Society is formed by groups of individuals who possess different elements that make them human.
We all have our unique characteristics and personalities that make us different from each other. Those characteristics, qualities and attributes – which are the bases for the betterment of society – are in fact most important and of great significance, whether it be loyalty, sincerity, love or gratitude.
Tolerance is one of those qualities that forms the bedrock of society. The world is a much smaller place today. Globalisation has blurred borders throughout the world. More people from different nations, cultures, religions and lifestyles are working together and living in the same neighborhoods than ever before.
In this globalisation, where people of different backgrounds, cultures and faith live together, and where the world has become more multicultural and diverse than ever before, establishing tolerance and harmony has become more crucial and important; fostering mutual love and affection has become vital.
Let’s take religion for instance. Tolerance is very important in the case of religion. How people worship is a very personal thing and someone bashing a person’s religion can start a heated battle very quickly. Everyone has the right to believe what they want. If there was more tolerance among people, there would be fewer battles over whose religion is right.
An illustration of the Islamic teaching with regards to religious freedom and tolerance will not be out of context.
The Holy Quran has especially emphasised that the matter of religion relates to the conscience of every individual. Hence, there should be absolutely no force and compulsion in religion. (Surah Al-Baqarah: Ch.2: V.256)
This teaching is not exclusively for the embellishment of paper or the beautification of pulpits, rather it is practiced with immense integrity.
The very first treaty of Islam was the one settled by the Holy Prophetsa after his migration with the Jewish population of Medina. The very foundation of this treaty was based on the principle of religious freedom and tolerance.
When the Banu Nadhir tribe was given the punishment of exile from Medina due to their treachery and seditious behavior, they desired to take along those people who were from the children of the Ansar [early Muslim natives of Medina] but had been converted to Judaism due to the vows of the Ansar. The Ansar attempted to restrain them in Medina. However, when this dispute was presented before the Holy Prophetsa, he issued a verdict against the Ansar saying, “There can be no compulsion in the matter of religion,” and granted Banu Nadhir permission to take those people along with them.
In the very lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa we also find instances when the Jews of Khaybar and Christians of Najran entered the Islamic state, the Holy Prophetsa granted them complete freedom in both belief and practice.
As a matter of fact, there is a narration that when the Christians of Najran came to Medina, the Holy Prophetsa even granted them permission to perform their worship in Masjid Al-Nabawi in their own manner. When some companions attempted to restrain them, the Holy Prophetsa forbade them. Thus, the Christians faced westward in the very Masjid Al-Nabawi and observed their own rites of worship.
There is a narration regarding Hazrat Abu Bakrra that whenever he would dispatch a Muslim army, he would especially instruct its commander to ensure that non-Muslim places of worship and religious elders were given full reverence, something he acquired from the blessed example of his Mastersa. When Syria was conquered in the era of Hazrat Umarra, the single most prominent aspect of the treaty that was settled between the Muslims and Christian population who lived there was religious freedom and tolerance. The Holy Prophetsa not only emphasised the desirability of tolerance in religious matters but set a very high standard in this respect.