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The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s justice towards Jews

Friday Khutba by Dr Zahid Aziz, for Lahore Ahmadiyya UK, 17 October 2025

“And when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: You shall serve none but Allah. And do good to (your) parents, and to the near of kin and to orphans and the needy, and speak good (words) to (all) people, and keep up prayer and give the due charity. Then you turned back except a few of you, and you are averse.” — ch. 2, Al-Baqarah, v. 83

وَ اِذۡ اَخَذۡنَا مِیۡثَاقَ بَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ لَا تَعۡبُدُوۡنَ اِلَّا اللّٰہَ ۟ وَ بِالۡوَالِدَیۡنِ اِحۡسَانًا وَّ ذِی الۡقُرۡبٰی وَ الۡیَتٰمٰی وَ الۡمَسٰکِیۡنِ وَ قُوۡلُوۡا لِلنَّاسِ حُسۡنًا وَّ اَقِیۡمُوا الصَّلٰوۃَ وَ اٰتُوا الزَّکٰوۃَ ؕ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّیۡتُمۡ اِلَّا قَلِیۡلًا مِّنۡکُمۡ وَ اَنۡتُمۡ مُّعۡرِضُوۡنَ ﴿۸۳﴾

According to the Holy Quran, as this verse which I recited says, the Israelites, the Banī Isrā’īl, or the Jews, were given through the great prophet Moses the same basic teachings which are also the fundamentals of Islam revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Here the command to “speak good words” or speak in a good way, “to all people” — qūlū lin-nās-i ḥusn-an — does not only refer to speaking by mouth. The command is much broader and means “to deal kindly with everyone”. As stated at the end of this verse, the Jews turned away from these teachings and ignored them or put them to one side. In another place the Quran says that, when they were given these teachings, God promised them: “I am with you” (5:12). This was on condition that they followed them.

As they drifted away from these teachings, the prophets who arose among them, whom Muslims also accept as prophets of God, condemned their misdeeds in very bitter words. To take an example, one of these prophets, by the name of Isaiah, said that he received revelation from God about his people that:

“I have helped My children to grow. I took care of them but now they have turned against Me! … Israel’s people do not know Me.”

Then Isaiah says to his people:

“You are a nation of people who do not obey me. The people are guilty of many evil things. Their sins are like a heavy weight on their backs. … Your rulers have turned against God. They are friends of robbers. They all accept bribes and they love to receive gifts. But they do not help widows or children who have no family. They do not make sure that they receive justice.” (Isaiah, ch. 1)

He also said to them:

“Your sins have caused God to turn away from you, so that He does not listen to your prayers.”

He describes them like this:

“They do only wicked things. They use their strength only to hurt people. … They think only about sin. They only want to be cruel and to hurt people. … They cannot be honest and fair. Their way of life is all wrong.” (ch. 59)

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad appeared, these followers of Moses were in the same low moral condition as described by their earlier prophets. He only sought to reform them and to establish them on the true religion that they had been taught through their prophets. However, their prophets such as Isaiah had been concerned with reform of only the Jews. The Holy Prophet was concerned with reform of all humanity. So the teaching revealed to him by God was a much broader one than the earlier prophets, and it was also more liberal and in practical terms it was easier to act on, and much less burdensome for the followers. The Holy Prophet’s message offered the Jews an immense advantage, that through Islam they could go back to the fundamentals of the teachings of their own prophets, but be relieved of many of the restrictions and rituals imposed on them by their priests.

This is why Allah revealed to the Holy Prophet:

“Whatever message We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or one like it.” (2:106)

The messages mentioned here are the teachings given to the Jews by prophets from Moses onwards. Some of these had been forgotten or ignored over the centuries, while others which remained were now in need of renewing and updating. All the previous teachings of scriptures which were of a permanent and fundamental nature were retained by Islam, and where necessary these were brought out from the obscurity that they had fallen into. Other teachings, which were of a temporary nature or meant specifically for previous nations such as the Jews, were replaced by broader teachings, more practical for all nations to act upon.

