Islam and Other Religions

[Muslims Are Good Folks]

Islam and Other Religions

By Prof. Shahul Hameed

[Say: We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what
was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in
(the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord:
We make no distinction between one and another.] (Aal `Imran 3:84)

As is borne out by this command of God in the Qur’an, Muslims must
believe in all the prophets of God previously sent to humanity. This
means that they are not permitted to show any disrespect to any
prophet or to the religion he taught to his followers. To a Muslim,
religious belief must come out of a person’s free choice, as God has
also commanded not to use any kind of coercion in the matter of
religion:

[Let there be no compulsion in religion, truth stands out clear from
error.] (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

It is the conviction of a religion’s adherents, not the compulsion
they can impose on others, that establishes its moral force on earth.
This was a principle evident in the life and practice of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be on him) as well as the Constitution of Madinah
which he drew up with the multi-religious community of Madinah.

This document guaranteed the freedom of worship to all religious
communities. This was the spirit of the Qur’an that shines into the
hearts of all its perceptive readers: the spirit of tolerance and
understanding. Allah says in the Qur’an that He has made people into
nations and tribes so that they can know and deal with each other in
an equal temper of kindness and generosity:

[O humankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and female,
and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know and deal with
each other in kindness (not that you may despise each other). Verily
the most honored of you in the sight of God (is he who is) the most
righteous of you, and God is Knower, Aware.] (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

The above verse emphasizes the point that in Islam there is no place
for intolerance, prejudice, or bigotry based on color, race,
nationality or any such considerations. This all-encompassing
tolerance of Islam applies to all elements of life and all affairs of
Muslims.

The Muslim's acceptance of the Jews and Christians (referred to in the
Qur'an as People of the Book) as authentic religious communities is
made clear:

[And dispute not with the People of the Book, except with means better
(than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict
wrong and injury. ] (Al-`Ankabut 29:46).

This verse tells Muslims that they should take all measures to avoid
dispute, anger or other negative feelings between themselves and
others.

A Historical Context

In his book, More in Common Than You Think: Bridge Between Islam and
Christianity, Dr. William Baker explains how Muslims view the Torah
and the New Testament as inspired revelations of God and how Islam
neither targeted the Jews nor Judaism.

In his article "The Prophet of Islam and the Jews: Basis of Conduct,
Acceptance, Respect and Cooperation", Fysal Burhan quotes Dr. Baker:
"It is a fact of history that when the Jews were being persecuted in
Europe during the middle ages they found peace, harmony, and
acceptance among the Muslim people of Spain. In fact, this was the era
of Jewish history that they themselves refer to as "the golden age."

Marmaduke Pickthall, whose translation of the meanings of the Qur'an
remains one of the most popular today, also commented on the subject:

In Spain under the Umayyads and in Baghdad under the Abbasid Khalifas,
Christians and Jews, equally with Muslims, were admitted to the
Schools and universities - not only that, but were boarded and lodged
in hostels at the cost of the state. When the Moors were driven out of
Spain, the Christian conquerors held a terrific persecution of the
Jews. Those who were fortunate enough to escape fled, some of them to
Morocco and many hundreds to the Turkish empire, where their
descendants still live in separate communities, and still speak among
themselves an antiquated form of Spanish. The Muslim empire was a
refuge for all those who fled from persecution by the Inquisition.

The Western Christians, till the arrival of the Encyclopaedists in the
eighteenth century, did not know and did not care to know, what the
Muslim believed, nor did the Western Christian seek to know the views
of Eastern Christians with regard to them. The Christian Church was
already split in two, and in the end, it came to such a pass that the
Eastern Christians, as Gibbon shows, preferred Muslim rule, which
allowed them to practice their own form of religion and adhere to
their peculiar dogmas, to the rule of fellow Christians who would have
made them Roman Catholics or wiped them out…

If Europe had known as much of Islam, as Muslims knew of Christendom,
in those days, those mad, adventurous, occasionally chivalrous and
heroic, but utterly fanatical outbreak known as the Crusades could not
have taken place, for they were based on a complete misapprehension…

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 and
other evidences of the highest culture. Before the coming of Islam it
had never been preached as an essential part of religion.” (Madras
Lectures on Islam)

The Prophet's Pluralistic Constitution

The Qur’an never claimed to teach a new religion. It consistently
contextualized the Prophet Muhammad as being the final messenger in a
long line of messengers from Allah confirming the truth of all earlier
scriptures. This continuity is clear in the respect the Prophet showed
to people of other religions.

