Religious Tolerance

An illustration of the Islāmic teaching with regards to religious freedom and tolerance has already been described in the discussion relevant to Jihād. The Holy Qur’ān has especially emphasized in numerous verses that the matter of religion relates to the conscience of every individual. Hence, there should be absolutely no force and compulsion in religion.1 This teaching is not only limited to the embellishment of paper or the beautification of pulpits, rather it is practiced with immense integrity. As such, we have already mentioned that the very first treaty of Islām was the one settled by the Holy Prophet(sa) after his migration with the Jewish population of Madīnah. The very foundation of this treaty was based on the principle of religious freedom and tolerance.2 We have also read that when the Banū Naḍīr was given the punishment of exile from Madīnah due to their treachery and seditious behaviour, they desired to take along those people who were from the children of the Anṣār, but had been converted to Judaism due to the vows of the Anṣār. The Anṣār attempted to restrain them in Madīnah, but when this dispute was presented before the Holy Prophet(sa), he issued a verdict against the Anṣār saying, “There can be no compulsion in the matter of religion,” and granted the Banū Naḍīr permission to take these people along with them.3 In the very lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa), we shall also find instances ahead that when the Jews of Khaibar and Christians of Najrān entered the Islāmic state, the Holy Prophet(sa) granted them complete freedom in both belief and practice.4 As a matter of fact, there is a narration that when the Christians of Najrān came to Madīnah, the Holy Prophet(sa) even granted them permission to perform their worship in the Masjid-e-Nabawī in their own manner. When certain Companions attempted to restrain them, the Holy Prophet(sa) forbade them. Thus, the Christians faced westward in the very Masjid-e-Nabawī and observed their own rites of worship.5

Even after the demise of the Holy Prophet(sa), the Four Khulafā’ also established an impeccable example of religious tolerance. There is a narration regarding Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr(ra) that whenever he would dispatch a Muslim army, he would especially instruct its commander to ensure that non-Muslim places of worship and religious elders were given full reverence.6 In the era of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar(ra) when Syria was conquered, the single most prominent aspect of the treaty which was settled between the Muslims and Christian population who lived there was religious freedom and tolerance.7