Allah said,
[حَتَّى يُعْطُواْ
الْجِزْيَةَ]
(until they pay the Jizyah), if they do not choose to embrace Islam,
[عَن يَدٍ]
(with willing submission), in defeat and subservience,
[وَهُمْ
صَـغِرُونَ]
(and feel themselves subdued.), disgraced, humiliated and belittled.
Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate
them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced and humiliated. Muslim
recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
«لَا تَبْدَءُوا
الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى بِالسَّلَامِ، وَإِذَا لَقِيتُمْ أَحَدَهُمْ فِي طَرِيقٍ
فَاضْطَرُّوهُ إِلَى أَضْيَقِه»
(Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of
them in a road, force them to its narrowest alley.) This is why the Leader of
the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his
well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured
their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace. The scholars of Hadith
narrated from `Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ash`ari that he said, "I recorded for
`Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of
peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham: `In the Name of Allah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful. This is a document to the servant of Allah `Umar, the
Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. When you
(Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and
followers of our religion. We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither
erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore
any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose
of enmity against Muslims. We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our
churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors [of our
houses of worship] for the wayfarer and passerby. Those Muslims who come as
guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days. We will not allow a spy
against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit [or betrayal] against
Muslims. We will not teach our children the Qur'an, publicize practices of
Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing
Islam, if they choose to do so. We will respect Muslims, move from the places we
sit in if they choose to sit in them. We will not imitate their clothing, caps,
turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names, or ride on
saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry
these weapons. We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic, or sell liquor. We will
have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear
belts around our waist, refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our
churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and
markets. We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or
raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the
presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices [with prayer] at our funerals, or
light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their
markets. We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were
captured by Muslims. We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching
their privacy in their homes.' When I gave this document to `Umar, he added to
it, `We will not beat any Muslim. These are the conditions that we set against
ourselves and followers of our religion in return for safety and protection. If
we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves,
then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do
with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion.'''
[وَقَالَتِ
الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَـرَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ
ذلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَهِهِمْ يُضَـهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن
قَبْلُ قَـتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ - اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَـرَهُمْ
وَرُهْبَـنَهُمْ أَرْبَاباً مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَآ
أُمِرُواْ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُواْ إِلَـهاً وَحِداً لاَّ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ
سُبْحَـنَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ]
(30. And the Jews say: "Uzayr (Ezra) is the son of Allah,'' and the
Christians say: "The Messiah is the son of Allah.'' That is their saying with
their mouths, resembling the saying of those who disbelieved aforetime. May
Allah fight them, how they are deluded away from the truth!) (31. They (Jews and
Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah,
and (they also took as their Lord) the Messiah, son of Maryam, while they were
commanded to worship none but One God, none has the right to be worshipped but
He. Praise and hallowed be He above what they associate (with Him).'')