English

KFGQPC HAFS

Mahmoud Khaleel Al-Husary

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Malak Faris Abdalsalaam

The general rule is that peaceful relations are maintained with all people, but the exceptions are those who were actively hostile to the Muslims: **“Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes. Surely Allah loves those who are fair.”** ([60:8](https://quran.com/60/8)).

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If any group seeks peace with Muslims, the Muslims are instructed to accept: **“If they incline towards peace, then incline to it also and trust in Allah. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”** ([8:61](https://quran.com/8/61)). This ruling was not replaced by any other (see the commentaries of al-Tabari, Ibn al-‘Arabi, Ibn Kathir).

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This verse ([9:29](https://quran.com/9/29)) pertains to a specific circumstance, and was revealed on the occasion of the Tabuk expedition (9 AH/630 CE). As Ibn ‘Ashur explains in his commentary: once Islam began to spread, the Jews of Arabia and the Christians of the Byzantine Empire became increasingly hostile to the growing Muslim community as it began to approach the borders of their territories in the Levant. It was after the Byzantines initiated hostilities with the Muslims (by killing an emissary) that the order was given to fight them.

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The point is further supported by an authentic hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in which he states, **“Leave the Abyssinians alone so long as they leave you alone, and leave the Turks be so long as they leave you be.”** (Abu Dawud) The Abyssinians in particular were Christians like the Byzantines, but unlike the Byzantines, they had initiated no hostilities with the Muslim polity. The same was true of the pagan Turks.

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Ibn al-Qayyim states in *Hidayat al-Hayara* (1/29-30), “When Allah sent His Messenger ﷺ the followers of most religions accepted his call and that of his caliphs [to enter Islam] willingly and of their own choice. He never forced anyone to enter the religion and he would only fight those who waged war against him and fought him. As for those who sought peace with him, he would not fight them nor force them to enter his religion… Whoever contemplates his biography will find that he never forced anyone to accept his religion. He only fought those who fought him. Those who made peace with him, he would not fight them so long as they observed peace and did not violate their treaty. In fact, Allah commanded him to fulfill their covenants so long as they maintained them, as He says, **‘So long as they are true to you (in their treaties), be true to them.’** ([9:7](https://quran.com/9/7))”

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Ibn Taymiyyah states in *Qa’idah Mukhtasarah fi Qital al-Kuffar wa Muhadanatihim (p. 134)*, “It was his conduct that whoever sought peace with him from the disbelievers, he would not fight them. Here are the books (in the genres) of *Sirah, Hadith, Tafsir, Fiqh,* and *Maghazi,* all of them express this, and it is universally known (*mutawatir*) from his historical record. He did not initiate fighting with any of the disbelievers, whereas if Allah had commanded him to kill every disbeliever, he would have initiated fighting and killing.”

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A final point to bear in mind is that the Quran has advocated a particular status to those called People of the Book, meaning Jews and Christians, and this has certain implications including the permission for Muslim men to marry Jewish or Christian women ([5:5](https://quran.com/5/5)). This should be enough to dispel the misconception that the relationship with those faith communities is based on hostility. 


Does this verse preclude peaceful relations with the People of the Book?

This verse was revealed specifically to encourage the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to fight against the Byzantine Empire which was showing hostility to the fledgling Islamic community.
