Tolerance
Together With
Mercy

It was not only mercy that the Prophet r
kindly showed towards disbelievers and opponents. What outshone mercy was the
tolerance the Prophet r
established towards all non-Muslims, which opened for humanity new vistas of
benevolence, amity, and peaceful coexistence. Tolerance was woven into the
fabric of this message of mercy, practiced from the dawn of Islam, on the first
day of its birth, and traced all along its history and at the most critical
moments of its blessed journey.

1-Prophethood

After receiving the Divine Revelation
in Hira’ Cave, the Messenger of Allah r hurried back home to
his wife Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), his noble body shivering and
his heart beating hard. He r
just said, “Cover me! Cover me!”

Lady Khadijah comforted him and, after listening to the
incident that occurred in the cave, she supported him with the words of the
first believer. Then she accompanied him to her paternal cousin, Waraqah bin
Nawfal bin Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza bin Qusai t. He was a blind old man
who embraced Christianity in the pre-Islamic time. He used to write in Hebrew
and write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah willed for him to write.
She said, “O my cousin, listen to your nephew.”

Waraqah said to him, “O my nephew, what have you seen?”

The Messenger of Allah r recounted to him what
he had seen.

Waraqah said to him, “This is the same Namus (the Angel
entrusted with Divine Secrets, i.e. Gabriel u) whom Allah had sent
to Musa (Moses r).
Would that I were young and could live until the time when your people will
turn you out.”

The Messenger of Allah r asked, “Will they
turn me out?”

Waraqah replied, “Yes, never did a man come with the like of
what you have come with but he was treated with hostility. If I should live to
see that day, I would support you strongly.”1

A short while later, this venerable Christian who possessed
knowledge of the Scriptures died after giving the Messenger of Allah r
the glad tidings: he is surely the Prophet of this time.

2-Asylum

Persecution of the Muslims started
after the open preaching of Islam, near the middle or end of the fourth year of
prophethood. It began slowly at first, but steadily escalated and kept
worsening day by day and month by month until, in the middle of the fifth year,
it became intolerable and Muslims could no longer endure living in Makkah.

They began to seriously think of a way out from this
intolerable sufferance.

Amid
such hard times, Surat Az-Zumar was revealed, ushering the way to
emigration and declaring that the Land of Allah is spacious. (For
those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious.
Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account.)2 If they could not worship Allah in one
place, they could go to another.3

The Messenger of Allah r said to his followers,
who were suffering persecution and afflictions he could not protect them from,
“If only you set out to the land of Abyssinia, for in it is a king with whom
none is wronged; and it is a land of truth, until Allah makes for you a way out
of your suffering.”4

This was the first Islamic immigration to the Christian land of Abyssinia, which the Prophet r
described as “a land of truth.” It was ruled by the Negus, a Christian
king, whom the Prophet r
described as “a just king” who never wronged or mistreated any of his
subjects.

A group of twelve men and four women left for Abyssinia in
Rajab of the fifth year of prophethood, led by ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan t.
In his company was his wife Ruqaiyah (the Prophet’s daughter, may Allah be
pleased with her).

They moved out of Makkah under the cover of darkness and headed
for the sea where two merchant ships were sailing to Abyssinia – their
destination.

News of their departure reached the ears of the Quraish and men
were dispatched in their pursuit. But the believers had already left Shuaibah Port for their secure haven, where they
were received warmly and accorded due hospitality.5

The second emigration was larger yet more difficult. The
Quraish was on the alert and tried to thwart any attempt of escape. The Muslims
were faster, and Allah removed all obstacles along the way.

This time the group of emigrants comprised three hundred and
eighty men and eighteen or nineteen women.6

The incident of their immigration to Abyssinia
and the hospitality of the Negus was narrated by Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased
with her), the Prophet’s wife, who said:

We stayed with his
hospitality in the best land, with the best neighbor (the Negus). By Allah, we
remained so until there came a man who contended with him for sovereignty. By
Allah, we have never experienced greater grief than that which we felt at that
time, for fear that he might conquer the Negus, and then there would come (as a
sovereign) a man who would not acknowledge our rights (as refugees) as the
Negus did.

