Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 41
~ 41 ~ Prophet sa he wanted to have confirmation of his clemency. On his arrival the Holy Prophet sa made an amazing gesture of goodwill, and stood up as a mark of respect for him in his capacity as the leader of the enemy. On his asking he told ‘Ikramah that he had indeed pardoned him. 14 ‘Ikramah inquired if his pardon was on the grounds that he stayed firm on his own faith? That he had not embraced Islam, and he still maintained his idolatrous stance, was he still forgiven? Confirmation of this by the Prophet sa moved ‘Ikramah immensely and he cried out, 'O Mu h ammad! Certainly, you are extremely forbearing, compassionate and benevolent to your kindred. ' Seeing the miracle of the supreme civility and act of kindness of the Holy Prophet sa ‘Ikramah embraced Islam. 15 This is the manner in which Islam was spread; with excellent manners and with freedom of conscience and religion. The act of supreme civility and freedom of religion had a person like ‘Ikramah smitten in a moment. The Holy Prophet sa had even afforded prisoners and slaves the freedom of religion, while maintaining that the 14 Mua tta Im a m M a lik , Kit a bun ‐ Nik ah , Nik ah ul ‐ Mushrik idh a Aslamat zauj a tuh u qablah u 15 As ‐ S i ratul ‐ H alabiyyah , vol. 3, p. 109, b a budh ‐ dhikr ‐ e ‐ Mugh a ziyah…, fat h ‐ e ‐ Makkah sharrafahull a hu ‐ t a ‘ a l a. Printed in Beirut.