Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!elassaad
From: elassaad@csl.ncsu.edu (Shauki Elassaad)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: "People of the Book"
Message-ID: <4585@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 2 Mar 90 01:09:22 GMT
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: North Carolina State University
Lines: 51
Approved: naim@eecs.nwu.edu (Naim Abdullah)


In article <4549@accuvax.nwu.edu> you write:
#Basalat Ali Raja writes:
##There is something I do not understand here, and call for further 
##clarification.  It relates to the status of the people of the 
##book.
##
##You state that there is no allowed catagory in Islam for one who
##accepts Allah but not Mohammed [saws].  However, the Quran is full
##of references to the People of the Book.  These are distinguised
##from the Kuffar in many cases. As an example, I refer you to the
##reference in the Quran about the Christians, Jews and Sabeans.
##These are the people who, if they do right works and believe in
##Allah, will enter heaven.
#
#Repeatedly, the Quran tells us that the gravest sin is "shirk" (associating 
#others with God). Believing that Jesus was the son of God or believing in
#the trinity is clearly "shirk". So Christians and others following such
#beliefs are definitely not on the right path (as defined by Islam).
#
#In my opinion, the "Christians, Jews and Sabeans" (CJS) referred to in the
#ayah mentioned by Basalat MUST be those who are following the original
#teachings of Jesus or the original teachings of Moses. It must not include
#the CJS who commit shirk. It is this latter group of CJS who are exhorted
#repeatedly in the Quran to embrace Islam. The former group is already
#a "muslim" (for example Abraham (pbuh) is referred to in the Quran as 
#a "muslim" even though Abraham was much before Mohammed [saws]).
#
#All Christians and Jews have a special status in that Muslim
#men are allowed to marry female Christians and Jews.
#
#Now an interesting question: Does "People of the Book" (Ahl-Kitab) only refer
#to Christians and Jews or can it be construed to refer to any religion
#that has a "holy book" (for example: sikhism or hinduism) ? As far as I
#know, the prophet only used the term for Christians and Jews but I have heard 
#people use the term in the broader sense outlined above (mainly to justify
#marriage to a Hindu or a Sikh woman :-) ).
#
#        Naim

Assalam Alaikum:

  I would like to comment on one point by Br. Naim in the above message.
If any one claim that the term "People of the Book" comprises other
people than the Christians and Jews, then he has to point to an evidence
from either Qura'n or Sunna to support his claim.  As far as I know,
there is none.  Hence, there is no Islamic support to the idea of a
Muslim (male) marrying non-Muslims (females) other than Christians or
Jews.

Shauki