Contents

Chapter IX

Tolerance

The term tasamuh (tolerance) in Arabic comes from a root that denotes leniency in all matters, whether in transactions, or in demanding one's rights. There is a saying of the Prophet which affirms: “The religion most beloved by God is tolerant True Religion (al-Hanifiyyah al-Samha’).” Hanifiyyah or “True Religion” refers to Islam, the True Religion of Abraham and all the prophets up to Muhammad. The Prophet -peace be upon him- says that God loves this religion because it is tolerant and easy-going, not involving hardship or too many restrictions.

In several verses in the Quran, God commands the Muslims to be tolerant towards polytheists. When the Prophet -peace be upon him- banned the Muslims from giving alms to pagans, hoping thus to put pressure on them to adhere to Islam, God revealed this verse in Sura 2 (Al-Baqarah: 272): “It is not required of thee (O Messenger) to set them on the right path, but Allah sets on the right path whom He pleaseth. Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the “Face” of Allah. Whatever good ye give, shall be rendered back to you, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.” Thus the Prophet was told that his duty was only to deliver the message, and leave it up to those who receive to believe if they chose. Whoever chooses the right path, it is for his own benefit, and whoever chooses error, it is his own problem. But guidance is for God alone, while the reward for what you Muslims spend in charity will come back to you. Whatever you spend, you must do so for God's sake alone, and not for vanity or for show, and whatever you give to Muslims or non-Muslims will be paid back to you in full. This admonition represents a remarkable demand for the Muslims to show tolerance towards the poor among the pagans of Makkah, even though they were in the company of many of the tyrants who were oppressing the Muslims. However, God insisted on the Muslims to show kindness towards their poor out of mercy towards them. More than that, God even commands the Muslims to show tolerance towards the tyrants who oppressed and tormented them, telling them in Sura 45 (Al-Jathia: 14): “Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allah: it is for Him to recompense (for good or ill) each People according to what they have earned.”

The latter verse had been revealed when a group from among the Prophet's companions complained to him of vicious harassment from the Makkan pagans. In reply, God commands them to overlook this offense and forgive their tormentors. The counsel was generally to be patient in the face of adversity and abuse, as God commanded in this verse in Sura 3 (Al-Imran: 186) : “And ye shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if you persevere patiently, and guard against evil- then that will be a determining factor in all affairs.” God here warns the Muslims that they will hear much abuse from Jews and Christians as well as polytheists, and counsels patience in the face of this abuse, since patience is the key to success.

In the above cited verse, form Sura 45 (Al-Jathia), God tells the believers to forgive so that He “may recompense each People according to what they have earned.” The implication is that they should not seek revenge against those who wrong them, for it is God alone who will accord them the recompense they deserve on the Day of Judgement.

God also praises those Muslims who offer food, even though they need it themselves, to the poor, orphans and captives, saying in Sura 76 (Al-Insan: 8): “And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan and captive.”(1) The captives the Muslims held were naturally pagans. The pagans of Quraysh, it is well-known, have suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of Badr, with seventy among their most prominent warriors killed and seventy captured. In spite of this, the Prophet instructed his Companions to treat them well. As a result, they used to feed them before they ate themselves. This was a remarkable show of tolerance from the Prophet and the Muslims towards their Makkan enemies, and an exemplary good treatment for them. God also tells the Muslims in Sura 60 (Al-Mumtahana: 8): “Allah forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: For Allah loves those who are just.” This was an indication to Muslims that God does not object to kindness, fairness and good treatment towards pagans who did not join the fight against Muslims, nor helped drive them out of their homes in Makkah. This kindness towards non-Muslims became a general rule observed by Muslims during the age of conquest and after, and had continued until today, in all their transactions and dealings with followers of other religions at peace with them. They treated them well and kindly, whether they were followers of earlier revelation, such as Jews and Christians, or pagans such as the Sabians, Zoroastrians or others in Asia and Africa. In this, God has laid down exemplary rules of tolerance for the Muslims with regards to followers of all religions and with regards to people from all races, nations and colours.

