Controversial miscellaneous issues related to Islam
In the era after the righteous Caliphs, may Allah be pleased with them
- During the era of Umar Ibn Abd ElAziz, the Muslim army invaded "Samarkand". The ruler of "Samarkand" sent a letter to the head of Islamic Judges saying that the Islamic army did not apply the Islamic rule that is: before any invasion they should call the people of the invaded country to either embrace Islam or keep their religion and pay the "Jizyah" or fight the Islamic army. The head of judges sent to the Caliph "Umar Ibn Abd ElAziz" saying that the invasion is wrong according to Islamic jurisprudence since the invaded were not given any options. The Caliph ordered the army leader to retreat to outside "Samarkand" and give the people of "Samarkand" the chance to choose one of the three above options. People of "Samarkand" admired Islamic fairness and consequently most of the people voluntarily embraced Islam.
The Ummayyad Caliph, Sulaiman bin Abd Al-Malik had appointed a Christian cashier named Al-Bitriq (Patrick) Ibn Al-Naqa while building a large Friday congregational mosque in Al-Ramlah in Palestine.
During the Moghul period of India and Ottoman Empire, non-Muslims rose to the highest ministerial posts and became trusted consultants of the Muslim Emperors.
Another example is Imam Al-Awzai's attitude toward an Abbasid ruler who had exiled one of the non-Muslim tribes from Mount Lebanon after some of them had refused to cooperate with the karat collector. The ruler, Salih ibn Ali ibn 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, was a relative of the caliph. Al-Awza'i wrote him a detailed letter in which he stated:
"How can all of these people be punished and driven from their lands and properties because of some individual transgressors? Allah states
(in surah An-Najm 38): "... no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. This is the true ordinance to be followed.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave the following advice which is well worth practicing: If any man oppresses a non-Muslim or tries him beyond his strength, I will advocate for the oppressed. (Al-Awza'i further stated) ...They (that is, the dhimmis) are not slaves to be transferred from place to place, but they are free men and ahl adh-dhimma."
One of the Umayyad caliphs, Al-Walid ibn Abul Malik, appropriated the Church of Saint John from the local Christians and had it incorporated into the mosque. When Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz became caliph, the Christians complained to him about this matter. Umar wrote to his governor, instructing him to return (the annexed church to the Christians if a suitable agreement concerning compensation could not be reached.
A Christian monk in Egypt lodged a complaint with the ruler Ahmad Ibn Tulun against one of his military leaders who had illegally taken some money from him. The ruler summoned the leader to his office and after admonishing him, took the money from him and gave it to the monk. Then the ruler told the monk, "If you had claimed more money, I would have got it returned back to you too." By this act of justice, the ruler opened the doors for any oppressed non-Muslim to regain his rights, even though the accused might be a high ranking military or government official. If the governor or his relatives are the source of the oppression, the imam or the caliph should intervene and stop it.
