBUH) turned down any idolater who became Muslim without the consent of his
legal guardian, in accordance with the clauses of the truce of Al Hudaibiyyah.
This is the real coexistence as Islam has uniquely
viewed it. We have tried to highlight its main characteristics in this limited
piece of research. It is no wonder that Islam has been the only one to view it
as such and to be itself the religion of coexistence, par excellence. Islam is
the last religion that has been revealed, so it is God's latest word. Thus, it
is the essence and the source that comprises the rest of the heavenly creeds and
that covers them. In addition to this, it is a religion which, on the basis of
its principles, has established a nation where both Muslims and non-Muslims have
lived. This nation itself has enjoyed friendly relations with other nations.
This has made and still makes Islam a mission which starts with the oneness of
God and ends with the call to unity within which all human beings can live. Such
a situation requires justice, equality, freedom, security, happiness and honour
without any element of disunity, class differences, sectarianism, chauvinism or
apartheid. It is in this context that one can understand God Almighty's
statement : "And unto thee have We revealed the Scripture with the truth,
confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge
between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and follow not their desires
away from the Truth which hath come unto thee. For each We have appointed a
divine law and a traced-out way. Hath Allah willed He could have made you one
community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made
you as ye are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah ye will all
return, and He will then inform you of what wherein ye differ"(1).
When one considers this verse carefully, it
becomes clear that the meaning of faith refers to accepting all heavenly
religions, even though their commandments may relate to past times, which had
their specific conditions and contexts. Such a consideration refers to the
situation of hegemony in terms of the control and the assessment of all the
deviations from their origin, that these religions have undergone. As a result
of this assessment one can confirm what has remained from their original state
and has not undergone any deviations or falsifications. At the same time, we are
led to understand that the violation of the law of Islam is linked to the
commandments that the different religions have brought, and which have changed
according to the ambient conditions. Islam came and introduced these
commandments under new formulations which made them more attractive but without
contradicting the essence of those commandments as they are heavenly creeds,
based on monotheism. God Almighty says in this context : "He hath ordained for
you that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which We inspire in
thee (Muhammad), and that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus,
saying : Establish the religion, and be not divided therein"(2).
If we take this reality as a starting point which
represents the essence of the Islamic spirit, then Muslims can aspire to achieve
coexistence amongst themselves, and even with the ones who have adopted
different religions but who live with them, and also with foreign peoples and
nations which have established links and relations and have exchanged with them
interests and needs.
Thanks to this understanding of coexistence in
both its meanings, Muslims have been enabled to establish modern societies which
are advanced in their internal organisation and their external relations. They
have also been enabled to establish a civilisation and a culture based on the
way Islam views knowledge and life and on their values and components. This has
been clear from all their undertakings, be they political, military, economic,
social or cultural, and has been reflected in the institutions which have
regulated their affairs both in times of peace and war. It has also been
reflected in the legislation which they have referred to even in their trade
relations with others.
This view was comprehensive to the extent that it
impressed this civilisation and culture to the greatest degree and led it to its
development, on the basis of a co-ordinated dualism which they both could have
access to in all their aspects. Such dualism is reflected in such pairings as
the invisible and the felt, the spiritual and the material, the religious and
the worldly, the individual and the collective, the particular and the general,
the useful and the pleasing.
This development could not have progressed, shined
and reflected the humanness of the Islamic civilisation and culture, had it not
been for a capacity of open-mindedness which transcended all obstacles and
hindrances. This capacity resides in its focus on Islam and not on the race of
those who adopted it as a religion, while allowing non-Muslims in the spheres of
consultation and discussion, and those of giving and taking, no matter when and
where and whatever might result therefrom in terms of tribal or regional
differences. This capacity also led this civilisation to benefit from variety
and diversity, and in a deep-rooted solution for what concerns the self and the
other including the issue of tradition and modernism in all their general
aspects. It also resides in the stability which results from coexistence and
cohabitation on the basis of forgiveness and peace. All this had the deepest
influence on the evolution of thought and the improvement of life.
On the basis of this capacity, it was possible for
the culture and civilisation created by Islam to interact while preserving a
balance which still allowed them to keep all their own bases and highlights.
They also kept their particular characteristics whose scope widened and improved
as they kept interacting and competing. These interacting aspects did not lose
any of their characterising features which they integrated in the comprehensive
Islamic melting pot where they coexisted and got synchronised within it.
