Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 34
34 lives and property was violated by the authorities, and many of their eminent leaders and theologians suffered torture and injustice. Naturally the rights of the Dhimm i citizens were also jeopardised. Almost the same situation arose which was ostensibly the case of the downfall of the Roman and Persian empires. It must, however, be pointed out that breach of trust and mischief on the part of Dhimm i s were in no small measure responsible for this change. Because, the passage of time made them ungrateful and they had forgotten the way the Muslims had rescued them from the tyrannies of their co- religionists. Because of this they had started transferring their loyalties to the non-Muslim states. This changed political situation affected the thinking of jurists and commentators of law. They framed rules and regulations about Dhimm i s which had no sanction of Shar i ‘ ah. It is not very pleasant to discuss these laws in detail, but, unfortunately, we have to, in order to present a complete picture of the circumstances prevailing at the time. Our duty, therefore, is twofold: First, what are the injunctions of Islam about the non- Muslim citizens of a Muslim state, and secondly, to define the misconceptions about these injunctions which were caused directly by political reasons.