Islam and its position towards non-Muslims

 

Islam’s respect for all divine religions:
Islam respects all divine religions, and Allah Almighty sent our Master Muhammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, as the seal of the prophets and messengers, and confirming all the messengers who came before him. Allah Almighty revealed the Holy Quran to His Messenger as an explanation of everything and confirming the books that came before it, and as a guardian and trustworthy guardian over them.
Among the elements of faith is belief in all previous messengers and in all heavenly books. God Almighty said:
{ The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in God and His angels and His books and His messengers. We make no distinction between any of His messengers, and they say, “We hear and we obey. Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the final destination. ”} (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 285).
Indeed, the faith of the believer is not correct unless he believes in all previous prophets and believes in what God Almighty revealed to them from the correct heavenly books. God Almighty said:
{ Say, “We believe in God and in what was revealed to us from the Book of God.”} And what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord - We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission ] to Him. (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 136)
As long as every Muslim is commanded to believe in all previous messengers and all heavenly books, he will not have fanaticism, nor hatred for another religion, prophet or messenger, nor hatred or malice towards any of the followers of other religions.
The Qur’an has laid down for its followers what the divine will has decreed since eternity, regarding the differences between people in their beliefs, races and colors, for a wisdom that the All-Wise, All-Aware knows.
Allah the Almighty said:
{ And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community; but they will not cease to differ. Except whom your Lord has given mercy. And for that He created them. And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled: “I will surely fill Hell with jinn and mankind all together.” } (Surat Hud, verses 118-119)
And He the Almighty said:
{ And if your Lord had willed, those on the earth would have believed, all of them together. Then would you compel mankind in order that they become believers ?} (Surat Yunus, verse 118) 99)
Islam does not restrict or force anyone to convert to its faith. God Almighty said:
{{There is no compulsion in religion. The right way has become clear from the wrong way. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. } (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 256)

The position of Islam towards non-Muslims:
It is known that Islam is the religion of peace. It does not command war except in extreme necessity that calls for defense and jihad in the way of Allah. Despite the legitimacy of jihad in the way of Allah in defense of religion, belief, land and honor, war in Islam has limits and controls, and Muslims have their own morals that they adopt even in their war with those who fight them from among the non-Muslims. Islam commanded the preservation of the property of others, and the leaving of monks in their monasteries without Exposure to them, and Islam forbade treachery, betrayal and fraud, as it forbade mutilation of the dead, and the killing of children, women and the elderly, and the burning of palm trees and crops, and the cutting down of fruitful trees. Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, may God be pleased with him, advised Usama bin Zaid when he sent him to the Levant to fulfill the covenant and not to betray or mutilate, and Khalid bin Al-Walid promised the people of Al-Hirah not to demolish their church, nor palace, nor to prevent them from ringing their bells or taking out their crosses on their holidays.
Omar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was merciful to non-Muslims from the People of the Book. He advised Saad bin Abi Waqqas - when he sent him to war against the Persians - to fight far from the People of the Book. He advised him not to take anything from them because they had a covenant and a pact. Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, also gave the people of Ilya security for their money, churches, and crosses, and warned against demolishing their churches. Islam ordered the good treatment of prisoners and feeding them. Allah the Almighty said:
{ And they give food, in spite of their love for it, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive .} (Surat Al-Insan, verse 8).
While non-Muslims treated Muslim prisoners badly, they might kill them, enslave them, or burden them with the most difficult burdens and work. The prisoners of the Battle of Badr were treated by the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, in the best way. He distributed them among the Companions and ordered them to treat them well, so they preferred them over themselves in food and nourishment. When he consulted his companions Regarding the prisoners of Badr, some suggested killing them, and others suggested ransoming them, he agreed to ransom them, and made the ransom of those who could write that each one of them should teach ten Muslim children to read and write, and this was the first measure to eradicate illiteracy.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) did not accept that any of his enemies be mutilated in wars, no matter what his status was. When he was advised to mutilate Suhayl ibn Amr because he was keen on fighting the Muslims and fighting them, he was advised to remove his two lower front teeth so that he would not be able to give a speech after that, the Prophet (PBUH) did not agree to that, but rather refused, saying:
I will not mutilate him, so that Allah may mutilate me, even though I am a prophet.

When Allah, the Most High, fulfilled the wish of His Messenger (PBUH) by conquering Mecca, and he entered it as a victorious, triumphant conqueror, he said to the Quraysh:
“What do you think I will do to you?” They said: “Good, a noble brother and the son of a noble brother.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Go, you are free, no blame upon you today, may Allah forgive me and you.”

