For the greater part of his life, the Prophet of Islam lived in a society where adherents of other religions existed side by side with believers in Islam. The Prophet’s behaviour towards the former was invariably that of respect and tolerance. At a time when the majority of the denizens of Makkah were still polytheists, his conduct consistently conveyed his high moral character. On the one hand, he communicated to them the message of God with love and kindness and, on the other, fulfilled all of their human rights. That is why the non-Muslims of Makkah had such great confidence in him, to the point of entrusting their belongings to his care. This they continued to do right up to the last days of his stay in Makkah.
After the attainment of his prophethood, he lived in Makkah for a period of 13 years, later migrating to Madinah, where he lived for ten years until his death. For about half of this period in Madinah, he was living among people belonging to different religions—Muslims, Jews, Christians and Polytheists. The Prophet devised a constitution for these people, known in history as Sahifa-e-Madinah (The Madinah Charter). This charter expressly mentioned that issues concerning these groups domiciled in Madinah would be decided on the basis of their own religious traditions—those of Muslims according to their Islamic traditions, and those of the polytheists, Christians and Jews according to their respective traditions. This principle of Islam was intended to apply at all places where Muslims lived along with adherents of other religions. This sunnat, or practice of the Prophet, for a plural society carries the same moral authority as other of his practices. Islam recognizes no difference between Muslims and non-Muslims from the ethical standpoint. The rights granted to a Muslim are exactly the same as those granted to a non-Muslim.
Islam advocates acceptance of ideological differences. This is on a parallel with the principle expressed in the saying: ‘Let us agree to disagree’. In this connection, one of the commands of the Quran is that ‘there shall be no compulsion in religion.’ (2:256). In another verse the Quran declares: ‘You have your religion and I have mine.’ (109:6) It was as a result of this commandment that, when the Prophet Muhammad migrated to Madinah, he issued a declaration reaffirming his acceptance of the religion of Muslims for the Muslims and the religion of Jews for the Jews.
This principle formulated by Islam is best described, not as ‘religious harmony’, but, rather, as ‘harmony among religious people’. This is a principle whose utility is a matter of historical record. It is evident that in the past, as well as in the present, wherever religious harmony has existed, it has been based on unity despite differences, rather than on unity without differences. It is not based on agreeing to agree, but, rather, on agreeing to disagree.
Islam advocates acceptance of ideological differences. This is on a parallel with the principle expressed in the saying: ‘Let us agree to disagree'.
One extremely revolutionary example of this principle is to be found in the life of the Prophet Muhammad. It concerns the conference of three religions which was held in the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah. A 60-member Christian delegation from Najd had come to Madinah to determine the situation there. They stayed at the Prophet’s mosque. Following them, the Jewish scholars of Madinah also came to the mosque. In this manner, the followers of three faiths (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) gathered in one place. They carried out dialogues and discussions on various religious topics for many days.
Reports say that during this period, when it was time for the Christians to pray, they stood up in the mosque itself and prayed according to their custom. The Prophet saw this, and let them continue what they were doing. So they performed their prayer in the mosque. This conference is described by Muhammad Husain Haykal in his book, The Life of Muhammad.
The three scriptural religions thus confronted one another in Madinah. The delegation entered with the Prophet into public debate, and these were soon joined by the Jews, thus resulting in a tripartite dialogue between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This was a truly great congress which the city of Yathrib [the earlier name for Madinah] had witnessed. There is a very relevant incident from the life of the Prophet of Islam.
Once the Prophet was seated at some place in Madinah, along with his Companions. During this time a funeral (procession) passed by. On seeing this, the Prophet stood up. Seeing the Prophet stand, up, one of his Companions exclaimed: “O Prophet, that was the funeral of a Jew, and not a Muslim!” The Prophet replied, “Was he not a human being?” Here we can see that the Prophet was able to discover a commonality between himself and that Jew. Every person was worthy of respect at all events, because of the common humanity we share with one another. This incident also illustrates how an atmosphere of mutual love and compassion can be brought about in the world only when we consciously rise above all insidious demarcations of caste, colour and creed.
There is only one way to solve the issue of religious differences, and that is: ‘Follow one, and respect all’.
Although Islam believes in the oneness of reality, it lays equal stress on the practice of respect in everyday dealings with others, even if it means going to the extent of permitting people of other faiths to come to an Islamic place of worship for religious discussion, and if it is time for their prayers, letting them feel free to perform their worship according to their own ways in the mosque itself.
