The Non-Muslims' Rights in Islam
Allāh, the Exalted, said: (Allāh does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allāh loves those who act justly.) (The Noble Quran 60:8)
Islām preserves the right of Non-Muslims to practice their religion freely
Allāh, the Exalted, said: (There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion.) (The Noble Quran 2:256)
Allāh, the Exalted, said: (And say to those who were given the Scripture and [to] the unlearned, “Have you submitted yourselves?” And if they submit [in Islām], they are rightly guided; but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. And Allāh is Seeing of [His] servants.) (The Noble Quran 2:256)
Testimonies from Non-Muslims
Says Will Durant: “At the time of the Umayyad caliphate, the people of the covenant, Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Sabians, all enjoyed degree of tolerance that we do not find even today in Christian countries. They were free to practice the rituals of their religion and their churches and temples were preserved. They enjoyed autonomy in that they were subject to the religious laws of the scholars and judges.”[1]
G. Bernard Shaw said: “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him -- the wonderful man -- and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him, were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”[2]
The English historian Sir Thomas Arnold said: “We never heard of a report of any planned attempt to compel non-Muslim minorities to accept Islām, or any organized persecution aimed at uprooting the Christian religion. If any of the caliphs had chosen any of these policies, they would have overwhelmed Christianity with the same ease with which Ferdinand and Isabella exiled Islām from Spain, or with which Louis XIV made following Protestantism a punishable crime in France, or with which the Jews were exiled from England for 350 years. At that time Eastern churches were completely isolated from the rest of the Christian world. They had no supporters in the world as they were considered heretical sects of Christianity. Their very existence to this day is the strongest evidence of the policy of Islamic government’s tolerance towards them.”[3]
What is the punishment of harming a non-Muslim?
Safwan (RAA) reported from a number of Companions of the Messenger of Allāh (PBUH) on the authority of their fathers who were relatives of each other. The Messenger of Allāh (PBUH) said: “Beware, if anyone wrongs a man of covenant (a non-Muslim), or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawood, declared sound by Al-Albani)
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr (RAA):
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever killed a Mu'ahad (a non-Muslim who is granted the pledge of protection by the Muslims) shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise though its fragrance can be smelt at a distance of forty years (of traveling).” (Al-Bukhāri)
History as a witness
Islām showed unprecedented tolerance to all faiths. It is evident throughout history that Islām –like no other faith- had preserved and protected minorities from eradication; ensured their rights; and provided them full security. Ask the Jews who lived amongst the Muslims during their 800 years reign of Andalusia (Spain); ask the Christians who are still living peacefully within the Muslim countries; rather ask the Jews who are living now in some Muslim countries such as Morocco and Yemen despite Israel’s vicious atrocities against the Muslims of Palestine.
The Prophet (PBUH) had Jewish neighbors and he (PBUH) and the companions had business transactions with them; Aishah (RAA) reported: When Messenger of Allāh (PBUH) died, his armor was mortgaged with a Jew for thirty Sa' (measures) of barley. (Al-Bukhāri and Muslim)
[1] Durant, Will [The Story Of Civilization. vol. 13. p. 131-132.]
[2] Shaw, George Bernard [The Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, No. 81936]
[3] Arnold, Thomas [Invitation To Islam, p. 98-99]