Among the directives of Islam to Muslims in war:
1. Fighting should be in the way of Allah.
2. That the fighting be for those who fight the Muslims.
3. Not to be aggressive. God Almighty said:
{{And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors. } (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 190)
So those who transgress against Muslims and fight them, Muslims are commanded to fight them, but it is a just fight in the sense that they do not mutilate anyone and without torture, as Allah Almighty said:
{ The sacred month for the sacred month. And the sacred things are equal in retribution. So whoever transgresses against you, transgress against him in proportion to his transgression against you. And fear Allah and know that Allah is with the righteous .} (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 194)
This is for those who fight Muslims. As for those who do not fight from among the non-Muslims, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, forbade fighting them:
On the authority of Anas, may God be pleased with him, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “ Go forth in the name of God, with God, and according to the religion of the Messenger of God. Do not kill an old man, a young child, or a woman. ” Abu Dawud, vol. 3, p. 86, no. 2614.
In another hadith:
“ Go forth in the name of God and in the path of God. Fight those who disbelieve in God. Do not mutilate, do not betray, do not steal, and do not kill a child. ” Sunan Ibn Majah, vol. 2, p. 953.
He, may God bless him and grant him peace, also forbade attacking monks and monasteries, and mutilating and stealing.
On the authority of Ibn Abbas, he said: When the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent out his armies, he would say: “ Go forth in the name of God. Fight in the path of God those who disbelieve in God. Do not transgress, do not steal, do not mutilate, and do not kill children or monasteries .” Musnad Ahmad, Vol. 1, p. 200

: The position of Islam towards non-Muslims in times of peace:
Islam takes a position of security towards non-Muslims in times of peace. Rather, it does not prohibit treating them kindly as long as they do not fight the Muslims. Rather, it prohibits treating them kindly as long as they fight the Muslims for their religion and expel them from their homes and support their expulsion. Allah, the Most High, says:
{ Allah 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, Allah loves those who act justly.} [8] Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes. {And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." } (Surat Al-Mumtahanah, verses 8-9)
The Holy Qur’an forbade arguing with the People of the Book except in a way that is best. Allah, the Exalted, said:
{ And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.} {
Say,
“ O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords besides Allah.” But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims.”}} (Surat Al Imran, verse 64)
Rather, Islam commanded us to fulfill our covenant even with the polytheists. Allah the Almighty said:
{ Except for those of the polytheists with whom you made a treaty and then they did not fail you in anything nor did they support anyone against you. So fulfill their treaty with them until their term. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous .} (Surat At-Tawbah, verse 4)
Rather, if a polytheist asks a Muslim to protect him, he must protect him and even take him to safety, as Allah the Almighty said:
{ And if any of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear. } {The word of Allah, then convey to him his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know . } (Surat At-Tawbah, verse 6)
Among the ways in which Islam cares for the rights of non-Muslims is its care for their temples and churches. Among its preservation of them is what was narrated by Omar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when the time for prayer came and he was in the Church of the Resurrection, the Patriarch asked Omar to pray there. He was thinking of doing so, but then he apologized and explained that he feared that if he prayed in the church, the Muslims would come and take it from the Christians, claiming that it was their mosque, and they would say: Omar prayed here.
The treatment of Muslims towards non-Muslims did not stop at preserving their money and rights, but Islam was keen throughout its ages to do what the People of the Book and the poor among them need.
Such treatment by Muslims towards non-Muslims informs the entire world that Islam raised its followers to be tolerant, to care for people’s rights, and to have mercy on all people, regardless of their beliefs and races.
Generations of Muslims have preserved the value of this Islamic care for the rights of non-Muslims, because they only applied it in response to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the directives of the great Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. He applied it during his life, and Muslims understood it generation after generation, and applied it from generation to generation, and from generation to generation, from generation to generation, from generation to generation. Here is Abdullah bin Omar : Mujahid narrated: “I was with Abdullah bin Omar, and a young boy had not skinned a sheep, so he said: O Omar, when you skin it, start with our Jewish neighbor, and he said that repeatedly, so he said to him: How often do you say this? He said: The Messenger of God kept recommending us to the neighbor until we feared that he would make him an inheritor.”


This is Islam .

The care of Islamic legislation included everyone who lives under its shadow..
and made the relationship between Muslims and others of other religions ideal, especially the People of the Book..
as it ordered Muslims to be just and kind to them , permitted marriage to them, forbade injustice , and ordered spending on those of them who became elderly..

