 |
|
|
Pork and Wine |
|
 |
The law of Islam referred to here is freedom of belief. Which in this case, demonstrates, in the words of the famous scholar al-Hasan al-Basri that the non-Muslims living under Muslim rule were still allowed to keep wine, and eat pork.
It often surprises me how the modern Muslim can be so well versed with the Quran that on the one hand he can cite a verse by memory. Yet, when asked to explain its meaning, he is lost. Al-Suyuti, the famous scholar, made the common sense observation that it is impossible to understand the verses of the Quran without knowing the reasons which led to its revelation (which also holds true for the hadith). Yet people seem hesitant to understand.
When we think of great early Muslims such as Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, images of a strict, overpowering fearless warrior against oppressive non-Muslims, tough on womenfolk, yet compassionate individual, come to mind. But it was this same man who put a woman, Shifa bint Abduallah as the inspector/ auditor of the market in Medina. This same man who left thousands of non-Muslims in the revenue and finance departments administering the Muslim empire, so much so that he invited a Greek from Syria entrusting him to the finance department in Medina. This same man, who when en route to see Bilal, the first caller to prayer, who had retired in Syria, stopped in the Christian town of Ayla spending the afternoon keeping good relations with the Bishop of the town.
Looking at the life of this one man alone, one of the four `rightly guided caliphs', I find it remarkable that many Muslim people today have the audacity to suggest that women should not work (or adding the most absurd conditions for women working), or that we shouldn't be friends with non-Muslims, that we shouldn't work with non-Muslims, and that we should shun everything which disagrees with us.
The fundamental failing of the modern Muslim is the appreciation and realisation that early Islamic social structures not only ensured full participation in society of men and women, but they were plural societies, with Muslims living alongside non-Muslims.
Sahl ibn Abdullah al-Tusti was one of the famous early companions. His neighbor, a non-Muslim, had a water closet which would sometimes leak into Sahl's home through a hole in the wall. Sahl collected this dirty water in a bowl, and at night, when no one could see, he would throw it away. He did this for a long time until he felt he was nearing death so he invited his neighbor to his house. On this occasion Sahl showed him what was happening and his neighbor was in shock. Sahl told him this had been happening for a very long time, and the only reason he is telling him now is because he fears that when he dies, the new residents of his house will not have the same patience to deal with this.
Not only does this demonstrate the good relationship between Sahl and his neighbor, but it shows that whilst peoples beliefs can be fundamentally different, there is always freedom of choice, and a level of fair treatment which must be established as the foundation
for any society. Of course, the account of Sahl's neighbor continues where, after seeing such patience, his neighbor accepts Islam. But this isn't the focus on the account.
There are other plentiful examples, where the early Muslims lived alongside non-Muslims, another is that of Ibn Umar, who, as history records, every time he slaughtered a sheep, he would take some of the meat over to
his Jewish neighbors, as a gift.
The historian Tarabi records in his text Tarikh that Caliph Umar, confirmed the freedom of belief and worship of the Christians of Ilya (Jerusalem), saying that they are guaranteed the security of their persons, their possessions, their churches, their crucifixes, and everyone within, whether sick or well, as well as everyone in their community. Their churches will not be occupied or demolished, nor will anything be taken from them: neither furnishings nor crucifixes or money. They will not be forced from their religion, or harmed because of it.
Tolerance for non-Muslims continued such that the famous author Abu Yusuf observed that the well known General Khalid ibn Waleed in his treaty with the People of Anat who were Christian stated that they can ring their Church bells any time of day or night, except when the call to prayer is occurring, and that when they celebrate their festivals they can carry their crosses in the streets.
Understanding early Islamic society therefore becomes crucial in understanding how Muslims and non-Muslims lived alongside one another in peace.
Doesn't God the Almighty tell us in Surah al-Ankabut (29: 46) not to have disputes with the Jewish or Christian people who do not dispute with us? And didn't Prophet Muhammad himself say that whoever harms a non-Muslim or mistreats him, or took something from them with evil intentions, then it is the Prophet himself who will speak up against him on the day of Judgment?
Many Muslims today suffer from the same lack of understanding which affected a later Muslim ruler, Caliph Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz. He found it difficult to accept how the non-Muslims in their social codes seemed to go against everything the Muslims believed, and how they continued to follow the regulations of their religion, which was so different from Islam. So he wrote a letter to al-Hasan al-Basri asking, `How is it that the rightly guided caliphs left the People of the covenant living as they did, marrying close relatives and keeping wine and pigs?'. Al-Hasan al- Basri replied, `They paid the jizyah so that they could be left practicing what they believed, and you may only follow the law, not invent something new. Peace'
The law of Islam referred to here is freedom of belief. Which in this case, demonstrates, in the words of the famous scholar al-Hasan al-Basri that the non-Muslims living under Muslim rule were still allowed to keep wine, and eat pork.
Clearly the actions of the early Muslims when looked at in more detail differs to the understanding of the actions of the early Muslims by the majority of the people today. But it is one thing when a non-Muslim doesn't know and quite another when the Muslim, the follower of the faith, neither knows, nor wants to know.
It was these early Muslims, such as Caliph Umar, who lived during the revelation of the Quran, and if he can allow women to work, if he can sustain good relations with non-Muslims, if he can protect the rights of non-Muslims, if he allowed them to continue with their traditions such as keeping wine, and eating pork, then surely these are the examples we should be following?
As one of the scholars' al-Mutanabi said, `if the daylight needs proof of its existence, then there is nothing that can be understood'.
|
logo are trademarks of Naseeb Networks, Inc.