The Madinah Charter is one of the most visionary documents in the history of Islamic praxis. Executed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Charter was a constitutional contract between himself, and the Muslim and Jewish tribes of Madinah that created a foundation for the relationship between faith and freedom. The Prophet had emigrated to Madinah because his life was being threatened in Makkah due to his religious beliefs. So, the Prophet experienced religious oppression and knew very well the importance of religious liberty.
The Madinah Charter is an integral part of the sunnah of the Prophet. The role of the sunnah is to shed further light on the revelation itself, embodied in the Holy Qur’an. Thus, to no surprise, the Qur’an clearly and succinctly states, “There shall be no compulsion in
religion.” (Qur’an - 2:256)
The Holy Qur’an also connects this state of religious liberty with the state of political immaturity within the community. For it continues to say, “The mature course is clearly distinct from the oppressive one.”
The last part of this verse, also affirms that those who believe in God and reject the tyrant or oppressor have the most secure handhold that never fails. But to believe in God is to believe in all the values and liberties God declared and guaranteed in the Qur’an. As hard as observing these liberties may be, this is part of the Islamic message, as emphasized by the Charter of Madinah. Moreover, as the Qur’an tells us, these freedoms are, in fact, a source of political maturity and stability in Muslim societies.
While there are many other verses in the Qur’an that
support this fundamental principle of religious liberty,
one very simple Qur’anic verse states, “We have given dignity to the Children
of Adam.” (Qur’an -17:70)
This verse is very inclusive. Dignity is given to ALL the
children of Adam, not only to Muslims or men or whites
or the rich. It is part of the dignity of a human being to
be able to think and worship freely. This is one of the
important foundations on which the Charter of
Madinah rests.
The Holy Qur’an also repeatedly states that the core of
Islamic praxis is justice. Or to put it differently, the whole
creation of the heavens and earth was based on Justice. Putting all this together, it is clear that in a just Muslim
society that respects the dignity of each of its members,
the right to freedom of thought and belief ranks very
high.
Thomas Jefferson, the American founding father
who owned a copy of the Qur’an, also argued against
compulsion in religion, and adopted a similar approach
to religious freedom. His approach led to the adoption
of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a
precursor of the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. So, over a thousand years later, the principles
articulated in the Qur’an and the Charter of Medina
remain as fresh and relevant as they were in the early
days of Islam.
The religious tribal structure of Madinah required the
Prophet to devise a special legal structure in order to
protect the religious liberty of the diverse religious
tribes, and promote peace in the overall Madinah
community. So, he devised a “federalist” model amongst
them, Muslim and Jewish alike. This federalism preserved for each group its own identity, customs, and
internal relations. The Charter actually names each
tribe and extends to It specifically these protections.
By becoming part to the Charter, Jewish tribes became
entitled to both succor and equality. They had the same
standing in the community as Muslims and were entitled to Muslim loyalty. If wronged, the Charter stated
that they must be helped.
The signatories to the Charter, both Muslim and Jewish,
had a duty and a right to mutual assistance and consultation. Both groups were required to bear their portions of the communal (defense) expenses whenever
the city was at war.
The statement, made centuries later by George Washington in a letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport,
Rhode Island echoes some of the ideas present in the
Charter of Madinah. It states, "For happily the government of the United States, which
gives bigotry no sanction, to prosecution no assistance,
requires only that they who live under its protection demean
themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions
their effective support.” - US President George Washington.
The Charter of Madinah repeatedly emphasized its governing principles of fairness and equity. For example,
no one was to be punished for the wrong committed
by another, even if an ally. Every tribe was required to
deal with the other tribes on the basis of what is customary and just. All believers were required to be against
anyone who sought to spread injustice, sin, enmity, or
corruption among them. They were not permitted to
shelter an evil-doer.
This Charter was not devised by the Prophet to meet a
temporary situation. As stated earlier, it was part and
parcel of the Qur’anic message. This fact is underlined
by another document executed by the Prophet with the
Christians of St. Catherine Monastery in Sinai. There, he
made extensive commitments and extended broad protections to all Christians in the Eastern and Western parts
of this world (not just those in the monastery.) There, he
required all Muslims to observe commitments and ensure
these protections till the end of time, and cursed those
who would violate his directives.
The bloodshed and violence we are witnessing today is
heartbreaking for many reasons. Besides the extensive
loss of life, both Muslim and non-Muslim, the current
state of affairs underscores the fact that some groups
falsely raising the flag of Islam have decided to replace
Islamic values with their own anti-humanistic ones.
They do not see dignity in God's creation, nor sanctity
in the Prophetic commitments and directives. They have
ushered a return to the Age of Ignorance (pre-Islamic
Jahiliyyah) and took with them many of our gullible youth
who did not know any better.
Islam is not
about earthly power struggles, the killing of humanity,
or shocking denials of basic liberties, religious or other-
wise. Islam is about spirituality, peace, and harmony. It is
about giving each his due and being a good steward of
this earth, including its humans, animals, and even trees
and plants, all covered by the sunnah of our Prophet.
May God forgive us our sin for not having been sufficiently diligent in transmitting this message to our youth.