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"Ahl al-Kitab" or
"People of the Book"
“
"Ahl al-Kitab" or "People of the Book" is a
term of the Qur'an that is specifically used for Jews and Christians. In
Surah al-Ma'idah, Allah says, "Say, O People of the Book, you have
nothing (of the guidance) unless you observe the Torah and Injil and
that which is revealed to you from your Lord…" (5:68) This verse makes
is very clear that what is meant by "the Book" is the revelation of
Allah that came in the Torah and Injil. On the basis of this all Muslim
jurists (fuqaha') are unanimous that only Jews and Christians are the
People of the Book. When Muslims came into contact with the
people of other major religions such as Buddhists and
Hindus, they treated them like the People of the Book, but
without calling them "People of the Book". The Jurists were
unanimous that Muslims should treat them as the People of
the Book.”
http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/98/re-02-06.html
“In
Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb are peoples who have,
according to the Qur'an, received and possess the divine
scriptures.
The term applies to monotheistic faiths prior to Islam who
received revelation(s) (hence "book") from God. This includes
all Christians, Jews, Samaritans, Karaites, Mandaeans and
Zoroastrians. The legal interpretation was later expanded to
accomodate other non-Muslims living under Muslim rule (e.g.
Hindus in India), where certain aspects of being a dhimmi were
granted (paying jizyah, protected status, freedom of worship,
...etc), but others were not (e.g. Muslim males allowed to marry
their females).”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_the_Book
“There's
a phrase in the Quran, ahl al-kitab,
— which roughly translates as "The People of the Book" or
"people of an earlier revelation" — that refers to Jews and
Christians as people, like Muslims, who belong to a faith that
is rooted in a sacred text. Karen Armstrong, in her recent tome
"Islam: A Short History," quotes a line from the Quran that
reads "Do not argue with the followers of an earlier revelation
otherwise than in a most kindly manner..." It's a gentle,
nonconfrontational passage that contrasts sharply with the
uncompromising rhetoric many Westerners associate with
fundamentalist Islam.”
http://www.time.com/
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