Tolerance, justice and compassion Friday, 30 December 2011 01:20

Freedom of belief is guaranteed in Islam. It should be very clear that Islam tolerates not only other faiths but even its enemies. This is stated clearly in the Holy Quran:

“God forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith, nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them, for God loves those who are just.” (60:8)

It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts to implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves and to govern their own affairs.

Islam teaches that the closest to Allah and the most beloved of Allah are those who are the best in piety. Thus all people, male and female, and regardless of race, colour, nationality or ethnicity, are considered and treated as equal before Allah and before the law. This concept of tolerance did not reach the West even in theory until the 18th century, and in practice not until the 20th century.

Islam’s rapid spread continued even after the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) death. Within a few decades, Islam spread to all of Mesopotamia and North Africa, and reached Spain in the west and India in the east.

Within 100 years, the Muslim empire spread over an immense area and firmly established itself. In this huge geographic area, many different religious denominations existed side by side. Most of them, however, were composed of Christians and Jews. The Muslims, as a general rule, were always very tolerant towards all religious groups in their lands, did not force people to embrace Islam, and respected every person’s freedom of conscience, for the Quran says:

There is no compulsion where religion is concerned. (Quran 2: 256)

Churches and synagogues were protected. At a time when enforced proselytisation was a common practice, such tolerance was unique.

One of the most extraordinary examples of this tolerance was the conquest of Jerusalem. The patriarch of the city’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher feared that his church would be destroyed by the Muslims. Thus, Caliph Umar visited the church and said that there was nothing to worry about. When the time for prayer came, he asked the patriarch for permission to leave so that he could pray nearby. The Al Aqsa mosque was built later on that very spot.

The Muslims gave Jerusalem one of the world’s most spectacular works of architecture - the Qubbat Al Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock), which was built on the rock, the place from where Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) ascended to the heavens. The stunning motifs and golden dome of this architectural masterpiece reflects Islam’s sense of art and civilisation.

During the Umayyad era, many Christians in Damascus (Sham) occupied important positions in the state bureaucracy and fulfilled their religious obligations as they wished. Some wrote even books that criticised Islam and Muslims without fear of retribution.

At the same time, Europe was governed by a dark fundamentalism and barbarism. The Catholic Church was oppressing the Jews and even Christians of other denominations. Forced proselytisation, as well as torture and murder in the name of religion, were common. On the other hand, Muslims have always treated the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) with tolerance and compassion, for Allah orders this in the Quran.

Throughout the history of Islam, its tolerance towards Jews and Christians continued. Jews fleeing the terror of the Spanish Inquisition found refuge and tolerance on Ottoman soil. The source and reason for such tolerance was the morality of the Quran, for Muslims are told:

Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way—except in the case 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 Allah and your Allah are one, and we submit to Him.”

(Al Ankabut, 46)

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) upheld justice in his time and rejected the ignorant belief which considered some people superior to others because of their language, race, social status or ethnicity. That is because such discrimination is severely condemned in the Quran.

“Racism,” as defined in our day, is an idea Allah prohibits in the Quran, but which receives extensive support in ignorant societies. One of the divine purposes in the creation of the different races is “that they should come to know each other.” In the sight of Allah, all people are equal, and the only superiority anyone can have over anyone else is his fear of Allah and faith in Him.

The Prophet (PBUH) also declared to his people, who committed racism, that ethnic differences had no importance and that everyone was equal in the eyes of Allah. He repeatedly underlined that all that mattered was having sincere faith. While summoning his people to have faith, the Prophet commanded them not to discriminate in his last sermon:

O people! Your Allah is One and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety. Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is deeply conscious of Allah.

The Prophet also told people that Allah created man from nothing, that everyone is created equal and that everyone will give account of his deeds all alone before Allah. For this reason, he added that it would be a great wrong to look for superiority in one’s descent.

The Prophet commanded thus:

All of you are children of Adam, and Adam is from dust. Let some men cease to take pride in others.

The Prophet stated that no criteria except for heedfulness are acceptable: Your descent is nothing to be proud of. Nor does it bring you superiority. O people! All of you are the children of Adam. You are like equal wheat grains in a bowl ... No one has any superiority over anyone else, except in religion and heedfulness. In order to consider someone a wicked person, it suffices that he humiliates other people, is mean with money, bad-tempered and exceeds the limits

Throughout his life, the Prophet advised his people to set aside their ignorant and perverse values and to live by the Quran. In the Quran, racist attitudes are defined as “fanatical rage,” and people’s ambitious attitudes are criticised. A related verse reads:

Those who disbelieve filled their hearts with fanatical rage—the fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance—and Allah sent down serenity to His Messenger and to the believers, and obliged them to respect the formula of heedfulness which they had most right to and were most entitled to. Allah has knowledge of all things.

(Sura Al Fath, 26)

Muslims who obeyed Allah‘s call in the above verse led their lives in peace and security, both during the Blessed Period of the first community of Islam and in succeeding ages when just administrators reigned.

with inputs from www.harunyahya.com