Revisiting Interfaith Relations in the Context of Sirah: A Case of “Ahl al Kitab”
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Abstract
Religion has emerged as a major power in today's society, and it must be a force of good—for conflict resolution rather than conflict production. It is often assumed that all faiths in the world educate their followers to love, respect, collaborate, and help their fellow creatures. At the same time, countless horrific deeds have been performed using the word “religion," resulting in recurring crises of war, terrorism, innocent deaths, and so on. The non-observance of tolerance, brotherhood, and humanism between the religions adds a fuel to the fire. People in today's globalized world live with a variety of religions and beliefs that vary from place to place. The worrying rise in religious disputes in our modern society is all too well recognized. Conflicts between various religious traditions and groups within the same faith have also arisen. Hence, there comes the necessity of dialogue. The dialogue between different faiths or religions has the importance of first-class to promote love, harmony, and peace in today's globalized world. As Islam has also an appeal to interfaith dialogue. This study examines the interfaith relation between Islam and Ahl al Kitab (Jews and Christians) as understood from the Si’rah of the prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The study will analyze the events in the life of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH and show how he interacted with the ‘people of the book’ and emphasized the virtues of justice, equality, tolerance, and communal harmony between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. This research on interfaith dialogue is an attempt to promote harmony between Islam and the People of the Book, remove mutual misconceptions, and bring ‘Ahl al Kitab’ closer to Islam. The study will inspire Muslims to imbibe the qualities of a human and behave with respect and honour towards all fellow humans irrespective of their faiths.
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