Just as God instructed His Prophet and the Muslims to show tolerance towards the followers of earlier revelation, He also enjoined them to forgive their wrongs and abuse, as when He said in Sura 2 (Al-Baqarah: 109): “but forgive and overlook till Allah accomplishes His purpose.” The advice here is to forgive the wrong and also overlook it, not even blaming the wrongdoers or chiding them for it. This is indeed a sublime degree of tolerance which God has enjoined repeatedly on Muslims. The Prophet -peace be upon him- has set a fine example in tolerance. Whenever the men of Quraysh abused him or responded harshly to his reciting the Quran to them, he would raise his hands to heaven and pray to God, saying: “Please God, forgive my people, for they know not what they are doing.” He never committed revenge against anyone who had wronged him, nor even prayed to God to punish them. In the battle of Uhud, he was wounded in his face and one of his front teeth was broken, while part of his helmet was smashed and injured his head. He never punished any of the people responsible for these injuries and others when he conquered Makkah, but forgave them all. All the residents of Makkah surrendered to the Prophet's army, and they were thus technically prisoners of war who could be taken as slaves. However, the Prophet forgave them all and restored their freedom, telling them: “Whoever enters the Ka’aba (the Holy Mosque) is safe, whoever enters his home and closes his door is safe, and whoever takes refuge in Abu Sufyan’s home is safe.”

Abu Sufyan, the chief of Makkah, had earlier seen the fires in the camp of the Prophet's army outside Makkah, and went to investigate the matter. He met Al Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, who said to him: “What is the matter with you, Abu Sufyan? Here is the Prophet -peace be upon him- in a huge army which Makkah cannot resist!” Abu Sufyan then asked: “What can be done, then?” Al-Abbas said: “Rise with me and let us go to the Messenger of God.” Omar saw them approaching and rushed after them to the Prophet saying: “O Messenger of God, here is the enemy of God Abu Sufyan, whom God had delivered into our hands without a covenant or a treaty. So permit me to cut his head off.” The Prophet declined, showing remarkable forgiveness for the chief of the infidels in Quraysh. He told Al-Abbas to take him with him to his encampment until the morning. On the following morning, Abu Sufyan announced his adherence to Islam, so the Prophet honoured him by making his home a safe haven, another gesture of tolerance towards the chief of Quraysh. The Prophet -peace be upon him- also showed even greater tolerance, as we have mentioned, towards the people of Quraysh, refraining from imposing slavery on them but, instead, restoring their freedom. His pardon encompassed many of those who did great damage to the Muslims during the battle of Uhud, and even those who tried to resist the Prophet's army during its advance on Makkah. Among the latter was ‘Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, who fled to Yemen. His wife requested the Prophet to give him safe conduct, which he did. She then brought him over to the Prophet, where he announced his adherence to Islam, and later became a good Muslim. Thus not a single Qurayshite was left among those who waged war against the Prophet who was not forgiven by him as soon as he announced his Islam. He also addressed all the people of Makkah saying: “Go, you are liberated.”

The most remarkable example of the Prophet's tolerance and forgiveness was his pardon for Wahshiy, who killed his beloved uncle, Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, in the battle of Uhud. Hamza was the Prophet's “brother” in that they were suckled by the same woman, and was one of Quraysh's most distinguished warriors. He stood by the Prophet when he and his followers suffered persecution by Quraysh. In the battle of Uhud, Hamza was at the head of the Muslim fighters and distinguished himself admirably in battle. Wahshiy, an Abyssinian slave, was very good at spear-throwing and he used his spear to kill Hamza during that battle. The Prophet was immensely saddened by the loss. Wahshiy embraced Islam after the conquest of Makkah, and the Prophet did not blame him for what he had done. When the “Apostasy Wars” flared after the Prophet's death, Wahshiy joined the Muslim army of Khalid ibn Al-Walid, and succeeded in killing Musaylima, the False Prophet, with the same spear he had used to kill Hamza. The Prophet -peace be upon him- had continued to urge Muslims to be tolerant and generous in their forgiveness, saying: “Whoever likes to see his status raised [in the eyes of God], let him forgive those who have wronged him, give to those who withhold from him and establish relations with those who turn away from him.” The Prophet here requests the Muslim to forgive his brother even if he had done him an injustice, refused him help in time of need, or if he were a relative who did not respect the relationship between them.

