Libertarian Muslim

Dream on. Ba'al Chatzaf Ever been to the Middle East and spent time with Arabs? With Arab youth? Have you ever heard their dreams and aspirations? I can tell you that I have, and what I stated is what they've told me. What is the problem with them having that? Don't they have as much right to it as you do?

These revolts are a positive step towards democracy in the Middle East. Arabs have no taste or want for extremism, they're intelligent and reasonable people and they simply want to live as Americans do, free and able to decide their own future without dictators or foreigners interfering in their lives. If you don't support that, then I'm not sure you can call yourself someone who stands up for liberty and democracy and expect to be taken seriously.

You say, no, but the Organization of Turkish Culture says . . Turkish boys commit 'honour' crimes Honor Killings And Violence Against Women In Turkey For the great majority of examples it occurs within the Kurdish community who have not abandoned their tribal lifestyles.. The Turkish government has gone to great lengths to stop this, punishing entire families that are guilty of taking part and running programs.. If, however you look at the rest of Turkey you'll find that such events are very rare.

The first rule of any hadith interpretation is to ensure that the hadith did not contradict the teachings of the Qur'an.. This one does, therefore it's rather irrelevant isn't it? Needless to say, even if it were the case that this was said, the question would be.. Why did he say that? What was the context? Why would there be more women than men in hell? Could it be possible that there would be a population reduction of men where the ratio of women to men on the globe is drastically changed? What type of events could create such a drastic change? Hmmm, his actions in front of other people do not make him devout, rather it's his actions in private that are most important.. Who knows what his intentions were in creating that organization? Was it to please God or give him a good standing in the community? The real indication about piety is how he was in private and in fact the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him stated "The best of you are those who are best to their wives". If that is any indication, this man is the worst of creation for his actions and certainly not an example of Islam nor piety.. No, not by Islamic culture.. Do Turkish families commit honor killing? Nope, do Malaysians? Nope.. Do Indonesians? Nope.. These countries mentioned have some of the largest populations of Muslims in the world.. So what's the difference? It's about the culture.. I disagree.. I have a much better understanding of Islam than you do so please don't even waste my time with such stupidity.

Tribalism and misogyny arise from ideas about life. Islam is a system of ideas about life, that when imbibed inculcates certain attitudes and outlooks, one of which is misogyny. You cannot steep yourself in a religion that tells you that women are destined for hell by virtue of being women, along with a whole host of other misogynistic ideas without some of it rubbing off on you, and the wider culture around you. First of all.. Islam doesn't state that women are destined for hell by virtue of being women. Next point.. This whole thing is being blamed on Islam as I see on this page rather than the cultural ideologies and practices of the person responsible like it should be. Honor killings aren't only practiced amongst Muslims within these regions, but also amongst Christians and Hindus also as was pointed out before. Therefore the indication should show that it is more to do with the culture rather than the religion. Islam forbids such behavior, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him did not forbid divorce and even encouraged it in some cases. The article stated that this man killed his wife because of the shame it would have brought on his family if she divorced him, therefore the actions of this man can't be blamed on Islam, rather his own cultural practices and beliefs that are within his community. Stop scapegoating Islam...

The fatwa isn't something new, many Islamic scholars throughout history have declared people with similar views as Al Qaeda and the Taliban as being Khawarij and enemies of Islam. However, this is perhaps one of the most comprehensive fatwas on the subject with the Urdu version totaling more than 600 pages in length. There is big difference between the fatwas offered on many websites such as askimam.com and this and the comprehensiveness of the fatwa is one of those differences. As Baal's point, the fatwa can really create a huge amount of change if it's implemented. Also William, I'm not sure but you seem to be putting the letter's ML a lot, are you referring to me? If so, could you please use LM.

The Fatwa can be found at http://www.minhaj.org/images-db2/fatwa-eng.pdf

A Fatwa last year by an Eminent scholar from Pakistan forbidding terrorism and suicide bombing and designating the proponents of such like the Taliban and Al Qaeda to be Khawārij, a despised group that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him preemptively gave authority to fight against.

