Nobody – including the self proclaimed religious leaders such as Sunni Tehreek – have right to take law in their hand, hold citizens of Lahore hostage and subject them to numerous hardships denying them right of movement as they did on 4 January. The pact between Prophet (PBUH) and a delegation of Christians exists in monastery of Catherine, which makes it obligatory on all Muslims to protect Churches, their right to practice their faith and observe religious ceremonies. Nowhere is there any mention in Hadiths which forbids member of faith to felicitate Christians on their religious days or for that matter to any other citizen whatever his belief. It is the sole jurisdiction of Almighty Allah to decide who will go to heaven or hell and no individual has right to kill another person based on his whims.
It is mandatory for Muslims to believe in one God, Almighty Allah, and that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last of chosen prophets. Similarly, any pact made by Apostle of Allah is binding upon all Muslims and no religious leader has right to misinterpret or change it. In 631 a delegation of 60 Christians living in Najran, went to Madina and held talks with Prophet (PBUH) for three days. A pact was agreed with members of monotheist faith Christians laying down ethics testifying to permanence of interreligious relations and terms of this pact are binding upon all Muslims. The text of the treaty states that the “charter of protection given by God and his Apostle to those which received the Book, with the Christians who belong to the religion of Najran, or any other sect Christian.” It is binding “for the Muslims who will come after him”. The pact further states “that which, on the contrary, will violate it, which will change it, will relate its crime its to its head; because it will have betrayed the pact of God, will have violated his faith, will have resisted its authority and contravened the will of its Apostle: he will thus be imposter with eyes of God … ”. The protection of God and the guarantee of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), extends to “the practice of their worship, their absent and present, their families and their sanctuaries, and all that large and small, is in their possession”.
Malik Tariq
Lahore
