Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 42
42 And who can doubt the authenticity of Imam Novi ’ s commentary of Sa hih Muslim. Similarly اَلختيار ات العلميہ ( Al - Ikhtiy a r a tul - ‘Ilmiy y ah ) has been compiled by the f a mous Imam Ib n - e - Taim i y y a h. In short, all works that have been quoted above are standard and authentic. In their day all these books have been important sources of go v ernmental policy. It must not, however, be misunderstood that the views expressed by these authors have Islamic sanction at their back. We merely want to point out that these details in fact exist in books on Islamic jurisprudence. Again it should be clearly understood that these rules were not always followed by the Muslim governments. As a matter of fact in spite of these ridiculous sanctions, Muslims and their governments generally, were very generous towards the Dhimm i citizens in keeping with the true spirit of Islam. This had been admitted by the non-Muslims themselves. The famous Christian historian Jurjy Zaidan who is well - known for his hostility against Muslims, writes: "One of the important causes of the rapid scientific advancement by the Muslims was that Muslim caliphs encouraged and honoured scholars and scientists irrespective of their nationality and religion. They were famous for bestowing huge rewards and honours on them.