Some interesting videos that I found on the interwebs I thought I'd post. Thoughts?

No, that's not true at all.. Get your facts right before you start talking.. He did it because he was humiliated in public, was spat on and slapped by a police woman who also insulted his dead father.. Was the issue of his merchandise being taken a factor, perhaps but it wasn't the major issue.. Perhaps tribe isn't the correct word, his family yes, and his town were all humiliated by it. She WAS a Police woman, what I've related is accurate to what I've been told by two people, both of whom teach at a university in Tunisia. Even the wikipedia article and other raises the woman's gender as an issue which added further humiliation to the issue. A man being slapped by a female in any culture is humiliating, especially in public.. Why is that? Because if a woman hits you, you don't hit her back because she's a female and according to the ideas of disparity of force, it would be unreasonable for him to hit her back.. Women are not the same as men.. And therefore, it's humiliating because women are generally physically weaker and you can't hit them back. So to say that her gender had nothing to do with it is just rubbish. First of all, the Shariah laws don't subjugate women, your referral to dowry is a perfect example of your ignorance.. Unlike in Hinduism, in Islam the man pays the dowry to the woman, so it's not something that puts her at a disadvantage at all.. So as I said, no, there won't be any type of Wahhabist state there so the rights of women will be protected.. Tunisians aren't like Saudis.

You're referring to a small tribe, the Tunisian people, both men and women rallied around the person who set himself alight not because it was a female that hit him, but because it was a police officer and the people were sick of suffering the indignities that they had been by agents of bin Ali for the past 23 years.. If you think the Tunisian people would somehow oppress females you're mistaken..

Too bad it's not customary for all of the men of the tribe to follow suit. EDIT: These clowns might fight to the death for their own "rights and freedoms" yet, even if they win will continue to oppress half the population. Bob How do you mean they'll oppress half the population?

Tunisia: The Army ''faithful to the Constitution and guarantor of the Revolution'' AfricanManager The Chief of Staff of the Tunisian Army, General Rashid Ammar, assured, on Monday, that the Army "will not go beyond the Constitution" in Tunisia, speaking to hundreds of protesters who gathered, at the Government Palace in Kasbah. "We are faithful to the Constitution. We protect the Constitution. We will not get out of this framework," he said during an impromptu response on the esplanade of the Kasbah. General Rashid Ammar also promised that the Army will be "the guarantor of the revolution" in Tunisia. He also warned that a "power vacuum" in the country could lead to a dictatorship. "Our Revolution, your Revolution might be lost ..., others could appropriate it. There are forces that want a vacuum, a vacuum of power. The vacuum brings terror, which leads to dictatorship, "said Gen. Rashid Ammar.

