At-Taubah 9:28
The verse
O ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year. If ye fear poverty (from the loss of their merchandise) Allah shall preserve you of His bounty if He will. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise. — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
The verse describes the mushrikūn (blasphemers, idolaters) as najasun (the unclean,
defiled, impure). Some exegetes explain the description najasun to be an abstraction
for their insult and contempt. Others say that the reason they are described as najasun
is because they neglect the rules of hygiene. But another group of scholars say that
non-Muslims are najasun based on their biological composition!
Some legal scholars produced a fatwa (religious ruling) that it is forbidden to shake
their hands: “whoever shakes their hands, should perform ablutions (wud. ū’)”.
Question: Does such a description and such an absolute ruling against non-Muslims that they are najasun indicate that the Qur’ān is a heavenly book?.
Arabic text of this item
تصف الآية المشركين بأنهم <نَجَسٌ>، وقد رأى بعض المفسرين أن وصفَهم بالنجاسة وصفٌ مجازيٌّ لتحقيرهم. وقال آخرون بأن سبب نعتهم بالنجس، أنهم يهملون قواعد النظافة! لكن فئة من العلماء قالت بأن غير المسلم نجس بتكوينه البيولوجي! وأفتى بعض الفقهاء بحرمة مصافحتهم، «ومن صافحَهم فليتوضَّأ».
ونسأل: هل يتماشى هذا النعت، وهذا الحكم الصادر بصورة مطلقة على غير المسلمين بأنهم نجس، مع القول أن القرآن كتاب سماوي؟
Sources cited
- البيضاوي 4: 448.
- الزمخشري 3: 30 -31.