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Islam And Tolerance
This Talk was given by Murat Yilmaz,one of the members of the BMDG Executive Committee, in Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. Sunday, March 30th at 9:30am. The talk was a part of the Faiths in Action Forum by the UUC, and was held in the UUC library. Due to the time constraints Murat was not able to cover all the material presented below.
Murat graduated from the School of Divinity at Konya Selcuk University in Turkey. He moved to the United States two years ago to pursue his graduate studies in the Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at IU. He also wrote for a Turkish quarterly in related topics.
You may obtain more information about the Forum or the Church's location by email from uuchurch@bloomington.in.us, by phone at (812) 332-3695, or on the Internet at www.bloomington.in.us/~uuchurch/.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
(In the Name of God, The most Merciful, The Most Compassionate)
Good morning brothers and sisters!
First of all I would like thank you all for inviting us here and giving a chance to talk about “Tolerance” from Islamic perspective. Let me begin my presentation with a prayer:
“OAllah (God), join our hearts, mend our social relationship, guide us to the path of peace, bring us from darkness to light, save us from obscenities, outward or inward, and bless our ears, our eyes, our hearts, our wives, our children, and forgive us; You are the Forgiving, the Merciful. And make us grateful for your blessing and make us praise it while accepting it and give it to us in full.”1
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrated that the Prophet Muhammad used to pray like that and encouraged Muslims to do so.
In fact, I know that the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is not a common thing among us and it is not our purpose to talk about non-common things in such programs but asking your understanding with regard to the subject “Tolerance in Islam” that you gave us, sometimes I want to mention some special examples from his life and sayings. Surely if I had a chance I would have preferred to mention Prophet Abraham instead of him because of his importance as one of the most important common things among us but I could not do so due to the reasons that I just mentioned.
So, let me begin my presentation with mentioning some parts of the last sermon of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) because of its importance for the Islamic perspective of this issue.
THE LAST SERMON OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH):
After praising, and thanking Allah (swt) he said:
"O People lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.
O People just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every believer as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every believer is a brother to every believer and that the believers constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a believer which belongs to a fellow believer unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah (God) and answer your deeds. So beware do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness O Allah (God), that I have conveyed your message to your people."2
After that, I would like to mention one important historical fact, which is not exactly well known throughout Christian communities. Thank Allah (God), the relationship among the religions is getting better day by day in the world. One of the most important proofs of this statement is the Declaration of the Vatican II Council in 1965. There is a significant indication in this declaration for that we all started understanding each other a long time ago. We all Muslims and Christians started tolerating others a long time ago. This is the declaration of the Vatican II Council:
1. We as Christian Community have respect for Muslims.
2. They believe that there is only One Allah (God) who is Ever living, the Self-subsisting, Powerful, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and sent down a messenger to deliver His message for them.
3. They submit the commandments of Allah (God) sincerely like Abraham (pbuh) even though they do not understand what Allah (God) says in the Quran exactly.