I spent 6 hours last night having a conversation with two Tunisian sisters that are in Tunisia right now, one of whom was teaching at the university there. They both told me that the people there are really happy and jubilant, that they're all finally allowed to say just what they want and right now it's just an explosion of happiness and profanities towards the old regime.. They dismissed the idea that this is the 'Jasmine Revolution' like some had wished and stated that this has nothing to do with poverty, increased prices for goods and not anything to do with money (though this is also a concern of the people).. It's a 'Revolution for Dignity'.. The Tunisian people are absolutely fed up with living in a police state, having their government spy on them and being limited from what they could say.. The final straw for the young brother that set himself alight was not increased prices or the lack of jobs.. No.. He was humiliated and had his dignity taken away when a female police officer slapped him in the face in front of everyone.. The reverberations of this amongst his tribe were earth shattering, in his tribe, if a man is slapped by a woman he should either wear a dress or kill himself.. And so he did, as a sign of protest and to demonstrate how humiliated the Tunisian people were all feeling and have been feeling for the last 23 years.. They are fed up with all of the corruption of public officials, the oppression by the secret police and the lack of a voice that the people could express.. So the people protested and bin Ali directed the head of his armed forces, General Rashid Ammar to order his soldiers to turn their guns onto their own countrymen, and General Rashid Ammar refused, saying he would not do so as they are his brothers and sisters.. So the people of Tunisia protested and took bin Ali out of power.. In his wake he directed the head of his internal security General Ali Seriati to get his secret police to put the whole nation into chaos by positioning secret police marksmen everywhere to kill innocent civilians and to bomb places to make the people beg bin Ali to return to govern them.. But that's not what happened, whilst the people were indeed fearful of the marksmen shooting them, they still protested.. These savages with rifles positioned on the tops of buildings killed many, even my friend's next door neighbor was shot dead.. Below is a picture from his Janaza as the people were protesting.. My friend's mother can be seen in the white hijab on the right mashaALLAH. And so they started protecting their neighborhoods, with very few weapons, sticks, stones and on the rare occasion swords and created roadblocks around.. My friend refers to her suburb as ghetto like Chicago.. The young brothers stood guard, catching looters on the streets and criminals, they even caught a few of General Ali Seriati's shooters on the roofs and they were lynched, they were beaten and their throats were cut.. Were they given a fair trial like they should have? No they weren't... However they were found with the weapons and identifications on them and in such angry times of revolution, sometimes the people feel the need to hand out some revolutionary justice.. General Ali Seriati has been arrested, and the attacks by his minions have all but ended.. The people have gone to the streets demanding that all remnants of the former regime step down and they are protesting and having sit ins. General Rashid Ammar, who had previously refused bin Ali's orders to fire on his own people addressed the sit ins and protests, he promised the people that the army would remain neutral and not become political, that it would be there only to guarantee their rights and protect their rights to protest and demand change.. So what will happen next? Who knows.. Tunisia is witnessing a major revolution here and right now and it seems that the people just want to express themselves, their hate for the previous regime and their aspirations of the future.. Elections should be held within 6 months, and if a government is elected then that would be good, there's a wide range of candidates from across the spectrum, some of which have already been chased away.. My friend is very doubtful that any Salafist Islamic political parties calling for their own puritan style Caliphate will be successful because Tunisians in general have no interest in being dictated to by yet another oppressive system that restricts peoples' rights and freedoms, rather they seem to be wanting to remove all censorship in the media and allow for an exchange of ideas so that the Tunisian people can be completely free and choose their own destiny..

Which professor was that? Bless them, several gave their lives..

And how many were on the TV news? I didn't see one single new segment with it on TV. I saw articles about Copts around the world protesting and about the situation facing Christians in the Middle East but nothing about solidarity and the Muslims protecting them.

