Islam and Non-Muslims: A New Perspective (Part 1/4)

 

 

I. Introduction

The question of Islam’s relationship with other religions of the world carries a significance that needs no elaboration. Shortened frontiers, enhanced communication and increased interaction in this present era have only magnified the importance of this issue. Indeed, the past fourteen centuries of co-inhabitation with other religions has greatly influenced world history and the shaping of global geographic boundaries.

The general opinion of Muslim scholars on this matter is based on the premise that Islam is the final truth and therefore only Islam has the right to rule in this world; non-Muslims better be aware of this or else they will have to face animosity and hostility from Muslims. Peaceful co-existence is something which generally finds mention in the Muslim view where they are in power and people of other religions live in subservience to Muslims. Jeffrey Lang, professor of Mathematics at the Kansas University, who converted to Islam in the early eighties, vividly records this typical Muslim mindset in the following words:

 

‘I’m sure you know that it’s incumbent on Muslims living in the United States to work and struggle and, if necessary, to fight to establish an Islamic state here’, said the dean of the Middle Eastern University, aware that tradition and scholarship were on his side.

 

‘My idea of what makes a state Islamic might be very different from yours’, I answered. ‘Do you, for example, feel that your country is an Islamic state?’

 

‘Of course it’s not perfect’, he offered. ‘But we’re free to practice our faith and most of the Shari‘ah is enforced’.

 

‘But what if we’re already free to practice our rituals here and to influence the laws and government through democracy?’

 

‘But democracy recognizes the will of the majority, while an Islamic state gives final authority to God as revealed in the Qur’an and teachings of the Prophet!’

 

‘Might not the two converge in a society where the majority are committed to the viewpoint that God is the supreme authority and Muhammad is His Prophet? If the majority is not so committed, then what purpose is served by declaring an Islamic state or a state religion?’

 

‘What you’re advocating is secularism!’1

 

A little deliberation shows that Muslim scholars base their view on what transpired in Arabia fourteen hundred years ago when Muhammad (sws) the last of the Messengers of Allah led a long struggle against the exponents of Kufr (denial of the truth). Many verses of the Qur’an and certain A%hadithwhich record and depict this struggle apparently ask the believers to be hostile to non-Muslims. There are directives like severing ties with non-Muslims and cursing them in prayer. Some Qur’anic verses and A%hadith even ask the believers to put to death non-Muslims. As Rev. Stephene puts it:

 

In the Qur’an, the Mussulman is absolutely and positively commanded to make war upon all those who decline to acknowledge the Prophet until they submit, or, in the case of Jews and Christians, purchase exemption from the conformity by the payment of tribute. The mission of the Mussulman, as declared in the Qur’an, is distinctly aggressive. We might say that Mahomet bequeathed to his disciples a roving commission to propagate his faith by the employment of force where persuasion failed. ‘O Prophet, fight for the religion of God’ – ‘Stir up the faithful to war,’ such are commands which Mahomet believed to be given to him by God. ‘Fight against them who believe not in God, nor the last day’, ‘attack the idolatrous in all the months’, such are his own exhortations to his disciples.2

 

So the conclusion is simple. Muslims must follow what is written in their Holy book and what is ascribed to their Prophet (sws).

 

II. The Premise

In this regard, the basic premise3 which needs to be understood is that most directives of Islam that depict hostility and antagonism towards non-Muslims are directed towards a specific category of non-Muslims, which may exist today but cannot be humanly pinpointed. In reality, this category of non-Muslims were punished by the Almighty in the era of Muhammad (sws) and his Companions (rta) for reasons that shall be discussed later. The hostility and antagonism which the Qur’an depicts against these non-Muslims are actually the various manifestations of the punishment meted out to them. In religious parlance, such non-Muslims are called the Kuffar (singular: Kafir) or Disbelievers.

