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Book Review
Yoginder Sikand

To cite this Article Sikand, Yoginder(2008) 'Book Review', Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 28: 3, 491 493
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/13602000802548235
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13602000802548235

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Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 3, December 2008

Book Review

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The Prophet MuhammadA Role Model for Muslim Minorities

MUHAMMAD YASIN MAZHAR SIDDIQUI, 2006
Leicester: The Islamic Foundation
230 pp., ISBN 0-86037-535
Islamic scholars, both traditional ulema as well as Islamist ideologues, have tended to
perceive and project Islam as a ruling faith and as one inseparable from Muslim political domination. This understanding, writes Siddiqui in his introductory chapter,
reflects the belief that Islam can be fully implemented or put into action only in
a state ruled according to Islamic law. In the absence of such a state, it is believed,
particularly by certain extreme Islamists, every effort must be made to establish such
a political dispensation, using force if necessary. The problem has been further exacerbated by continued reliance on the corpus of medieval fiqh or Muslim jurisprudence,
which assumed the existence of a Muslim ruler committed to ruling according to
Muslim law and which was developed in a historical context of Muslim rule. Obviously,
such an understanding of Islam poses major problems and challenges for Muslims
living as minorities today.
Almost every country outside the traditional Muslim heartlands is home to a
Muslim minority population today. For such Muslim communities, the political perspectives reflected by the corpus of traditional fiqh are of little or no relevance, and can even
be hugely problematic. Siddiqui therefore takes it upon himself to develop an understanding of Muslim jurisprudence that is particularly suited to their context, making a
valuable contribution to the limited, but slowly expanding, corpus of writings on fiqh
al-aqalliyat or fiqh for [Muslim] minorities.
Siddiqui argues that the basis of fiqh for Muslim minorities must lie in the Meccan
period of life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, a period of around thirteen years when the Muslims were a minority and did not enjoy political domination. In
many senses, their position resembled that of Muslim minorities today. Muslim minorities need to see the role of the Prophet and the early Muslims in that period as a
model for them to emulate, Siddiqui suggests.
This book is divided into essentially two parts. The first part discusses, in considerable
detail, aspects of the life of the Prophet and his companions in Mecca, before their
migration to Medina and the establishment of a polity there controlled by the
Prophet. The second part seeks to draw out lessons from these experiences for
Muslims living as minorities today.
In the roughly thirteen years of his prophethood in Mecca, when Muslims were a
politically marginalized minority, Siddiqui writes, the Prophet did not seek to acquire
political power. Rather, the focus of his efforts was on spreading Islam through peaceful
persuasion and by his personal example. Among other factors, it was his personality and
his concern for others, irrespective of religion and social status, which won him an
increasing number of followers. He would visit the homes of non-Muslims in Mecca,
including his own relatives, joined them in their social gatherings and shared their joys