Egypt Muslims to act as "human shields" at Coptic Christmas Eve mass Nourhan El-Abbassy, Thursday 6 Jan 2011 Coptic Churches around the country expect an influx of Egyptian Muslims to share with the country's Christians their Christmas Eve mass “Although 2011 started tragically, I feel it will be a year of eagerly anticipated change, where Egyptians will stand against sectarianism and unite as one,” Father Rafaeil Sarwat of the Mar-Mina church told Ahram Online. The Coptic priest was commenting on the now widespread call by Muslim intellectuals and activists upon Egyptian Muslims at large to flock to Coptic churches across the country to attend Coptic Christmas Eve mass, to show solidarity with the nation's Coptic minority, but also to serve as "human shields" against possible attacks by Islamist militants. Mohamed Abdel Moniem El-Sawy, founder of El-Sawy Culture Wheel was among the promiment Muslim cultural figures who first floated the bold initiative. “This is it. It is time to change and unite,” asserted journalist Ekram Youssef, another notable sponsor of the intiative, in a telephone interview with Ahram Online. She added that although it is the government’s responsibility to act and find solutions to bring an end to such violations, "it is time for Egyptian citizens to act to revive the true meaning of national unity." Following last year's Coptic Christmas Eve attack on congregants as they left their church in the Upper Egyptian city of Naga Hamady, Youssef created the crescent and cross logo with the slogan “A nation for all” - that was adopted during the past couple of days by many of Egypt’s 4 million Facebook users as their profile picture. Mariam Yassin, a 24 year old video editor, will take Thursday off to travel to Alexandria to attend the mass at the Two Saints Church. “I am not going as a representative of any religion. I am supporting all those who died as a result of ignorance.” Yassin’s friend, Mariam Fekry, was killed along with her mother, sister and aunt in the Two Saints Church attack “I feel great sympathy for her family’s loss, yet I don’t feel that as a Muslim I should apologize on the behalf of murderers.” Yassin added. On the other hand, Fatima Mostafa, a 40 year old house wife, will join Copts tomorrow to show that Muslims feel their sorrow. “I want to show the world that Islam is a religion of peace and that such attacks are nothing more than a result of poverty, ignorance and oppression.” While the reasons they cite for doing so may vary, many Egyptian Muslims are rallying around the idea of acting to protect their fellow citizens. “I know it might not be safe, yet it’s either we live together, or we die together, we are all Egyptians,” Cherine Mohamed, a 50 year old house wife said. For Youssef, Egyptians should attend regardless of their faith as “we all have Christians as part of our family. I am a Muslim but I’m sure my great grandfather was a Christian.” An engineer who wanted to remain anonymous stated that he was looking forward to tomorrow: “I was a Christian and I’m a Muslim now, I want my kids to go to church to realize that both religions are similar; we have one God, and both holy books stress peace and the welfare of the society at large.” The goodwill has been well received by the Coptic Church, and Coptic priests have been expressing their pleasure that Muslims intend to join them at tomorrow’s mass. Some churches have already put up banners welcoming Muslims to their celebration of the birth of Jesus. Some fear the initiative will be thwarted, however. “I’m filled with happiness, I feel it will become a national celebration, yet I fear that police won’t allow Muslims to attend the mass,” Ashraf Rasmy, a Coptic volunteer worker said. Nevertheless, Muslims and Copts are looking forward to tomorrow evening with all that it might bring. Amani Ramsis, a volunteer worker, remains defiant: “It is an anticipated celebration for all Egyptians, whether we live or die, we will never stop celebrating the birth of Jesus, and no one can bury our joy and unity.” http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3216.aspx

Saudi religious cop says 'no need' for women to cover up Tue Nov 30, 4:06 pm ET JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – A Saudi religious police commander criticised the kingdom's ban on gender mixing on Tuesday and said women did not have to veil their faces to applause from his female audience. Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi, outspoken head of the Mecca branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also said there was nothing in Islam to prevent women from driving, despite the Saudi ban on the practice. "There is a difference in interpretation of the (Koranic) verse... which leads some scholars to rule that the whole body must be covered ... However other scholars approve showing the face, hands and elbows. And some even okayed the hair," he said. He said the kingdom's mixing ban should be applied only to men and women meeting in secret, not in public places -- a rule normally enforced by the religious police. Islam "orders a woman to cover her body to allow her to participate in social life, not to prevent her from doing so," he said. The women in the audience, all clad in the all-black shroud-like abaya they must wear, broke out in applause. Ghamdi, who was mysteriously fired and reinstated in April after breaking ranks with the religious police to endorse mixing, was speaking at a conference on "Women's Participation in National Development", where the hot issue was the barriers posed by Saudi Arabia's ultra-strict ban on women working. Because Saudi women are not permitted to mix with unrelated men, must have a male guardian and are not permitted to drive, there are huge limitations on their employment opportunities. Recently, top religious officials strongly objected to a labour ministry effort to allow Saudi women to work as cashiers in supermarkets. Labour Minister Adel Fakieh said on Tuesday that 200,000 women in the kingdom, or 44 percent of the workforce, were unemployed, and that of them 157,000 had degrees above the level of high school. "The unemployed women are educated above high school, while unemployed men mostly don't have degrees," he said. Meanwhile, the country's sole female minister, Deputy Education Minister Noura al-Fayez, also came in for criticism for not having achieved much in terms of women's educational advancement and opportunities. She urged the audience of Saudi women to have patience, and told them she could do little about certain issues, like the high accident rate for rural women teachers who must travel great distances to work because they are not permitted to live away from their families. On Monday, King Abdullah's daughter Princess Adela bint Abdullah said a greater effort was needed to provide jobs for Saudi women. "Women's participation (in the workforce) is behind expectation. A society cannot walk with a limping leg," she said. Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101130/lf_afp/saudipoliticsislamwomen

