Al-kitab Meaning
Maryanna Vernia
Historically, the religious communities recognized by Muslims as People of the Book were subject to the legal status known as dhimma ('protection'), meaning that they were allowed to practice their faith and to govern their community according to the rules and norms of their own religion, in return for paying a special head tax called the jizya.[5]
In Islamic law, Muslim men are permitted to marry women who are People of the Book; however, Muslim women are prevented from marrying men who are People of the Book.[7] In the case of a Muslim-Christian marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Christian woman should not be prevented from attending church for prayer and worship.[8][9]
When used in conjunction with a person, the term ahl identifies the members of that person's household, including their fellow tribesmen, relatives and all those who share a family background with them. However, it may also be used with place names to refer to people living in a certain locality (e.g., ahl al-Madīna in Quran 9:101, 'the people of Medina'), or with more abstract nouns, as in ahl madhhab, 'the people of a certain madhhab or school of thought'.[11]
The word kitāb, meaning 'writing' or 'book', occurs very often in the Quran, generally in the sense of a divine rather than a human activity, which consists in writing down and recording everything that is created. More than just referring to a 'book', it conveys meanings of divine knowledge, divine authority, and divine revelation.[12]
The term ahl al-kitāb, then, refers to those who have been given access to such knowledge and revelation:[13] they are the people to whom God has 'sent down' (see tanzīl) his wisdom by means of a prophet, as an act of divine grace.[14] However, the revelations given to the People of the Book, taking the form of the Torah (al-Tawrāt), the Psalms (al-Zabūr), and the Gospel (al-Injīl),[6] were all partial, and it is precisely by already being familiar with the books (kutub) previously sent down that the People of the Book were expected to be able to recognize Muhammad as a prophet, and the Quran as the final and most complete revelation.[15]
Sūrat al-Baqara 2:62 is similar to this,[18] but there is also a verse (Sūrat al-Ḥajj 22:17) which lists the same groups in another context, that of how God will judge them on the Day of Resurrection, but now adding two more groups to the list:[19]
The Quran emphasizes the community of faith between possessors of monotheistic scriptures, and occasionally pays tribute to the religious and moral virtues of communities that have received earlier revelations, calling on Muhammad to ask them for information.[6] More often, reflecting the refusal of Jews and Christians in Muhammad's environment to accept his message, the Quran stresses their inability to comprehend the message they possess but do not put into practice and to appreciate that Muhammad's teaching fulfills that message.[6]
According to Islamic studies scholar Yvonne Haddad, this short chapter condemns all those who reject the 'clear proof' (bayyina) of the Prophet to the eternal fire of hell, whether they are People of the Book or disbelievers (kuffār).[25]
The Ashtiname of Muhammad, a treaty purportedly made between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Christians of Saint Catherine's Monastery, stated that if a Muslim man wished to marry a Christian woman, marriage could only occur with her consent and she must be permitted to continue attending church to pray and worship.[9] The Ashtiname states that Christians cannot be forced to fight in wars and that Muslims should fight on their behalf; it also states that Christian churches are to be respected and forbids stealing from them.[9] The Ashtiname forbids Muslims to remove Christians from their jobs, including those who serve as judges or monks.[9] Muslims are bound until the Last Judgment to adhere to the treaty or "he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet."[9] The policy of the Ottoman Sultans abided by the Ashtiname.[9]
Islamic scholars differ on whether Hindus are People of the Book.[35] The Islamic conquest of India necessitated the definition be revised, as most India's inhabitants were followers of the Indian religions. Many of the Muslim clergy of India considered Hindus as people of the book,[35] and from Muhammad bin Qasim in the Umayyad era to the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in the 17th century, Muslim rulers were willing to consider Hindus as People of the Book.[36]
Dhimmi is a historical[37] term referring to the status accorded to People of the Book living in an Islamic state.[37] The word literally means "protected person."[38] According to scholars, dhimmis had their rights fully protected in their communities, but as citizens in the Islamic state, had certain restrictions,[39] and it was obligatory for them to pay the jizya tax, which complemented the zakat, or alms, paid by the Muslim subjects.[40] Dhimmis were excluded from specific duties assigned to Muslims, and did not enjoy certain political rights reserved for Muslims, but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation.[41][42][43]
