Charters of Human Equality

In the 4th year of Hijra, the Holy Prophet (sas) gave a signed guarantee of protection to the monks, priests and Christians of St. Catherine’s Church near Mount Sinai. In this guarantee the Prophet (sas) laid down:

"It is the duty of Muslims to safeguard the Christian churches, monasteries and their holy places against trespass by the enemy and to protect the Christians fully from all harm and injury. They should not be unduly taxed, nor should they be forced to quit. No Christian should be compelled to forsake his religion. No Monk should be expelled from his monastery, nor should any pilgrim be stopped from visiting any holy place. No Christian church should be razed to the ground or occupied to provide accommodation for Muslims or their mosques. It is the duty of the Muslims to give unqualified and unconditional help to the Christians in the construction of their churches and shrines, and in any other religious matter in which they need help."

Then addressing the Muslims, the Prophet (sas) said:

"Do not think that by doing the things mentioned in the guarantee, you participate in promoting their religion, because the real intent of this order is to remove any difficulty which they feel, and submission to these orders is in reality the submission to the orders of the Prophet of God which he has issued under Divine Command."

He further advised the Muslims:

"Even in time of war, in fact when the Muslims are actually engaged in fighting against the Christians, do not harbour feelings of hatred and enmity against a Christian who lives among you. If any Muslim shows such behaviour towards a Christian, he will be considered an aggressor and a rebel."

The Holy Prophet (sas) further declared:

"If any Muslim is guilty of violating any of the above given orders, he will be denounced as one who has broken the Divine Covenant, has violated His express injunctions and who has humiliated and shamed the religion of Islam."

Quoting this guarantee, a famous European historian and orientalist declares it to be a great Charter of 'Human Equality and Freedom' and a 'document of Human brotherhood which establishes the greatness of the guarantor.'1

The Sermon which the Prophet (sas) gave at the time of the Last Pilgrimage to Mecca is a Masterpiece of Human Equality and Brotherhood, he said:

"O Men! Your Maker is One; you are the sons and daughters of one father, therefore no attempt at dividing you into high and low is acceptable; No Arab has any superiority to a non-Arab nor has a non-Arab any superiority to an Arab; neither the Whites are superior to the Blacks nor are the Blacks superior to the Whites. The only mark of excellence is the fear of God and an individual’s personal virtue and piety. Under an Islamic State race and colour have no distinction."

Continuing the Prophet (sas) said:

"As you respect this day; this month and this land of pilgrimage, so shall you respect the life, property and honour of every human being, which, under the law, are as sacred and inviolable."2

It is not surprising that after such a declaration of human equality and brotherhood the Muslims were welcomed with open arms wherever they went and conquered more than half of the known world in a span of a few years. Needless to say that it was not a triumph of superior Muslim arms, but a victory of a superior law which appealed to the heart and won it.

It is a pity that this golden rule did not last long. The Khilafat gave way to monarchy and the rights of the Muslims became insecure and the sanctity of their lives and property was violated by the authorities, and many of their eminent leaders and theologians suffered torture and injustice. Naturally the rights of the Dhimmi citizens were also jeopardized. Almost the same situation arose which was ostensibly the case of the downfall of the Roman and Persian empires. It must, however, be pointed out that breach of trust and mischief on the part of Dhimmis were in no small measure responsible for this change. Because, the passage of time made them ungrateful and they had forgotten the way the Muslims had rescued them from the tyrannies of their coreligionists. Because of this they had started transferring their loyalties to the non-Muslim states. This changed political situation affected the thinking of jurists and commentators of law. They framed rules and regulations about Dhimmis which had no sanction of Shari‘ah. It is not very pleasant to discuss these laws in detail, but, unfortunately, we have to, in order to present a complete picture of the circumstances prevailing at the time. Our duty, therefore, is twofold: First, what are the injunctions of Islam about the non-Muslim citizens of a Muslim state, and secondly, to define the misconceptions about these injunctions which were caused directly by political reasons.