RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN ISLAM

Once Caliph Umar came to a well of the Banu al-Harith where he met an outspoken person named Muhammad ibn Maslamah. “How do you find me?” he asked Muhammad, “By God, I find you just as I would like you to be and just as it would please any well-wisher to see you. You are good at accumulating money, I see, but you keep your hands clean of it yourself, distributing it equitably to others.” “But,” went on Muhammad ibn Maslamah, “If you adopt a crooked course, we will straighten you, just as we straighten swords by placing them in a vice.” At these aggressively critical words, Umar, the second Muslim Caliph, exclaimed: “Praise be to God, who has put me among a people who will straighten me when I become crooked.” (Kanz al-Ummal) When Muslims at Madinah, with their increasing affluence, began to settle huge dowers on their daughters, Umar, in his capacity as Caliph, ordered that no one should demand or pay a dower that exceeded four hundred dirhams, and that anything in excess of this amount would be confiscated and deposited in the public treasury. After the proclamation of this ordinance, when he came down from the pulpit, an old woman stood up and confidently said: “The Quran has set no restrictions on this matter. Therefore, Umar has no right to set an upper limit to the dowers.” To back up her contention, she loudly recited this verse of the Quran: “If you desire to replace one wife with another, do not take any part of her dower back: even if you have given her a treasure.” (4: 20) Umar said: “May God forgive me, everyone knows better than Umar, even this old lady.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad) With the advent of Islam in the seventh century, it was declared for the benefit of humankind that all greatness was the exclusive prerogative of God, and that in the eyes of God, all human beings were equal. The Prophet Muhammad declared not once, but on many occasions that all people were alike, all were brothers. With the advent of Islam in the seventh century, it was declared for the benefit of humankind that all greatness was the exclusive prerogative of God, and that in the eyes of God, all human beings were equal.