Under sharia, the dhimmi communities were usually subjected to their own special laws, rather than some of the laws which were applicable only to the Muslim community. For example, the Jewish community in Medina was allowed to have its own Halakhic courts,[44] and the Ottoman millet system allowed its various dhimmi communities to rule themselves under separate legal courts. These courts did not cover cases that involved religious groups outside of their own community, or capital offences. Dhimmi communities were also allowed to engage in certain practices that were usually forbidden for the Muslim community, such as the consumption of alcohol and pork.[45][46][47]
Historically, dhimmi status was originally applied to Jews, Christians, and Sabians. This status later also came to be applied to Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.[48][49][50] Moderate Muslims generally reject the dhimma system as inappropriate for the age of nation-states and democracies.[51]
In Judaism, the term "People of the Book" (Hebrew: עם הספר, Am HaSefer)[52] has been reappropriated as a term to designate the Jewish people, in reference to the Torah or to the entire Hebrew Bible.[53] Members of some Christian denominations have also embraced the term "People of the Book" in reference to themselves, foremost among them the Puritans[54] as well as the Seventh-day Adventist Church[55][better source needed] and the Baptists.[56][better source needed]
The term ahl al-kitab, or people of the book, refers to followers of scripture-possessing religions that predate the Quran, most often Jews and Christians. In some situations other religious groups, such as Zoroastrians and Hindus, have been considered to be people of the book. Some Quranic verses also reference the Sabeans, who are usually understood to be one of several gnostic Judeo-Christian sects such as the Mandeans, the Elchasaites, or Archontics. Muslims recognize the holy books possessed by the Jews (al-Tawrah: Torah; al-Zabur: Psalms) and Christians (al-Injil: Gospel) as legitimate revelations. However, they believe that some portions of these scriptures were abrogated and superceded by the Quran and the Christians and Jews corrupted others.
Muslim representations of ahl al-kitab in hadith and early juristic literature demonstrate an increased familiarity with Jewish and Christian beliefs and practices, because the people of the book initially represented the majority population in the expanded Muslim empire. On the whole, this literature presents ahl al-kitab in a negative light. Many hadiths seem concerned about their undue influence and warn Muslims not to imitate them. Hadith literature also lays the groundwork for the practice of assigning protected status (known as dhimmi status) to people of the book who submitted to Muslim political authority. This arrangement made it possible for Jews and Christians to practice their faiths while living in Muslim societies. Although treated as second-class citizens, non-Muslim communities were largely able to coexist peacefully with Muslims for centuries, without experiencing the active persecution that minority religious groups often encountered in Europe.
Islamic literature from the eleventh through eighteenth centuries generally deals with ahl al-kitab within the context of their dhimmi status. Although dhimmis were understood to be inferior to Muslims, some Jews and Christians managed to attain high positions in Islamic states. A few, such as John of Damascus (d. c. 748), even engaged in theological discussions with Muslims. Islamic polemical literature associated with scholars such as Ibn Hazm of Crdoba (d. 1064), Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1148), and al-Ghazali (d. 1111) repeated earlier criticisms of Jews and Christians, posited different theories to explain the corruption of their scriptures, and assigned blame for this calamity to well-known figures such as the Old Testament prophet Ezra, the Christian apostle Paul, and the Byzantine emperor Constantine. The people of the book were also accused of concealing biblical prophecies foretelling the coming of Muhammad and the triumph of Islam. Sufi works, such as the poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi, look to Jesus and other biblical saints as models but contain similar criticisms of Jews and Christians. All these texts reflect a belief in Muhammad as the bearer of God's crowning revelation, supplanting the partial revelations of the biblical Scriptures.
During modern times, substantial changes in the relationship between the Islamic world and the West led to shifts in Muslim attitudes toward the people of the book. From the early 1800s, Islamic modernists acknowledged that Muslims could learn some things from the "Christian" West, but they continued to assert Islam's superiority as a religious system. Colonizing European states attempted to impose Western values upon Islamic populations, but westernizing Muslim governments failed to achieve the promised prosperity. With the breakdown of the dhimmi system and the rise of nationalism, ethnic and religious violence has erupted throughout the Muslim world. This is most noticeable in the region of Palestine, where many Muslims see the establishment of Israel as a Western colonial project. During the late twentieth century, Islamic revivalists (or "Islamists") increased their influence and largely rejected the "compromises" of the modernists. The Islamists advocate a return to the glorious Islamic civilization of the past, with its division of the world into dar al-islam and dar al-harb ("house of war"; i.e., that part of the world not ruled by Islamic government) and returning non-Muslim minorities to their former dhimmi status.
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