Muslims Treated the People of the Book with Compassion and Justice

Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way-except in the ease of those of them who do wrong-saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Surat al-Ankabut: 46)

Christianity was born on Palestinian soil but spread towards present-day Syria and Iraq because of the Christian church's oppressive rule. When our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) began to teach Islam, there were many Jewish and Christian communities in southern Arabia. Therefore, from the very beginning of Islam, Muslims, Jews, and Christians maintained a dialogue.

With the spread and strengthening of Islam, the region's Jews and Christians came under Muslim rule. Relations based upon compassion and mutual understanding continued, and various agreements made at the time of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) granted the Jewish and Christian communities certain privileges that guaranteed their rights and existence. The privileges granted to the monks of the St. Catherine Monastery at Mt. Sinai are examples of this. These documents guaranteed the legal, religious, and social rights of those Jews and Christians who came under Muslim rule or acknowledged Islam's sovereignty. Problems were resolved by referring to these documents. For example, the history books mention that the Christians in Damascus presented the documents recording their privileges to Caliph Umar when they encountered a problem and asked him to resolve the issue accordingly.³⁵ 

The caliphs who succeeded the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) practiced Allah's justice according to the prophetic Sunnah. In the conquered lands, both the native population and the new arrivals lived in peace and security. For example, Abu Bakr, the first caliph, gave the following command to his army before sending them toward Syria:

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules to keep by heart: Do not commit treachery nor depart from the right path. You must not mutilate, nor kill a child or an aged man or woman. Do not destroy a palm tree, nor burn it with fire, and do not cut any fruitful tree. You must not slay any of the flocks or herds or camels, save for your subsistence. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them to that to which they have devoted their lives. You are likely, likewise, to find people who will present to you meals of many kinds. You may eat, but do no forget to mention the name of Allah.³⁶

The rapid growth of Islam brought Byzantine-ruled Syria and Egypt, as well as Sassanid-ruled Iraq, under Muslim rule. Each of these regions had large Christian populations. These Jews and Christians witnessed first hand the Muslims' justice and compassion. None of them were asked or pressured to change their religions or traditions. No practice or intervention that would have altered the existing social order or unsettled them was permitted. Various Christian sects that were being oppressed by Rome or Byzantium actually preferred Muslim rule. The Western historian Phillip K. Hitti writes:

Under the stimulus of Islam, the East now awoke and reasserted itself after a millennium of Western domination. Moreover, the tribute exacted by the new conquerors [Muslims] was even less than that exacted by the old, and the conquered could now pursue their religious practices with more freedom and less interference.³⁷

According to Princeton scholar and author Samuel Moffet:

Under the patriarchal caliphs and all through the turbulent years of the civil wars, apart from the killings and horrors to be expected in any war, treatment of Christians in the [Muslim] conquered territories of Persia and Byzantine Syria proved to be remarkably generous.³⁸

You who believe! Show integrity for the sake of Allah, bearing witness with justice. Do not let hatred for a people incite you into not being just. Be just. That is closer to heedfulness. Fear Allah. Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 8) Allah commands you to return to their owners the things you hold on trust and, when you judge between people, to judge with justice. How excellent is what Allah exhorts you to do! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surat an-Nisa': 58)

When examining their social and religious lives under Islamic rule, the following picture emerges:

On Islamic territory, true freedom of religion existed. No one was forced to change his or her religion, and communities that rebelled and came back later under the authority of Islam were given the same rights as before. The Islamic authority, save for a few exceptions, never intervened in the election of patriarchs or the appointment of religious authority, and guaranteed not to intervene by signing various agreements. These communities continued to speak their own languages in their private lives as well as in their religious lives. For instance, the Nestorians who left the Byzantine church chose to leave their Greek language also for the Suryani (Assyrian) language, and were free to do so. In the Christian and Jewish schools, religious education continued freely, and monasteries and other institutions that educated the community's future religious leaders preserved their autonomous status. Likewise, the sanctuaries of other religious denominations were protected by the Muslim authorities. During the conquest, places of worship were never harmed, for synagogues and churches were guaranteed protection by agreements made with the People of the Book from the time of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

... There is a community among the People of the Book who are upright. They recite Allah's Signs throughout the night, and they prostrate. They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doign good. They are among the righteous. (Surah Al 'Imran: 113-114) People of the Book! Our Messenger has come to you, making clear to you much of the Book that you have kept concealed, and passing over a lot. A Light has come to you from Allah and a clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of Peace... (Surat an-Nisa': 15-16)