Muhammad's mission was to restore the pure religion of Noah, Abraham,
Moses, David and Jesus. The Islamic view of earlier religions is clear
from the following verses of the Qur’an:

[The same religion has He established for you as that which He
enjoined on Noah--which We have sent by inspiration to thee (O
Muhammad)--and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus…
Call (them to the Faith), and stand steadfast as thou art commanded,
follow not thou their vain desires; but say: "I believe in whatever
Book Allah has sent down; and I am commanded to judge justly between
you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord: for us (is the responsibility
for) our deeds, and for you for your deeds. There is no contention
between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and to Him is (our)
final goal.] (Ash-Shura 42:13 & 15)

It was in the year 622 CE that the Prophet came to Madinah after a
period of thirteen years of preaching Islam to the Quraish tribe in
Makkah. In Madinah he found many who were ready to receive him and
help him in his mission. At that time, the city of Madinah and its
surrounding area was home to many Jewish and Arab tribes. There were
also people of various racial and national origins including Romans,
Persians and Ethiopians living in Madinah.

Taking into consideration the hopes and aspirations of this community
of multi-religious background, the Prophet Muhammad drew up the basic
principles of a pluralistic constitution. In addition, it established
the rights and equality of every citizen before the law, as well as
freedom of religion, trade and speech. The constitution spelled out
the political rights and duties of both the Jews and Muslims to
protect each other from every threat to their security and to uphold
moral conduct and fair dealing.

Part of the constitution reads as follows:

The Jews of Banu `Awf are one nation with the Muslims; the Jews have
their religion and the Muslims have theirs, their freedmen and their
persons shall be protected except those who behave unjustly or
sinfully, for they hurt but themselves and their families. The same
applies to the Jews of Banu an-Najjar, Banu al-Harith, Banu Sa'idah,
Banu Jusham, Banu al-Aws, Banu Tha'labah, and the Jafnah, clan of the
Tha'labah and Banu al-Shua'ibah. Doing good deeds is a protection
against sinfulness. …….There is no responsibility except for one's own
deeds….This document shall not constitute any protection for the
unjust or the wrongdoers. Whoever goes out to fight or stays at home
is safe in the city, unless he has committed an injustice or a crime.
God is the protector of whoever honors his commitment to this
document, and is God-fearing and so is Muhammad, the Messenger of
God. (Ibn Hisham)

The Constitution of Madinah was a historical document authored and
dictated by Prophet Muhammad as the law of a land inhabited by
different ethnic groups and nationalities. The document secured and
promoted cooperation and fraternity among all people of any creed,
color, ethnicity, and lineage, and set down the criterion of
righteousness as the base of distinction.

A Human Soul

In addition to the legislation that the Prophet laid down in Madinah,
he also practiced the spirit of acceptance and respect for those who
were different in his daily life. The Prophet used to visit the sick
people among the Jews as well as the Muslims; and when on one occasion
the funeral procession of a Jew passed before him, he stood up as a
sign of respect for the deceased. “Why did you stand up for a Jewish
funeral?” he was asked. The Prophet replied: "Is it not a human
soul?" (Al-Bukhari)

In this age of racial profiling and targeted killings directed at
Muslims this attitude of the Prophet may sound other-worldly.

Works Cited:

Burhan, Fysal."The Prophet of Islam and the Jews: Basis of Conduct,
Acceptance, Respect and Cooperation". last accessed March 26, 2006.

Pickthall, Marmaduke Muhammad. "Madras Lectures on Islam". 1927.


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Professor Shahul Hameed is a consultant to the Reading Islam Website.
He also held the position of the President of the Kerala Islamic
Mission, Calicut, India. He is the author of three books on Islam
published in the Malayalam language. His books are on comparative
religion, the status of women, and science and human values.

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