People of the Book
Encyclopedia
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab ( "the Book" or "the Scripture"). The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an
mentions as people of the book are the Jews
, Sabians
and Christians.
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) was used to refer specifically to the Jewish people and the Torah
, and to the Jewish people and the wider canon of written Jewish law (including the Mishnah
and the Talmud
). Adherents of other Abrahamic religions, which arose later than Judaism, were not added. As such, the appellation is accepted by Jews as a reference to an identity rooted fundamentally in Torah.
In Christianity
, the Catholic Church rejects the similar expression "religion of the book" as a description of the Christian faith, preferring the term "religion of the Word of God." Nevertheless, other denominations, such as the Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church
as well as Puritans and Shakers
, have embraced the term "People of the Book."
s, all Children of Israel (including Jews, Karaites and Samaritan
s), and Sabians
.
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.
This definition is limited to those books that predate the Quran; they are seen as divine guidance from God to man that has been corrupted. This definition is not extended to followers of similar texts claiming divine guidance after the revelation of the Quran, as the Quran is seen as the final revelation and therefore any following are necessarily false.
Islamic scholars differ on whether Hindus
are People of the Book. The Islamic conquest of India necessitated that the definition be revised, as most India's inhabitants were followers of the Indian religions. Many of the Muslim clergy of India considered Hindus as people of the book, and from Muhhammad-bin-Kasim to Aurangzib, Muslim rulers were willing to consider Hindus as people of the book. Many Muslims did not treat Hindus as pagans or idol-worshippers, although Hinduism does not include Adam, Eve, nor the various prophets of Abrahamic religions. However, the present Muslim and South Asian worlds traditionally were quite close in culture and trade despite differences in religions since time immemorial, as evidenced by the development of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system
.
Buddhism
does not explicitly recognize a monotheistic God or the concept of prophethood. Muslims however had at one point accorded them the status of "people of the Book", and Al-Biruni
wrote of Buddha as the prophet "burxan". It is interesting to note the similarity between the Arabic world Sura
and the South Asian word Sutra
. However, there is no formal God in Buddhism
, although Buddhism does not specifically oppose monotheism. But, it is explicitly stated in Buddhist sutras that the worship of an Ishvara
(an ancient South Asian term for a creator god, most likely not referring to the Abrahamic God who may not have been known in South Asia during the Buddha's lifetime, but given the context meaning either Shiva, Kali or Brahma ) is unnecessary to the attainment of Nirvana
, as the Buddha believed worshippers are still trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth (Samsara
). Buddhists do not worship Brahma (a Hindu deity) or "Deva" (an ancient South Asian term for a deity, today meaning either a Hindi translation of the English "God"/ Latin "Deus" concept [although Christian Indians tend to use the term "Parameshvara" or "Supreme Creator God" for the Christian God the Father] or a synonym for the ancient South Asian concept of Brahman
). In Buddhism, the historical Buddha, the celestial and predecessor Buddhas, and the Buddhas to Be's (Bodhisattvas) fulfill the devotional needs of believers, while an emphasis is placed on the lack of Creation and Judgement abilities of these Salvation/Teaching deities.
that promote tolerance towards People of The Book. 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.
One verse in the Qur'an encourages neutral
position toward all non-Muslims. This verse says, "Those who follow the Jewish (scriptures) and the Sabians, Christians, Magians and Polytheists — God will judge them On the Day of Judgement:" (22:17).
was a person who is protected under Islamic law by a pact contracted between non-Muslims and authorities from their Muslim government: this status was first made available to non-Muslims who were People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christian
s), but was later extended to include Sikh
s, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, Hindu
s and Buddhists. 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 and to receive state protection. In turn, they had a legal responsibility, the payment of a special tax called jizya
("tribute
") in place of zakat
. The social structure of the Ottoman Empire would serve as an example of how non-Muslims were treated.
Because of the Hindu traditions of Vedanta and Upanishads, and the prominent Hindu theological perspective that there is a single Reality (Brahman
) from which the world arises, Hindus eventually have been included as dhimmis.
