Did early Muslims allow people who did not submit to Islam to live?

Question

There is a story in Islamic history about a mission that prophet Muhammed sent with the name "Sareyat Al Fuls". That mission was led by Ali Ibn Abu Talib and they raided a village that worshipped a stone god, destroyed the temple of that stone god, looted the whole village, and took many women captives (as slaves).

As for men captives, the story tells that Muslims had them to choose either to submit to Islam or to be KILLED. The story goes on and tells that many people submitted to islam while others refused and had been KILLED.

Does this mean that early Muslims did not allow anyone who did not submit to islam to live?

(P.S. From my reading through Islamic history, I found that conquering Mecca was the only bloodless battle during prophet Muhammad's time)

Answer 1

I learned in my Unitarian Universallist church that Mohammad's primary goal was for the religions in the mid-east to exist peacefully and intermingle. He had respect for Jews and Christians. He believed very strongly that they were all under one God/Yaweh/Allah with different names and needed to respect and embrace one another.

Like Jesus, he's words have become twisted into hate. Poor guy is rolling in his grave at the world today!

Answer 2

There are many stories out there. But, one must look no further then the middle east today to see the answer.

Yes, people of other religions were free to live. There were some limitations. Depending on the place and governing body.

But, there are still millions of Christians in North Africa and Middle East. These are people whose families were Christians 1900 years ago ... Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Ethiopia, Iran and Egypt collectively have millions of Christians - and small numbers of Jews who have been there since long before the time of Mohammed.

And, Saddam Hussein let Christians live in peace. Do not fall for the right wing Islamophobic lie. Assyrians lived peacefully in Iraq during the baathist rule. Now they are flooding into Lebanon and Syria because the US led government cannot protect them from Al-Queada.

Answer 3

The tribes at that time were divided. Part of the division was they had small cults using Gods to control tribes. These cult leaders were minor warlords. Accepting that there was only one God meant accepting an inter tribal Justice system and government. It meant no more robbing the caravans. To refuse it was to claim the right to continue as bandits.
The offer to let those people live if they accepted terms and quit raiding their neighbors seems pretty generous. It was backed up however by the rule that a tribe that agreed to accept Islam and started to raid again was to be totally destroyed with no offer to accept their surrender, just simple extermination.
Times were different.

Answer 4

They don't allow Christians or other religions now!
They are not to crazy about different branches of muslim.
They did kill during the crusades all Christians. Any land they conquered became instantly theres and any land that was taken from them was still theres but had occupiers.
Not much different today this is out of news week:
"Islam gets concessions, Infidels get conquered what they capture they keep when they lose, they complain to the UN."
Went on to say: "The world is their oyster, and we are just in the way of them getting the whole world. They plan on conquering the world and killing the infidels. Any who doesn't submit to Islam and agree to be their slave has to die."
They are still fighting grudges over a thousand years old.
Before peace will come to the world Islamic has to be stopped.

Answer 5

They did allow them to live. Islam actually becasme a very liberal religion for a time.

First off, Muslim culture is different. The covering of the female body was seen as protection against impurity, harm. And they had considerable rights compared to European women at the time. Today of course, Islam has in some places reverted to fundamentalism.

During the crusades, the Christians were obviously fighting to conquer the Holy land. Interestingly, Christians were allowed free access to their pilgrimage sites...Saladin was one of the greatest leaders of men ever.

When the ottoman empire was at its strongest (it twice reached the gates of Vienna) it could have easily wiped out the Christians in the Balkans. Actually, they were given religous freedom. Now, if they converted to Allah, they gained certain benefits, and didn't have to pay a special religous tax. But the tax was affordable for most, and religous tolerance was vastly superior in the Ottoman Empire than in Europe. This was during the early ottoman empire though, during the earliest ages of gunpowder.

So yes, Islam has been tolerant throughout history, when compared with it's Christian neighbors. They also slaughtered plenty of "infidels" i.e. the massacre of Dehli. But it was better than some places.

Answer 6

why go back to misty of time, check the history of Saudi Arabia in 20th century that was few years ago as many people executed (Saudi citizens) for not submitting to Saudi Islam and to some extent still going on in the 21 first century also try contemporary Iran, Sudan , Afghanistan and so on but Saudi Law does not allow it's citizens to be of any other religion but Islam( Saudi sect) while other nations some how more tolerance so then Afghanistan is more tolerance than Saudi Arabia..

Answer 7

A lie is a figment of your man or woman strategies and consequently you're consistently and yet never mendacity to your self. There are categories of lies and a few are seen suited with the help of society whether mendacity in many situations is a disapproved- yet nonetheless very common- variety of paintings. that's alright to lie in case you have the suitable motives i think of; no longer something is fairly ever in black or white. in the journey that your mendacity to make somebody sense extra effective than it must be defined as confident encouragement rather of a lie. Such issues are in certainty lies in somewhat packaging.

Answer 8

As far as I know Islam do not allowed to kill the innocent people regardless of their religions. Allah says in holy Quran " Do not disturb or disrespect other religion as they in turn would do the same to you". The meaning of Islam itself is Peace. If we look at cultural history of Mecca and Medina the people who live in the era of Islam consist of Christian, Jews and Majusi ( people who worship Fire ). It is not the duty of Muslim or even the prophet to convert people to Islam. In Islam there is a word " Hidayat" meaning the way to the right path. Only Allah could give the "Hidayat" and He will definately give to the person who always look for or ask for the right path. The duties of Muslim and the prophets are to propagate and shows the beauty of Islam by example.

Answer 9

It is the same as "Early Christians". In the old testement, "God" ordered all residence, men, women and children killed in every war. Sometimes "God" told the people they could take slaves and sometimes"God" told the people they could take live stock.

The Christian God has a history of commanding parents to either kill their children as a sacrifice to "Him" or to stone them for disobedience. Pretty hateful s.o.b. in my opinion...no worse the the Moslem's "kill 'em all and let "God" sort 'em out" attitude.

The original "christian" god was ruthless also and the Christians say that "God" never changes. I wonder how Modern Christians reconcile their bloody history.

Answer 10

That's not always pratical.

But the sheer fact that Jewish people and Christians openly live and exist in Muslim countries shows there is some degree of tolerance.

They are, however, subject to taxation or arrest for a variety of reasons from time to time at the option of the governmetn.

Answer 11

There shall be no compulsion in religion:
the right way is now distinct from the wrong way.
Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in
GOD has grasped the strongest bond;
one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer,
Omniscient. [2:256]
Proclaim: "This is the truth from your Lord," then
whoever wills let him believe,
and whoever wills let him disbelieve. [18:29]


In Prophet Muhammad times, Jews and Christians had freedom of religion. Muhammad married Jews and Christians to maintain peace. The only times teh Prophet went to war is in self defense. He never trampled people because of their beliefs. In Islam, you are to leave people as they believe.