Through Force or Faith? — Page 93
Chapter 1 — Analysis of the Papal Lecture 93 safety among them, we have come to your country, and hope you will protect us from oppression. Naj ā shī asked, ‘Do you have with you some of what this Prophet has brought from Allah?’ Ja‘far replied affirmatively. Naj ā shī said, ‘Read it for me’. Thereupon, he recited the beginning portion of S u rah Maryam. Naj ā shī started weeping and said, ‘Without a doubt, this and what Jesus brought, is the light from the same source’. He returned the envoys of the Quraish declaring that he would not hand over the Muslims to them. The next day, they (envoys of Quraish) approached Naj ā shī again and said that they (the Muslims) say something unseemly about Jesus, son of Mary. Naj ā shī summoned the Muslims again and inquired, ‘What do you people say about Jesus, son of Mary?’ Ja‘far replied on behalf of the Muslims, ‘We say what our Prophet s as brought to us that he is a servant of God, His messen- ger, His spirit, and His word’. Naj ā shī picked up a straw and said, ‘By God, Jesus, son of Mary, is not more than what you said by as much as this straw’. ( Ibn Hish a m, vol. 1, p. 290; published in Beirut) Above two are the examples of Christian emperors who were not weak like Manuel. Instead, they were the rulers of great empires and possessed power and might, but they were fair-minded and had the courage to speak the truth. If the Pope wishes to give an example of a Christian ruler for interfaith dialogue, he ought to start with these Christian kings who, despite having power and might, as opposed to the condition in which Manuel was, did not