Letters From a Prophet

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The reception each messenger was given was something that could not be predicted. The reactions were wildly different, yet the lessons contained within each scenario continue to become more relevant with every passing day. Peace unto whoever follows the guided path, and believes in God and His apostle, and bears witness that there is no god but the one God with no partner [associated in worship] to Him and that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle!

I bear witness that there is nothing and nobody worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His Slave and final Messenger. I appeciate the message that you are trying to convey with this article. However, I must take issue one of your statements. You claim that Islam does not santion violence. But this is erroneous, because the Quran states clearly that violence can be used at times. For example, in verse 9:5 we see this:It was the year 7AH (628AD), and the dawn of a new era for the early Muslims as they welcomed the promise of peace on the horizon. The time was now right. The Prophet (pbuh) decided to invite the wider world to a better way of living. Does Islam make this distinction? You claim this is so and I will take you at your word. But do the majority of Muslims properly recognize this distinction? From my perspective (emphasis on "my"), the answer will come in time. Ultimately, non-Muslims must leave Islam for the Muslims to interpret. How the stories unfold I shall leave for the book to tell. To prepare the mind of the reader however, take a moment to truly situate yourself within the reality of the world as it was then, the message that needed to be delivered and what the task at hand called for. Only then will the gravity of these events settle in the way they deserve. Today communication looks very different, but core principles remain the same. That is why today, and for all time, we can continue extracting relevant timely and profound lessons from these Letters from a Prophet. There is no contradiction between our statements. In any event, it's not my place to debate Islamic doctrine, since such things should be left to practitioners, which I am not. My intention in highlighting the author's statement about Islam and violence was to qualify it properly, as even you have done. And I think there's benefit in doing so because of the importance of making a moral distinction between different kinds of violence.

a b c Irfan Shahid, Arabic literature to the end of the Umayyad period, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 106, No. 3, p.531Both the Aws and Khazraj had progressively converted to Islam, although the latter had been more enthusiastic than the former; at the second pledge of al-'Aqaba, 62 Khazrajis were present, in contrast to the three members of the Aws; and at the Battle of Badr, 175 members of the Khazraj were present, while the Aws numbered only 63. [33] Subsequently, the hostility between the Aws and Khazraj gradually diminished and became unheard of after Muhammad's death. [1] According to Muslim scholar al-Mubarakpuri, the 'spirit of brotherhood' as insisted by Muhammad amongst Muslims was the means through which a new society would be shaped. [34] Then "O People of the Scripture, come to a term equitable between us and you that we worship none but God and associate with Him nothing, and we take not one another as Lords apart from God. But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we peace makers." [ Quran 3:64] I appreciate your sentiments. Nonetheless, I disagree with your implication that I "twist" the meaning of your Quran. Never have I claimed that Islam permits/condones/promotes violence in an objectionable fashion. I did say the following, however: You’re going to be standing in the centre of power, the palaces of the superpowers, the belly of the beast. And there, you’ll have nothing more than a handwritten letter and your own convictions to see you through.

Dearest and beloved Messenger and Prophet. May Allah out of His infinite mercy make me meet you in His beautiful, eternal resting place for us - His paradise. This letter is sent from Muhammad, the Prophet to Ashama bin Al- Abjar, the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Peace be upon him who follows true guidance and believes in Allah and His Messenger. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah alone with no associate, He has taken neither a wife nor a son, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I call you unto the fold of Islam; if you embrace Islam, you will find safety, Say O Muhammad: ‘O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah.’ Then, if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims. Watt, M Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.

Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003). Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81459-6. I cried," said Abdullah, "because I said to myself 'You will now be thrown into this pot and your soul will depart'. What I really desired then was to have as many souls as the number of hairs on my body and to have all of them thrown into this pot for the sake of God." the formation of a nation of Muslims ( Ummah) consisting of the Muhajirun from the Quraysh, the Ansar of Yathrib ( Medina) and other Muslims of Yathrib.