I'd love to Bob. Hmmm there's no real number which is known, True Muslims didn't boast about the amount of enemy that one killed, rather valor was seen in their actions during combat. But if you're referring to his role during the executions doing the treason of the Bani Qurayza then the estimated number of execution was 700 men of which he did take part. As I've mentioned numerous times, the sentence of death was not given by Muhammad, he usually didn't give such sentences even for treason, he usually exiled people. But the Bani Qurayza themselves chose their judge, a former Jewish scholar who became Muslim who judged them according to Jewish and not Islamic law. As this was the request of the Bani Qurayza themselves Muhammad respected that. Somewhere between 9 and 12, not all at one time but over the period of his life. At least 17 years old when you look at the evidence rather than weak hadith. http://www.scribd.com/doc/7250931/Truth-About-the-Age-of-Hazrat-Ayeshas-Age That you will inevitably take everything out of context to prove your bigotry? Of course you think that, but your understanding of Islam is very limited. Hi Michael! I'm doing well thank you and I hope you are too. I never left actually, it's just that I didn't see that much action on the board so I haven't really replied to anything. Plus I've been quite busy with work. That stalker issue seems to have subsided for the time being.

Yes, the Constitution of Medina was around 622, it's when the agreement between the Jews and Muslims of Yathrib and the Muslim migrants of Mecca was forged to create a new city state which was then called Medina. Regarding the Jewish tribes you've mentioned. It's important to realize firstly that out of all of them, the incident that you refer to happened to one tribe. Secondly, it was not Muhammad who chose the judge in this circumstance, it was the Jews themselves who selected him and if this person really had such enmity for them, then surely they wouldn't have selected him as their judge. Had Muhammad been the one to judge he would have exiled the tribe as he'd done with others that had helped the Quraish previously, but their choice was for a Judge who then judged them by Jewish law. I must state that I don't place blame on anyone because blame would indicate guilt of a crime, of which there were none. This tribe committed treason by attacking the nation they swore an oath to protect and they paid a heavy price for their treachery. When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies. (Deuteronomy 20 10-14) Chapter 9 was revealed more than a year before the last verses of the Qur'an were revealed, in fact it was the verses in chapter 5 that were.. The unfortunate thing with the collation of the Qur'an was that instead of ordering it in a special order, the people at the time simply put it from the longest chapter to the shortest which was not the logical thing to do. There was a special order for it that's been lost somewhat. So in terms of 9:29, it was revealed at a time of war, specifically after the Prophet Muhammad pbuh had sent emissaries to Syria where there was Byzantine rule, they were sent to deliver the message of Islam and invite people to become Muslim, however the Christians, going against all international law murdered 15 of the delegates. This was an act of war and so the Muslims were ordered to fight them and subdue them, that is where this verse in particular is referring to. It's not a wholesale order to humiliate or subjugate any non Muslim, the Jizya is not something meant to subdue, non Muslims don't have to pay it if they provide arms and forces to fight against threats attacking the state. The Madina charter was very specific to the time there. You stated that it didn't take into consideration secular law, however that's not necessarily true. Tribal law is secular actually and not related to religion, the tribal laws of the Arabs were respected providing they did not infringe on individual liberties, for example the burying of live baby girls, the inheritance of women, the slavery that was practiced before, etc. Those practices were abolished and outlawed. You are also right that Muslims lived under Islamic law and Jews lived under Jewish law. But those were their choices to do so. Regarding the possibility of having people living under secular law, I don't see why not, if Tribal laws were respected then so should other laws of a secular nature that don't infringe on the rights of others, providing of course that people who wish to live under Jewish or Islamic law etc are able to do so too.

Yes, I'm aware of that Robert, I had both open and thought I copied the other one. Either way it doesn't matter as the goal was to provide a source for the Constitution of Medina which I did.

Hmmm, no I don't agree with the over simplifications made on that site. Odd though, I could have sworn that I copied it from this source. Oh well must have been my mistake.

