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3 Rightsofminorities

Islamic law grants non-Muslim minorities rights and privileges that are not found in other legal systems, emphasizing kindness and justice towards them. Key rights include freedom of belief, protection of life and property, and state support in times of need. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad highlight the importance of ensuring justice and safeguarding the rights of non-Muslims within the Islamic community.

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16 views4 pages

3 Rightsofminorities

Islamic law grants non-Muslim minorities rights and privileges that are not found in other legal systems, emphasizing kindness and justice towards them. Key rights include freedom of belief, protection of life and property, and state support in times of need. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad highlight the importance of ensuring justice and safeguarding the rights of non-Muslims within the Islamic community.

Uploaded by

hamza.chadhar0149
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RI GH TS OF M I N ORI TI ES I N I SLAM

I n t r odu ct ion

Under t he I slam ic law, non- Muslim m inorit ies received right s and privileges
t hat ot her m inorit ies did not have under any ot her law in any ot her count ry.
The relat ionship bet ween t he Muslim com m unit y and t he non - Muslim
m inorit y is based on Allah's rule t hat says: { Allah forbids you not , wit h
regard t o t hose who fight you not for ( your) Fait h nor drive you out of your
hom es, from dealing kindly and j ust ly wit h t hem : for Allah lovet h t hose who
are j ust .} [ Al- Mum t ahanah: 9] .
This verse has ident ified t he et hical and legal basis, wit h which Muslim s m ust
t reat non- Muslim s, nam ely kindness and j ust ice wit h all t hose who do not
have enm it y against t hem . The hum anit y did not know t hese rules before
I slam . I t lived for cent uries aft er I slam , but suffered t he horrors of lacking
t hem . I t st ill looks forward t o t he day when it can apply t hese rules in
m odern societ ies but t o no avail due t o passion, fanat icism and racism .

M in or it ie s' r igh t t o fr e e dom of be lie f

The I slam ic law has ensured sev eral right s and privileges for non- Muslim
m inorit ies. Perhaps t he m ost im port ant of which is t he freedom of belief,
which is st at ed in Allah's saying: { There is no coercion in religion} [ Al -
Baqarah: 256] . This was also reflect ed in t he Prophet 's ( peace be upon him )
let t er t o t he People of t he Script ure in Yem en where he invit ed t hem t o
Islam. He ( peace be upon him) said: "… and a J ew or a Christian who
em braces I slam becom es one of t he believers, having t heir right s and
dut ies; and t he one who rem ains Jewish or Christ ian should not be forced t o
disband his religion.."

As t he I slam ic law allowed non - Muslim s t o enj oy t he freedom of belief, it


enact ed rules t o preserve t heir lives, on t he ground t hat t hey are hum an
beings who have t he right t o life and exist ence. I n t his regard, t he Prophe t
( peace be upon him ) says: " whoever kills a cont ract ing m an( a non - Muslim
prot ect ed by t he st at e or an agreem ent ) he will not sm ell t he Paradise" .

W a r n in g a ga in st doin g n on - M u slim s in j u st ice

The Prophet ( peace be upon him ) warned against com m it m ent of i nj ust ice
against non- Muslim s and dim inishm ent of t heir right s. He vowed t o be t he
opponent of t heir aggressors. He said: " Beware, if anyone wrongs a
cont ract ing m an, or dim inishes his right , or forces him t o work beyond his
capacit y, or t akes from him anyt hing wit hout his consent , I shall plead for
him on t he Day of Judgm ent ."

One of t he good st ances of t he Prophet ( peace be upon him ) in t his regard is


what happened wit h Al- Ansar in Khaybar, as Abdullah ibn Sahl Al - Ansari
( May Allah be pleased wit h him ) w as killed in t he lands of t he Jews. I t was
m ost ly expect ed t hat one of t he Jews killed him . However, t here was no
evidence. Therefore, t he Prophet ( peace be upon him ) did not punish t he
Jews, but he asked t hem t o t ake an oat h. Sahl ibn Abu Hat hm a ( May Alla h
be pleased wit h him ) narrat ed t hat a num ber of people from his t ribe went
t o Khaybar and dispersed, and t hen t hey found one of t hem m urdered. They
said t o t he people wit h whom t he corpse had been found, " You have killed
our com panion! " Those people said, " Neit her have we killed him , nor do we
know his killer." The bereaved group went t o t he Prophet and said, " O
Allah's Messenger! We went t o Khaybar and found one of us m urdered." The
Prophet said, " Let t he older am ong you com e forward and speak." Then t he
Prophet said, t o t hem , " Bring your proof against t he killer." They said " We
have no proof." The Prophet said, " Then t hey( t he defendant s) will t ake an
oat h." They said, " We do not accept t he oat hs of t he Jews." Allah's
Messenger did not like t hat t he blood- m oney of t he killed one be lost wit hout
com pensation, so he paid one- hundred cam els out of t he cam els of Zakat ( t o
t he relat ives of t he deceased) as Diya ( blood- m oney) .

Here, t he Prophet ( peace be upon him ) did what no one even im agined, as
he him self paid t he blood- m oney from t he funds of Muslim s in order t o calm
down t he anxiet y of Al- Ansar wit hout com m it t ing an inj ust ice against t he
Jews. So, t he I slam ic st at e assum ed t he burden so t hat a suspicious rule
would not be applied t o a Jew!

Pr ot e ct ion of n on - M u slim s' fu n ds

The I slam ic law has guarant eed t he right t o prot ect t he funds of non -
Muslim s. I t prohibit ed t aking or seizing t hese funds unj ust ly t hrough t heft ,
usurpat ion, dam age or any form of inj ust ice. This was practically applied t he
Prophet 's ( peace be upon him ) prom ise t o t he people of Naj ran, as he said:
" The people of Naj ran and t heir surrounding areas would be under t he
prot ect ion of Allah and His Prophet Muham m ad; t heir funds, religion, t rade
and ev ery thing small or big would be also safe… "

Moreover, a non- Muslim m inorit y has t he right t o be guarant eed by t he


I slam ic st at e from t he st at e t reasury – Bayt Al- Mal ( House of funding) – in
case of inabilit y, old age or povert y, as t he Prop het ( peace be upon him )
says: " Everyone of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charge" [ 6] ,
on t he considerat ion t hat t hey are cit izens j ust like Muslim s, and t he st at e is
responsible for all of t hem before Allah ( be He Exalt ed) .

I n t his regard, Abu Ubayd[ 7] narrat ed in his book Al- Am wal ( funds) on t he
aut horit y of Sa'id ibn Al- Musayib[ 8] t hat he said: " The Allah's Messenger
( peace be upon him ) gave alm s t o a Jewish fam ily, so alm s could be given t o
t hem ."

What expresses t he great ness of I slam and t he hum anit y of t he I slam ic


civilizat ion in t his regard is t he st ory m ent ioned in t he Sunnah ( Prophet 's
t radit ions) books. The st ory says a funeral procession passed in front of t he
Prophet ( peace be upon him ) and he st ood up. When he was t old t hat it was
a funeral of a Jew, he said, " I s it not a living being ( soul) ?"

These were t he right s of non - Muslim m inorit ies in I slam and t he I slam ic
civilizat ion. The rule is t o respect every hum an being as long as he/ she does
not com m it inj ust ice or enm it y.

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