As for what is being raised about the jizya, it is a very small amount that cannot be compared to the zakat imposed on Muslims.
It has its reason, which is to protect the People of the Covenant from aggression and provide them with security.
If the Muslims are unable to provide this protection, they return their money to them, and history bears witness to that.

His Eminence Professor Dr. Ahmed Al-Sharbasi, Professor at Al-Azhar University, may God have mercy on him, says:

The argument of those who do not want to implement Sharia law is the oppression of the People of the Covenant.

Perhaps the most honorable of the cries that have been heard in our country in recent days is the call to implement the pure Islamic Sharia, because it is the Sharia of truth, the Sharia of justice, the Sharia of God, and God - Blessed and Exalted be He - is the most knowledgeable about the interests of His servants, and the most knowledgeable about what will make them happy in this world and the hereafter: (The dye of God - and who is better than God at dyeing? And we are to Him in worship.) (Al-Baqarah: 138)

Perhaps the most prominent obstacle that the ignorant or the malicious use as an excuse is the repeated, speculative question about the fate of the People of the Covenant who do not profess Islam in the face of this application. If these people knew the truth, they would realize that applying the pure Sharia would be better for the People of the Covenant than a life dominated by turning away from God’s Sharia and atheism in His verses. Islam is more merciful to the People of the Covenant than any other system, because it is the religion of justice, tolerance, and fairness, and it came with lofty ideals and sublime principles in this area.

Human brotherhood is an Islamic principle.
Islam firstly states that all people are bound together by a bond of unity of human origin, systems and human brotherhood. The Holy Quran says at the beginning of Surat An-Nisa:(O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.) (Verse: 1).
It also states freedom of belief without coercion or arbitrariness, saying:(There is no compulsion in religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong.) (Al-Baqarah256)
And he says in disapproval:(Do you then compel people until they become believers?) (Yunus: 99).
He also says:(So whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve) (Al-Kahf: 29)

The People of the Covenant live in complete freedom like Muslims.
The People of the Covenant are the People of the Book who agreed to live among Muslims in peace, whether Jews or Christians, and to pay the jizya that is due to them to protect and defend them, while maintaining their religion and practicing their rituals.

Islam has established its ideal golden rule for dealing with the People of the Covenant - the covenant is the covenant, guarantee and security - as the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - said: “They have what we have and they are subject to what we are subject to.”

Islam expanded its justice and virtue, and established more than one bond for good relations between Muslims and the People of the Book. God Almighty said:
(This day [all] good foods have been made lawful to you. The food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, chaste, not fornicating nor taking [other] lovers. And whoever disbelieves in faith, his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.)
(Al-Ma'idah: 5)

Kindness and benevolence towards the People of the Covenant.

The Qur’an has decided in its decisive verses that the relationship of affection is the basis between Muslims and those who differ from them in religion, if there is no aggression or tyranny. Rather, Islam urged its followers to treat those who differ in religion and are peaceful with kindness and justice. The Qur’an said:
“ Allah 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, Allah loves those who act justly. Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and support each other in expelling you - from acting justly toward them. (Befriend them, and whoever befriends them - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.)(Al-Mumtahanah: 8-9)

The hadith of our Master the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - comes to say: “Whoever wrongs a covenantor or burdens him beyond his capacity, I will be his opponent,” meaning I will argue with him and overcome him by showing him the argument.

The Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - honored the relationship between the Islamic community that he was guiding and the Copts of Egypt, so he married Maria the Egyptian Copt, and he recommended good to the Copts and informed them that “they are related by blood and marriage.”

The reality of the jizya and the basis for its imposition..

If Islam imposed a small portion of money on the People of the Book to be taken in the name of the jizya, it imposed greater and broader consequences on the Muslims..

However, he exempted women, children, the poor, monks, and the disabled from paying this part. The jizya is not collected from a woman, a girl, a boy, a poor person, an old man, a blind person, a lame person, a monk, or a person with a mental disorder. Rather, Islam increased its virtue by undertaking to provide for the elderly and disabled among the People of the Covenant.