I suppose that depends on what your understanding of a dhimmi is Robert. LM, My understanding is that being a dhimmi is a form of second-class citizenship for some non-Muslims under an Islamic regime. What's your understanding of it? Robert Campbell Thank you Robert. Many people, even unfortunately some very ignorant Muslims have this opinion and believe the obligation is to make Dhimmis feel inferior to Muslims. Actually the truth is that once you study documents like the Constitution of Medina which was the pact that the Prophet Muhammad pbuh made with the Jews of Medina you'll see that it grants not only equal rights to dhimmis, but also grants them autonomy within the state so as to not have Islamic law imposed on them. It is an agreement that all will come to aid of the state should it be attacked and if one tribe is unable to fight, they must provide money to cover the cost of fighting from their side as Islamically, non Muslims are not obligated to fight in defense of the nation whereas Muslims most certainly are. It also makes it clear that any military expedition that was undertaken by the Muslims to further the causes of Islam would not obligate the Jewish tribes to join.

Khilafah al-'Alam al-Islami Full Text of the Madina Charter 1. This is a document from Muhammad the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), governing relations between the Believers i.e. Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib and those who followed them and worked hard with them. They form one nation -- Ummah. 2. The Quraysh Mohajireen will continue to pay blood money, according to their present custom. 3. In case of war with any body they will redeem their prisoners with kindness and justice common among Believers. (Not according to pre-Islamic nations where the rich and the poor were treated differently). 4. The Bani Awf will decide the blood money, within themselves, according to their existing custom. 5. In case of war with anybody all parties other than Muslims will redeem their prisoners with kindness and justice according to practice among Believers and not in accordance with pre-Islamic notions. 6. The Bani Saeeda, the Bani Harith, the Bani Jusham and the Bani Najjar will be governed on the lines of the above (principles) 7. The Bani Amr, Bani Awf, Bani Al-Nabeet, and Bani Al-Aws will be governed in the same manner. 8. Believers will not fail to redeem their prisoners they will pay blood money on their behalf. It will be a common responsibility of the Ummat and not of the family of the prisoners to pay blood money. 9. A Believer will not make the freedman of another Believer as his ally against the wishes of the other Believers. 10. The Believers, who fear Allah, will oppose the rebellious elements and those that encourage injustice or sin, or enmity or corruption among Believers. 11. If anyone is guilty of any such act all the Believers will oppose him even if he be the son of any one of them. 12. A Believer will not kill another Believer, for the sake of an un-Believer. (i.e. even though the un-Believer is his close relative). 13. No Believer will help an un-Believer against a Believer. 14. Protection (when given) in the Name of Allah will be common. The weakest among Believers may give protection (In the Name of Allah) and it will be binding on all Believers. 15. Believers are all friends to each other to the exclusion of all others. 16. Those Jews who follow the Believers will be helped and will be treated with equality. (Social, legal and economic equality is promised to all loyal citizens of the State). 17. No Jew will be wronged for being a Jew. 18. The enemies of the Jews who follow us will not be helped. 19. The peace of the Believers (of the State of Madinah) cannot be divided. (it is either peace or war for all. It cannot be that a part of the population is at war with the outsiders and a part is at peace). 20. No separate peace will be made by anyone in Madinah when Believers are fighting in the Path of Allah. 21. Conditions of peace and war and the accompanying ease or hardships must be fair and equitable to all citizens alike. 22. When going out on expeditions a rider must take his fellow member of the Army-share his ride. 23. The Believers must avenge the blood of one another when fighting in the Path of Allah (This clause was to remind those in front of whom there may be less severe fighting that the cause was common to all. This also meant that although each battle appeared a separate entity it was in fact a part of the War, which affected all Muslims equally). 24. The Believers (because they fear Allah) are better in showing steadfastness and as a result receive guidance from Allah in this respect. Others must also aspire to come up to the same standard of steadfastness. 25. No un-Believer will be permitted to take the property of the Quraysh (the enemy) under his protection. Enemy property must be surrendered to the State. 26. No un-Believer will intervene in favour of a Quraysh, (because the Quraysh having declared war are the enemy). 