JEWISH-MUSLIM RELATIONSHIP

JEWISH-MUSLIM RELATIONSHIP Building Bridges T HIS question often comes up: ‘How to establish Jewish-Muslim relationship?’ We have a model in this regard from the life of the Prophet of Islam. The Prophet of Islam migrated from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE and spent the rest of his life there. At that time some Jewish tribes were living in Madinah. When we study that period of the Prophet's life, we find examples that give us an authentic and practical model to build a good relationship between Jews and Muslims. (Seerath ibn Ishaq) It is recorded that the Prophet once organised a trialogue in Madinah in which Muslim, Christian and Jewish representatives participated. Here is a prophetic example showing the importance of dialogue and negotiations between communities and settling all problems through peaceful negotiations. There are several traditions of the Prophet often visiting Jewish leaders and scholars. He accepted invitations of Jewish leaders to visit their homes and discuss mutual issues. These traditions highlight the importance of interaction between the two communities. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) There is a very interesting story narrated by Al-Bukhari according to which, the Prophet of Islam on noticing a funeral procession passing by stood up in respect. One of his companions said, “O! Prophet it was funeral of a Jew, not a Muslim.” The Prophet replied, “Was he not a human being?” According to this tradition, the Prophet of Islam saw a commonality between himself and that Jew. It was that both were human beings, created by the one and the same God. These traditions about the Prophet of Islam give us a model for Muslim-Jewish relations and guidance for settling the problems arising between the two communities. God grants to nonviolence what He does not grant to violence.