Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 40
~ 40 ~ human values; because it was him indeed who was to give the teaching to appreciate these values. The Unique Standard of Justice and Freedom of Speech set by the Holy Prophet sa There is an incident of an enemy of Islam who had received the death penalty. Not only was he pardoned by the Holy Prophet sa , he was also given the freedom to practice his own religion while staying among the Muslims. His story is as follows: ‘Ikramah, son of Ab u Jahl, fought wars all his life with the Holy Prophet sa. At the time of the victory of Mecca, despite the declaration of amnesty, he attacked some troops and caused bloodshed in the Ka‘bah. It was for his war crimes that he had been given the death penalty. Since, at that time, no one could stand up to the Muslims, therefore, after the victory of Mecca, he ran off towards Yemen to save his life. His wife sought forgiveness for him from the Holy Prophet sa who most graciously pardoned him. She then followed her husband to fetch him back. ‘Ikramah could not believe that he had been pardoned despite the fact that he had meted out such cruelty, killed so many Muslims and was fighting till the last day, how could he be forgiven? However, she somehow managed to convince him and brought him back. When ‘Ikramah came in the presence of the Holy