27. If any un-believer kills a Believer, without good cause, he shall be killed in return, unless the next of kin are satisfied (as it creates law and order problems and weakens the defence of the State). All Believers shall be against such a wrong-doer. No Believer will be allowed to shelter such a man. 28. When you differ on anything (regarding this Document) the matter shall be referred to Allah and Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). 29. The Jews will contribute towards the war when fighting alongside the Believers. 30. The Jews of Bani Awf will be treated as one community with the Believers. The Jews have their religion. This will also apply to their freedmen. The exception will be those who act unjustly and sinfully. By so doing they wrong themselves and their families. 31. The same applies to Jews of Bani Al-Najjar, Bani Al Harith, Bani Saeeda, Bani Jusham, Bani Al Aws, Thaalba, and the Jaffna, (a clan of the Bani Thaalba) and the Bani Al Shutayba. 32. Loyalty gives protection against treachery. (loyal people are protected by their friends against treachery. As long as a person remains loyal to the State he is not likely to succumb to the ideas of being treacherous. He protects himself against weakness). 33. The freedmen of Thaalba will be afforded the same status as Thaalba themselves. This status is for fair dealings and full justice as a right and equal responsibility for military service. 34. Those in alliance with the Jews will be given the same treatment as the Jews. 35. No one (no tribe which is party to the Pact) shall go to war except with the permission of Muhammed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). If any wrong has been done to any person or party it may be avenged. 36. Any one who kills another without warning (there being no just cause for it) amounts to his slaying himself and his household, unless the killing was done due to a wrong being done to him. 37. The Jews must bear their own expenses (in War) and the Muslims bear their expenses. 38. If anyone attacks anyone who is a party to this Pact the other must come to his help. 39. They (parties to this Pact) must seek mutual advice and consultation. 40. Loyalty gives protection against treachery. Those who avoid mutual consultation do so because of lack of sincerity and loyalty. 41. A man will not be made liable for misdeeds of his ally. 42. Anyone (any individual or party) who is wronged must be helped. 43. The Jews must pay (for war) with the Muslims. (this clause appears to be for occasions when Jews are not taking part in the war. Clause 37 deals with occasions when they are taking part in war). 44. Yathrib will be Sanctuary for the people of this Pact. 45. A stranger (individual) who has been given protection (by anyone party to this Pact) will be treated as his host (who has given him protection) while (he is) doing no harm and is not committing any crime. Those given protection but indulging in anti-state activities will be liable to punishment. 46. A woman will be given protection only with the consent of her family (Guardian). (a good precaution to avoid inter-tribal conflicts). 47. In case of any dispute or controversy, which may result in trouble the matter must be referred to Allah and Muhammed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah will accept anything in this document, which is for (bringing about) piety and goodness. 48. Quraysh and their allies will not be given protection. 49. The parties to this Pact are bound to help each other in the event of an attack on Yathrib. 50. If they (the parties to the Pact other than the Muslims) are called upon to make and maintain peace (within the State) they must do so. If a similar demand (of making and maintaining peace) is made on the Muslims, it must be carried out, except when the Muslims are already engaged in a war in the Path of Allah. (so that no secret ally of the enemy can aid the enemy by calling upon Muslims to end hostilities under this clause). 51. Everyone (individual) will have his share (of treatment) in accordance with what party he belongs to. Individuals must benefit or suffer for the good or bad deed of the group they belong to. Without such a rule party affiliations and discipline cannot be maintained. 52. The Jews of al-Aws, including their freedmen, have the same standing, as other parties to the Pact, as long as they are loyal to the Pact. Loyalty is a protection against treachery. 53. Anyone who acts loyally or otherwise does it for his own good (or loss). 54. Allah approves this Document. 55. This document will not (be employed to) protect one who is unjust or commits a crime (against other parties of the Pact). 56. Whether an individual goes out to fight (in accordance with the terms of this Pact) or remains in his home, he will be safe unless he has committed a crime or is a sinner. (i.e. No one will be punished in his individual capacity for not having gone out to fight in accordance with the terms of this Pact). 57. Allah is the Protector of the good people and those who fear Allah, and Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the Messenger of Allah (He guarantees protection for those who are good and fear Allah). Source