In other words, directives which apparently depict hostility and antagonism against non-Muslims are not related to the non-Muslims of times other than the times of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) and his Companions (rta) since the Kuffar among them  cannot be ascertained.

 

III. Arguments and Rationale

I will now attempt to substantiate the above mentioned premise. First, an attempt will be made to identify the Disbelievers (Kuffar). Next the basis and source of their punishment will be delineated. This will be followed by details of the preaching mission of the Rusul4 (plural ofRasul: Messengers) of God who became the agents of this punishment so that the readers can view the whole act of retribution in its overall perspective. Finally, the major directives which relate to the Kuffar (Disbelievers) and which have been erroneously extended to all non-Muslims shall be elaborated upon.

 

a. Identifying the Disbelievers (Kuffar)

In the Qur’an, the word Kafir is used as a term to denote a person who denies a Messenger of the Almighty even though he is convinced of the truth of his message5.

It is humanly impossible for a person to determine whether an individual or a group of individuals is deliberately denying a Messenger since no one can know what is in a person’s heart; neither can any one be correctly aware of the excuses and hindrances a person may have in this regard. It is only the Almighty who on the basis of His all embracing knowledge can inform us of such a denial, for it is He alone who knows what is in the hearts. In times when He used to send His Messengers, He chose to impart this information to them through Wahi (revelation). However, after the termination of the institution of Wahi, people who have deliberately denied a Messenger cannot be pinpointed. In other words, after the departure of Muhammad (sws), the last Messenger, no Muslim is in a position to ascertain who among his addressees is guilty of deliberately denying the message of Muhammad (sws). Therefore, now, only on the Day of Judgement will it be known whether a particular person is a Kafir or not.

As a consequence, the Christians and Jews and followers of other religions who live after the age of the Prophet (sws) cannot be called Kafirs; the right name for them is non-Muslims.

 

b. Punishing the Disbelievers (Kuffar)

According to the Qur’an, denying a Messenger of God in spite of being convinced about his veracity is something which deserves severe punishment both in this world and in the Hereafter since this is tantamount to deliberately denying the Almighty Himself. The worldly punishment of the Disbelievers (Kuffar) was carried out by the Almighty in two ways: Either He directly destroyed them Himself through disasters and calamities or by His Messengers and their Companions (rta) -- who in this exercise were no more than agents of His retribution. In the second case, the Messengers and their Companions (rta) just replaced the weapons of destruction as the role of earthquakes, storms, cyclones and lightning was assumed by them.

Referring to the first form of punishment, the Qur’an says:

 

فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنْبِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَغْرَقْنَا (29 : 40)

Each one of them We seized for their crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado with showers of stones; some were caught by a mighty blast; some We sunk in the earth; and some We drowned in the waters. (29:40)

 

Referring to the second form of divine punishment, the Qur’an asserts:

 

 

قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمْ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ وَيَنْصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ (9 :14)

Fight them [ O Believers!] and God will punish them with your hands and humiliate them and help you to victory over them. (9:14)

 

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ (8 :17)

It is not you [O believers] who slew them; it was [ in fact] God [who slew] them. (8:17)

 

While explaining this verse, the celebrated Muslim authority, Shah Wali Ullah, writes:

 

فَصَارُوْا فِيْ ذَلِكَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْمَلَئِكَةِ تَسْعىَ فِيْ إِتْمَامِ مَا أَمَرَ اللهُ تَعَالى غَيْرَ أَنْ الْمَلئِكَةَ تَسَعى مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُّعَقَّدَ فِيْهِمْ قَاعِدَةٌ كُلِّيَّةٌ وَالْمُسْلِمُوْنَ يُقَاتِلُوْنَ لِأَجَلِ قَاعِدَةِ كُلِّيَّةٍ عَلَّمَهُمْ اللهُ تَعَالى وَكَانَ عَمَلُهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَعْظَمُ الْاَعْمَالِ وَصَارَ الْقَتْلُ لَا يُسْنَدُ إنَّمَا يُسْنَدُ أِلَى الْأَمِيْرِ كَمَا يُسْنَدُ قَتْلُ الْعَاصِىْ إِلىَ الْأْمِيْرِ دُوْنِ السَّيَّافِ. وَهُوَ قَوْلُه تَعَالَى ’فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوْهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ قَتَلَهُمْ

