Islam has painted a clear, well-defined picture of the relationship between all people on this planet, based on cooperation, mutual support, and compassion.
Humanity will never find a concept of relations among people across the six continents that equals or even approximates the model that Islam intended for the relationship between all nations and people in the world.
Islam seeks the welfare of all humanity and desires for all people to live in cooperation, mutual support, and compassion. There is no place in Islam for hatred or animosity, nor for envy and malice, whether between individuals and groups or between nations and ethnicities.
Islam detests fighting and permits it only to repel injustice and aggression. Allah the Almighty says, “Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing.” (Al-Baqarah: 216) And He also says, “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors.” (Al-Baqarah: 190)
Thus, Islam forbids aggression even during combat because it wants people to be cooperative, supportive, and merciful to all of humanity—not just to their own people or to those who share their religion, as is the case with those who do not follow Islam.
First: Compassion
The truth that Islam seeks in the relationship between Muslims and others is one of compassion and mercy, not hatred and animosity, as is often believed in some circles of Western thought and among some of our own who are enslaved by Western ideology or are half-educated. But the reality of the relationship between Muslims and others is one of compassion, kindness, and goodwill, as has been outlined by the Lord of all worlds in numerous ayahs, including: “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Al-Anbiya: 107) The Lord of all worlds did not send Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a mercy to Muslims only, but as a mercy to all the worlds.
Allah the Exalted said, “Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah].” (Taha: 43-44) Allah commands His messenger, Musa (peace be upon him), to be merciful to Pharaoh, who had proclaimed, “I am your most exalted lord!” And He commands him to speak to him gently. Is there any clearer evidence than this that the relationship between Muslims and others is based on mercy and is founded on goodwill, not hatred?
Moreover, Allah the Almighty says, “Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.” (Al-Mumtahanah: 8) As long as non-Muslims do not attack us, Allah does not forbid us from being kind and just towards them.
The Quraysh Disbelievers Discovered the Truth of Islam
The disbelievers of Quraysh made a remarkable discovery when they realized this truth in the early days of Islam. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated that during a severe drought and a dangerous famine that befell Quraysh, their leader, Abu Sufyan, came seeking urgent help from the Prophet of Mercy. Abdullah bin Mas’ud narrated: When the Prophet (ﷺ) saw the refusal of the people to accept Islam he said, “O Allah! Send (famine) years on them for (seven years) like the seven years (of famine during the time) of (Prophet) Joseph.” So famine overtook them for one year and destroyed every kind of life to such an extent that the people started eating hides, carcasses and rotten dead animals. Whenever one of them looked towards the sky, he would (imagine himself to) see smoke because of hunger. So Abu Sufyan went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, “O Muhammad! You order people to obey Allah and to keep good relations with kith and kin. No doubt the people of your tribe are dying, so please pray to Allah for them.”
What is even more astonishing is that the Prophet of Mercy for all humanity prayed for the Quraysh disbelievers, and Allah responded to his prayer, sending down abundant rain for hours and days, until they came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) asking him to pray for the rain to stop, and he did so, and the sky ceased to rain.
History has witnessed the famous event when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to the Quraysh disbelievers, the leaders of disbelief, and the idol worshippers after the glorious conquest of Mecca, “Go, for you are free.” He did not impose religion or tyranny upon them but granted them full freedom, which the world had never witnessed before. This is because the religion of Islam came to establish peace, eliminate tyranny, and fight injustice in all the universe.
Second: Cooperation and Mutual Support
Islam is humanity’s hope for compassion, cooperation, and mutual support among all people across the world. Other ideas, ideologies, doctrines, and philosophies have brought nothing to humanity but destruction, devastation, injustice, and shame!
They have then accused Islam of inciting violence, killing, and terrorism, which is contrary to its message that carries peace for the entire world. The ayahs of the Quran, revealed over 14 centuries ago, outlined the path for the entire universe towards compassion, cooperation, and mutual support for all existence. Among these ayahs, “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” (Al-Hujuraat: 13) Allah created people as nations, tribes, and states to cooperate with each other, not to fight, to compete in serving humanity, and for the advanced to support the backward and the rich to support the poor.
Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zahra, in his book “International Relations in Islam,” comments on the previous ayah by saying: “This acquaintance allows each group to benefit from the good in the other, and all the goods of the earth become available to the nations of this earth, which is humanity. No group should monopolize the good of its region and deprive others of it. If the earth's regions produce different things, then all production is for all humanity. The only way to achieve this is through cooperation and human acquaintance. Regional division should not be used to exploit the land in every part of it; it should be used for the benefit of all, and the Quran encouraged travel and seeking sustenance across the earth to pursue this human acquaintance and to ensure that the people of each region obtain what is with others.”
To reinforce the principle of international cooperation and mutual human support, the Quran repeatedly encourages this unique civilizational advancement that distinguished Islamic civilization from all other civilizations in the history of the world. Allah says, “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Al-Ma'idah: 2)
This is a divine command for all humanity, not just for Muslims, to cooperate and support each other in goodness and virtue, not in evil and vice. The learned must uplift the ignorant, as it is said: “The ignorant is not asked why he did not learn until the learned is asked why he did not teach.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) established the Constitution of Medina immediately upon his arrival there after migrating from Mecca. This constitution, consisting of 52 articles, included a treaty between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Jews of Medina and all the other groups living there, committing them to mutual advice, cooperation, support, and mutual aid.
This is just a small glimpse of the unique distinction of Islam, which stands out from all other civilizations in the world in achieving cooperation, mutual support, and compassion among all humanity.
This is at a time when Western civilization, even to this day, continues to devise theories and plots to create aggression, fighting civilizations, and conflicts among groups!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Article in Arabic
