Author Archives: caliphatefoundation

The Jewish Rabbi who fought alongside the Prophet ﷺ

“At Uhud, one of those killed was Mukhayriq. He was of Banu Tha‘laba b. al-Fityawn. On the day of the battle of Uhud he proclaimed, ‘O Jews, you have learned, I swear by God, that it is your duty to help Muhammad to victory.’ They responded, ‘But today is the sabbath’. ‘You shall have no sabbath,’ he insisted.
He then took his sword and equipment saying, ‘If I should fall, then my wealth goes to Muhammad to do with as he wishes.’

The Position of Jews in Arab Lands

There can be little doubt, then, that for Jews the Arab conquest meant a marked improvement in their legal condition. From a previously degraded class of aliens, almost always resented by the Christian majority and frequently the object of open persecution, they were now elevated to a new position and granted a positive legal status with clearly defined rights guaranteed by law. And what is equally important, they were no longer regarded as a separate entity, legally or otherwise, but were thought of as part of a larger class of protected persons in relation to whom they enjoyed full equality.

Islam’s Stance towards Racism and Antisemitism

At this, Muqauqis said to the delegation, “How could you agree to make him your leader and superior, whereas he ought to have been your subordinate?” To this the delegation replied, “No, despite the fact that you see him as black, he is the best among us in knowledge, in nobility, in intellect and opinion, and we do not look down upon the black man.” Muqauqis said to  ‘Ubada, “Come forward, O black [man] and speak to me gently, for I fear your colour, and if you were to talk to me in a harsh tone, my distress shall be all the greater.” ‘Ubada, noticing Muqauqis’ fear of  black people, said, “We have in our army a thousand people darker than me.”

Wall Street Journal: “The Unconquerable Islamic World”

The Quran is Allah’s final revelation, binding on all humanity; faith is a matter of private devotion as well as public law, best lived out in a state that blends religion and politics; and Muslims should, where possible, hold power over non-Muslims to ensure that Allah’s law is rightly enforced

Umar and the Blind Beggar

Then ‘Umar got hold of his hand, took him to his house and gave him something from his home, then sent him to the treasurer of the Bayt al-Mal [State Treasury] and said: “Take care of this man and other similar men. By Allah, we have not done justice to him that we ate (jizya) from him when he was young but we forsook him when he was old. Verily, the alms are for the poor and destitute. The poor are the Muslims and this one is a destitute from the People of the Book.” So he removed the jizya from him. Abu Bakr said, “I have witnessed this (incident) of ‘Umar and I also have seen that old man.”

How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe

Wren acknowledges the European debt to what he calls ‘Saracen’ architecture twelve times…he explains how his study of Europe’s Gothic cathedrals had led him to believe that Gothic architecture was a style invented by the Arabs, imported by the returning Crusaders, and before that via Muslim Spain. ‘Such buildings,’ he concludes, ‘have been vulgarly called Modern Gothick, but their true appellation is Arabic, Saracenic, or Moresque.’

The Golden Age

The House of Wisdom, founded by the caliph al-Mamun, became the world’s centre of learning. Whereas Alexandria had been the previous intellectual capital, with Greek and Roman manuscripts written on locally sourced papyrus, Baghdad become the new chaperone of philosophical and scientific inquiry, with conversion of all documents into Arabic, scribed on locally manufactured paper. One of the early assimilations that occurred at the House of Wisdom was the adoption of Hindu numerals (1–9) as well as the base-ten system and the concept of “zero.” An Arabic system of expressing abstract formulas (to the consternation of high school students everywhere) was introduced by al-Khwarizmi, which he termed al jabr, or algebra.

The Islamic Origins of the Jury System

The structure of the lafif resembles the jury in nearly every detail as it appeared in England in the twelfth century. If one compares the [eight] characteristics of the English jury with the characteristics described above for the Islamic jury, the Islamic jury (1) was a body of twelve witnesses drawn from the neighborhood and sworn to tell the truth, (2) who were bound to give a verdict, (3) unanimously (and if twelve did not agree, more would be found until there were twelve who agreed), (4) about matter from what they had personally seen or heard, (5) binding on the judge, (6) to settle the truth concerning facts in a case, (7) between ordinary people, and (8) obtained as of right by the plaintiff.

Sultan Abdulhamid, Theodor Herzl and Palestine

“If Mr. Herzl is your friend, as you are my friend, tell him not to take a further step in this matter. I do not wish to sell even a tiny portion of land, because this country does not belong to me. It belongs to my people. My nation has watered this fatherland with its blood … The men of my Syrian and Palestinian contingents have all become martyrs at Plevna. All of them, without exception, have remained on the battlefield and did not return. I do not wish to give up any part of the Ottoman state. Let the Jews keep their millions … I cannot allow surgery on a living body.”