ISSN 1360-2004 print/ISSN 1469-9591 online/08/030491-3

DOI: 10.1080/13602000802548235

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492

Book Review

and sorrows, and this, in addition to the message that he conveyed, endeared many
non-Muslim Meccans to him. He, and several of his followers, enjoyed the protection
of their own tribes, in accordance with the traditional Arab tribal code. His uncle,
Abu Talib, who, while very close to the Prophet, did not accept Islam, provided him
protection, and after his demise he received the support of another family of the Banu
Abd Manaf, the Banu Nawfal.
In Mecca, the Prophet continued his profession as a trader, maintaining business links
with non-Muslims. He encouraged his followers to set free slaves and to treat them well.
Some Quraish chiefs in Mecca had accepted Islam and they worked along with their nonMuslim fellow Quraishis in governing the affairs of Mecca till the Prophet was forced to
migrate to Medina. This, Siddiqui suggests, provides a role model for the participation
of a Muslim minority in bodies dominated by non-Muslims (p. 110).
When the persecution of Muslims in Mecca mounted, rather than resorting to arms,
the Prophet allowed several of his followers to migrate to Abyssinia, a largely Christian
country. There, the Muslims were warmly received by the ruler, Negus, who treated
them well when he discovered that their faith and his had much in common. These
migrants, Siddiqui writes, adopted aspects of the local culture and mingled closely
with the inhabitants of the land, rather than living a ghettoized existence, so much so
that some of them chose to stay on there even after the Prophet had shifted to Medina.
Even after the Hijra, some Muslims remained behind in Mecca, Siddiqui writes, facing
considerable persecution. Yet, despite all odds, they remained firm in their faith, and
some of them received support from their non-Muslim relatives and friends. Siddiqui
mentions the interesting case of the companion Abdur Rahman ibn Awf, who, having
migrated to Medina, entered into an agreement with Umayyah ibn Khalaf, a nonMuslim Meccan and a close friend, for protection of mutual interests. According to
the agreement, which was put down in writing, Umayyah ibn Khalaf would defend
Abdur Rahman ibn Awfs relatives and property left behind in Mecca, while the latter
agreed to do the same with regard to the formers relatives and property in Medina.
The Prophet, Siddiqui says, knew of this agreement and even endorsed it.
All this shows, Siddiqui argues, that the Prophet advocated and adopted a pragmatic
approach to inter-community relations and politics, both when Muslims were a nonruling minority, as in Mecca, as well as later, when the Prophet established a state in
Medina. The roughly thirteen years of his life as a prophet in Mecca show, Siddiqui
says, that [t]he Prophet helped Muslims evolve within the constraints imposed by the
tribal system and the prevalent social values and customs. He, Siddiqui writes, did
not want to do away with all local institutions and aspects of local culture. Rather, he
accepted those of them that were good and in accordance with Islam, modified some
others and rejected those that violated Islamic teachings. His was, then, a middle
way, that entailed reforming, adapting, restoring and reconstructing the existing
order, rather than wholly opposing it (p. 173).
This approach, Siddiqui asserts, has valuable lessons for Muslims living as minorities
today. Just as the Prophet used the traditional Arab tribal social security system for
protection, so, too, Muslim minorities should seek to make use of the constitutional
and legal provisions and rights that almost all states today provide, at least in theory, to
their citizens, irrespective of religion. Just as the Prophet worked with non-Muslim
Meccans in the Hilf al-Fadul, a group of people who helped the needy, so, too, must
Muslim minorities work along with well-meaning non-Muslims on social, economic,
cultural and development issues of common concern. This sort of activity would
enable Muslim minorities to establish close and friendly bonds with their non-Muslim

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fellow compatriots, helping improve their own position while also affording them an
opportunity to tell others about their faith.
The Prophet had close personal ties with several non-Muslims in Mecca, and Muslim
minorities, Siddiqui advises, must emulate him in this regard and must have excellent
social relations with non-Muslims (p. 194). Like him, they should also devote themselves to communicating Islam to others, not simply through preaching, but also
through practical works such as helping the needy of other faiths, through various
forms of social action and welfare provision, which would make others see their faith
in action. It is, in other words, only by showing themselves to be a blessing for others,
a source of comfort and benefit for them, that Muslims, including Muslim minorities,
can live up to the demands that Islam places on them. As Siddiqui succinctly puts it:
Muslims all over the world, especially Muslim minorities, have to prove that
they are the best community, devoted to the cause of protecting mankind
against suffering and blessing everyone with happiness, regardless of caste,
colour or creed. Their position is of the best community and their duty is to
serve mankind [. . .] Their presence must guarantee help for everyone,
especially of their non-Muslim country. However, this cannot be affirmed
merely verbally or by recounting old stories. They have to prove it by their
conduct. (p. 194)
At the same time, Siddiqui stresses, Muslim minorities, like the followers of the Prophet
in the Meccan period, must remain firm in their faith. Violence in self-defense is allowed
only in the most extreme cases of persecution, when no other solution is possible. Otherwise, he advises Muslim minorities to make every effort to stay away from conflict.
This monograph is a brilliant contribution to the on-going debates about fiqh for
Muslim minorities. It provides valuable insights for developing new and more relevant
understandings of Islamic jurisprudence in Muslim minority contexts, envisaging the
possibility of reconciling Islamic commitment with Muslim minority-ness, an issue
that has largely escaped the attention of Islamic scholars but one that has sometimes
been, and continues to be, a troubling one for many Muslims living as minorities.
YOGINDER SIKAND # 2008