The Role of Non-Muslims in Islamic Development

The Role of Non-Muslims in Islamic Development I slam is the religion of Nature, and in treading its path, it is non-discriminatory, finding room within its scheme of things for every segment of society. Rigidity is quite alien to its process of development. There is a meaningful hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari to this effect. According to this hadith, Prophet Muhammad said: “God Almighty will strengthen this religion [Islam] through a fajir (one who is not a true Muslim) person as well (Bukhari). This is a very important declaration because in this world, any natural process begins with the involvement of different elements—as happened in the case of Islam. Humanity as a whole is an interdependent body and Islam is not an exception. Islam is an ideology aimed at human development, and no process of human development can endure without involving humanity at large. There are several phases in the history of Islam which illustrate this point.