Accepting others has been the rule throughout the history of Islam. It has, in fact, been one of the main underlying causes for its successful dissemination. Here I quote from the Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Islam achieved astonishing success in its first phase. Within a century after the Prophet’s death in AD 632 [the early generations of Muslims]… had brought a large part of the globe—from Spain across central Asia to India—under a new Arab Muslim empire… despite these astonishing achievements, other religious groups enjoyed full religious autonomy.” Encyclopedia Britannica 9/912
And this is the part which I wish particularly to stress: Despite these astonishing achievements, other religious groups enjoyed full religious autonomy.
When differences are themselves a law of nature, how can religion be an exception to this rule? The fact is that just as there is diversity in everything else in the world, so also is there diversity in religious beliefs. We have not thought it necessary to do away with differences in other matters, but, instead, have agreed to disagree. We should adopt this very same practical approach and principle in matters of religion as well.
Here, too, we should accept diversity and differences and seek to promote unity despite them, instead of searching for an imaginary unity by trying to do away with them. There is only one way to solve the issue of religious differences, and that is: ‘Follow one, and respect all’.
One of the stark realities of life is that divergence of views does exist between people, and that it impinges at all levels. Be it at the level of a family or a society, a community or a country, differences are bound to exist everywhere. Now the question is how best unity can be forged or harmony brought about in the face of human differences. There is nothing wrong in diversity of opinions. In fact, this is a positive quality which has many advantages. The beauty of the garden lies in the presence of different type of flowers and trees.
The intellectual development of the members of this society will be frozen, because personal upliftment takes place only where the interaction of divergent thinking provides the requisite mental stimuli.
A society whose members hold identical views and never have any discussions, will soon find itself in the doldrums. The intellectual development of the members of this society will be frozen, because personal upliftment takes place only where the interaction of divergent thinking provides the requisite mental stimuli. It is only after undergoing the intellectual challenge presented by others that a developed personality emerges. If, in a human society, this process ceases to operate, the development of character will come to a standstill.
Islam gives serious consideration to religious freedom and takes pains to avoid infractions. There is an event from Islamic history that illustrates this point. Umar Faruq, the second Caliph, travelled to Palestine at the request of the Christians to finalise the agreements between them and the Muslims. T.W. Arnold in his book, The Preaching of Islam, relates how ‘In company with the Patriarch, Umar visited the holy places, and it is said while they were in the Church of the Resurrection, as it was the appointed hour of prayers, the Patriarch bade the Caliph offer his prayers there, but Caliph Umar thoughtfully refused, saying that if he were to do so, his followers might afterwards claim it as a place of Muslim worship.’
He obviously foresaw later generations of Muslims being inspired to build a mosque on that very spot, thus setting up restrictions upon religious freedom. Umar’s discretion is all the more remarkable for being the ruler of Palestine he could have done anything he wished. A man with less insight and forethought would have regarded praying inside the Church as harmless and that could in no way be interpreted as depriving anyone of his rights. Umar, in fact, moved a stone’s throw away, and said his prayers at a discreet distance from the Church.
Muslims did indeed come to this city later on, and as he had foreseen, built their mosque at the exact point where he had said his prayers. The mosque exists to this day, but presents no obstacle to Christian worship. It is true that in later times certain excessively zealous Muslims converted a number of non-Muslim places of worship into mosques. Such actions are to be deplored as deviations. ‘But such oppression was contrary to the spirit of Islam.’ says T.W. Arnold.
Islam is the name given to the teachings of the Quran and the Hadith, the finest example of living up to this standard was set by the Prophet and his Companions. The deeds of later generations, judged by these criteria, will be sadly deficient in true Islamic spirit. Those who make no attempt to live up to the Prophet’s example are in no way representatives of Islam.
Religious acceptance and celebrating it requires that everyone be allowed to present his thoughts, and be given a quiet hearing. The message is not to be forced upon one, but something to be gently presented.
From the above it is clear that Islam stands for accepting and celebrating the differences. It inculcates the mindset that the way to prosper is to ignore the matters that divide one from others and concentrate on cultivating areas of mutual concern. Further Islam insists on human friendly behaviour and does not instill any fear into its adherents that they will lose their identity by co-operating and interacting with people who hold divergent views. In fact, Islam encourages intellectual exchange for greater learning and wisdom.
