By Yasir Qadhi  When people start going down the dark road of extremism, not only does one cease to be compassionate to others, seeing compassion in others actually fuels one’s own extremism. That is why, from the beginning of time, extremism and fanaticism have been linked with harshness and a lack of mercy.  Ibn Muljam was the Khārijite who assassinated Alī b. Abī Ṭalib (r). An interesting story is mentioned in our history books that demonstrates this hatred of compassion.   Ibn Muljam was sitting in the sūq (market) of Kufa a few days before he murdered Ali (r), and he saw a large funeral procession pass by composed of both Christians and Muslims. He was disgusted at this and said, “What is going on?” meaning how dare Muslims and Christians be together in a funeral.   Someone said, “This is the funeral of Abjar b. Jābir [the chieftain of the Ijl tribe, who died as a Christian]. The Christians are here to honor him, and the Muslims are here to sympathize with his son Ḥajjār.” Ḥajjār …

This article has been reproduced from caliphate1.com In 1492, when Spain’s rulers (Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile) expelled its Jewish population as a result of the Spanish Inquisition and the Alhambra Decree, Sultan Bayazid II sent out the Ottoman Navy under the command of admiral Kemal Reis to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands. He sent out proclamations throughout the Caliphate that the refugees were to be welcomed. He granted the Jews permission to settle in the Ottoman State and become Ottoman citizens and issued a firman (decree) to the governors of his European provinces to give them a friendly and welcome reception. “You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler,” he said to his courtiers, “he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!” [The Jewish Encyclopaedia – Vol. 2, Isadore Singer and Cyrus Adler, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912, p. 460] Bernard Lewis, in his scholarly overview entitled The Jews of Islam, documents how Jews lived, worked and flourished under Ottoman rule. For example, many Jews were experts in medicine: “The prominence …

The Battle of Talas took place in 751CE between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang dynasty. In the aftermath of the battle a number of Chinese soldiers were taken as prisoners of war back to Iraq. Among these was one Tu Huan, who remained a prisoner until 762. He narrates a graphic account of life in the Islamic State.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said today that ‘Christians face daily the threat of violence, murder, intimidation, prejudice and poverty.’ ‘Across the region Christian communities that were the foundation of the universal Church now face the threat of imminent extinction.’

This is an excerpt from the book The Divine Reality: God, Islam and the Mirage of Atheism by Hamza Andreas Tzortzis. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was truly a mercy to mankind. This assertion is not only justified by his message and his teachings, but it also includes his unprecedented impact on our world. There are two key reasons why his teachings on a social level were so transformative: the justice and compassion of Islam.

After the liberation of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, Jewish refugees from all over Europe were encouraged to settle in the country and to take advantage of the liberal treatment accorded them by the Sultan. When the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid heard about the expulsion of the Jews from Spain by King Ferdinand, he said: “Can you call such a king wise and intelligent? He is impoverishing his country and enriching my kingdom.”

Slavery does not exist today and a future Caliphate would not attempt to re-introduce it as some misguided people have claimed. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came to free human beings from slavery to other human beings, so they become slaves of Allah alone. The Prophet ﷺ said: أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ أَعْتَقَ امْرَأً مُسْلِمًا اسْتَنْقَذَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ عُضْوٍ مِنْهُ عُضْوًا مِنْهُ مِنَ النَّارِ “Whichever man frees a Muslim man, Allah ta’ala will liberate for each of his organ an organ from the Fire.” (Agreed Upon)