Prophet Muhammad’s Charter of Privileges to the Christian monks

Urdu Section

26 Mar 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com

Prophet Muhammad's Charter of Privileges to the Christian monks

By Dr Muqtadar Khan The Muslims and the Christians together form the half of the population of the earth. If the two communities are united in peace, it will mean that the world has completed half the journey towards peace and unity. The first step towards this goal would be adopting a positive attitude towards each other by reliving the positive moments of the past instead of denigrating and abusing each other. I would like to remind both the Muslims and the Christians of the promises made by the Holy Prophet Hadhrath Muhammad (pbuh) during his life to the Christians of his times. The knowledge of the Charter can have a revolutionary impact on the attitude of the Muslims towards the Christians. The Muslims, as it is, revere the Holy Prophet and try their best to follow in his footsteps. In 628 AD, a delegation of the monks of St Catherine had visited Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and demanded a guarantee for the security and peace for the Christians. In response, the Prophet (pbuh) gave them a Charter (a written undertaking) which is being reproduced below. The monastery of St Catherine is situated at the foot of Mount Sinai of today's Egypt and is the oldest Christian monastery in the world. It houses such a large archive of Christian religious manuscripts which is probably the second largest after that of Vatican. In addition, St Catherine is a sacred place of pilgrimage for the Christians. This monastery is like a precious wealth for the Christians which is being protected by Muslims for the last 14 centuries. The Charter granted by the Holy Prophet to the Christians: "This message is from Muhammad (pbuh), son of Abdullah, which has the status of an undertaking for those who have far and near accepted the religion of Christianity that we are with them. In fact, my sub-ordinates, my associates, my companions (sahabas) and my followers will defend them because the Christians are our citizens, and I swear by Allah that I dislike everything which makes them unhappy. Let there be no compulsion on them. Neither their judges should be removed from their posts nor should their monks be removed from their places of worship. Let no one destroy their places of worship, let no one harm them and let no one take anything from their places of worship to their own homes. Anyone who does so will violate the covenant of Allah. In fact they (the Christians) are My allies and I make this promise unto them: no one will force them to migrate or fight a battle. The Muslims will fight to protect them. If any Christian woman wants to marry, the marriage cannot be solemnised without her will and consent. Such a woman will not be prevented from going to the church for prayers. The respect of the churches is mandatory. Neither there will be any hindrance in the repairs of the churches nor will their sanctity be destroyed. No member of the ummah (Muslim community) will violate this agreement till the day of resurrection (qayaamat)." The last sentence of this Charter is very important. It has lent the Charter an eternal and universal significance. The Prophet (pbuh) has impressed upon the fact that the Christians living far and near are His allies which clearly suggests that this Charter is not confined to St Catherine. This also means that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has ruled out any possibility of these privileges getting annulled in future. The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) has declared that all the Christians were his allies and ruled any kind of misdemeanour against them defiance against Allah. The unique feature of this undertaking is that the Holy Prophet has imposed no preconditions for it. For them, to enjoy these rights, the only criterion was their being Christians. No changes or alterations in their beliefs were demanded, nor was any jeziya (tax) imposed on them in lieu of those rights, nor were any additional duties imposed on them. That was an undertaking in relation to the rights which entailed no duties.   This document is not any charter of the modern world. It is an undertaking written in 628 AD that, in very clear terms, guarantees the right to property, the right to religion, the right to livelihood and the right to security to the citizens. I know that every reader of this charter will ask what we should do then. The answer is very simple. Those who promote hatred between the Muslims and the Christians actually promote differences and disputes. And when we keep the promises made to them( in the charter), we are bridging the gap, building communications. The Charter inspires the Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and leads the Christians who nurture in their hearts misgivings and ill feeling against the Muslims, towards a better understanding of Islam. When I put my sight on Islamic manuscripts, I realise that they are examples of tolerance and co-operation. I feel as if they expect me to become a better human being. I become convinced that goodness and virtue is a quintessential part of our nature. When we ignore these principles, we undoubtedly negate our existence as human beings.(Translated by Sohail Arshad). Dr Muqtadar Khan is the Director of Islamic Studies in Delaware University, and a Fellow of the Institute for Social Policy, of the US. URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=2622

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Asadullah Syed