The Negus marched onward
(to meet the enemy) and between them was the broad Nile.
The Companions of the Messenger of Allah r said, “Would a man
go to attend the combat and bring us the news?” Az-Zubair bin Al-‘Awam, who
was the youngest among the people, said, “I (will go).” They blew up a
waterskin for him to use as a float, which he placed on his chest and swam over
until he reached the Nile bank, where the encounter occurred between the
people. Then he proceeded until he witnessed them. We supplicated Allah to
grant victory to the Negus over his enemy and to give him power in his country.
He did maintain full control over Abyssinia, and in his hospitality we lived in
the best abode until we came back to the Messenger of Allah r
in Makkah.7

In return, when the delegation of the Negus came to the
Messenger of Allah r,
Abu Umamah t
narrated that the Messenger of Allah r rose to serve them
himself.

His Companions said, “We shall suffice (serve) instead of
you, O Messenger of Allah,” but he said, “They were hospitable towards
my Companions and I love to suffice them (myself).”8

Quranic Ayat were revealed regarding the Negus and his
companions, who, when they heard the Qur’an, recognized the Words of their Lord
and their eyes overflowed with tears because of the truth they recognized.9

Allah U
says: (Verily, you will find the strongest among men in
enmity to the believers the Jews and those who associate others with Allah, and
you will find the nearest in love to the believers those who say, “We are
Christians10.” That is because among them are
priests and monks, and they are not proud. And when they listen to what has
been sent down to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears
because of the truth they have recognized. They say, “Our Lord, we believe; so
write us down among the witnesses.”)11

Upon the death of the Negus, the Prophet r
said, “Today a righteous man has died. Get up and offer Salah (Funeral
Prayer) for your brother Ashamah.”12

3-Hijrah

Persecution grew more and more
ferocious as the Islamic Call gained momentum. Opposition erupted and forces of
evil allied to curb Islam and kill its Prophet r. With hardships
encircling him, the momentous event finally came and the Prophet r
received permission from his Lord to emigrate from Makkah to Al-Madinah.

Hijrah (emigration) was a journey fraught with danger,
commanding the utmost secrecy and caution. Among the necessary preparations was
hiring a skilled guide, well acquainted with desert routes, to show the Prophet
r
and Abu Bakr t
the way to Al-Madinah.

It was a role certainly precarious for
a traveler whom the Quraish wanted dead at any price, in a journey that was
later on used as the starting date of the Islamic era.13

In this pivotal journey in the history of Islam, which ushered in
the foundation of the first Muslim State, the Prophet r
and his journey Companion, Abu Bakr t, entrusted the reins of
their camel to a man called ‘Abdullah bin Ariqt, from the tribe of Banu
Ad-Dail. He was an idol-worshiper, a follower of the religion of the infidels
of Quraish.

Lady ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:

The Prophet r
and Abu Bakr t
hired a man from the tribe of Banu Ad-Dail, from the family of Banu ‘Abd bin
‘Adi, as a guide. He was an expert guide. He was under an oath he took in
alliance with the family of Al-‘Asi bin Wail and followed the religion of the
infidels of Quraish. The Prophet r and Abu Bakr t
trusted him and gave him their riding camels.

They agreed with him
to meet at Thawr Cave after
three nights. He brought them their two riding camels in the morning following
the three nights. They both (the Prophet r and Abu Bakr t)
departed accompanied by ‘Amir bin Fuhaira and the guide from Ad-Dail, who took
them through the lower part of Makkah – across the coastal road.14

This choice, full of reliance on Allah U,
demonstrated confidence in and tolerance towards not only the People of the
Scripture, which is only natural for Islam is the continuity of Judaism and
Christianity, but also towards infidels, by the just and discerning
look of a merciful Prophet r who appreciated the
skilled and loyal among them, and even hired them if necessity called for it.

This is the tolerance that Islam preaches towards non-Muslims
as long as they do not fight against Islam and Muslims and do not chase them or
aid others in chasing them out of their land, in which case it is forbidden.
Allah U
says:

(Allah
does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do
not expel you from your homes, from being kind towards them and acting justly
towards them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. Allah only forbids you
from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and
aid in your expulsion – (forbids) that you make allies of them. And whoever
makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.)15