PROPHET MUHAMMAD 'S PROMISE TO CHRISTIANS
Category:
Common Interest - Religion & Spirituality
Description:
Dr.
Muqtedar Khan
Muslims and Christians together constitute
over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will
be half way to world peace. One small step that we can take towards
fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive
stories and abstain from mutual demonization.
In this
article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a
promise that Prophet ...Muhammed
(pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have
enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims
generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice
it in their lives.
In
628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to
Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by
granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its
entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of
Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a
huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican,
and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of
Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has
remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.
*
The Promise to St. Catherine:
"This
is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who
adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily
I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because
Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything
that displeases them.
No
compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed
from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to
destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything
from it to the Muslims' houses.
Should
anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey
His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter
against all that they hate.
No
one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The
Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a
Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to
be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to
be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them
nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No
one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last
Day (end of the world)."
The
first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make
the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are
with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future
attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering
Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again
undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights
are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his
allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating
God’s covenant.
A
remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on
Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are
Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not
have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This
is a charter of rights without any duties!
The
document is not a modern human rights treaty but even though it was
penned in 628 A.D., it clearly protects the right to property,
freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.
I
know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is
simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians
focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when
resources such as Muhammad’s promise to Christians are invoked
and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above
communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might
be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.
When
I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of
religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a
better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres
in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we
deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of
us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of
appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other
peoples.
--
Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of
Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and
Understanding.See
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I HOPE THIS WILL BE A SOURCE OF UNITING US.