Tolerance with followers of other religions prevailed in Muslim societies from the time of the Righteous Caliphs until this day. They accorded the star-worshipping Sabians the same treatment they did the followers of earlier revelations (Jews and Christians). They also treated the fire-worshipping Magians, followers of Zoroastra who says in his book the Avesta that the world has two gods, one for light and one of darkness. Zoroastrianism became almost extinct in the third/ninth century, while the Sabians continued to exist until the end of the fourth/tenth century. In each Muslim country, there has always existed a small or large minority of Christians and a small minority of Jews, who lived in complete peace and security, without any barriers separating them from Muslims. Reports that Jews and Christians were required to wear distinctive belts refer to a brief episode during the reign of some rulers who did not understand the tolerance of the True Religion as they should. We have already seen, when we discussed material and intellectual coexistence between Muslims and the covenanted peoples, evidence that Jews and Christians in Iraq, Syria and Egypt have enjoyed a secure life and were treated with tolerance, leading them in the end to become Arabised in tongue and thought. They translated their holy books into Arabic, and used to conduct some of the liturgies and rites in their churches and synagogues in Arabic.

We have not, however, dwelt on the situation of Jews and Christians in the Maghreb and Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), and the good life they have enjoyed there, or the Islamic tolerance they have experienced. Christians in Spain were guaranteed their religious freedom by Muslims, who permitted them to keep their religion of choice, and no one was ever forced to abandon his religion and embrace Islam. The Muslims protected the churches and possessions of those Christians. They never harassed a priest, a monk or a bishop, but respected them all, and they continued to treat the Christians well throughout their reign in Spain. This has been exemplified by the appointment of Arabised Spaniards to government posts by Ummayyad ruler there, Muhammad ibn Abd Rahman (238-273 H). He appointed Cumis ibn Antian, who had been in charge of collecting the poll tax from non-Muslims, as a secretary and administrator. When the man asked to be excused from working Sundays, the ruler excused him and excused all employees from working on that day so that Christian employees could attend church services. Many Spaniards embraced Islam because of its simplicity and tolerance, and those who did not embrace Islam dedicated themselves to learning Arabic, which they perfected and wrote both prose and poetry in this tongue. A relation of amity and cooperation had persisted between Muslims and Christians in Spain, which is evident in the influence exerted by the Muwashshahat (a style of Andalusian poetry) on Spanish literature, and the extension of this influence indirectly to France, England and Germany through Spanish music. It is also evident in the considerable help the Muslims of Spain gave to the translation movement from Arabic into Spanish during the reign of King Alfonso X, who turned Toledo into a great centre for the translation of the Quran and Arabic thought and science. He also established schools in Mercia and Seville in which he was assisted by Muslim scholars, impelled in this by the tolerance of their religion. They translated for him books like Kulaylah wa Dimna, various Arabic tales and numerous books on astronomy and science.

Due to the remarkable tolerance which God -exalted be His name- had imposed on the Muslims, they opened the doors of Spain to the Jews, who found in it a refuge and haven from the Western prosecution they had suffered everywhere. One Jew, a certain Hasdai ibn Shabrut, succeeded in the year 334/916 in becoming a vizier to Abd Rahman al-Nasir, the most important Umayyad ruler of Spain. He then sponsored a revival in Talmudic studies. Soon Spain became, with Muslim approval, a centre for Hebrew studies. When the Arabs were driven out of Spain after the fall of Grenada in 897/1492, the Spaniards started a campaign of persecution against the Jews who could no longer benefit from Arab protection. As the persecution intensified during the reign of Philip III, where could the Jews go then to escape it? They could not find a refuge except in the lands of Islam in the Maghreb. Groups of them migrated to the Maghreb, managed to ensconce themselves in most cities and lived there, enjoying remarkable tolerance for many long centuries, during which they grew rich and amassed great wealth. Any one aware of the history of Jews in the lands of Islam, their coexistence with Muslims throughout the Islamic era, and the way the Muslims protected them, especially in Spain and the Maghreb century after century, is completely amazed at the hostility which they have shown to Muslims in our era, especially to the Palestinians, whom they had driven out of their homes, and maltreated horribly.

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1) This is Yusuf Ali’s rendering. Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir and most interpreters support the view that the pronoun in the phrase ‘ala hubbihi (in spite of love for it) refers to the food, not to the love of God (for the love of Him). In this case, the more correct rendering is: “And they offer food, even though they crave it for themselves, the indigent …" This would also accord better with the author's explanations. (trans.)

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