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Non-Muslim citizens have a similar right to be protected
from external enemies just as a Muslim fellow citizen does. The payment of jizya
ensures protection against outside aggression, defense against enemies, and
ransom to be paid on their behalf if they are taken captive by an enemy.
Writing a few centuries ago, Ibn Hazm, a classical
scholar of Islam, said:
‘If we are attacked by an enemy nation who is targeting
the People of the Covenant living among us, it is out duty to come fully armed
and ready to die in battle for them, to protect those people who are protected
by the covenant of God and His Messenger. Doing any less and surrendering them
will be blameworthy neglect of a sacred promise.’
History has recorded many examples of Muslims fulfilling
their sacred promise towards the dhimmis. The companion of Prophet
Muhammad, Abu Ubayda al-Jarrah, was the leader of the army that conquered Syria. He made agreement with its people to pay the jizya.
Realizing the faithful loyalty of the Muslims, the
Syrian people of the covenant resisted Muslim enemies and aided the Muslims
against them. The residents of each town would send some of their people to
spy against the Byzantines, who conveyed the news of the gathering of Byzantine
army to Abu Ubayda’s commanders. Finally, when the Muslims feared they would not
be able to guarantee their protectect ,Abu Ubayda wrote to his commanders to
return all the money they had collected as jizya with the following message
for the Syrians:
‘We are returning your money to you because news has
reached us of the awaiting armies. The condition of our agreement is that we
protect you, and we are unable to do so, therefore, we are returning what we
have taken from you. If God grants us victory, we will stand by out
agreement.’
When his commanders returned the money and conveyed his
message, the Syrian response was:
‘May God bring you back safely to us. May He grant you
victory. If the Byzantines had been in your place, they would not have
returned anything, they would have taken everything we own and left us with
nothing.’
The Muslims were victorious in the battle. When people
of other towns saw how their allies were defeated, they sought to negotiate a
truce with the Muslims. Abu Ubayda entered into a truce with all of them with
all the rights he had extended in the first treaties. They also requested that
the Byzantines hiding among them be given safe passage back home, with their
families and possessions, without any harm, which Abu Ubayda agreed to.
Then the Syrians sent the jizya and opened their
cities to welcome Muslims. On the way back home, Abu Ubayda was met by the representatives
of townspeople and villagers requesting him to extend the treaty to them as
well, to which he happily complied.
Another example of Muslims’ defending the non-Muslim
citizens can be seen in the actions of Ibn Taimiyya. He went to the Tartar
leader after they had sacked Syria for release of their captives. The Tartar
leader agreed to release the Muslim prisoners, but Ibn Taimiyya protested:
‘We will only be satisfied if all the Jewish and
Christian prisoners are released as well. They are people of the covenant. We
do not abandon a prisoner whether from our own people or from those under a
covenant.’
He persisted until the Tartars released all of them.
Furthermore, Muslim jurists have stated that protecting
non-Muslims from external aggression is a duty just as their protection from
internal harassment. Al-Mawardi stated:
‘The payment of the jizya entitles the people of
the covenant to two rights. First, that they be left undisturbed. Second, that
they be guarded and protected. In this way, they can be secure in society and
protected from outside threats.’
Islam considers abandoning the protection of its
non-Muslim citizens a form of wrongdoing and oppression that is forbidden. God
says:
“…And whoever commits injustice among you — We will make him
taste a great punishment.” (Quran 25:19)
Therefore, harming or oppressing people of the covenant
is considered a serious sin. Upholding treaties with them is an obligation on
the Muslim Caliph and his representatives. The Prophet promised to argue on
the Day of Judgment on behalf of the dhimmi against someone who harms
him:
“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim
minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or
takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will
complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawood)
All evidence in Islamic Law points towards protecting
the people of the covenant. Al-Qarafi, another classical Muslim scholar, wrote:
‘The covenant is a contract that has conditions that are
compulsory for us, for they are under our protection as neighbors, and the
covenant of God and His Messenger, and the religion of Islam. If someone harms
them with inappropriate speech, defamation, any type of harassment, or is an
accomplice to such actions, then he has made light of the covenant of God, His
Messenger, and Islam.’
Umar, the second Caliph of Islam, would inquire from
the visitors coming to meet him from other provinces about the situation of the
people of the covenant and would say, ‘We may know that the treaty is still
being upheld.’ On his
deathbed, Umar is reported to have said, ‘Command whoever becomes Caliph after
me to treat well the people of the covenant, to uphold the treaty, to fight
whoever wants to harm them, and not to overwhelm them with burden.’
The writings of Muslim scholars and the actions of many Muslim
rulers demonstrate the Islamic commitment from the earliest times to this right
of non-Muslims.
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