If the Muslims have experienced along the latest
ages events which have brought with them many negative aspects from which they
suffered and are still suffering in their lives and relations, the spirit of
forgiving is still alive and living on. And it is thus in spite of the
distortions and attempts of destabilisation emanating from the enemies of Islam,
and even from some who pretend to be related to it. That spirit of forgiving is
in dire need of being rescucitated from all sides within a clean and neat
context of mutual trust and a belief in the self and in the other, and through
an optimistic outlook on the present and the future. This has to be based also
on the assumption that the person who enjoys these qualities is also responsible
and has a purpose in life. It is for this purpose that he works for both his own
sake and that of humanity in general. His work is inspired from the lasting
religious values and the heritage they have engendered and also from the
developed modern scientific culture. This person has also to be keen on avoiding
defects and errors which mar the present civilisation and on curing the
sicknesses that have resulted from its purely materialistic attitude. Humanity
in its totality is certainly awaiting to find who to carry this message and
spread it, in order to avoid the total annihilation of mankind, its environment
and its security.
It is in this context that we should remember the
notion of "monotheism"' that has been advocated by the different heavenly
religions, and that Islam has adopted and completed. Islam has thus transcended
all factors of difference, quarrels and fighting, thanks to its forgiveness and
open-mindedness, as well as its outstanding capacity of assimilation and
absorption as well as the unification of all its people, even those who are not
Muslims. These people look at themselves and at others and to the world around
them with a comprehensive and clear look which allows them to coexist within
that context of forgiveness and living together and a lasting exchange of giving
and taking and of interests. This situation is possible only if we start from a
context of multiplicity and variety, and the resulting distinctive
characteristics which lead to interaction, unity, integration, and social
equality among all human beings. All these characteristics have been epitomised
in the Qur'an by the term ta`aaruf(1). It is possible to say that this term
means what is nowadays called coexistence, even if the former has a deeper
meaning as it contains a cognitional aspect that has a wide semantic dimension,
and which goes beyond the single aspect of living together.
Such an acquaintance could not have been achieved
had it not been for the forgiveness which is itself one of the distinctive
characteristics of Islam. This shows, without any doubt whatsoever, the extent
of the capacity of openness which the Upright Religion has; starting from the
disregard to the differences of religion, which transcend the mistaken uses
which Muslims had to face and which came from non-Muslims, and are still in
force.
Any coexistence that is advocated today has to be
linked to this openness which has become the feature of the day, after distances
have been abbreviated, and civilisations have become closer to each other,
economies have become complementary and the cultural gaps have been bridged
between the different peoples.
The world has started to undo all aspects of
abstruseness and confinement, or, at least, it is striving towards that, so it
has started a dialogue with all counterparts, even those who had, in the past,
opposed, confronted or even fought Islam. As such, Islam started the dialogue
with the heavenly religions, especially with Christianity. It has also started
with Judaism, with which this dialogue will certainly last long provided that
the Palestinian people recover all their usurped rights, and all occupied Arab
territories are freed and also if a comprehensive peace, whose first features
are appearing, is achieved.
Openness is a psychological readiness which means
in its first and simplest stages the desire to imitate and the capability to do
it. What I mean by imitation here is imitation of what the other has, in high
consideration of him, and in a forgiving attitude with him. This needs to
function in a two-way manner so that it allows giving and taking within the
context of the special individual characteristics of each party.
Therefore, we can say that there is neither
openness nor dialogue, and consequently there is no coexistence without an
individual entity and a special characteristic, i.e. without preserving them.
Thus there should be no attempt to give these aspects up, and especially
religion, otherwise there is no openness, and no dialogue and no coexistence,
but there would be supremacy and tyranny and what they may lead to in terms of
dissolution, or unrest and quarrel. This is the case of what the Muslim
minorities undergo today in non-Muslim countries and even what some people want
to impose within some Muslim countries themselves.
The insistence upon such a dialogue is based on
two points :
First : In order to increase the extent of
understanding that leads to coexistence.
Second : In order to strengthen the belief in God
in people's hearts, especially in a time when materialism and its values have
permeated and overwhelmed the youth throughout the world.
The reason is that the belief in God is the
context of communication and encounter as it is linked to the nature of man, and
this is confirmed in God Almighty's verse : "So set thy purpose (O Muhammad) for
religion as a man by nature upright - the nature (framed) of Allah, in which He
hath created man. There is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation. That is
the right religion, but most men know not"(1).
