The Prophet Muhammad's, peace be upon him, exemplary approach toward the people of the book.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the best role model for Muslims in every subject as
well as in dealing with the people of the book. The Prophet Muhammad was always tender-hearted,
just, and compassionate toward Jews and Christians. He wanted a climate based on
love and reconciliation between Muslims and members of the other divine faiths.
Agreements allowing Christians and Jews to live by their own faiths and maintain their existence as
autonomous communities were made both during and after the time of our Prophet, and various
guarantees were given them. One such example was our beloved Prophet's words written in the text of
an agreement prepared for the Ibn Haris Ibn Qab, who is a Christian and his people.
The religion, churches, lives, chastity, and goods of all Christians living in the East
are under the protection of God and all believers. None of those living by Christianity will be
forced to turn to Islam. If any Christian is subjected to any killing or injustice, Muslims
must help him. After he dictated the above articles, he read the below verse,
Only argue with the people of the book in the kindest way, except in the case of those of them
who do wrong, saying, We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you.
Our God and your God are one, and we submit to him.
Our Prophet's relationship with the people of the book is not only limited to these. His first wife,
Hazrat Hadidjah's relative, Baraka ibn Nafal, who was an historian priest, had warm relations with
our prophet. The messenger of God protected the lives and property of the people of the book
in the settlements of Adra, Makna, Kaibar, Najran, and Aqaba by giving them certificates.
These certificates granted equal privileges to all of the people of the book and guaranteed their
rights and freedoms. These certificates are one of the basic foundations of Muslims
recognizing the people of the book's freedoms of faith and worship, and guaranteeing their lives
and property.
There is such an example among our prophet's loving and just attitude towards the people of the book
that even today it is taught as a course in universities.
This is the Constitution of Medina.
When the believers emigrated from Mecca to Medina, disorder was generally prevalent in the region.
There were bloody fights between the tribes. There was no sign of peace and safety.
The population of the city was 10,000, 1,500 of which consisted of Muslims, 4,000 of Jews,
and 4,500 was non-Muslim Arabs. Under these conditions, our prophet decided to issue a
constitution to secure an environment of peace and unity. The Constitution of Medina provided the
Christians and the Jews a setting where they can live their religion and trade freely. Another
important aspect of this constitution was that if the Jews wished, they would be judged to their own
religion and the holy book, the Torah.
As is seen, as a requirement of the morality ordained by God, the prophet Moses