Rights Of Non-Muslims In An Islamic State

Islam is a religion of tolerance. It has granted equal rights to the non-Muslims in the Islamic State, but without imposing equal duties on them. The reason is that Islamic State, unlike the modern national State, classifies citizens into two categories according to their religion or faith: Muslims and non-Muslims. Muslims have different kinds of rights and duties than those of the non-Muslims. The non-Muslims are known in Islamic Shariah as Dhimmis (Zimmis), whose protection is the responsibility or obligation (dhimmah or zimmah) of the Islamic State. As the Islamic State is an ideological State, its defence (jihad) is the duty of the Muslims only, while the non-Muslims are exempted from this duty. Hence their rights are also different from those of the Muslims. Under Islamic law (Shariah) there are three kinds of Zimmis:

Those as have entered into a treaty or agreement with the Muslims at the time of their submission, which determine their rights and responsibilities: they are known as “contractees”. A Hadith of the Holy Prophet/^ has enjoined: “If you fight a non-believing people and overpower them and they enter into a treaty with you, agreeing to pay annual tribute ‘Kharaj’ in order to save their lives and properties, and of their progeny, then do not take a penny more than fixed amount, because it is not permissible.” Again, “Whosoever is hard or cruel towards such people (i.e. “contractees”) or curtail their rights or burdens them with more than they can endure or demands something from them against their free will, I shall myself be a complainant against him on the Day of Judgment.”

Those non-Muslims who submitted to the Muslims after a defeat in the war. They are known as “Conquered”. When they pay jizya or poll tax to the Islamic State, they too become “Zimmis” and their lives and properties are protected by it.

Those non-Muslims who have submitted to the Islamic State, though without any defeat in a war, nor by an agreement or treaty. But their submission is a proof that they have accepted its hegemony or supremacy. They too have to pay jizya or poll tax.

Nature of relationship between the Islamic State and its non-Muslim citizens:

Islam’s attitude towards the non-Muslims is determined by the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. The Quran declares: “There is no compulsion in matters of religion (Deen)”. It further says in Surah 5, verse 48, that humanity will never follow one single creed, and therefore rituals and dogmas and modes of worship will continue to be different. From this arises the Islamic belief in the coexistence of different religions and rituals. Moreover, tolerance of the non-Muslim communities within the boundaries of the Islamic State has been its hallmark throughout the history of all Islamic kingdoms, and empires in the past ages and of the Islamic States in the modem times, even though some of them are of secular ideology today, like modem Turkey.

Thus the non-Muslim communities in Islamic States have their own personal laws, except in such matters in which a non- Muslim personal law might sanction a cruel or inhuman custom, as for example the custom of sati or burning of Hindu widow on the pyre of her husband, which had been banned by the Muslim rulers of medieval India. Similarly, Islam condemns the inhuman practice of ‘Untouchability’. We shall now describe the rights of the non-Muslims in the Islamic State. They are as follows:

Right to life and Property:

Islamic State recognises the right of its non-Muslim citizens to life and property. This can be illustrated by the charters which the Holy Prophet/^ granted to the Jews of Medina and to the Christians of Najran. The first charter says:

‘The Jews of Bani Auf shall be considered as a community along with the Muslims. The Muslims shall defend them against all aggressors. Their relations shall be based on good-will and mutual benefit. The allies of the Jews shall be treated as the allies of the Muslims and anyone oppressed irrespective of his creed shall be helped.”

The charter granted to the Christians of Najran by the Holy Prophet^? declared:

“The Christian tribe of Najran shall be under the protection of God and His Prophet. Their life, property, their territory, is guaranteed to be i expected and protected, and this protection shall extend to those persons present and to those not present, including their property and also to those under the protection of this tribe, Whether tiiiy belong to the tribe or not.”

