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Muhammad never fought against the Christians; on the contrary, He treated them with consideration and accorded them complete freedom. In Najran there lived a community of Christians, and they were under His care and protection. Muhammad said: "Should anyone infringe upon their rights, I myself will be his enemy and will charge him before God." In the edicts He promulgated, it is clearly stated that the lives, property, and honour of Jews and Christians are under the protection of God; that a Muslim husband may not prevent his Christian wife from going to church, nor oblige her to wear a veil; that if she died he must entrust her remains to the care of a priest; and that if the Christians desired to build a church the Muslims must support them. Furthermore, in time of war between Islam and her enemies, the Christians were to be exempt from fighting, unless they desired of their own accord to join and assist the Muslims in battle, in view of the protection they enjoyed. In compensation for this exemption, they were to pay each year a small amount. In short, there are seven lengthy edicts on these subjects, copies of some of which are to this day extant in Jerusalem.[3] This is the very truth and not merely my own assertion: The edict of the second Caliph[4] is still in the custody of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the matter is beyond doubt. Nevertheless, after a time, rancour and envy arose between Muslims and Christians as transgressions were committed by both sides.
(7:9)
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