“At first,” Dr. Nash’at Ja‘far said, “I would like to say that I do not agree with those who accuse Ahl al-Kitāb¬ of apostasy. I will explain the ideas and reasons behind this belief which was deduced from reading the Qur’ānic verses carefully and comparing how the Qur’ān addressed people in Quraysh and Ahl al-Kitāb.”
- How the Qur’ān addressed apostates living in Quraysh:
A) When eminent figures of the Quraysh tribe asked the Prophet Muhammad to worship their gods for one year and they would worship God for a year, God told the Prophet to address them saying: “Say: O disbelievers!” 1 ‘The Meaning of the Glorious <I><abbr title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}"><a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/quran" title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}">Qur’ān</a></abbr>,’</i> by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthal1 This chapter was revealed to the Prophet while he was still in Mecca at the beginning of Islām when the Muslims were still weak.
B) In the eighth year after the emigration to al-Madīnah, at the time when Islām was getting more powerful, Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah [Reviewer: one the Prophet’s companions] sent a letter to his family in Mecca, out of fear that his relatives would get harmed, telling them that the Prophet is going to conquer the Quraysh in Mecca. At that time, the chapter of Mumtahinah was revealed to the Prophet: “Allāh forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allāh loveth the just dealers. Allāh forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends of them. Whosoever maketh friends of them - (All) such are wrong- doers.” 8-9 ‘The Meaning of the Glorious <I><abbr title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}"><a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/quran" title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}">Qur’ān</a></abbr>,’</i> by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall From these verses, it is shown that the Qur’ān addressed people in Quraysh as “disbelievers.” They are also described as enemies of God and Muslims.
- How the Qur’ān treated Ahl al-Kitāb¬¬:
The chapter of Āl ‘Imrān addressed Ahl al-Kitāb¬¬ by saying: "Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allāh, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allāh. And if they turn away, then say: ‘Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). O People of the Scripture! Why will ye argue about Abraham, when the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? Have ye then no sense?’” 64-65 ‘The Meaning of the Glorious <I><abbr title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}"><a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/quran" title="Muslims believe Qur'ān is compilation of God's revelations. [Original: Qur’ān}">Qur’ān</a></abbr>,’</i> by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall From these verses, it could be noticed how the Qur’ān addressed Ahl al-Kitāb in a mild way. It does not describe them as disbelievers for they worship God the way Muslim do.
In addition, Islām has forbidden Muslims from marrying disbelievers while it permitted them to marry Christian and Jewish women; a fact that stresses the idea that the Qur’ān differentiates between Ahl al-Kitāb and disbelievers.
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