Al-Buruj(*) Surah
- Dhu-Nu’as 

"Woe to the makers of the pit (of fire). Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel. Behold! They sat over against the fire, and they witnessed all that they were doing against the Believers. And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of Praise", [Al-Buruj : 4-8].

The Surah "Al-Buruj" is concerned with the Christians of Nejran, in particular and, in general, with the believers who suffered torture and were put to death because of their devotion and attachment to their religion, especially the early Muslims who endured a great deal of suffering and were put to death in Makkah at the hands of the unbelievers.

Dhu-Nu'as, the king of Himyar, was Jewish. During his reign (6th century A.D.), Christianity  was very widespread in Nejran, which did not please him very much. His fanaticism was such that he raised an army from Himyar and the tribes of Yemen and marched on Nejran, where he rounded up the Christians and ordered them to choose between Judaism or death. They chose to remain Christian, preferring death to abandoning their faith which was that of their ancestors, too.

Dhu-Nu'as's response was very harrowing; he ordered his soldiers to dig a long, wide pit into which they threw thousands of those Christians, and set fire to them; thousands of other Christians were slain, their bodies mutilated. The number of victims reached 20,000.

It is to those Christians who died as martyrs of their faith that Allah consecrated "Al-Buruj" in His Holy Book, commending them for upholding their faith in spite of all the tribulations they had encountered. At the same time, He pronounced curses on those who persecuted, killed and tortured those Christians to force them to renounce their faith.

Apart from their belief in God, those who were persecuted committed no sin; however, Allah - the Great and Almighty - warned the persecutors of those believers that Hell would be their abode, and that hellfire would burn their skin in retribution for their fanaticism and injustice.

Regarding the believers whom the oppressors had tortured, killed and burnt, their reward was Paradise : "Gardens beneath which rivers flow".

"Al-Buruj" Surah is of great interest to us for two reasons :

1. It is a frank condemnation of any kind of religious compulsion; it is also an irrevocable sentence Islam has pronounced against the oppressors and the fanatics who resort to tyranny and violence to force the believers to abandon their faith.

2. It contains a commendation of the Christians - those of Nejran - praising them and their religious steadfastness in the face of the tyrants and oppressors who used means of coercion and torture to spread their beliefs.

With regard to the matter that is of concern to us, if "Al-Buruj" were the only Surah in the Holy Quran, it would be enough to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Islam strongly condemns compulsion in religion; that it praises the believers who remain unshaken in their faith and who do not give in to force and tyranny; and that it announces hellfire to the oppressors and the fanatics, and promises gardens and rivers to the victims and the oppressed.

It is only natural that Islam take such a stand; that is so because religious persecution accompanied the Dacwa since its inception. Bilal Ibn Rabbah, Ammar Ibn Yasir and his parents and many others  were among the first victims of this religious persecution.

One of the closest believers to the Prophet's heart, Bilal, who was later to become the first mu'dhin in Islam, was a slave owned by Umayya Ibn Khalaf(*), one of the unbelievers. Displeased with his slave's embracing Islam and his becoming one of Mohammed's followers, Umayya Ibn Khalaf afflicted Bilal with the worst punishments. He would make his rebellious slave lay down on his back in the desert of Makkah when the sun rose to its zenith, hot as fire, and order that a huge rock be put on Bilal to bring pressure to bear on his chest and make his breathing difficult; then he would say to him : "You will remain in this state until you die or disbelieve Mohammed and worship Lat and 'Uzza". Agonizing, thirsty and famished, Bilal would reply : "Allah is One and Only! Allah is One and Only!" reaffirming the Oneness of Allah - the Almighty, the Powerful.

Ammar Ibn Yasir and his parents suffered a similar fate at the hands of Bani Makhzoum, but they remained steadfast in their faith until his mother breathed her last under torture.

The list of the believers who suffered torture, subjugation and depravation at the hands of the unbelievers is very long. Those believers needed solace and encouragement to persevere in their stand.

It was also necessary that the unbelievers be warned of the punishment awaiting them in the Hereafter, so that they may desist from committing wrong and violent acts. 

But Allah - to Whom be ascribed all perfection and majesty - was as Merciful to the believers as He was a Warner to the tyrant unbelievers. The "al-Buruj" Surah, which came as a consolation to the former and a warning to the latter, promises the believers Paradise and warns the tyrant, fanatic king of hellfire :

- "Those who persecute (or draw into temptation) the Believers, men and women, and do not turn in repentance will have the penalty of Hell : they will have the penalty of Burning Fire". (This concerns Dhu-Nu'as and the unbelievers after him.)

