A Message for Our Time — Page 63
63 Religious Tolerance And Freedom In Islam answer this, let me present another incident from the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas. Once, a delegation of Christians from the Arab city of Najran came to meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas in Madinah. After some time, the Christians became restless and so the Holy Prophet sas enquired if something was wrong. In response, the Christians informed him that it was time for their worship, but they did not have an appropriate place to perform their prayers or rituals. Upon this, the Prophet of Islam sas invited the Christians to worship in his own mosque in Madinah, according to their tra- ditions and ways. Through this munificent and magnanimous gesture, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas set an everlasting example of toler- ance, freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all man- kind. Nevertheless, some people question why wars or battles were fought by the early Muslims. Thus, let me make it clear that wherever Islam permitted the use of force, it was never to conquer lands or to compel people to accept Islam; rather, where the Holy Quran authorised the early Muslims to utilise a degree of force, it clearly stipulated that permission was granted in order to establish peace and security and to ensure that true freedom of religion and freedom of belief prevailed. It explained that the use of force was not given to save Islam, but was given in order to protect the rights of all people and reli- gions and to guarantee the rights of all communities to believe as they pleased. Consequently, in chapter 22, verse 41 of the Holy Quran, where permission was first granted to the Muslims to engage in a defensive war, it clarified that the opponents of Islam were not waging war against the Muslims for any personal,