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
. 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 Ahmadis (usually referred to by Muslims as 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 Ghulam Ahmad
, came over 1,300 years after Muhammad, who is viewed as the "last of the prophets" by Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi variants of Islam. They differ from other post-Islamic faiths in Muslim lands because Ahmadis 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 Ahmadis as a fifth column serving the British colonizers, and 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 Ahmad to be an apostate, should they elect to register as a Muslim for governmental services.
was added to the whole Jewish Tanakh
, which after Jerome
's translation tended more and more to be bound up as a single volume
, and was accepted as a unified locus of authority: "the Book." Many Christian missionaries in Africa, Asia and in the New World
, developed writing systems for indigenous people and then provided them with a written translation of the Bible
. As a result of this work, "People of the Book" became the usual vernacular locution to refer to Christians among many African, Asian, and Native American people of both hemispheres. Organizations such as the Wycliffe Bible Translators
and the United Bible Societies
, have resulted in availability of the Bible in 2,100 languages, which has further lent an identification with the phrase among Christians themselves. Christian converts among evangelized
cultures, in particular, have the strongest identification with the term "People of the Book" as the first written text produced in their native language, as with English-speaking people, has often been the Bible. Many denominations, such as the Baptist Church and Methodist Church, which are notable for their mission work, have therefore embraced the term "People of the Book."
also embraces the term People of the Book. As also noted in its official flagship publication Adventist World (February 2010 edition), it is claimed prominent Islamic leaders have endorsed Seventh-day Adventists as the Qur'an's true People of the Book
Seventh-day Adventist-Islamic Publications:
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
mentions as people of the book are the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Sabians
Sabians
The Sabians of Middle Eastern tradition were a monotheistic Abrahamic religious group mentioned three times in the Quran: "the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians." In the Hadith they are nothing but converts to Islam, while their identity in later Islamic literature became a matter of...
and Christians.
In Islam, the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
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
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
of Abraham as the one and only god, as do Muslims, and they practice revealed faiths based on divine ordinances, tolerance and autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
is accorded to them in societies governed by sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(Islamic divine law).
In Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
the term "People of the Book" (Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: עם הספר, Am HaSefer) was used to refer specifically to the Jewish people and the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, and to the Jewish people and the wider canon of written Jewish law (including the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
). Adherents of other Abrahamic religions, which arose later than Judaism, were not added. As such, the appellation is accepted by Jews as a reference to an identity rooted fundamentally in Torah.
In Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, the Catholic Church rejects the similar expression "religion of the book" as a description of the Christian faith, preferring the term "religion of the Word of God." Nevertheless, other denominations, such as the Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
as well as Puritans and Shakers
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
, have embraced the term "People of the Book."
Definition
The term "People of the Book" in the Qur'an refers to followers of monotheistic Abrahamic religions that are older than Islam. This includes all ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, all Children of Israel (including Jews, Karaites and Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s), and Sabians
Sabians
The Sabians of Middle Eastern tradition were a monotheistic Abrahamic religious group mentioned three times in the Quran: "the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians." In the Hadith they are nothing but converts to Islam, while their identity in later Islamic literature became a matter of...
.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
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
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
), Heaven, and Hell.
This definition is limited to those books that predate the Quran; they are seen as divine guidance from God to man that has been corrupted. This definition is not extended to followers of similar texts claiming divine guidance after the revelation of the Quran, as the Quran is seen as the final revelation and therefore any following are necessarily false.