The reason is also because faith in Islam has a
comprehensive meaning which we must understand and advocate, as it is open to
dialogue and discussion. God Almighty says in the verse that we have already
mentioned in the introduction of this paper : "The messenger believeth in that
which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) the believers. Each
one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We
make no distinction between any of His messengers - and they say : We hear and
we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying"(2).
Our Noble Prophet (PBUH) says : "My own standing
and that of the prophets before me is like the case of the man who built a house
and embellished it except for a brick corner, which people started to visit and
to like and then ask : have you made this brick corner ? I am the brick corner
and I am the last of the prophets"(3).
The word Islam itself in its larger meaning
reflects this comprehensiveness in faith, in the same way as Abraham and Ishmail
said after they had built the foundations of the house as in God Almighty's
verse : "Our Lord! And make us submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation
submissive unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Lo!
Thou, only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful "(4). It is well known that it
is Abraham who named us Muslims, God Almighty says : "He hath named you Muslims
of old time"(5).
This general meaning completes the particular
meaning which makes Islam, the religion which was revealed by the Prophet Sidna
Mohammad (PBUH). God Almighty speaks the truth when He says : "This day have I
perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have
chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAM"(6).
1. Part of a Hadith related by Ibn Hanbal in his
Masnad, on the authority of Abu Imamah.
2. It was related by Ibn Hanbal in his Masnad, on
the authority of Ibn Abbass. It was also related, with some difference in the
wording, by Al-Bukhari in Kitab Al-Imane and by At-Tirmidhi in Al-Manaqib.
1. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 135-136.
2. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 285.
3. Ibid, 137.
4. Al-An'ām [Cattle] : 161.
1. It was related by Al-Qudha'i on the authority
of Ibn 'Awn and Ad-Daylami on the authority of Abu Hurayra. See word on this
Hadith in Kashfal-Khafa by Al-Aljouni, Vol. 1, p. 456, Maktabat Al-Qudsi, 1351H.
2. It was related by Al-Bukhari and Ibn Majjah on
the authority of Jaber.
3. It was related by Ibn Hanbal in his Masnad, on
the authority of Omar Ibn Al'Ass.
4. Ar-Rūm [The Romans] : 30.
5. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 143.
6. It was related by Al-Bayhaqi on the authority
of Kinanah.
1. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 185.
2. It was related by Al-Bukhari and An-Nissa'i on
the authority of Abu Hurayra.
3. It was related by Ahmad; An-Nissa'i; Ibn
Majjah; and Al-Hakim on the authority of Ibn Abbas.
4. Al-Qalam [The Pen] : 4.
5. Fussilat : 34.
6. It was related by Malik in the Muwatta (See :
Tanwir Al-Hawalik : Sharh 'ala Muwatta' Malik by Jalal Ad-Dine Abdurrahmane
As-Suyuti, Vol. 3, p. 97, Dar Al-Kutub Al-'Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon).
7. See Tasamuh al-Islam ma'a adh-Dhat wal Akhar
(Tolerance of Islam toward the Self and the Other), book made by the author to
the 3rd Session of the Summer University, organized by the Ministry of Waqf and
Islamic Affairs in Casablanca on 4-6 Sha'ban 1414H/17-19 January 1994. (The
present research is based on this book.)
1. See contribution of the present author :
"Muslim between the realism of the changing life and the idealism of the
religious values" in : Majallat Al-Ahya', n° 3 of the new series (Sequential
number : 15).
1. Al-Isrā' [The Children of Israel] : 70.
2. Al-Ahzāb [The Clans] : 72.
3. Sad : 72-73.
4. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 31.
1. Al-Hujurāt [The Private Apartments] : 13.
2. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 1.
3. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 3-4.
4. Al-Imrān [The Family of Imrān] : 190.
1. Ar-Rūm [The Romans] : 22.
2. Hūd : 118-119.
3. Yūnus [Jonah] : 100.
4. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 256.
1. Al-Baqarah (the Cow) : 113.
2. It was related by Al-Bukhari; Muslim;
At-Tirmidhi; An-Nissā'i; and Ibn Majjah on the authority of Abu-Hurayrah.
3. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 193.
1. Al-Mumtahanah [She Who is to Be Examined] : 8
2. Ibid : 9.
3. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 71.