The Prophet Muhammad (sws) and his Companions (rta) in the fulfillment of this mission became like angels who also strive for the implementation of God’s directives. The difference between angelic and human undertakings is that the former strive without being guided by any universal principle, while human beings fight for the sake of a definite overall objective given to them by the Almighty. Thus Jihad becomes the greatest of all their deeds. That is why the act of killing is not attributed to them. It is attributed to the Divine Being who issued the directive to kill. This is like ascribing the act of killing of a traitor to the ruler rather than the slayer, as the Qur’an says: ‘You slew them not, but God slew them’.6

 

In other words, what needs to be understood is that it was the Almighty who took matters in His own hands and punished the Kuffar in this world in the time of His Messengers. It is precisely for this reason that in this particular sphere, the Prophet Muhammad (sws) is not a role model for Muslims. What mankind needs to learn from this whole exercise is to be mindful of a reality that it tends to forget: reward and punishment in the Hereafter on the basis of a person’s deeds. This reward and punishment which is to take place in the Hereafter is substantiated visually by the Almighty through the agency of His Messengers so that mankind may always remain heedful to this reality. The court of justice which will be set up for every person on the Day of Judgement was set up for the nations of Messengers in this world so that the latter could become a visual testimony to the former. The Qur’an at numerous instances has used this argument to substantiate the reward and punishment in the Hereafter. In Surah H~aqqah, for example, it says:

 

الْحَاقَّةُ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ  وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحَاقَّةُ كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ وَعَادٌ بِالْقَارِعَةِ  فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ   وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ  سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ  فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُمْ مِنْ بَاقِيَةٍ  وَجَاءَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَنْ قَبْلَهُ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتُ بِالْخَاطِئَةِ   فَعَصَوْا رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةً رَابِيَةً   إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَى الْمَاءُ حَمَلْنَاكُمْ فِي الْجَارِيَةِ   لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةً وَتَعِيَهَا أُذُنٌ وَاعِيَةٌ  (69 :1-12)

The Inevitable! What is the Inevitable? What do you know what the Inevitable is? It is the Pounding One which the ‘A%d and the Thamud denied. As for the Thamud, they were destroyed by a calamity that exceeded all bounds and the ‘A%d by a storm, fierce and violent. He let loose this [storm] on them for seven nights and eight days to ravage them. You would have seen them lying overthrown as though they were hollow trunks of palm-trees. So do you now see any of them? And the same crime was committed by Pharaoh and those before him and by the overturned settlements also such that they disobeyed the Messenger of their Lord [sws]. So He gripped them with an intensifying grip. [Similarly, as a consequence of denying Noah (sws)] when [the storm blew over and] the flood rose high it was We who carried you upon the ark to make this [account of your ancestors] a reminder for you and that retaining ears may retain it . (69:1-12)

 

The justification of the retribution carried out by the Messengers on the Kuffar is that through divine help, the basic truths7 become manifest in their personalities to the extent that no one is left with any excuse to deny it. In the words of the Qur’an, this is called Shahadah ‘ala al-nas (bearing witness to the truth before other peoples). The Almighty has referred to this aspect in the following words:

 

إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا (73 :15)

To you [O People of the Quraysh!] We have sent forth a Rasul as witness to the truth upon you just as we sent a Rasul to the Pharaoh. (73:15)

 

In other words, what authorizes a Messenger to punish the Kuffar is that it can be ascertained in this very world that they are guilty of denying the basic truths in spite of being convinced about them. Good and evil are elucidated with ultimate clarity and people who accept evil do so not because of any confusion but because of their own stubbornness.