In agreements dating back to the initial period of Islam, clauses allowed Muslims to stay in monasteries while traveling. This shows that Muslims sought to develop a dialogue based on mutual respect with the People of the Book. Moreover, these communities were also permitted to rebuild derelict churches or build new synagogues and churches when they wished. For instance, the St. Sergius monastery outside Madain was destroyed by Patriarch Mar Emme (644-647 ce) but rebuilt at the time of caliph Uthman. Many such examples can be cited: Uqba, the governor of Egypt, helped build a monastery for the Nestorians; during Mu'awiya's reign a church in Edessa was renovated, and the Marcos church was commissioned in Alexandria. The fact that churches and synagogues in Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq still remain is an indicator of the Muslim's respect for other Divinely revealed religions. Another example of Muslim compassion is the Monastery of Mt. Sinai, one of Christianity's important pilgrimage sites.

Şüphesiz Allah, size emanetleri ehline (sahiplerine) teslim etmenizi ve insanlar arasında hükmettiğinizde adaletle hükmetmenizi emrediyor. Bununla Allah, size ne güzel öğüt veriyor!... (Nisa Suresi, 58)

The source of the Muslim's compassion is the Qur'an's morality, which says:

… if Allah had not driven some people back by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where Allah's name is mentioned much, would have been pulled down and destroyed. Allah will certainly help those who help Him … (Surat al-Hajj: 40)

The People of the Book were free to celebrate their festivities as part of their religious tradition in their places of worship as they wished, and Muslim leaders often joined these celebrations. The Nestorian Patriarch Isho'yab III (650-60 ce) wrote a letter to the Bishop of Persia following the Muslim conquest that voices the Muslim leadership's compassion toward the People of the Book from a Christian perspective:

The Arabs to whom God has given at this time the government of the world … do not persecute the Christian religion. Indeed, they favour it, honour our priests and the saints of the Lord and confer benefits on churches and monasteries.³⁹

Besides these freedoms and respect, the justice and fairness with which these non-Muslim communities were treated is remarkable too. The Muslim leaders' sense of justice was renowned, and many Christians brought their cases to the Islamic courts even though they had their own courts. At one time, the number of Christians using Islamic courts reached such high numbers that the Nestorian patriarch Mar Timothee I (780-825 ce) issued a declaration warning Christians.

The People of the Book living in Muslim-ruled lands were not considered captives, but dhimmis, which gave them a legal status: non-Muslim people who recognized Muslim authority paid a jizya tax. In return, their lives and property were protected, they enjoyed freedom of thought and religion, were exempted from military service, and allowed to resolve their internal affairs by their own laws. From time to time, the jizya tax was even returned to them. A majority of historians recognize the fact that the dhimmis lived under a compassionate and just system. The renowned historian Bernard Lewis states:

But by and large their [dhimmi's] position was infinitely superior to that of those communities who differed from the established church in western Europe in the same period. They enjoyed the free exercise of their religion. …⁴⁰

AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. ADNAN OKTAR BY AKHABER, NOVEMBER 2nd, 2008  Adnan Oktar: The Turkish-Islamic Union I am talking about is based on love, and has nothing to do with racism or pretensions to greatness. It is Allah Who is great, and we are merely His servants. It is a concept that embraces all nations, protects and watches over them, includes Christians and Jews and is eager to welcome them into the Turkish-Islamic Union. That is not how it was before. There was the idea of Turkish Union, which included some skull measuring idea. It could be interpreted as [Turks] being the greatest and strongest race, and other races were therefore nothing. But there is no such thing. Allah creates all races. They are all our brothers. Russia will be revived in the Turkish-Islamic Union. We want Armenia to join. We want Georgia to join, and we even want Israel to be included in it. We have many Turkish brothers from among the Karaite Jews. Even if they are not Turkish, they are the children of the Prophets Moses and Abraham (peace be upon them both), descended from the prophets. We will embrace them all, insha'Allah. Just so long as they love Allah with great fervor, pay attention to what is lawful and forbidden, and continue to respect the prophets and the angels. There can be no division or separation among us as long as they do that, insha'Allah.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. ADNAN OKTAR BY AZERBAIJAN AZERNEWS, OCTOBER 23rd, 2008 Adnan Oktar: Of course Turkey will be a Great Turkey, that is for certain. I underline that, not 99% but 100%. Turkey will be the leader of the Turkish-Islamic world. The whole world will see this in 10 to 20 years. I am here, you are here, everyone is here. This is very clear, by the will of Allah. There is no other alternative to this. This is the destiny of humanity, insha'Allah. That is how it will be. There is already Turkish predominance in the Islamic world. Turkic countries are mainly Muslim. But within Islam, Christianity and Judaism are seen as brother faiths. They are regarded as the People of the Book and regarded with love. They are also a part of the Turkish-Islamic Union. Israel, for example, is also a part of the Turkish-Islamic Union because Judaism is an old Islamic faith. But after Islam came, Islam has become the real, true faith, of course. Thus the former has been annulled. The faith brought by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the valid faith now. But their abiding by that law and by that faith is accepted by the Qur'an. Allah tells us of the People of the Book, that there will be People of the Book. We invite them to Islam, but they are in any case the People of the Book even if they are not Muslims. That is the law. That is because they are loyal to the law of the Prophet Moses (pbuh), and continue with it. Christianity is loyal to the faith of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh), and they continue as a community loyal to him. We call them the People of the Book. One can marry them, Muslims can take their daughters as wives. One can eat their food, eat animals they have slaughtered. You can eat meat prepared by Jews. You can eat their food, go and eat in their homes. One can be their guest, talk with them, and you can go and stay in their homes, and they in yours. What does this mean? It means an air of close brotherhood and friendship. What does what I am describing mean, for someone to get married, take someone into his home, live with her as his wife for years and combine their lives together? It is a bond of close friendship and brotherhood. Christians are also a part of the Turkish-Islamic Union. Any Christian country bordering an Islamic country can join the Turkish-Islamic Union if it so wishes. They can be invited to join, and join with no difficulty if they accept. And they will be welcomed with joy. Therefore, Turkey will be the leader of the Muslims and Christians and Jews. It is and will be the leader. And it will offer them all peace, security and justice.

Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "On the Day of Judgment I will dispute with anyone who oppresses a person from among the People of the Covenant [i.e., a Dhimmi], or infringes on his right, or puts a responsibility on him which is beyond his strength, or takes something from him against his will,"⁴¹ thereby describing the correct attitude toward dhimmis. In line with this morality, Muslims considered it one of their important responsibilities to protect the non-Muslims under their authority. During a war with the Byzantine army, our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ordered that the tax collected from non-Muslims be returned, for the Muslim army was unable to protect them.⁴² This is the type of morality that he taught Muslims. Another good example of compassion and consideration is Umar's words to an old dhimmi woman: "By Allah, we would not be fair if we take from him when he is young and disgrace him when he is old."⁴³ Taking the jizya only from non-Muslims is not unjust, because Muslims had to serve in the army; non-Muslims were exempt from military service.

… Each one believes in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers. They say, "We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord! You are our journey's end." (Surat al-Baqara: 285) Şüphesiz, Kitap Ehlinden, Allah'a; size indirilene ve kendilerine indirilene -Allah'a derin saygı gösterenler olarak- inananlar vardır. Onlar Allah'ın ayetlerine karşılık olarak az bir değeri satın almazlar. İşte bunların Rableri Katında ecirleri vardır... (Al-i İmran Suresi, 199)

For centuries, Muslims lived side by side with Jews and Christians in peace and security. Those Jews and Christians who lived in Muslim-ruled lands engaged in free trade and acquired property, chose their desired profession, held offices in the state bureaucracy, and even worked in the ruler's palace. They benefited from the official policy of freedom of thought, were part of their society's scientific and cultural life, and wrote books that we still have today. The exercise of their rights was not challenged or prevented. Considering that at the same time in Europe people belonging to other religions or non-Orthodox sects were cast out, persecuted, and killed, and books that published different views were burned in piles, the freedoms and peace that reigned in the Islamic world becomes even more significant.

All of these practices are requirements of the Qur'an's morality prescribed for Muslims. Peace and security were the norms in the lands administered by Muslims practicing this morality. Muslim administrations sought the people's happiness and prosperity and developed systems that set the standards for generations to come. The Islamic world of today needs to return to the Qur'an's morality and our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) path.

All of these historic facts point to another important matter: Remodeling the Islamic world according to the Qur'an's values is not only important for Muslims, but also for all members of other religious denominations living here as well as for members of all civilizations, especially those living in the West. The existence of strong nations based on the Qur'an's values will remove the West's concerns about the Islamic world and become one of the cornerstones of world peace.