4. Al-Hujurāt [The Private Apartments] : 10.
5. Al-Hashr [Exile] : 9.
1. It was reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on
Nu'man Ibn Bashir.
2. It was reported by Al-Bukhari; Muslim;
At-Tirmidhi; An-Nissā'i; and Ibn Hanbal, on Abu Mussa, and added : "He entwined
his fingers".
1. It was reported by Al-Bukhari in the book
titled Al-Iman on the authority of Anas. It was also related by Muslim and Ibn
Hanbal.
2. It was reported by Al-Bukhari; Muslim;
At-Tirmidhi; and Ibn-Hanbal, on the authority of Ibn Omar.
3. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 105.
1. Al-Mutaffifun [Defrauding] : 26.
1. Qureysh : 3-4.
2. It was reported by At-Tirmidhi on the authority
of 'Ubayd Allah Ibn Mohsen Al-Ansari Al-Khutaymi.
3. An-Nūr [Light] : 27.
4. Al-Hujurāt [The Private Apartments] : 12.
5. Ar-Rahmān [The Beneficent] : 1-4.
6. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 42.
7. Al-Imrān [The Family of Imran] : 110.
1. Al-'Ankabūt [The Spider] : 46.
2. The present author was invited to some of such
meetings.
1. Al-Ahkām As-Sultāniyyah, by Muhammad Ibn
Al-Hosseļn Al-Farrā' Al-Hanbali, p. 160-161 (Authenticated by Muhammad Hamed
Al-Faky, Dar Al-Kutub Al-'Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1403H/1983A.D.
2. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 6.
3. Al-Mā'idah [The Table Spread] : 5.
1. Meaning an executive minister by contrast to a
deputy minister.
2. Al-Ahkām As-Sultāniyyah by Al-Farra', p. 32.
This point of view is shared by Abu Al-Hassan Ali Ibn Muhammad Al-Mawardi in
Al-Ahkām As-Sultāniyyah, pp. 21-22. (Authenticated by Muhammad Badr An-Na'ssani
Al-Halabi, Al-Khaneji Editions, Egypt, 1327H/1909A.D.
3. See Futūh Al-Buldān by Ahmed Ibn Yahya Ibn
Jaber Al-Balathiri, p. 142.
1. Kitāb Al-Kharāj by Abu Yūsuf Yaaqūb Ibn
Ibrahīm, p. 74, Edition Salafiyyah, Egypt, 1347H.
2. Al-Kharāj wa Sin'at al-Kitābah, by Qudamah Ibn
Ja'far, p. 225 (authenticated by Muhammad Hossein Az-Zubaydi, publication of the
Ministry of Culture and Information, Dar Annashr Arrashid, Iraq, 1981. In
addition, it is related in Al-Bukhari and in At-Tirmidhi that the Prophet (PBUH)
took the tribute from the magians of Hajar. It is also related in At-Tirmidhi
that he (PBUH) took it from the magians of Bahrain; and that Omar took it from
the Persians; and that Othman took it from the Persians and the Berbers.
3. It was related by Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi on the
authority of Ibn Mas'ūd.
4. Reported by Al-Bukhari; Muslim; and At-Tirmidhi
on the authority of Abu-Hurayrah.
5. It was related by Al-Bukhari; Muslim; and Ibn
Majjah on the authority of Omar Ibn Al-'Āss.
6. See detailed contribution of the present author
titled "Istikhlass At-Tassawur Assalīm Limu'amalat Ghayr Al-Muslimin fi Diyār
Al-Islām", published within his book Buhūth Maghribiyyah fi Al-Fikr Al-Islāmi,
starting page 119, Rabat, 1406H/1988A.D.
1. Al-Bayan wa At-Tabyīne, by Al-Jahiz, Vol. 2, p.
46 (authenticated by Abdussalam Harun, 2nd edition, 1380H/1961A.D.). See Tarīkh
Al-Umam wa Al-Mulūk, by Ja'afar Muhammad Ibn Jarīr, Vol. 3, p. 265 (Cairo :
Al-Istiqamah, 1357H/1939A.D.). See also Sahīh Al-Bukharī under chapter on
Al-Jihād.
2. At-Tawba [Repentance] : 29.
3. Al-Ahkām As-Sultāniyyah, by Al-Mawardi, pp.
127-128.