So it can be concluded that since a Messenger reveals the basic truths in their ultimate form and those who deny it do so because of their stubbornness and even confess their sins, a Messenger has the perfect justification to punish his people after they have denied him.

 

c. The Preaching Mission of the Messengers

As mentioned earlier, a detailed analysis of the preaching mission of the Messengers shall now be made so that the punishment meted out by the Almighty through them to the Disbelievers can be viewed by the reader in the overall perspective. This will be done in two sections. The first covers the general features of this mission and the second one covers the manifestation of these features in the era of Muhammad (sws).

 

1. General Features

i. The Objective of the Messengers

In the words of the Qur’an, the basic objective of the Messengers of Allah is to decide the fate of their respective peoples in this world in such a manner that if these people deny their Messengers, they are subdued in this very world:

 

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِرُسُلِهِمْ لَنُخْرِجَنَّكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِنَا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنَا فَأَوْحَى إِلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ لَنُهْلِكَنَّ الظَّالِمِينَوَلَنُسْكِنَنَّكُمْ الْأَرْضَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامِي وَخَافَ وَعِيدِ (14 :9-14)

And the disbelievers said to their Messengers: We will drive you out of our land, or you return to our religion’. But their Lord inspired [this message] to them [–the Messengers–]: ‘Verily We will cause the wrong-doers to perish! And verily We will cause you to abide in the land, and succeed them. This is for those who feared the time when they shall stand before My tribunal and those who feared My warnings’. (14:9-14)

 

It has been ordained that the Almighty and His Messengers will always prevail:

 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي الأَذَلِّينَكَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ(58 :20-1)

Indeed those who are opposing Allah and His Messengerare bound to be humiliated. The Almighty has ordained: I and My Messengersshall always prevail. Indeed Allah is Mighty and Powerful. (58:20-1)

 

The Old Testament refers to this law in the following words:

 

If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy, 8:19-20)

 

The New Testament mentions this law in the following words:

 

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered: ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish’. (Luke, 13:1-4)

 

ii. Phases of the Mission

A Rasul’s mission after passing through various phases culminates in achieving the above mentioned objective of deciding the fate of his nation in this very world. This mission can be categorized in the following phases:8

a. The Propagation Phase

b. The Acquittal Phase

c. The Judgement Phase

 

In the following paragraphs, we will take a look at some of the important features of these phases.

 

a. The Propagation Phase

With this phase begins the mission of the Messengers. During this phase, with the special help and assistance of the Almighty, the Messengers remove misconceptions which may surround the basic truths and vehemently say that if people do not accept these truths they shall be doomed in this world and in the Hereafter. In this phase, the Messengers of Allah never use force or retaliate against any oppression or persecution encountered. They spend all their time and energy in earnestly urging people to mend their ways.

 

b. The Acquittal Phase

At the end of the Propagation Phase – which is signaled by he Almighty since only He knows when enough time has been given to people to reflect and accept such truths – a Messenger disassociates himself from his people by announcing his acquittal and migrating from them so that the Almighty can pronounce His judgement both upon the followers of the Messenger and his adversaries. It is now that his adversaries are called Kafirs, implying that they have rejected the basic truths in spite of being convinced about them.

Two important things must be noted about the migration of a Messengerwhich takes place in this acquittal phase.

