Page 302 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union
P. 302
A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION
For instance, the text of an agreement dictated by our Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and written down by
the Christian Ibn Harris b. Ka'b and his fellow Christians stated:
"The religion, churches, lives, chastity and goods of all Christians
living in the East and the West are under the protection of Allah,
the Prophet and all believers. None of those living by Christianity
will be forced to turn to Islam. If any Christian is subjected to any
killing or injustice, Muslims must help him. "34 And then read this
verse from the Qur'an: "Only argue with the People of the Book
in the kindest way, saying, 'We believe in what has been sent
down to us and what was sent down to you." (Surat al-'Ankabut:
46)
Numerous accounts relate that our Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) attended Jewish and Christian wedding
receptions, visited their sick, and hosted them generously. When
the Christians of Najran visited him, he spread out his cloak and
asked them to be seated thereon. His marriage to the Egyptian
Christian Maria is an example of this mentality. Following his
death, the good treatment accorded to the People of the Book had
at its heart the same compassion that the Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) had shown toward these two commu-
nities throughout his life.
Muslims Treated the People of the Book with
Muslims Treated the People of the Book with
Compassion and Justice
Compassion and Justice
Christianity was born on Palestinian soil but spread towards
present-day Syria and Iraq because of the Christian church's op-
pressive rule. When our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) began to teach Islam, there were many Jewish and
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