Only three verses after this verse, the Quran says:

“Many of the People of the Book wish that they could turn you back into disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from themselves, after truth has become clear to them. But pardon and forgive, till Allah bring about His command.” (2:109)

Whenever a great reformer of religion has brought his message of reform, the existing religious leaders have generally opposed him because they have feared losing their position of authority over their followers. Their leadership and even their livelihood is based on keeping their followers trapped in the existing ignorance and misguided beliefs. And seeing the success of the reformer they become jealous. The same happened in the case of the Holy Prophet Muhammad with his message of reform for the Jews, as stated in this verse. They wished that the Arab idol-worshippers who had embraced Islam would have remained as idol-worshippers, even though by embracing Islam the Arab idol-worshippers were now closer to the Jews in belief. In response, the Quran directs Muslims to “pardon and forgive, till Allah bring about His command”. These words mean that, despite the wishes and efforts of these jealous opponents, Islam would be successful during their own lifetimes and they would in the end have to give up their efforts to turn Muslims back to unbelief. Until then, while they are making these efforts against Islam, Muslims should show them forgiveness. What a great and noble teaching! Muslims of the Holy Prophet’s time were given the teaching that Islam is bound to succeed, and its opponents are bound to fail, but before that happens, Muslims should carry on forgiving their opponents and continue advancing their own cause, and eventually events would prove that the opponents were wrong.

That is what the Holy Prophet Muhammad did, and he did not let the opposition of the Jewish religious leaders to make him unfair, unjust and prejudiced towards the Jews as such. The various communities in Madinah, including the Jews, had agreed to make him the final judge over their disputes. He was directed in the Quran to judge between people with justice and never to support the dishonest, whoever they may be. The Quran says to him:

“Surely We have revealed the Book to you (O Prophet) with truth that you may judge between people by means of what Allah has taught you. And do not be one pleading the cause of the dishonest, and ask the forgiveness of Allah. Surely Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. And do not contend (i.e. plead) on behalf of those who act unfaithfully to their souls. Surely Allah does not love him who is treacherous, sinful.” (4:105–107)

Commentators of the Quran agree that these verses were revealed when the Holy Prophet was going to deliver the judgment between a Muslim and a Jew. A Muslim, Ṭa‘mah ibn Ubairaq, stole a piece of armour from another Muslim. The victim suspected Ṭa‘mah of the theft and he went to the Holy Prophet to accuse him of it. Ṭa‘mah hid the item in the house of a Jew and accused the Jew of the theft. In making this false accusation, Ṭa‘mah was supported by the whole of his clan. The Jew proclaimed his innocence. Ṭa‘mah and his clan argued that, as the Jew was a non-believer in Islam, his word could not be trusted, whereas they were Muslims who could be trusted. It is said that the Holy Prophet was about to rule in favour of the Muslim when he received the above revelation, informing him that the Muslim’s case was “the cause of the dishonest” and the Muslim side were acting “unfaithfully to their souls” and being “treacherous, sinful” ones.

The Holy Prophet cleared the Jew of the false charge of theft, even though this decision carried the risk of antagonising a whole tribe of Muslims at a time when every Muslim was sorely needed for the defence of Islam against its enemies. On the other hand, this judgment of the Holy Prophet was not necessarily going to make Jews more favourable towards him. Yet he gave that judgment which was in accordance with truth and justice.

In the verses which follow the above quotation, those people who make false allegations against others, as the Muslim was making against the Jew, and those support them in the false allegations, are bitterly condemned in these words:

“They seek to hide from people and they cannot hide from Allah, … Look! You are they who may contend on their behalf in this world’s life, but who will contend with Allah on their behalf on the day of Resurrection, or who will have charge of their affairs? … And whoever commits a fault or a sin, then accuses of it one innocent, he indeed takes upon himself the burden of a slander and a manifest sin.” (4:108–109, 112)

Lastly, I may mention another incident, which relates to the wives of the Holy Prophet. His wife Safiyyah belonged to a Jewish tribe. His wives Hazrat Aishah and Hazrat Hafsah belonged to the Holy Prophet’s own noble tribe of the Quraish. Hazrat Hafsah once addressed Safiyyah as “daughter of a Jew”. Safiyyah complained to the Holy Prophet. He said to her:

“And you are the daughter of a Prophet (meaning Aaron), and your uncle is a Prophet (meaning Moses), and you are married to a Prophet, so what is she boasting to you about?”

He meant that if we assume that having a prophet as your relative could elevate your status, then Safiyyah excelled Hafsah in that respect.

According to another version of the same incident, Hazrat Aishah and Hazrat Hafsah (daughters of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar, respectively) said about her: “We are more honoured by the Messenger of Allah than her” and “We are the wives of the Prophet and his cousins.” When Safiyyah complained about this to the Holy Prophet, he said to her:

“Why did you not say (to them): How can you be better than me when my husband is Muhammad, my father is Aaron, and my uncle is Moses?” (Tirmidhi, hadith 3894 and 3892).

Again, the Holy Prophet is saying that if being related to a prophet could be considered as a distinction, then Safiyyah has more of that distinction than the other two wives.

Could a time come in the future when Jew after Jew would say: “My guide is Muhammad, my father is Aaron, and my uncle is Moses”? May Allah bring that time, Ameen.

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