Firstly, it signals the end of his nation. It means that all that could have been done to call them to accept faith has been done. Before migration, as long as a Messenger remains among his people, they are protected from any punishment and given respite due to his presence. So, when the pagan Arabs demanded from Muhammad (sws) to bring the punishment he had been threatening them with, they were told:

 

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ (8 :33)

But God was not going to send them a punishment whilst you are amongst them. (8:33)

 

Secondly, a Messenger is not authorized to make the decision of migration for himself since only the Almighty knows when a particular people has been given enough time to accept the basic truths. A Messenger must keep to his task of warning his people, in spite of bitter opposition, until he is informed by the Almighty that the time for warning them is over. The Prophet Jonah (sws) was reprimanded by the Almighty when he on his own decided to migrate from his people: 

 

وَذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنْ الظَّالِمِينَ (21 :87)

And remember Dhu’l-Nun, when he departed in wrath thinking that We will not hold him responsible! So he cried through the depths of darkness: ‘There is no god but You. Glory to You. I was indeed wrong!’ (21:87)

 

The Prophet Muhammad (sws) was told to exercise patience and not be like Jonah (sws) until the decree of Allah arrived:

 

فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُنْ كَصَاحِبِ الْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَى وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ (68 :48)

So wait with patience for the Command of your Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish, -- when he cried out in agony. (68:48)

 

On the other hand, when Abraham (sws) argued with the Almighty that the nation of his nephew, the Prophet Lot (sws), be given more respite, he was told that none among the righteous were left in it. While the Qur’an (11:74) makes a passing reference to this, the Bible gives the following details:

 

Then Abraham approached Him and said: ‘Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare that place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ The Lord said: ‘If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake’. Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?’ ‘If I find forty-five there’, He said: ‘I will not destroy it’. Once again he spoke to him: ‘What if only forty are found there?’ He said: ‘For the sake of forty, I will not do it’. Then he said: ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?’ He answered: ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there’. Abraham said: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?’ He said: ‘For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it’. Then he said: ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered: ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it’. (Genesis, 18:23-32)

 

c. The Judgement Phase

This phase is the culmination of a Messenger’spreaching mission. He decides the fate of his nation in this phase. It is in reality the Almighty who undertakes this task as pointed out before.

It is evident from the Qur’an that in the Judgement phase, the punishment of the Disbelievers9 normally takes two forms depending upon the situation that arises.

If a Messenger has very few companions and he has no place to migrate from his people and attain political power, then the Messenger and his companions are sifted out from their nation by the Almighty and made to migrate to a safe place. Their nation is then destroyed through various natural calamities like earthquakes, typhoons and cyclones. The Qur’an says:

 

فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنْبِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ أَغْرَقْنَا (29 :40)

Each one of them We seized for their crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado with showers of stones; some were caught by a mighty blast; some We sunk in the earth; and some We drowned in the waters. (29:40)

 

The ‘A^d, nation of Hud (sws), the Thamud nation of S~alih (sws) as well as the nations of Noah (sws), Lot (sws) and Shu‘ayb (sws) were destroyed through such natural disasters when they denied their respective Messengers as is mentioned in the various surahs of the Qur’an.10 In the case of Moses (sws), the Israelites never denied him. The Pharaoh and his followers however did. Therefore, they were destroyed.

The Prophet Jonah’s people accepted faith and were saved from punishment:

 

فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ (10: 98)

Why was there not a single township which professed faith so that its faith should have profited it, -- except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the penalty of ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy their life for a while. (10:98)

 

In the second case, a Messenger is able to win a fair amount of companions and is also able to migrate to a place where he is able to acquire the reins of political power through divine help. In this case, a Messenger and his companions subdue their nation by force, and execute them if they do not accept faith. The nation of a Messenger is then given further respite during which the Messenger starts to purge and cleanse the people who accept faith and organizes them for a final onslaught upon the forces of evil. He also strengthens his hold and authority in the land. Once his companions are ready for an armed conflict, these addressees are given a final ultimatum and then attacked. The forces of a Messenger are destined to triumph and humiliate his enemies. The punishment, which in the previous case descended from the heavens, in this case emanates from the sword of the believers. It was this situation which arose in the case of Muhammad (sws). His opponents were destroyed by the swords of the Muslim believers until at the conquest of Makkah, the remaining accepted faith. (Details follow in the next section).