Islamic scholars differ on whether Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
are People of the Book. The Islamic conquest of India necessitated that the definition be revised, as most India's inhabitants were followers of the Indian religions. Many of the Muslim clergy of India considered Hindus as people of the book, and from Muhhammad-bin-Kasim to Aurangzib, Muslim rulers were willing to consider Hindus as people of the book. Many Muslims did not treat Hindus as pagans or idol-worshippers, although Hinduism does not include Adam, Eve, nor the various prophets of Abrahamic religions. However, the present Muslim and South Asian worlds traditionally were quite close in culture and trade despite differences in religions since time immemorial, as evidenced by the development of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system
Hindu-Arabic numeral system
The Hindu–Arabic numeral system or Hindu numeral system is a positional decimal numeral system developed between the 1st and 5th centuries by Indian mathematicians, adopted by Persian and Arab mathematicians , and spread to the western world...
.
Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
does not explicitly recognize a monotheistic God or the concept of prophethood. Muslims however had at one point accorded them the status of "people of the Book", and Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni
Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
wrote of Buddha as the prophet "burxan". It is interesting to note the similarity between the Arabic world Sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
and the South Asian word Sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
. However, there is no formal God in Buddhism
God in Buddhism
The refutation of the notion of a supreme God or a prime mover is seen by many as a key distinction between Buddhism and other religions. In Buddhism the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of stress in samsara, called nirvana...
, although Buddhism does not specifically oppose monotheism. But, it is explicitly stated in Buddhist sutras that the worship of an Ishvara
Ishvara
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a theistic school of thought or the Supreme Being, or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.-Etymology:...
(an ancient South Asian term for a creator god, most likely not referring to the Abrahamic God who may not have been known in South Asia during the Buddha's lifetime, but given the context meaning either Shiva, Kali or Brahma ) is unnecessary to the attainment of Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
, as the Buddha believed worshippers are still trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth (Samsara
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
). Buddhists do not worship Brahma (a Hindu deity) or "Deva" (an ancient South Asian term for a deity, today meaning either a Hindi translation of the English "God"/ Latin "Deus" concept [although Christian Indians tend to use the term "Parameshvara" or "Supreme Creator God" for the Christian God the Father] or a synonym for the ancient South Asian concept of Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
). In Buddhism, the historical Buddha, the celestial and predecessor Buddhas, and the Buddhas to Be's (Bodhisattvas) fulfill the devotional needs of believers, while an emphasis is placed on the lack of Creation and Judgement abilities of these Salvation/Teaching deities.
In the Qur'an
There are many statements in the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
that promote tolerance towards People of The Book. For example:
- And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit.
In other places the Qur'an says:
- Not all of them are alike; a party of the people of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Verses of God during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma'rûf and forbid Al-Munkar ; and they hasten in (all) good works; and they are among the righteous. And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them; for God knows well those who are Al-Muttaqûn .(3:113-115)
- And there are, certainly, among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), those who believe in God and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before God. They do not sell the Verses of God for a little price, for them is a reward with their Lord. Surely, God is Swift in account. '(3:199)'
- Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve .
- Say (O Muhammad ): "O people of the Scripture : Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but God, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides God.
Throughout Islamic history, Muslims have used these ayah
Ayah
Ayah or Aayah is the Arabic word for sign or proof:"These are the Ayat of Allah, which We recite to you with truth...
(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.
One verse in the Qur'an encourages neutral
Neutrality (philosophy)
Neutrality is the absence of declared bias. In an argument, a neutral person will not choose a side.A Neutral country maintains political neutrality, a related but distinct concept.-What neutrality is not:...
position toward all non-Muslims. This verse says, "Those who follow the Jewish (scriptures) and the Sabians, Christians, Magians and Polytheists — God will judge them On the Day of Judgement:" (22:17).
Dhimmi
Historically, a dhimmiDhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
was a person who is protected under Islamic law by a pact contracted between non-Muslims and authorities from their Muslim government: this status was first made available to non-Muslims who were People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s), but was later extended to include Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s and Buddhists. 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
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law were given a number of rights, such as the right to freely practice their faith in private and to receive state protection. In turn, they had a legal responsibility, the payment of a special tax called jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
("tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
") in place of zakat
Zakat
Zakāt , one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy.-History:Zakat, a practice initiated by Muhammed himself, has played an important role throughout Islamic history...