4. They believe that Jesus is a messenger of Allah (God) like the prophet Muhammad and they perform five times daily prayer, fast during a holy month, gives obligatory charity and worship Allah (God)…3
This declaration from Vatican immediately reminds me our slogan “Peace Begins in Understanding Others” Thank Allah (God), in this century the number of these kinds of activities, declarations etc. from both sides are being given and interfaith dialog among us is increasing and getting better day by day. Before I start giving some detailed information about “the tolerance in Islam” let me recite some verses of the Koran which indicates our point about this kind of relationship among us and the vision of yours in our mind. I want to do that because, in my opinion the first step through the tolerance starts with understanding people who are being addressed in speech. So, let me start reciting some verses of the Quran…
“Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah (God)) and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered”4
“The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah and that which We have revealed to you and that which We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus that keep to obedience and be not divided therein; hard to the unbelievers is that which you call them to; Allah (God)) chooses for Himself whom He pleases, and guides to Himself him who turns (to Him), frequently.”5
These two verses above simply say that Muhammad (pbuh) did not claim that he brought a new religion. He had never said even a single word indicating such a claim. As everybody knows we are all the members of “The Family of Abraham” In fact Muhammad (pbuh) indicates that directly, He says: “Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary (Peace be upon both of them). The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.”6
There is one important perspective of Jesus in Islam but it is unfortunately not exactly well known by our Christian friends. We are Muslims waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus like most of the Christians are. According to some commentators this coming verse of the Quran is all about this belief. “And he (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way.” (Holy Quran, 43/61) Some commentators say that the pronoun “he” refers to Jesus (Peace be upon him) Furthermore the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) talks about that directly, according to a narration from Abu Huraira the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says: “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely Jesus, the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler)”
If I start talking about the value of Jesus and his mother according to the prophet Muhammad and the Quran it will take me hours but let me recite only one verse of the Quran to give you an idea about that: It is read in chapter 5, verse: 110: “When Allah (God) will say: O Jesus son of Mary! Remember My favor on you and on your mother, when I strengthened you I with the holy Spirit, you spoke to the people in the cradle and I when of old age, and when I taught you the Book and the wisdom and the Taurat and the Gospel; and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission, then you breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission, and you healed the blind and the leprous by My permission; and when you brought forth the dead by My permission; and when I withheld the children of Israel from you when you came to them with clear arguments, but those who disbelieved among them said: This is nothing but clear enchantment.”
What Does Allah (God) (swt) Say About Some Kind of Christians and Jews in the Koran?
So, after all this brief encouragement above to have a good relationship with the People of the Scripture what can be inferred about some kind of Christians and Jews? Allah (God) says:
“They are not all alike; of the followers of the Book there is an upright party; they recite Allah™s communications in the nighttime and they adore (Him). They believe in Allah and the last day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and they strive with one another in hastening to good deeds, and those are among the righteous.”7 There is a worth note fact in the verses above that Allah (God) emphasize the most important common beliefs among three religions, to believe in the same Allah (God) and the Last Day (Hereafter). As we see Allah (God) does not mention prophet hood here. In my opinion that means: “forget the differences and be together in common things for the sake of peace…” And after that Allah (God) says they will be rewarded and implies they will go to Paradise without any discrimination between Muslims and the People of the Scripture. We as Muslims should keep in mind that Quran commands Muslims to be together in common things in this coming verse: “ Say: O followers of the Book! come to an equitable proposition between us and you”8
These verses are not all we have about you my friends in the Quran, right now we™d better turn our attention to other verses of the Quran:
“and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly.”9 This reality is what I have been still witnessing here in the USA since I came to the US. And looking back to my sophomore years when I was in my country in the school of divinity, right now I am wondering why I refused many times to take the bible when it was given to me for free by missionaries, I am wondering what the reason of this hesitation was while this coming reality about Bible was in front of me in the Quran and also in my memory. Now let me inform you what the Quran actually says about Christianity and Judaism: “Surely We revealed the Taurat (Old Testament) in which was guidance and light; with it the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judged (matters) for those who were Jews, and the masters of Divine knowledge and the doctors, because they were required to guard (part) of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereof; therefore fear not the people and fear Me, and do not take a small price for My communications; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers.”10
“And We sent after them in their footsteps Jesus, son of Mary, verifying what was before him of the Taurat (Old Testament) and We gave him the Bible in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil). Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the transgressors.”11
Right after the description of the Old Testament and New Testament from the Quranic perspective it is the Quran™s turn, Allah (God) skips to its definition right now and let us pay our attention how Allah (God) describes the Quran:
“And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Scripture and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; To each of you Allah (God) has prescribed a Law and a Way. If Allah (God) would have willed, He would have made you a single people. But Allah™s (God) purpose is to test you in what he has given each of you, so strive in the pursuit of virtue, and know that you will all return to Allah (God) [in the Hereafter], and He will resolve all the matters in which you disagree.”12
There is a really important reality in the Quran if you notice here in the last verse, usually whenever Allah (God) mentions the word “Quran” he describes it as “a verifier which confirms what is before it of the Scripture and a guardian over it”13
So, related to this brief information let me ask you one question:
Did Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) Claim that He Brought and Established a New and Different Religion?
This question has an immediate answer: No! According to the Quran Allah has revealed Torah, Bible and finally the Quran. All of them came from the same source. In fact, there are some changes among them but these are not related to the essential beliefs but related to current conditions of that age in which they were all revealed. And of course it is really normal.
According to the Muslims Judaism, Christianity and Islam are three forms of one religion, which, in its original purity, was the religion of Abraham: Al-Islam, that perfect Self-Surrender to the Will of Allah (God), which is the basis of Theocracy. According to these verses that I mentioned, it is undeniable that the Quran is just a last step of the processing of revelation since the beginning of the time. Allah describes three holy books and says about all of them that there are guidance and a light in them. If you listen carefully you will notice that in these verses there are also two remarkable commands: “Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the transgressors." and “therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed” The same thing, the same thing… Related to this verse above, we believe in that,” What Allah revealed” is Torah, Bible and the Quran … It seems to me there is also a big invitation for the People of the Scripture like that: “O Believers! Concentrate on the Holy Books and try to understand it correctly, so, finally make it your way of life.” Allah invites the People of the Book to look at their own scriptures carefully and I can™t imagine better reason for the dialog among the members of these religions. Its meaning is so clear: DIALOG…
At the beginning of the second chapter of the Quran Allah says: “This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)” 14 It continues and explains who those are and their situation like that: “Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them; and who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter”15 In fact, this verse says that according to the Islamic thought, it is impossible to have a benefit from the Quran without believing in the Bible, Torah, The Book of Psalms, etc. First of all, there are six pillars in the Islamic creed that everybody has to believe to become a Muslim or to stay as a Muslim. In my opinion first two of these pillars encourage Muslims to the interfaith dialog.
1. To believe in the holy books which are revealed before the Quran.
2. To believe in all of the Prophets (Peace be upon them) who are sent before Muhammad (pbuh) by Allah (God).
As it is obvious, there are some reasons for a dialog instead of hate among us just in the beginning of the Quran.
If I am supposed to start talking about today™s subject directly I would say tolerance among the members of different religions begins in being aware of the similarities and common things, because of that let me indicate that starting with an example from the Bible:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you will show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes His sun rise on people whether they are evil or good, and lets rain fall on them whether they are just of unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do you deserve a reward for it? Even the tax collectors do that, don™t they? If you treat only your brothers kindly, are doing anything extraordinary? Even the people of the world do that, don™t they? Therefore be perfect as your Father in heaven s perfect." This verse reminded me the most well-known characteristic of Jesus among Muslims. We consider him “The Hero of Forgiving” Jesus says: “If anybody hits the right side of your cheek, just turn the other side without hitting him/her back” 16This is your principle related to the Gospel how about ours? Now it is time to mention it.
The Islamic Principles that guide the Relations among People
First of all there is a general principle in the Quran which teaches us how to behave through other people:
“The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one, which is better, then lo! He, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend”17 in my opinion this verse is just the Quranic version of the verse of the Bible that I mentioned above. Besides, there is a special verse which is related to the People of the Scripture, teaching how to interact with them:
“And argue not with the People of the Scripture unless it be in (a way) that is better save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which has been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our Allah and your Allah is One, and unto Him we surrender.”18 in this verse Allah teaches believers in what way they are supposed to interact with others and what kind of behavior they are supposed to have. There is a worth consider and noticeable commandment in this verse: Allah commands Muslims to find a common word while they are having a conversation with the People of the Scripture, it is read: “and say: We believe in that which has been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our Allah and your Allah is One, and unto Him we surrender.”19 According to Ibn. Jar®r this coming verse of the Quran should be mentioned at this point “Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”20 Ibn. Kath®r mentions the story of Moses (Peace be upon him) and Pharaoh as a brilliant example at this point 21. Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt and was claiming to be Allah (God) of the Earth. And Allah sent Moses as a messenger to warn and guide him. But we need to look at this verse carefully to understand the way of communication with others according to Islam. Allah says: “Go both of you (Moses and his brother Aaron), unto Pharaoh. Lo! He has transgressed (the bounds). And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear.”22 If Allah (God) commands to speak a gentle word unto Pharaoh who had claimed to be The God of the Earth, what about believers, whoever they are, Christians or Jews? As it appears, undoubtedly there is no way to make disturbing remarks while sharing the same world together and having a conversation among us. As another example for that let me indicate that the Most important part of Islam as you know is to worship only one Allah (God) without associating anybody or anything with Him. And let™s see how a Muslim is supposed to behave if his parents force him to leave his/her belief:
“And if they contend with you that you should associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them, and keep company with them in this world kindly, and follow the way of him who turns to Me, then to Me is your return, then will I inform you of what you did”23 By the way I think we all should keep in mind all the time this coming verse of the Quran:
"O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in Allah™s (God) sight is the most righteous of you. Allah (God) is All-Knowing, All-Aware."24 with regard to the encouragement of “You may come to know one another” I would like to mention a really important fact in our religious life. As you all know, some of the most important effects of the religion in our daily life are its effect to our diet and our family life such as marriage rules etc. So, let™s see what Quran says in this matter:
“This day (all) the good things are allowed to you; and the food of those who have been given the Book is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them; and the chaste from among the believing women and the chaste from among those who have been given the Book before you (are lawful for you); when you have given them their dowries, taking (them) in marriage, not fornicating nor taking them for paramours in secret; and whoever denies faith, his work indeed is of no account, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers.”25 All the times while we are shopping in the US we are looking some signs marked on food products indicating that whether that food is kosher or not. On the other hand a Muslim can get married only with a follower of one of the Abrahamic faiths such as a Jew or a Christian. What a significant common thing! Followers of these three religions should look at this verse very carefully and understand how Allah encourages them to have a wonderful relationship among them. Its meaning related to this significant common thing must not be forgotten all the time until the end of the days because of its importance.After the indication of this relationship and some common things among us let me ask you one question:
Is Islam really tolerant of other beliefs? What do you think after all of these proofs?
Because of the place where I am giving this talk, I especially emphasized the relationship among Muslims and the People of the Scripture but the Quran indicates one universal Islamic law which is not only related to the People of the Book but also to other beliefs. First of all let me say that I find much confusion of ideas even among Muslims on this subject, owing to defective study of the Quran and the Prophet's life. Many Muslims seem to forget that our Prophet had allies among the idolaters even after Islam had triumphed in Arabia, and that he “fulfilled his treaty with them perfectly until the term thereof. Secondly, let us turn our attention to the most important verse of the Quran in this subject. Allah (God) says: "There is no compulsion in religion." 26 Allah (God) also talks in chapter 10, verse 99 about an attitude that every Muslim missionary is supposed to have: “And if your Lord had pleased, surely all those who are in the earth would have believed, all of them; will you then force men till they become believers?” Muslims should keep in mind this Quranic statement all the times: “To you your religion, and to me my religion." (Qur™an: 109/6)
I have mentioned lots of verses in my speech but are there also worth mentioning some historical examples for my claims? Yes certainly there are…As an example for the way of interaction from Islamic perspective with people who are neither Muslims nor Christians nor Jews, I want to give a special example. This example is about Asma™, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)... One time her pagan stepmother had come to city of Madina from Mecca and had wanted to see her stepchild Asma™, but Asma™(Peace be upon her) had hesitated to behave towards her respectfully and show her some hospitality, because of that she went to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) to ask about the situation and to learn what she was supposed to do? Then, Allah had revealed one verse to Muhammad (Peace be upon him) 27 explaining what Muslims are supposed to do in such cases: “Allah does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of (your) religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show them kindness and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice.”28 If we pay our attention to the situation carefully, we see that the aforesaid woman (Asma's stepmother) was a pagan. But even though she was an unbeliever, Allah encouraged Asma™ to shove her (and also all of us) the way of kindness and deal justly with her. Therefore we need to compare the situation, what we see is so obvious; the Islam is full of tolerance towards religious differences especially towards the People of the Scripture because of the same source.