Referring to this form of divine punishment, the Qur’an asserts:

 

قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمْ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ وَيَنْصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ (9 :14)

Fight them and God will punish them with your hands and humiliate them and help you to victory over them. (9:14)

 

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ (8 :17)

It is not you [O believers] who slew them; it was [ in fact] God who slew them. (8:17)

 

In other words, as pointed out earlier, it is the Almighty Himself who punishes the addressees of Messengers if they deny their respective Messengers; the Messengersand their companions are no more than a means to carry out this Divine plan.

The punishment and humiliation of nations towards whom Messengers were sent generally took place in two ways: Nations who subscribed to monotheism were spared if they accepted the supremacy of their respective Messenger, while nations who subscribed to polytheism were destroyed. The latter fate is in accordance with the fact that polytheism is something that the Almighty never forgives:

 

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا (4 :48)

God never forgives those guilty of polytheism though He may forgive other sins to whom He pleases. Those who commit polytheism devise a heinous sin. (4:48)

 

إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ(5 :72)

God has absolutely forbidden Paradise to the person who is guilty of polytheism. Fire will be his abode. For the wrong-doers, there will be no help. (5:72)

 

For similar reasons, in the Judaic law, perpetrators of polytheism were to be punished with death in this world:

 

If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, and contrary to my command has worshipped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. (Deuteronomy 17:2-5)

 

Consequently, the Israelites were told that they should put to death all the polytheist nations and not to spare them in any way:

 

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you – and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. (Deuteronomy 7:1-5)

 

The Old Testament also mentions that there were certain nations that were to be spared if they were prepared to live a life of subjugation. In the light of the Qur’an, it can be adduced that such nations were those who did not subscribe to polytheism. They were not put to death and were given the option to live if they accepted the supremacy of the Mosaic law:

 

When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labour and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, and children, the livestock and everything else in the city you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby. (Deuteronomy, 20:10-15)

 

Consequently, the People of the Book (the Israelites) were not wiped out as a nation because, being the People of the Book, they were basically adherents to monotheism. Their humiliation took the form of constant subjugation to the followers of Jesus (sws) till the day of Judgement as referred to by the following verse:

 

إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ (3: 55)

Remember when God said: ‘O Jesus! I will give death to you and raise you to Myself and cleanse you from those who have denied; I will make those who follow you superior to those who reject faith till the Day of Resurrection. (3:55)

 

Here one might ask: Why were the People of the Book in particular the Christians regarded to be monotheists when they ascribed to trinity -- which apparently is a polytheistic doctrine? The answer to this question is that Christians are basically followers of monotheism. The Bible is very explicit about it:

 

The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one’. (Mark, 12:29)

 

Christians never admit to polytheism, though they are involved in certain polytheistic practices. A person becomes a polytheist when he openly admits that he is a polytheist. A person who claims to be a monotheist in spite of being involved in polytheistic practices, cannot be regarded as a polytheist. The reason is that a person might be doing something wrong without realizing that what he is doing; all Christians whether of today or from the period of Jesus (sws) never admit to polytheism; trinity to them is in accordance with monotheism. Of course Muslims do not agree with them but unless they claim polytheism, it can only be said that in spite of claiming to be monotheists they are involved in polytheism. Their case is the case of a Muslim who goes to the grave of a saint to ask him to grant a wish; we will not call such a Muslim a polytheist; we shall tell him that what he is doing is something which is against monotheism to which he himself strongly claims adherence. Similarly, we will not call Christians polytheists but we will keep telling them that what they are doing is not in accordance with monotheism.

It is precisely for this reason that the Qur’an never called the People of the Book as polytheists though they subscribed to certain blatant forms of polytheism. The Qur’an only called the Ismaelites as polytheists because they admittedly subscribed and testified to the creed of polytheism. They strongly advocated that polytheism was the very religion the Almighty had revealed and claimed that they were strong adherents to this religion. Because of this very reason, they were called the Mushrikun (the adherents to the creed of shirk) by the Qur’an.