hostile to Islam, who do not oppress Muslims, or try to convert Muslims by force from their religion, or expel them from their lands, or wage war against them, or prepare for attacks against them. If any of these offenses occur, however, Muslims are permitted to defend themselves and protect their religion. Muslims are not permitted to attack non-Muslims who signed peace pacts with them, or non-Muslims who lived under the protection of the Islamic State ([53]).
Abualrub’s analysis suggests that verses of the Qur’an must be examined in a scriptural and historical context. Another controversial verse of the Qur’an (8:55–56) is frequently taken out of context; according to some critics of Islamic scripture, this verse refers to non-believers of Islam as “The worst of beasts”:
Verily, the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who conceal (the truth), and do not acknowledge it. These are those whom you have made a peace treaty with, but they break their treaty at every opportunity and have no fear of the law ([51], p. 227).
This passage, however, goes on to clarify the cause of the condemnation of the “non-believers”. Prophet Muhammad condemned them not simply because they were “non-Muslims”, “but because they violated a treaty they had agreed to, which resulted in the deaths of many Muslims” [54]. Treating this verse as supposedly “violent” quickly dissolves with a brief consideration of the textual and historical context. As discussed below, the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of his time are further substantiated when one looks at verses of the Qur’an and hadiths in their historical context.
In his Covenant with the Christians of Persia, the Prophet is nothing less than emphatic on the issue of complete religious freedom:
And even as they honor and respect me, so shall Moslems care for that people as being under our protection and whensoever any distress or discomfort shall overtake [Christians], Moslems shall hold themselves in duty bound to aid and care for them, for they are a people subject to my Nation, obedient to their word, whose helpers also they are. It therefore is proper for my sake to attend to their comfort, protection and aid, in face of all opposition and distress, suppressing everything that becomes a means to their spoliation ([55], p. 18).
A similar—if not identical passage—is found in the three other Covenants addressed in this paper. Muhammad makes it clear that freedom of religion is an inherent right for Christians living in a Muslim nation. Christian Persians are allowed to practice Christianity and they are under no compulsion whatsoever to accept or reject Islam. In viewing Christian Persians as mu’minin or believers, the Prophet is consistent with the Constitution of Medina, one of the earliest known documents in Islam ([17], p. 104). Although this particular document addressed the ummah’s relations with Jewish tribes, it nevertheless highlights how Prophet Muhammad wanted Muslims to interact with “People of the Book”. Article 20 of the Constitution notes how non-Muslim minorities have the same rights as Muslims: “A Jew, who obeys us (the state) shall enjoy the same right of life protection (as the [Muslims] do, so long as they [the Muslims] are not wrong by him” [56]. Jews and Christians were not only given the same rights as Muslims within the realm of the Muslim nation, but also “throughout Christendom”, as clearly noted in the Covenant with the Christians of Persia.
The specific community referred to in the Covenant with the Christians of Persia is, of course, composed of people “who are friends of Islam, the brothers and sisters of the believers, and not Crusaders, colonizers, or imperialists” ([17], p. 104). The Covenant of Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of Persia, the Constitution of Medina, and the Qur’an all provide religious freedom to non-Muslims, but they, by no means, forbid Muslims from fighting them if there were violations of an agreement or treaty. The Qur’an (22:39, after all, permits self-defense regardless of the religious background of enemies: “Permission (to fight) is given to those on whom war is made, because they