- "For those who believe and do righteous deeds will be Gardens, beneath which Rivers flow. That is the great salvation, (the fulfillment of all desires)". (This is for the Christians of Nejran and those who came after them: Ammar Ibn Yasir and his parents, Bilal, and the early believers.)

The following verse stresses repentance and penalty :

- "Truly strong is the Grip (and Power) of thy Lord. It is He Who creates from the beginning, and He can restore (life). And He is the Oft-forgiving, full of loving-kindness. Lord of the Throne of Glory, Doer (without let) of all that He intends".

The "al-Buruj" Surah has a universal human import which goes beyond the Christians of Nejran and the Muslims of Makkah to embrace the human being at every age and place, regardless of creed, race or color.

This Surah sprang from a particular event to establish a general principle which is compatible with the spirit of Islam : "Let there be no compulsion in religion". Every human is entitled to live their faith freely and to observe its rituals in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

In this very context, the grandeur of Islam lies in the fact that it  guarantees for both the Muslim and the non-Muslim the freedom of worship, leaving the door open for the latter to embrace Islam if he is convinced of its teachings and precepts, and if he finds them compatible with his own convictions, hopes and aspirations.

Faith is an inner, affective conviction that radiates outwardly. If faith is forcibly imposed from the outside towards the inside, Allah will not accept it; it will be rejected, just like all of Dhu-Nu'as's attempts in Nejran and those of the unbelievers in Makkah.

Islam endeavors to spread out and seeks to spur as many people as possible to embrace the precepts and commandments which Allah has proclaimed in His Holy Book and ordered His Prophet to propagate as far as possible; but at the same time Islam rejects compulsion in religion and forcible conversion, along with any other means which affect the individual's conviction and determination.  

With its Quran and the Sunna of its Prophet, Islam is a collection of rare, attractive and sparkling gems. It is enough for the owner of this collection to proudly display it publicly so that people may bless their sight with its radiance and sparkle, and to explain to them in very simple terms the characteristics and essence of this collection, and what it represents in terms of values and objectives and in terms of the happiness and joy it gives the person who acquires it and graces himself with it. Fine gems such as these need no one to impose them on anyone; they go freely towards people, so to speak.

All Islam needs is an information campaign, to make itself known to those who are not too familiar with it; this is definitely the duty of every responsible Muslim. That is because Allah - the Great and Almighty - made it clear from the start that Mohammed was sent to all peoples and nations, not only to Quraysh and the people of Makkah and Arabia, and the Arabs.

The verses which express this abound, and are found in more than one Surah of the Holy Quran. Of these we will mention the following :

"We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin)" [Saba' : 28].

"Blessed is He Who sent down the Criterion to His servant that it may be an admonition", [The Criterion : 1].

"Say : 'O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah'", [The Heights : 158].

Quoted in a previous chapter of this work, along with others with the same import, these verses make it the duty of every responsible Muslim, especially if he is a man of religion, to help spread Islam to all people.

From the time he received the Revelation to the last day of his life, Mohammed sought to carry out the divine command : "O Apostle! Proclaim the Message which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord". The message spread far and wide through the ambassadors whom he had sent and the letters he had addressed to the kings of Persia, those of Byzantium and Abyssinia and other rulers in Egypt, Bahrain, Bilad al-Yamamah(1), and Bani Ghassan, calling upon them to embrace Islam.

That was not the case with all the prophets and messengers. In the Gospel, for example, Christ - peace be upon him - confined his mission to the Children of Israel; that is, to the Jews who, in his days, lived in great numbers in Judea, and with varying numbers in Galilee, Samaria, and Udoumiya, all of which became parts of Palestine later.

In Matthew (15:24), we read the following : "I was sent only to the wandering sheep of the House of Israel".

It is clear from these words that Christ confined his mission to the House of Israel; that is, the Jews.

This is not the case with the Twelve Apostles, for Christ commanded them to spread his teachings amongst the pagans : "Go then, and make disciples of all the nations giving them Baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you", [Matthew 28:19]; and also : "Go into all the world, and give the good tidings to everyone", [Marcus 16:15].