1. Al-Furūq, by Shihab Eddine Abi Al-Abbas
Al-Qurafi, Vol. 3, pp. 11-14, Beirut : Dar Al-Ma'rifah.
2. Adh-Dhakhīrah, by Al-Qurafi, Vol. 3, p. 454
(authenticated by Muhammad Bukhubza, Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami).
3. See the book Al-Kharāj, by Abu Yussuf, p. 70.
4. Ibid.
1. It was related by Muslim on the authority of
'Ayeshah in the end of Kitāb Al-Jihād wa As-Siyar.
2. Adh-Dhakhirah, by Al-Qurāfi, Vol. 3, p. 406.
3. Ibid.
4. Futūh Al-Buldān, by Al-Baladhari, p. 246.
1. Tarikh At-Tabarī, Vol. 3, p. 236.
1. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 208.
2. Al-Anfāl [Spoils of War] : 61.
3. Al-Hashr [Exile] : 23.
4. Yūnus [Jonah] : 26.
5. It was reported by Muslim on the authority of
Abu Hurayrah.
1. Al-Hujurāt [The Private Apartments] : 13
2. An-Nahl [The Bee] : 125.
3. Al-'Ankabūt [The Spider] : 46.
1. Al-Mā'idah [The Table Spread] : 30.
2. Al-Anfāl [Spoils of War] : 25.
3. Al-Anfāl [Spoils of War] : 46.
4. The present author has already dealt with this
topic in two research works :
a. Madrasat Muhammad Al-Khamis fi Siyāq Al-Fikr
Al-Siyyāssi Al-Maghribī min Khilāli Dhahirati Al-Junuh li As-Silmi (Published
among the proceedings of the International School on Mohammad V - The king
leader - starting page 471. Organized by Ribat Al-Fath Association; 16-20
November 1987. Also published in the book titled Ma'alim Maghribiyah, p. 25.
First edition, Rabat, 1411H/1991A.D.).
b. L'Islam : religion de paix et de jihad. A
contribution of the author to the International Conference held in Nice (France)
on 13-14 December 1990, which was organized jointly by the Institute of Law for
Peace and Development and UNESCO on : "Religions et Guerre". The proceedings of
this Conference were published under this title by : Editions Universitaires et
Editions Mame.
5. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 256.
1. It was reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the
authority of Abu Hurayrah.
1. Chapter Ten : Verse 34.
2. Chapter Twenty-four : Verses 35-36
3. It was reported by Al-Beyhaqi on the authority
of Jaber Ibn Abdullah.
1. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 41.
2. Al-Hajj [The Pilgrimage] : 39-40
3. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 216.
4. As-Saff [The Ranks] : 10-13.
5. It was related by Ibn Hanbal.
6. It was related by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nissā'ī.
7. It was related by Ibn Majjah.
1. It was related by Ibn Hanbal.
2. It was related by Ibn Hanbal.
3. It was related by Abu Dawud.
4. It was mentioned by Ibn Sa'ad in his Tabaqāt on
the authority of Mujahid. There is another like it in Ibn Hanbal's Masnad on the
authority of Abu Mussa; and also in Tabarani's Al-Kabīr.
5. It was related by Malik on the authority of
Yahya Ibn Sa'īd. See Tanwīr Al-Hawālik Sharh 'ala Muwatta' Malik, by As-Suyuti;
Vol. 2, p. 6-7.
1. An-Nahl [The Bee] : 91.
2. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 1.
3. At-Tawbah [Repentance] : 4.
1. Al-Mā'idah [The Table Spread] : 48
2. Ash-Shūrā [Counsel] : 13.
1. See the author's contribution "Ath-Thaqāfah Al-Islāmiyyah
wa madā Tafā'ulihā ma'a Ath-Thaqāfāt Al-Ukhrā Madiyan wa Hadiran" to the
Conference organized by the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco on : "Ath-Thaqāfah
Al-Islāmiyyah bayn Al-Akhdh wa Al-'Atā'", 4-5 December 1991. (Published as part
of the proceedings of the Conference in the publications of the Academy).
1. Ar-Rūm [The Romans] : 30.
2. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 285.
3. It was related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the
authority of Abu Hurayrah.
4. Al-Baqarah [The Cow] : 127.
5. Al-Hajj [The Pilgrimage] : 78.
6. Al-Mā'idah [The Table Spread] : 4.
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