As human beings, we all belong to one nation, be they Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, or Buddhists. All human beings have equal rights and dignity to Allah, the Creator, as Adam (AS) and Hawa-Eve (AS) children. No religion supports any coercion against anyone, and the ideal of Islam is to preserve sublime communal harmony. The attitude and mentality of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) towards non-Muslims is very clear.
Islam has ensured the freedom of all religions. No one can stop anyone from practicing his religion. In this exhausting coronavirus pandemic, people did not hesitate to wear masks, gloves, PPE to save their lives. Not only doctors, nurses, but service workers are also wearing these; people of any profession, men and women, are all wearing them. The sole purpose is to ensure their safety from the corona’s terrible clutches. One and a half thousand years ago, the religion of peace, Islam, instructed to make a full veil for women’s safety. Islam has given dignity to women as mothers.
Verses have been revealed in the Qur’an to the effect that no mockery can be made of other religions. Allah says: ‘Do not insult those whom they call upon besides Allah. Then they will transgress the limits and blaspheme Allah out of ignorance. ‘(Surat an-An’am: 106)
If the neighbor is a non-Muslim, then the Muslim needs to respect the rights of his non-Muslim neighbor. This is also the neighbor’s Haq (right). Allah declares in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Allah does not forbid you from dealing justly and kindly with those who did not fight against you in the matter of religion nor drove you out of your land. Surely Allah loves the doers of justice (those who deal with equity).’ (Surah Mumtahina: verse 8)
The announcement of the Farewell Hajj in the voice of the Prophet (pbuh) is evident from that historic speech: ‘O mankind! Your God is one and unique, and your father is one. An Arab is by no means superior to a non-Arab. Similarly, a non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab. A white man is not better than a black man, and black is not better than white. In order to evaluate the superiority, it will be a matter of judging who has attained taqwa, that is, how far Allah and the servant have attained. Through this, the one who has the highest honor in the sight of Allah is the most pious. ‘(Bayhaqi)
So human dignity cannot be evaluated by social status, clan status, racism, capitalism, etc. The division of race, religion, caste, etc., is only to get to know each other so that they can benefit from their character and mental qualities. In this case, Allah the Almighty has said- ‘O mankind! I created you from male and female. And We have divided you into nations and tribes that you may know one another.’ (Surah Al-Hujurat: verse 13)
The main sources of Islam, the Qur’an, and the Hadith say that people of other religions should be respected and honored more than their own religion. History has shown that many of the relatives of the last Prophet, Hazrat Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), were fierce opponents of Islam. Even then, the Prophet (pbuh) never raised a verbal complaint against them, let alone persecuted them. On the contrary, Hazrat Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to see an opponent when he was ill. Fascinated by the sincerity of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), those opponents were gradually forced to take refuge under the banner of Islam. When this is the character of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) of the Muslims, then how can they oppress people of other religions? A true Muslim can’t think of torturing people of other religions, let alone persecuting them.
The Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), said, ‘Those who call people to sectarianism, fight for sectarianism, and sacrifice their lives are not part of our party.’ (Sunan Abu Dawood: 5123)
In the Holy Qur’an, Allah has strongly warned against sectarianism. “There is no compulsion in religion,” He said. The erroneous opinion and the path have been separated from the correct opinion and the path. (Surat al-Baqara: 256) Allah also says: “Your religion is for you, our religion is for us.” (Surah Kafirun: 5)
According to a hadith, Hazrat Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “If a Muslim violates the rights of the followers of different religions or oppresses them, then on the Day of Resurrection, Muhammad will fight against that Muslim in the court of Allah.” (Sunan Abu Dawood: 3052)
The Prophet (pbuh) further said, ‘Whoever kills a non-Muslim unjustly will not get the fragrance of Paradise. But that scent can be found from a distance of forty years.’ (Sahih Bukhari: 316)
Finally, Islam is the religion of peace. We should not violate or overstep the boundaries of our religion. According to another narration, ‘Whoever kills a non-Muslim unjustly, Allah will forbid Paradise for him. ‘(Sunan Nasai: 4648)
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