This is the fifth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Omar bin Abdul Aziz, writing to Adi bin Artah, his governor in Basra: “As for what follows, God - Glory be to Him - has only ordered that the jizya be taken from those who have abandoned Islam and have chosen disbelief out of obstinacy and manifest loss. So impose the jizya on those who can bear it, and leave them to cultivate the land, for in that is the improvement of the livelihood of the Muslims and strength against their enemy. And look at those of the People of the Covenant who have grown old, their strength has weakened, and their earnings have turned away, then give them from the treasury of the Muslims what will improve them. If a man from the Muslims has a slave who has grown old, their strength has weakened, and their earnings have turned away, it is his right to support him until death or emancipation separates them. This is because it has reached me that the Commander of the Faithful Omar - meaning Omar bin Al-Khattab - passed by an old man from the people of the covenant. The covenant, asking at people’s doors, he said: “We have not been fair to you, if we took the jizya from you in your youth, then neglected you in your old age.” Then he gave him from the public treasury what would fix him.

The jizya was not a punishment from the Muslims for the dhimmi’s failure to convert to Islam, as attested by an English orientalist researcher, Sir Thomas Arnold, author of the book “The Call to Islam,” in which he says: “The purpose of imposing this tax - meaning the jizya - on the Christians, as some researchers would have us believe, was not a form of punishment for their refusal to accept Islam. Rather, they paid it with the rest of the dhimmis, who were non-Muslim subjects of the state, whose religion prevented them from serving in the army in exchange for the protection that the swords of the Muslims guaranteed them.”

When the people of Al-Hirah presented the agreed-upon money, they explicitly stated that they had only paid this tribute on the condition that “they and their emir would prevent us from oppressing Muslims and others.” Likewise, it happened that Khalid recorded in the treaty that he concluded with some of the people of the cities neighboring Al-Hirah his saying: “If we prevent you, then we have the tribute, and if not, then not.”

Returning the Jizya when security is not achieved.. and a unique position..

The extent of the Muslims’ explicit recognition of this condition can be judged from the incident that occurred during the rule of Caliph Omar.. When Emperor Heraclius mobilized a huge army to repel the occupying Muslim forces, it was necessary for the Muslims, as a result of what happened, to focus all their activity on the battle that surrounded them. When Abu Ubaidah, the leader of the Arabs, learned of this, he wrote to the workers of the conquered cities in the Levant ordering them to return to them what had been collected from the Jizya from these cities. He wrote to the people saying: “We have only returned your money to you because we have been informed of what has been collected for us from the crowds and that you have stipulated that we protect you and we are not able to do that. We have returned to you what we took from you and we are yours on the condition, and what we have written between us and you if God grants us victory over you.”..

Thus, huge sums of state money were returned, so the Christians prayed for blessings for the Muslim leaders, and said: “May God return you to us and grant you victory over them (i.e. over the Romans), for if it had been them, they would not have returned anything to us and would have taken everything that remained to us.”

The amount of the jizya..

Imam Abu Yusuf says in his book: “Al-Kharaj” about the amount of the jizya:
“The jizya is only obligatory on the men among them, not the women and children..And on the wealthy it is forty-eight dirhams, and on the middle class it is twenty-four, and on the needy plowman who works with his hand it is twelve dirhams, and this is taken from them every year, and if they bring goods it is accepted from them, such as animals and goods and other than that, and this is taken from them at its value..And no dead animal, pigs or wine are taken from them in the jizya.”

This means that Islam demands the jizya according to one’s ability, and allows it to be paid in cash or in kind. This is what Omar ibn al-Khattab said: “Whoever cannot afford the jizya, make it easier for him, and whoever is unable, help him, for we do not want them for a year or two.”

The Islamic state often delayed the date of collecting the jizya until the crops ripened, so that the dhimmis could pay it without being burdened by that. Abu Ubaidah explains the wisdom of the delay by saying:
“The reason for the delay is the yield (the crop) in order to be merciful to them...”

Indeed, Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab accepted from the Christians of “Taghlib” that they pay what was due from them without calling it a jizya, but rather he accepted from them calling it alms, and therefore historians narrated their saying: Omar used to give the alms of the Banu Taghlib - which is a Christian Arab tribe - to their poor without adding it to the treasury.

History has spoken and said: Al-Nu’man spoke with Omar and said to him: O Commander of the Faithful, the Banu Taghlib are an Arab people who are reluctant to pay the jizya, and they do not have money. They are only owners of crops and livestock, and they are able to harm the enemy, so do not help your enemy against them. So Omar ibn al-Khattab made peace with them on the condition that he doubled the alms tax on them.

It can be said that the conditions of our society have now changed a lot, so that all the citizens of the country participate in defending it and in paying taxes, and in light of this change, many aspects of this issue can be treated.

In short, the application of the pure Islamic Sharia is a guarantee for the People of the Covenant, as justice, tolerance, righteousness and fairness are available to them under its shadow.

God knows best