In Egypt the Copts were on terms of closest friendship with the Muslims in the first centuries of the Muslim conquest, and they are on terms at closest friendship with the Muslims at the present day. In Syria the various Christian communities lived on terms of closest friendship with the Muslims in the first centuries of the Muslim conquest, and they are on terms of closest friendship with the Muslims at the present day, openly preferring Muslim domination to a foreign yoke....
To bring some historical proofs of what I am claiming I would like mention that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was passing a Jewish funeral and he stopped to pay his respects. When reminded that the man being buried was a Jew, Muhammad replied, “He is still a human being though.” He showed the value given to humanity in Islam.
It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: Marmaduke Pickthell gives some detailed historical examples for that: “the people who had received the revelation of some former Prophet: the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians were those with whom the Muslims came at once in contact. To these our Prophet's attitude was all of kindness. The Charter which he granted to the Christian monks of Sinai is extant. If you read it you will see that it breathes not only goodwill but actual love. He gave to the Jews of Medina, so long as they were faithful to him, precisely the same treatment as to the Muslims. He never was aggressive against any man or class of men; he never penalized any man, or made war on any people, on the ground of belief but only on the ground of conduct.
The story of his reception of Christian and Zoroastrian visitors is on record. There is not a trace of religious intolerance in all this. And it should be remembered - Muslims are rather apt to forget it, and it is of great importance to our outlook - that our Prophet did not ask the people of the Scripture to become his followers. He asked them only to accept the Kingdom of Allah, to abolish priesthood and restore their own religions to their original purity. The question which, in effect, he put to everyone was this:“Are you for the Kingdom of Allah (God) which includes all of us, or are you for your own community against the rest of mankind?” The one is obviously the way of peace and human progress, the other the way of strife, oppression and calamity. But the rulers of the world, to whom he sent his message, most of them treated it as the message of either an insolent upstart or a mad fanatic. His envoys were insulted cruelly, and even slain. One cannot help wondering what reception that same embassy would meet with from the rulers of mankind today, when all the thinking portion of mankind accept the Prophet's premises, have thrown off the trammels of priest craft, and harbor some idea of human brotherhood.
As another historical proof for what I claim, I want to talk about the second caliph of the Islam. When the second caliph Omar (May Allah be pleased with him) entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. When the caliph Omar took Jerusalem from the Byzantines, he insisted on entering the city with only a small number of his companions. Proclaiming to the inhabitants that their lives and property were safe, and that their places of worship would never be taken from them, he asked the Christian patriarch Sophronius to accompany him on a visit to all the holy places. The Patriarch invited him to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but he preferred to pray outside its gates, saying that if he accepted, later generations of Muslims might use his action as an excuse to turn it into a mosque. Above is the mosque built on the spot where Omar did pray.
Another example: prior to the Spanish Inquisition, Jews and Christians lived and prospered in Andalus (Spain) for centuries under Muslim rule. Islam granted freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city. In Spain under the Umayyads and in Baghdad under the Abbasid Khalifas, Christians and Jews, equally with Muslims, were admitted to the Schools and universities - not only that, but were boarded and lodged in hostels at the cost of the state. When the Moors were driven out of Spain, the Christian conquerors held a terrific persecution of the Jews. Those who were fortunate enough to escape fled, some of them to Morocco and many hundreds to the Turkish Empire, where their descendants still live in separate communities, and still speak among themselves an antiquated form of Spanish. The Muslim Empire was a refuge for all those who fled from persecution by the Inquisition. As another example of that: at the late 20th century Jews were being tortured in Russia and the Emperor of Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdulhamid II who was the caliph of Muslims in the world at that time sent a warning to Russia saying: “I want you stop torturing Jews and if you do not do so, I will come there with my army and make you stop that.” The problem was solved at that time by the means of your Muslim brothers.
WHAT DOES “BEING KIND” MEAN IN QUR™ANIC CONTEXT
According to Ibn. Jar®r, a well known commentator of the Quran this coming verse of the Quran should be mentioned at this point: “Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way.”29 Ibn. Kath®r, one of the most respected commentators, mentions the story of Moses (Peace be upon him) and Pharaoh as a brilliant example at this point 30. Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt and was claiming to be Allah (God) of the Earth. And Allah sent Moses as a messenger to warn and guide him. But we need to look at this verse carefully to understand the way of communication with others according to Islam. Allah (God) says: “Go both of you (Moses and his brother Aaron), unto Pharaoh. Lo! He has transgressed (the bounds). And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear.”31 If Allah (God) commands to speak a gentle word unto Pharaoh who had claimed to be Allah (God) of the Earth, what about believers, whoever they are, Christians or Jews? As it appears, undoubtedly there is no way in Islam to make disturbing remarks while making a contact with others. In my opinion, being tolerant and being forgiver are really similar or almost the same things. To live in a peaceful world people should learn to forgive others mistakes first. And if you look at the whole Quran you will find out that it is full of commandments to be forgiving ones.
A few weeks ago we had Pastor Deck of Christ Community Churchas a speaker in our community and his subject was “Forgiveness” He called prophet Joseph “The Hero of Forgiveness” because of Joseph™s response to his brothers after all they had done to him. His response was like that to his brothers: “He said: Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.”32 He mentioned the story of Joseph from the beginning to the end according to the Gospel and at that time we found out that this story is almost the same thing with the 12 chapter of the Quran which is called “Chapter Joseph.” In fact his mentioning of this story immediately reminded me what prophet Muhammad said to the people of Macca when he returned to his home as a conqueror. At that time people were really worried about their security and were looking at him to find out what was going to happen to them, they were really scared because of what they had done to him years ago. But the Prophet Muhammad just repeated what prophet Joseph said to his brothers: “Go, all of you are free…Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.”33
If we skip to the topic of “Forgiveness” right now there are lots of verses and sayings of Muhammad about that, we do not have enough time for all of them, but I will mention just a few of them with your permission: You know that the Devil is on duty all the times and whenever you try to do good deeds in a community Devil can try to disturb you by means of his partners, companions among people. It is not possible to prevent that. It happens a lot in this world, so, let us glance at the coming verses to find out how Muslims are supposed to behave in such cases. “The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace.”34 Maybe some of us think that it is not that hard to just say “Peace” and leave them when we are addressed by ignorant, very common people around us but how about the case of treacherous? Look what the Quran says about this situation:
“and you shall always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them; so pardon them, forgive them and overlook their misdeeds; surely Allah loves those who are kind to others.”35 Related to this verse right now I am judging my behaviors…O my Allah (God)! How far I am from your commandments. If somebody judge Islam according to the Muslims such as me he/she will not understand it in the correct form. Right now I am not talking about Muslims in my speech but I am talking about Islam. We do not have enough time to mention all verses of the Quran about “Forgiveness and kindness” I just want to mention one of them:
“Those who spend (benevolently) in ease as well as in straitness, and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others).”36
Khaled Abou El Fadl says while he is explaining the place of tolerance in Islam: “ it is impossible to analyze these and other verses except in light of the overall moral thrust of the Qur'anic message. The Qur'an itself refers to general moral imperatives such as mercy, justice, kindness, or goodness. The Qur'an does not clearly define any of these categories, but presumes a certain amount of moral probity on part of the reader. For instance, the Qur'an persistently commands Muslims to enjoin the good. The word used for "the good" is ma'ruf, which means that which is commonly known to be good. Goodness, in the Qur'anic discourse, is part of what one may call a lived reality—it is the product of human experience and constructed normative understandings. Similarly, the Qur'anic term for kindness is ihsan, which literally means to beautify and improve upon. But beautification or improving upon can have meaning only in the context of a certain sociological understanding and practice.”
JIHAD IS AGAINST TOLERANCE?
The challenge most often invoked against an argument for tolerance in Islam is the issue of jihad. Jihad, especially as portrayed in the Western media, is often associated with the idea of a holy war that is propagated in the name of Allah (God) against the unbelievers. Therefore, jihad is often equated with the most vulgar images of religious intolerance. As for the reality "Jihad" simply means to strive hard or struggle in pursuit of a just cause, and according to the Prophet of Islam, the highest form of jihad is the struggle waged to cleanse oneself from the vices of the heart. Prophet Muhammad said: “Christians are divided into several groups and also you will be divided into several groups in the near future. Only one group of people among you will be on the straight path.” This prediction reminds me how Muslims think about this subject very differently. Some of them far a way from the Quran and tradition of the prophet of Islam. Because of this reality you should not be surprised when you meet some kind of Muslims who talks about “Holy war against non-Muslims whoever they are” using the verses of the Quran to support themselves. They look at the verses without comprehension and that causes some misunderstanding which is against our belief. If you recite some part of the verses and leave some other parts that will cause extremely important misunderstandings. For instance there is a joke in our culture: a Bektashi was asked about his reasons for not performing his five times daily prayer and as a response he referred to chapter 4, verse 42 saying that: Why will I do that? Allah (God) says in the Quran: “O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer.” The person who asked the question just laughed and completed the verse to indicate how misguided he was “when ye are drunken”like this funny example without comprehending the whole Quran very well, you can claim some beliefs against Islam. So, I really recommend those who claim that Islam means violence, war against non-Muslim etc. to consider these coming verses. Muslims are allowed to go to war only to defense themselves, their family, their country etc. because of this coming verse: Allah (God) says: “Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them; Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say: Our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah's repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah's name is much remembered; and surely Allah will help him who helps His cause; most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.”37 Even Muslims are allowed to go to war in special circumstances there is also one really important commandment for the warriors in the Quran:
“Fight in the way of Allah (God) with those who fight with you, but aggress not, do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits, Allah (God) loves not the aggressors)"38 Prophet Muhammad emphasizes one really important thing about this subject he says: “If Muslims around you feel safe from your tongue and your hand that means you are a Muslim but (Most importantly) if people around you (whoever they are, including Jews, Christians, unbelievers etc.) feel very safe about their life and properties that means you are a Mu™min (The highest position of being a Muslim)39
Since I started talking about “War” from the Islamic perspective I would like to also indicate how Muslims are supposed to look at “Peace” in the case of war? Let me just list two of the verses about this subject without any commentary:
"And if they incline to peace, then incline to it and trust in Allah; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing."40
"If Allah (God) would have willed, He would have given the unbelievers power over you [Muslims], and they would have fought you [Muslims]. Therefore, if they [the unbelievers] withdraw from you and refuse to fight you, and instead send you guarantees of peace, know that Allah (God) has not given you a license [to fight them]”41
Khaled Abou El Fadl turns our attention to another important issue and says: “The other major issue on the point of tolerance in Islam is that of the poll tax (jizyah) imposed on the People of Book (Christians and Jews) who live in Muslim territory. When the Quran was revealed, it was common inside and outside of Arabia to levy poll taxes against alien groups. Building upon the historical practice, classical Muslim jurists argued that the poll tax is money collected by the Islamic polity from non-Muslims in return for the protection of the Muslim state. If the Muslim state was incapable of extending such protection to non-Muslims, it was not supposed to levy a poll tax. In fact, 'Umar (r. 13-23/634-644), the second Rightly-Guided Caliph and close companion of the Prophet, returned the poll tax to an Arab Christian tribe that he was incapable of protecting from Byzantine aggression. Many of the institutions referenced in the Quran —such as the poll tax or the formation of alliances with non-Muslims—can be understood only if the reader is aware of the historical practices surrounding the revelation of the text. By emptying the Quran both of its historical and moral context, the puritan trend ends up transforming the text into a long list of morally non-committal legal commands.”
