A Few Historical Examples

THE ISSUE OF KUFR AND KAFIR addressed his companions, saying: “God has sent me as a mercy for the whole world, so convey it on my behalf; may God show mercy to you.” (Sirat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 607) Here, too, he did not say he was sent for all the “deniers.” During the caliphate of ‘Umar Faruq, when the companions entered Iran, reports indicate that one companion explained their purpose to the non-Muslim ruler by saying: “So that we may bring those human beings who so choose from the worship of human beings to the worship of God.” (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 3, p. 520) They did not say: “So that we may bring the deniers (kuffar) from the worship of deniers to the worship of God.” Consequently, when early Muslims spread into foreign lands, they never addressed people as kafir or kuffar. Instead, they addressed every community by its chosen name—Christians as Christians, Jews as Jews, Magians as Magians, Buddhists as Buddhists, and so on. The designation of someone as a kafir becomes valid only when the “completion of proof” (itmam al hujjah) has been established. There is only one model for itmam al-hujjah: the thirteen-year period of the Prophet Muhammad’s  missionary struggle in Makkah. This thirteen-year process of conveying God’s message stands permanently as the definitive model for