Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book”

1. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book” Hz. Adam repented against error. God forgave him. Therefore, there is no sin in Islam Instance. Are all born innocent until puberty.

2. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book TheQur’ancommonlyadvocatestolerance, respect, andgoodwilltowardsthe People of theBook. Forexample, MümtehineSura 60:8 declares: “Goddoes not forbidyou, as regardsthosewho do not makewaragainstyou on account of yourReligion, nordriveyouawayfromyourhomes, to be kindlytothem, andacttowardsthemwithequity. Godsurelylovesthescrupulouslyequitable”

3. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book Inadditiontoadvocatingtolerance, theQur’anpraisesthe People of theBook. In Enbiya Suresi Sura 21:7, theyarereferredto as “People of Knowledge” (ahl al-dhikr) andverses Al-i İmran: 113-15 declare: 

4. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book Yet, theyare not allalike: amongthe People of theBook, there is an uprightcommunity, recitingGod’sRevelations in thewatches of thenightandprostrating (themselves in worship). Theybelieve in GodandtheLastDay, andenjoinandpromotewhat is rightandgood, andforbidandtrytopreventevil, andhastento do gooddeeds, as ifcompetingwithoneanother. Thoseare of therighteousones. Whatevergoodthey do, theywillnever be deniedthereward of it; andGod has fullknowledge of theGod-revering, pious.

5. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book This sura provides an example of how theQur’anrecognizesthatthe People of theBookworshipthesameGod as Muslims. Thisrecognition of a commonground is repeated in otherverses, such as Al-i İmran 3:64, whichcommands: Say (tothem, O Messenger): “O People of theBook, cometo a wordcommonbetween us andyou, thatweworshipnone but God, andassociatenone as partner withHim, andthatnone of us takeothersforLords, apart fromGod.”

6. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book Anotherimplication in Sura 3:115 is thatthe People of theBookwill be rewarded. A general theme in theQur’an is thatthose People of theBookwhoaccepttawhidwillhavesalvation. Forexample, Bakara Suresi Sura 2:62 states:Thosewhobelieve (Muslims), theJews, theChristians, andtheSabaeans, whosoeverbelieve in GodandtheLastDayand do gooddeeds, theyshallhavetheirrewardfromtheirLord, shallhavenothingtofear, norshalltheycometogrief.

7. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book IntheQur’an, Jews, andChristiansarereferredto as Ahl al-kitab, meaning “the People of theBook.” TheQur’anmakesdistinctionsbetweenthe People of theBook. ManyversesacknowledgethattherearebothwrongdoersandrighteousonesamongthemWheretheQur’ancriticizesthe People of theBook, it generallymakesclearthat it is referringonlytothosewho do not adheretothemessage of theProphets (tawhid):

8. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book Thosewhopersistentlydisbelievefromamongthe People of theBookandthepolytheistswould not abandonuntilthere had cometothemtheClearEvidence … Surelythosewhodisbelievefromamongthe People of theBookandfromamongthepolytheistswill be in the fire of Hell a seed of whichunbeliefbears, abidingtherein. (98:1, 6)

9. Qur’anic doctrine about the “People of the Book Someversesthatcriticizethe People of theBookwithoutmaking a distinctionareopentovariousinterpretations. Forexample, Maide Suresi Sura 5:55 states: “Oh believers, take not JewsandChristians as friends; they’refriends of eachother. Whoso of youmakesthem as friends is one of them.” Said Nursi suggeststhatthe verse mayrefertoparticulargroups of JewsandChristianswhocommittedtreacheryduringthedays of theMedina Charter. Nursi pointsoutthat at the time of theProphet, peoplehatedandlovedeachothersolely on thebasis of religion, socloserelationshipswithnon-Muslimswereconsideredhypocritical. As thebasisforfriendships has changed, hypocrisy in thisrespect is nolonger an issue.

10. Anotherreasonwhysuchversesshould be interpretedbroadlyratherthanliterally is becausesome of thewordsused in theiroriginalArabicformsareambiguous. Inthis verse, thewordforfriend (wali) can meanguardian. ThesentencemightmeanthatMuslimscannotmakeJewsorChristianstheirguardians. Insomeverses, the People of theBookarereferredto as kafir, meaningeither “onewhodeniestheexistence of God” or “onewhodeniestheprophethood of Muhammad.” Non-Muslimsare not necessarilykafirs in thefirst sense of theword.

11. Tolerance in Practice TheProphetMuhammad (peaceandblessings be uponhim) protectedanddefendedthe People of theBook. Inthehadithby Al-Munawi, he is quoted as saying: “Whowrongs a JeworChristianwillhavemyself as his prosecutor on theday of Judgement.” In Al-Bayhaqi’shadith he is quoted: “Whosoeverpersecuted a dhimmi [non-Muslimwhopaid a protectiontax] orusurped his rights, ortookworkfromhimbeyond his capacity, ortooksomethingfromhimwithout his permission, I shall be a complainantagainsthim on theDay of Resurrection.” Al-Bukharitells of how Muhammadwould not excludeJewishpeoplewhen he visitedthesick. On oneoccasion, when a Jewishfuneralprocessionpassedbyhim, he stoodupout of respect, andwhenaskedwhy, replied: “Is it not a humansoul?”