. The social structure of the Ottoman Empire would serve as an example of how non-Muslims were treated.
Because of the Hindu traditions of Vedanta and Upanishads, and the prominent Hindu theological perspective that there is a single Reality (Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
) from which the world arises, Hindus eventually have been included as dhimmis.
The Yazidi
Yazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
, Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
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
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
. This is because the Bahá'í Faith, which grew out of Shi'a Islam
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
, 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 Ahmadis (usually referred to by Muslims as 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 Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...
, came over 1,300 years after Muhammad, who is viewed as the "last of the prophets" by Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi variants of Islam. They differ from other post-Islamic faiths in Muslim lands because Ahmadis 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
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, led Muslims to view the presence of Ahmadis as a fifth column serving the British colonizers, and 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 Ahmad to be an apostate, should they elect to register as a Muslim for governmental services.
Judæo-Christian view
In the early Christian experience the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
was added to the whole Jewish Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, which after Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
's translation tended more and more to be bound up as a single volume
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, and was accepted as a unified locus of authority: "the Book." Many Christian missionaries in Africa, Asia and in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, developed writing systems for indigenous people and then provided them with a written translation of the Bible
Bible translations
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
. As a result of this work, "People of the Book" became the usual vernacular locution to refer to Christians among many African, Asian, and Native American people of both hemispheres. Organizations such as the Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...
and the United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...
, have resulted in availability of the Bible in 2,100 languages, which has further lent an identification with the phrase among Christians themselves. Christian converts among evangelized
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
cultures, in particular, have the strongest identification with the term "People of the Book" as the first written text produced in their native language, as with English-speaking people, has often been the Bible. Many denominations, such as the Baptist Church and Methodist Church, which are notable for their mission work, have therefore embraced the term "People of the Book."
Seventh-day Adventists
As stated on its official world website, the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA)Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
also embraces the term People of the Book. As also noted in its official flagship publication Adventist World (February 2010 edition), it is claimed prominent Islamic leaders have endorsed Seventh-day Adventists as the Qur'an's true People of the Book
See also
- Islam and JudaismIslam and JudaismIslamic–Jewish relations started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The two religions share similar values, guidelines, and principles. Islam also incorporates Jewish history as a part of its own. Muslims regard the Children of Israel as an important...
- Christianity and Islam
- Pact of Umar II
- Islam and other religionsIslam and other religionsOver the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions...
- Divisions of the world in Islam
Further reading
- Yusuf al-QaradawiYusuf al-QaradawiYusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Egyptian Islamic theologian. He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat , broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide...
has a book entitled "Non-Muslims in Muslim societies" detailing many issues including what a dhimmiDhimmiA , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
is, jizyah, rights, responsibilities, and more.
External links
- "People of the Book." Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies.
- Discussions at IslamOnline.net (a project of Al-Balagh Cultural OrganizationBiblioislam.netBiblioislam.net is an online library with indexing and abstracting services as well as full-text and reviews. This project is owned by Al-Balagh Cultural Society in Qatar and is administered by Media International...
, a promotional organization established in Qatar in 1998.)- Does Islam Forbid Befriending Non-Muslims? Discussion of Quran (5:51) 15 November 2006
- Domains of Muslim-Christian Cooperation 24 June 2007
- Jamal BadawiJamal BadawiJamal A. Badawi is an Egyptian born Muslim Canadian former professor in the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a well-known author, preacher and speaker on Islam....
: Muslim and Non-Muslim Relations: Reflections on Some Qur’anic Texts 5 April 2005 - Islamic Dealing with People of the Book 22 November 2003
- Inviting People of the Book 2 February 2003
- Scope of Amicable Dealings with Non-Muslims 17 September 2006
- Does the Term “Ahlul-Kitab” Still Apply Today? 4 October 2004
- Should the Magians Be Treated as Ahl al-Kitab? 3 June 2003
- The Books of the People of the Book at the US Library of Congress, Hebraic Collections
Seventh-day Adventist-Islamic Publications: