Discussion of the statement of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “O Allah, curse the disbelievers of the People of the Book”
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The questioner : The fifth issue is what was mentioned regarding 'Umar, namely his saying: “O Allah, curse the disbelievers of the People of the Book.” Who are they?
The Shaykh : The Jews and the Christians. But how did he say “the disbelievers of the People of the Book”? Are there believers among the People of the Book? Yes, there are believers among them. Those who believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), such as 'Abdullah ibn Salam and the Najashi. Yes, 'Abdullah ibn Salam was among the rabbis and scholars of the Jews, and the Najashi was among the scholars and rulers of the Christians. Yes, that is fine. 'Umar did not mention all the disbelievers.
We say: Yes, because the disbelievers of the People of the Book are more deserving of blame than others, because they have a Book in which they know Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as they know their own sons. So their disbelief is out of stubbornness, not out of ignorance. Therefore, they are more obstinate. That is why 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to invoke a curse upon them, and they are deserving of this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said at the end of his life: “The curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques. We ask Allah the Exalted to continue His curse upon them until the Day of Resurrection.” They are deserving of the curse, deserving of abuse, deserving of blame, and deserving of being fought until they pay the jizyah (tax on protected non-Muslims) with their own hands while in a state of humiliation. This is what Allah commanded[At-Tawbah 9:29] But when will that happen?
If we are able to do so. But as for the Muslim community in its current state, both the people and the rulers, we are actually incapable. We are incapable of this, incapable of carrying out this divine command. And if we fight them for Islam, whether them or others, we do not want to harm them. We want to do them good by bringing them into the religion of Islam, by which they will be saved in this world and the Hereafter. As for if they remain in their disbelief, then if they are saved...
...they are only saved in this world. As for the Hereafter, there is no salvation for them, according to the saying of the Prophet
So when we fight the disbelievers, we do not fight them out of fanaticism, but we fight them out of mercy for them, so that they may enter Islam. And if they enter Islam, they are our brothers, even if they are the farthest from us in lineage and land.
The Shaykh : The Jews and the Christians. But how did he say “the disbelievers of the People of the Book”? Are there believers among the People of the Book? Yes, there are believers among them. Those who believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), such as 'Abdullah ibn Salam and the Najashi. Yes, 'Abdullah ibn Salam was among the rabbis and scholars of the Jews, and the Najashi was among the scholars and rulers of the Christians. Yes, that is fine. 'Umar did not mention all the disbelievers.
We say: Yes, because the disbelievers of the People of the Book are more deserving of blame than others, because they have a Book in which they know Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as they know their own sons. So their disbelief is out of stubbornness, not out of ignorance. Therefore, they are more obstinate. That is why 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to invoke a curse upon them, and they are deserving of this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said at the end of his life: “The curse of Allah be upon the Jews and the Christians who took the graves of their prophets as mosques. We ask Allah the Exalted to continue His curse upon them until the Day of Resurrection.” They are deserving of the curse, deserving of abuse, deserving of blame, and deserving of being fought until they pay the jizyah (tax on protected non-Muslims) with their own hands while in a state of humiliation. This is what Allah commanded
Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.
قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّىٰ يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَن يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَIf we are able to do so. But as for the Muslim community in its current state, both the people and the rulers, we are actually incapable. We are incapable of this, incapable of carrying out this divine command. And if we fight them for Islam, whether them or others, we do not want to harm them. We want to do them good by bringing them into the religion of Islam, by which they will be saved in this world and the Hereafter. As for if they remain in their disbelief, then if they are saved...
...they are only saved in this world. As for the Hereafter, there is no salvation for them, according to the saying of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one from this Ummah (Muslim community), whether a Jew or a Christian, hears of this and then does not believe in what the Messenger brought, except that he will be among the people of the Fire.”
صلى الله عليه وسلم والذي نفس محمد بيده لا يسمع به أحد من هذه الأمة يهودي ولا نصراني ثم لا يؤمن يعني بما جاء به الرسول إلا كان من أصحاب النار.So when we fight the disbelievers, we do not fight them out of fanaticism, but we fight them out of mercy for them, so that they may enter Islam. And if they enter Islam, they are our brothers, even if they are the farthest from us in lineage and land.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 982 - الكلام على قول عمر رضي الله عنه “اللهم العن كفرة أهل الكتاب” - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.