EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST PERIOD

EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST PERIOD the Quran have the prophets been commanded to kill those who mocked them. While the Quran repeatedly condemns the crime of hurting the prophets, it does not prescribe the death penalty for the perpetrators. Instead, the Quran presents two types of responses to such mockery. One is to refute the argument logically, and the other is to warn the abusers of God’s punishment in the Hereafter. These mockers consisted of both non-Muslims (Quran, 36:30) and hypocritical Muslims (Quran, 2:14, 9:65). The Prophet faced these incidents in their most severe forms from both groups. However, the Quran does not prescribe the death penalty as a legal punishment for either nonMuslims or hypocritical Muslims based on their abuse of the Prophet. If insulting the Prophet had been declared a crime punishable by death in an absolute sense, it would have caused irreparable damage to Islam, surpassing the harm caused by the culprits themselves. This is because many revered figures of Islam, known as the ‘Sahaba’ (Companions of the Prophet) were initially involved in the very same crime of attacking the honour of the Prophet. If they had been killed as soon as they committed this offence, it would have meant not just the elimination of the culprits but the eradication of historical personalities. Consequently, the history of Islam, which holds great pride for Muslims today, would not have come into existence. All those valuable lives would have ended before they accepted Islam and could play their