Similarly, the second Caliph, Hazarat UmarSt&, also granted a charter of protection of life and property to the Christians of Elia (Old Jerusalem) after the conquest of Palestine by the Arabs:

This is the charter of security granted by Umar. The servant of God mid Amir-ul-Momineen, to the citizens of Elia. Protection is guaranteed to llirir life, property, churches and crosses, to every citizen, healthy or sick. I licir churches shall not be made places of residence for others, nor shall lliry be demolished or damaged. No injury shall be inflicted on their property, or their crosses. No religious pressure shall be put on them and no qiic shall be harassed.”

The blood of a zimmi is regarded as sacred as that of a Muslim. In i nir a zimmi is killed or injured by a Muslim, the deceased’s relatives have ihr i lght to treat the Muslim in the same manner.

 Freedom of Religion and Worship:

The non-Muslims in an Islamic State have the same freedom of t«ll|iion and worship in their own way, as have the Muslims. Use of force or pressure for the propagation of Islam is strongly prohibited by the Quran. Muslims are to present Islam to the non-Muslims in a humane and rational manner and by their good behaviour and manners. Says the Quran: “O Prophet, invite people to the way of the Lord with wisdom, with beautiful sermons and with decent, rational controversy” (16: 125). In religious controversies Muslims are forbidden to call names and pour invectives on their opponents’ modes of worship or their objects of reverence. The Quran warns that by such abusive denunciation the Muslims will invite retaliation with similar weapons. It declares, “You have not been appointed as their supervisors and controller”. (Surah A: verse 66) Again, “O Prophet! We know what these people say, you are not appointed to force them to believe.” (50:45) Moreover, the Quran declares that basic truth of human existence is belief in One Supreme Being, and therefore, whoever believes in this fundamental truth and leads a virtuous life is a saved soul.

“Surely those who believe (that is Muslims) and those who are Jews and the Christians and the Sabians, whoever believes in God and Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.” (Surah 2:62) In short, Islam accepts the fact that people will differ in their religions and modes of worship and there will be no coercion to make them Conform to the Islamic faith. Tolerance is of the essence of Islam. Man is respected in Islam as man and religion is respected as religion without any discrimination of caste, creed, colour or race. Even false goods cannot be abused. “And abuse not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they abuse Allah through ignorance. Thus to every people we have made their deeds fair-seeming; then to their Lord is their return, so He will inform them of what they did.” (The Quran 6:109)

Exemption from Military Service:

Islamic State is an ideological State, whose defence is the religious duty of the Muslims. But the non-Muslims are exempted from  military service, for they have no obligation to wage jihad for its defence. But if a non-Muslim voluntarily fights, for the defence of the Islamic State, he is entitled to the same privileges and rights as have the Muslims.

Payment of Jizya:

The non-Muslims are to pay jizya or poll-tax to the Islamic State in lieu of military service and also due to their exemption from the payment of zakat, which Muslims are obliged to pay. But the jizya is a much lower tax than zakat. Moreover, many classes of the Zimmis are exempted from this tax altogether, such as the poor, the priests, monks, widows, sick and old, etc. Once Hazarat Umari& saw an old zimmi begging in the streets. On inquiry, he was informed that he was doing so in order to collect enough money to pay jizya. The Caliph at once ordered that no jizya was to be collected from him: “By God, it is not just that a man who has paid jizya in his youth should be required to pay it when he has grown old and sick.”

Protection of Non-Muslim Places of Worship:

The Islamic State has the responsibility to guarantee protection of the places of worship of its non-Muslim citizens. Muslims are duty-bound to protect their places of worship, whether they are synagogues, churches, temples, etc. The Holy Quran says: “And had there not been Allah’s repelling some people by others, cloisters, and churches, and synagogues, und mosques in which Allah’s name is much remembered, would have been pulled down.” (22:40).

It may be noted that in this verse Allah has enjoined Ihe protection of mosque after that of the churches of the Christians, »ynagogues of the Jews and the temples of the pagans. Islamic States throughout history have always complied with this Quranic commandment. Itiis was, indeed, the reason why in some Muslim countries the places of worship of the non-Muslims outnumbered the mosques, as for example, in the Mughal Empire in medieval India.

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