12. Tolerance in Practice TheProphet’srespectforthe People of theBookwas an exampletoothersduring his time. One of his companions, Hizam b. Hakim, reproachedtheGovernor of Syriawhen he saw a group of group of Christiansstandingout in the hot sun as punishmentfor not payingtheirtaxes.Said Nursi alsoadvocatedtolerance, affirmingthatMuslimsandnon-MuslimsareequalbeforeQur’aniclaw, andthatpeopleshould be praisedandlovedbased on theirindividualattributes

13. Dhimmilawandjizya SoonaftertheHijra (themigration of theProphettoMedina), theProphetsigned a pactwiththelocaltribes of Medina. Famouslyknown as theMedina Charter, theProphetaimed at generating a peaceful, pluralistsociety in thistown, whichwastorn apart withdecades-longcivilstrifeandbloodshed. However, whenthispactwasviolatedbysomeJewishtribeswhosupportedtheMeccansagainstMuslims, Jewswereeventuallydrivenout. Yet cooperationwasrenewedwhentheProphetconcluded a treatywiththeJews of Khaibar.

14. Dhimmilawandjizya Under an Islamicgovernment, dhimmilawwasdeveloped in relationswiththe People of theBookwhichrequiredthemto pay a polltax, orjizya, which is sanctioned in theQur’an (9:29).Inexchange, Muslimswereresponsiblefortheprotection of the People of theBook in theirsociety. Duringthereign of thesecondCaliph, theGovernor of Homs (in modern-daySyria) returnedthepolltaxto his Christiansubjectsbecause he realized he could not protectthemagainsttheByzantinearmy

15. Dhimmilawandjizya Thepoliciessurroundingjizyawererelativelyfair. Under a Muslimgovernment, non-Muslimswere not requiredto pay zakat (prescribedcharity), whichwas a legal andreligiousrequirementforMuslims. Furthermore, thepoor, theblind, theelderly, therescueworkers at thehouses of worship, womenandchildrenwereallexemptfromjizya. If it was not paid, themaximumpunishmentwasimprisonment, andif a persondiedwithouthavingpaid it, it could not become a debttransferredto his estateorheirs

16. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook Muslims, Jews, andChristianssocializedamongoneanotherregularlyandratherfreely in theIslamicMiddleAges, creatingbonds. Forexample, they met in publicbaths, andbusinesspartnershipsbetweenMuslimsandnon-Muslimsoccurreddespitedisapproval of someauthorities. SomeMuslimseventookpart in ChristianandJewishreligiouscelebrations. JewsandChristians had manyampleopportunities in daily life “tocrossbarriers in thehierarchy of Islamicsociety”. Dhimmisenjoyedacceptance in intellectualcircles (majalis) andstudiedwithMuslims at universities, particularlyduringthe “renaissance of Islam” in cosmopolitantenth-centuryBaghdad. Cohenstatesthat “Jewishphysicianswerefound in Arabsociety in numbersdisproportionatetotheJewish presence in thepopulation at large … Theyalsoformedpart of theinterdenominationalcircle of physiciansworking in statehospitalsandadorningMuslimcourts”

17. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook IntheearlyAbbasidperiod, MuslimsandChristiantheologiansfrequentlycorrespondedbysendingletterstoeachother, or in debates. Althoughthedialoguewasconcernedwithbothpartiestryingtoprovethesuperiority of theirreligionovertheother, it wasneverthelessconstructiveandmeaningful

18. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook Life in Spain (al Andalus) between 711 and 1492 is a prime example of harmoniouscoexistencebetweenMuslims, Jews, andChristians. JewsandChristiansenjoyedparticipation in Arabculturalactivities, such as poetrycompetitionsandintellectualcircles

19. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook In 1856, fullegalitarianrightsweregiventoallcitizens of theOttomanEmpire. Citizens of anyreligioncould be acceptedintogovernment service andenroll in militaryandstateschools

20. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook InstudyingtheQur’an, it is evidentthatIslam is inherentlytolerant of JudaismandChristianity. ItrequiresMuslimstorespectthevalidity of theScriptures of the People of theBook, andtheirrightto be treatedwithkindness. Thepractice of theProphet is consistentwiththisview as is theexample of manyinfluentialMuslimsthroughouthistory, such as Said Nursi and Rumi. Intoday’sworld of pluralismandmulticulturalism, understanding is essentialforadherents of differentreligionstocoexist in peaceandharmony. Muslims, Jews, andChristiansmustunderstandthetolerantmessage of IslamandthegreatMuslim role models.

21. InteractionbetweenMuslimsandthe People of theBook Exclusivefocus on seeminglynegativeQur’anicversessuch as 5:55, withoutunderstandingthecontext, can leadtofearandhatred. Theymustembracetheirsimilaritiestoseethattheyarebrethren, andembracetheirdifferences as a chanceforlearning. Amidstthetwentiethandtwenty-firstcenturyconflictsbetweentheIslamic World andthe West, onemightseepeacefulcoexistencebetweenreligiousgroups as idealistic. But oneneedsonlytolook at theexperience of JewsandChristiansunderIslamicrule in theMiddleAgestoseethatreligiouspluralism is possible.