abdulhakeem
10-08-07, 10:24 AM
Khalid Baig
10-Aug-07
WHILE on his deathbed, the second Khalifah (Caliph) 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, dictated a long will consisting of instructions for the next Khalifah. Here is the last sentence of that historic document:
"I instruct you on behalf of the people who have been given protection in the name of Allah and His Prophet (ie the non-Muslim minorities known as dhimmi within the Islamic state). Our covenant to them must be fulfilled, we must fight to protect them, and they must not be burdened beyond their capabilities".
At that time 'Umar was lying in pain because of the wounds inflicted on him by a non-Muslim who had stabbed him with a dagger soaked in poison while he was leading the Fajr prayer. It should also be remembered that he was the head of a vast empire ranging from Egypt to Persia.
From normal rulers of his time or ours, we could have expected vengeance and swift reaction. The enlightened rulers of today have sent bombers even on suspicion of murder conspiracy. From a very forgiving head of state we could have expected an attempt to forget and forgive _ and that would be considered noble. But a command to protect the minorities and take care of them?
What is even more remarkable is that for Muslim historians the entire affair was just natural. After all it was the Khalifah himself who had established the standards by writing the guarantees for the protection of life, property and religion in decree after decree as Muslims opened land after land during his rule. The pattern established here was followed for centuries throughout the Muslim world.
Off course, 'Umar was simply following what he learnt from the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessing be upon him, himself _ that the protection of life, property and religious freedom of minorities is the religious duty of the Islamic state.
That he personally would be demanding justice in the hereafter on behalf of a dhimmi who had been wronged by a Muslim. That there is no compulsion in religion and that Muslims must be just to friends and foe alike.
The result of these teachings was a Muslim rule that set the gold standard for religious tolerance in a world that was not used to the idea. Not only that the Muslim history is so remarkably free of the inquisitions, persecutions, witch hunts, and holocausts that tarnish history of other civilisations, it protected its minorities from persecution by others as well. It protected Jews from Christians and Eastern Christians from Roman Catholics. In Spain under the Umayyah and in Baghdad under the Abbasiyyah Khalifah, Christians and Jews enjoyed a freedom of religion that they did not allow each other or anyone else.
Marmaduke Pickthall, one of the earliest translators of the Holy Quran into English, noted, "It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant, and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance."
For Muslims religious tolerance is not about political posturing. It is a serious religious obligation. They must be a force against all intolerance, even that promoted in the guise of tolerance.
http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=39526
10-Aug-07
WHILE on his deathbed, the second Khalifah (Caliph) 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, dictated a long will consisting of instructions for the next Khalifah. Here is the last sentence of that historic document:
"I instruct you on behalf of the people who have been given protection in the name of Allah and His Prophet (ie the non-Muslim minorities known as dhimmi within the Islamic state). Our covenant to them must be fulfilled, we must fight to protect them, and they must not be burdened beyond their capabilities".
At that time 'Umar was lying in pain because of the wounds inflicted on him by a non-Muslim who had stabbed him with a dagger soaked in poison while he was leading the Fajr prayer. It should also be remembered that he was the head of a vast empire ranging from Egypt to Persia.
From normal rulers of his time or ours, we could have expected vengeance and swift reaction. The enlightened rulers of today have sent bombers even on suspicion of murder conspiracy. From a very forgiving head of state we could have expected an attempt to forget and forgive _ and that would be considered noble. But a command to protect the minorities and take care of them?
What is even more remarkable is that for Muslim historians the entire affair was just natural. After all it was the Khalifah himself who had established the standards by writing the guarantees for the protection of life, property and religion in decree after decree as Muslims opened land after land during his rule. The pattern established here was followed for centuries throughout the Muslim world.
Off course, 'Umar was simply following what he learnt from the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessing be upon him, himself _ that the protection of life, property and religious freedom of minorities is the religious duty of the Islamic state.
That he personally would be demanding justice in the hereafter on behalf of a dhimmi who had been wronged by a Muslim. That there is no compulsion in religion and that Muslims must be just to friends and foe alike.
The result of these teachings was a Muslim rule that set the gold standard for religious tolerance in a world that was not used to the idea. Not only that the Muslim history is so remarkably free of the inquisitions, persecutions, witch hunts, and holocausts that tarnish history of other civilisations, it protected its minorities from persecution by others as well. It protected Jews from Christians and Eastern Christians from Roman Catholics. In Spain under the Umayyah and in Baghdad under the Abbasiyyah Khalifah, Christians and Jews enjoyed a freedom of religion that they did not allow each other or anyone else.
Marmaduke Pickthall, one of the earliest translators of the Holy Quran into English, noted, "It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant, and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance."
For Muslims religious tolerance is not about political posturing. It is a serious religious obligation. They must be a force against all intolerance, even that promoted in the guise of tolerance.
http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=39526