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People of the Book (Arabic: أهل الكتاب ′Ahl al-Kitāb) is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a book of prayer. The two faiths that are mentioned in the Qur'an as people of the book are Judaism and Christianity. However, Muslim rulers and scholars have included other religions such as Zoroastrianism[1][2] and Hinduism in this list as well. [3] In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the Qur'an, is taken to represent the completion of these scriptures, and to synthesize them as God's true, final, and eternal message to humanity. Because the People of the Book recognize the God of Abraham as the one and only god, as do Muslims, and they practice revealed faiths based on divine ordinances, tolerance and autonomy is accorded to them in societies governed by sharia (Islamic divine law). In Judaism the term "People of the Book" (Hebrew: עם הספר, Am HaSefer) subsequently became self-applied to refer specifically to the Jewish people and the Torah; also the Jewish people and the wider canon of written Jewish law (including the Mishnah and the Talmud). In the Jewish tradition's use of the term there is generally no connotation as to the nature of Judaism's relationship with other faiths.[4]
[edit] DefinitionIn the Islam, the People of the Book are those faiths who share the following qualities:
The term "People of the Book" is taken in Islam to refer to followers of monotheistic Abrahamic religions which are older than Islam. This includes all Christians, all Jews (including Karaites and Samaritans), and Sabians.[5] There are only 4 scriptures mentioned in the Quran, these are: the Tawrat, Zabur, Injil and the Quran.[citation needed] Many early Islamic scholars, such as Malik ibn Anas, agreed that Zoroastrians should also be included.[citation needed] Zoroastrianism is believed by scholars and historians to have been founded between 1000 BCE and 600 BCE making it older than Christianity and Islam. It shares similar eschatological views with Christianity and Islam, and recognizes life after death, Satan (as Angra Mainyu), Heaven, and Hell. There is no official Zoroastrian viewpoint regarding Adam and Eve or Moses. Most Shi'a Muslims accept Zoroastrians as People of the Book. The Bahá'í Faith is revealed, scriptural and Abrahamic, and Bahá'ís accept Muhammad as one of the previous Manifestations of God. However, because they have explicitly repudiated the eternal authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah, they are condemned as murtadeen (apostates). They are sometimes also called zandiqa ("atheists"). Bahá'ís are considered to be subject to the fate of Dar al-Harb, the doomed pagan world which is not beloved of God. Bahá'ís have been badly persecuted by Muslim regimes up to the present day. The most significant persecution has occurred in Iran, where Bahá'ís are the most populous religious minority. The exception is Turkey, where a policy of state secularism has resulted in almost no official persecution. Scholars have opinions as to whether or not Hinduism constitutes as a religion of The People of the Book.[6] The Islamic conquest of India necessitated that this definition be revised, due to the majority of the inhabitants of India were followers of the Indian religions. Many of the Muslim clergy of India considered Hindus as people of the book,[6] and from Muhhammad-bin-Kasim to Aurangzib, Muslim rules were willing to consider Hindus as people of the book.[5] Many Muslims did not treat Hindus as pagans or idol-worshippers.[6] However the concept of Adam, Eve and the various prophets of abrahamic religions does not exist in hinduism. Buddhism does not explicitly recognize a God, or the concept of prophethood. However, there is no official Buddhist view of God, and Buddhism does not specifically oppose monotheism. Brahman is recognised as the supreme Deva. However, it is explicitly stated in sutra that deva, including supreme Brahman is insufficient (or irrelevant or inferior) to attainment of enlightenment, as they are still trapped in cycle of rebirth. Moreover, Buddhism does not recognize God in the sense of Creator. Similar to hinduism, the concept of adam, eve and the various prophets of abrahamic religions does not exist in the religion of buddhism. Sikhism is not considered to be a religion of the book, as it rejects the concept of the Devil, angels and the concept of Adam and Eve. It also rejects the various prophets of the abrahmic religions. [edit] In the Qur'anThere are many statements in the Qur'an that promote tolerance towards People of The Book. For example:
There are also many statements that promote an adversarial relationship. For example:
In other places the Qur'an says:
Throughout Islamic history, Muslims have used these ayah (verses) to justify a variety of positions towards non-Muslims. In some places and times, Muslims showed a great deal of tolerance towards non-Muslims; in other places and times non-Muslims were treated as enemies and persecuted. Islamic law demands that Muslims treat Jews and Christians as dhimmis, protected citizens who have a number of rights. One ayah in the Qur'an can even be interpreted to encourage a neutral position toward non-Muslims. This ayah says, "Those who follow the Jewish and the Sabi'een, Christians, Magians and Polytheists — Allah will judge them On the Day of Judgement:" (22:17). The acceptance of Zoroastrians as dhimmis is partly because of this ayah, as the Magians were Zurvanist Zoroastrians, and this verse, specifically mentions them alongside other People of the Book, and lists them ahead of polytheists. [edit] DhimmiMain article: Dhimmi Historically, a dhimmi was a person who is either guilty or protected (As the Arabic word means both.) under Islamic law by a pact contracted between non-Muslims and authorities from their Muslim government: this status was originally only made available to non-Muslims who were People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians), but was later extended to include Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, Hindus[7] and Buddhists.[8][9] People of the Book living in non-Islamic nations were not considered dhimmis. Non-Muslim People of the Book living in an Islamic nation under Sharia law were given a number of rights, such as the right to freely practice their faith in private, in return for state protection and exemption from military service. The social structure of the Ottoman Empire would serve as an example of how non-Muslims were treated. They also had some responsibilities, such as the payment of a special tax called jizyah ("tribute"), but were exempted from Zakat which Muslims are required to pay. Because of the substantial Hindu tradition of monism, and the prominent Hindu theological perspective that there is a single Entity (Brahma) which sustains the world, Hindus eventually have been included as dhimmis.[10] The Yazidi, Druze and Azali faiths are small post-Islamic monotheistic faiths whose adherents mainly reside in Muslim-majority countries. Because they number very few and have seldom disturbed, countered or threatened Muslim authority, they are usually regarded as dhimmis. The definition of "dhimmi" always excludes followers of the Bahá'í Faith.[citation needed] This is because the Bahá'í Faith, which grew out of Shi'a Islam, is a post-Islamic religion which does not accept the finality of Muhammad's revelation. Instead, Bahá'ís believe in the concept of progressive revelation, which states that God's will is progressively revealed through different teachers at different times, and that there will never be a final revelation. The Ahmedis and Qadianis of Pakistan are also not regarded as dhimmis by the vast majority of Muslims. This is largely due to the fact that their prophet, Mirza Gulam Ahmed, came over 1,300 years after Muhammad, who is traditionally viewed as the "seal of the prophets" by Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi variants of Islam. They differ from other post-Islamic faiths in Muslim lands because Ahmedis and Qadianis first began as an Islamic reform movement, threatening the established orthodoxy present in South Asian Islam, and further was embraced by highly socially upward mobile westernizing Muslim intellectuals of the day. These factors, compounded with the presence of the colonial British authorities in India who had overthrown the Muslim Mughal Empire, led Muslims to view the presence of Ahmedis and Qadianis as a threat to "true" Islam. Pakistan to this day requires its citizens to swear an oath of allegiance to Islam, and declare Mirza Gulam Ahmed to be an apostate, should they elect to register as a Muslim for governmental services. [edit] See also
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