128 - Prophet Muhammad's (S) letter of Amnesty to Christians

[Dr. Shabbir]

Although the following is only a historical record, it should be considered authentic since it agrees with most of the basic tenets of the Qur'an.

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The Greek Orthodox monks living in the St. Catherine's monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai have in their possession many precious documents going back many centuries.

Their library is one of the finest in the world for ancient manuscripts. One of the most precious documents of all is the copy of a letter narrated by Prophet Mohamed (S) to the monks in the year 628.

Its contents might come as a surprise to many, since in this precious manuscript Muslims are exhorted to protect the Christians living in their midst.

The words are so beautiful that we repeat them in full here:

• This is a message from Mohamed ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

• Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

• No compulsion is to be on them.

• Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

• No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.

• Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

• No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

• The Muslims are to fight for them.• If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

• Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

• No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

It should be quite clear from this that, far from being a threat, Islam is actually the guardian of the Christian presence in the Middle East. These words of Prophet Mohamed (S) should be made known to Muslims and non-Muslims throughout the world. [/b]