Final Thoughts
Historically, Islamic civilization has displayed a remarkable ability to recognize possibilities of tolerance, and to act upon these possibilities. Islamic civilization produced a moral and humanistic tradition that preserved Greek philosophy, and generated much science, art, and socially benevolent thought. Unfortunately, however, the modern puritans are dissipating and wasting this inspiring moral tradition. They are increasingly shutting off the possibilities for a tolerant interpretation of the Islamic tradition.
So, after all of these historical and Quranic information I want to remind you that Allah (God) is not the Allah (God) of the Jews or the Christians or the Muslims only, any more than the sun shines or the rain falls for Jews or Christians or Muslims only. I want to end my speech with these words, which influence me a lot:
“BE SO TOLERANT THAT YOUR BOSOM BECOMES WIDE LIKE THE OCEAN. BECOME INSPIRED WITH FAITH AND LOVE OF HUMAN BEINGS. LET THERE BE NO TROUBLED SOULS TO WHOM YOU DO NOT OFFER A HAND, AND ABOUT WHOM YOU REMAIN UNCORCERNED.”
Thank you for having us and peace be with you…
REFERENCES
1 .Sunan Abu-Davud, Book 3, Number 964; Narrated by Abdullah ibn. Mas™ud
2. Bukhari 1623, Narrated by ibn. Abbas
3. Abott, M.S. Walter, the Documents of Vatican II 1963-1965
4. [The Quran, 3/136]
5. [The Quran, 42/13]
6. Ahmed ibn. Hanbel: 10558, Narrated by Abu Huraira
7. [The Quran, 3/113, 114]
8. [The Quran, 3/64]
9. [The Quran, 5:82]
10.[The Quran, 5/44]
11.[The Quran, 5/46, 47]
12.[The Quran, 5/48]
13.[The Quran, 5/48]
14.[The Quran, 1/ 2]
15.[The Quran, 1/ 3,4]
16.Matt. 6/43,44]
17.[The Quran, 41/ 34]
18.[The Quran, 29/046]
19.[The Quran, 2/046]
20.[The Quran, 16/ 125]
21.The Commentary of the Noble Kuran, Volume:3; Page: 513
22.[The Quran, 20/ 44]
23.[The Quran, 31.015]
24.[The Quran, 49/13]
25.[The Quran, 5/05]
26.[The Quran, 2/256]
27.Suyuti, The Reasons of the Revelations
28.[The Quran, 60/ 8]
29.[The Quran, 16/ 125]
30.The Quran, The Commentary of the Noble Kuran, Volume:3; Page: 513
31.[The Quran, 20/ 44]
32.[The Quran, 12/192]
33.[The Quran, 12/192]
34.[The Quran, 25/063]
35.[The Quran, 5/ 13]
36.[The Quran, 3/ 134] Please refer also: [The Quran, 73/10; 015/085; 43.88-89
37.[The Quran, 22/39, 40]
38.[The Quran, 2:190]
39.Sunan Tirmidhi, Narrated by Abu Huraira
40.[The Quran, 8/61]
41.[The Quran, 4/90]
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