In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Whenever we read a narration about the Prophet ﷺ, we are obligated to understand it within its historical, theological, and moral context. Removing the context of such narrations can result in harmful misinterpretations and distortions of Islamic teachings.
One such narration concerns how to treat ‘the People of the Book’ when using the road, that is, Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
لاَ تَبْدَءُوا الْيَهُودَ وَلاَ النَّصَارَى بِالسَّلاَمِ فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمْ أَحَدَهُمْ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَاضْطَرُّوهُ إِلَى أَضْيَقِهِ
Do not initiate greetings with the Jews and Christians. When you meet any of them in the road, then make him take its narrowest path.
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2167, Grade: Sahih
On the surface, it seems like the Muslims are being commanded to be rude to others. However, the Prophet ﷺ made this statement to his companions when they were departing to confront a Jewish tribe that had just violated their peace treaty.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim commented:
لَكِنْ قَدْ قِيلَ إِنَّ هَذَا كَانَ فِي قَضِيَّةٍ خَاصَّةٍ لَمَّا سَارُوا إِلَى بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ
It is said that this was in a specific situation, when they were marching to the tribe of Qurayzah.
Source: Zād al-Ma’ād 2/388
Authentic versions of this tradition, as narrated by other Companions, make this context clear.
Abu Basrah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إِنَّا غَادُونَ عَلَى يَهُودَ فَلَا تَبْدَءُوهُمْ بِالسَّلَامِ فَإِذَا سَلَّمُوا عَلَيْكُمْ فَقُولُوا وَعَلَيْكُمْ
Verily, I will depart against the Jews in the morning, so do not greet them with peace and if they greet you with peace, then say: And upon you.
Source: Musnad Aḥmad 27237, Grade: Sahih
This narration is authentic according to Al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawāʼid 8/44, Al-Albani in Irwā’ al-Ghalīl 1275, and Al-Arna’ut in Musnad Aḥmad 45/211. Other authentic narrations corroborate this context and, thus, affect the rules derived from it.
Abu ‘Abdur Rahman al-Juhani reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إِنِّي رَاكِبٌ غَدًا إِلَى الْيَهُودِ فَلَا تَبْدَءُوهُمْ بِالسَّلَامِ فَإِذَا سَلَّمُوا عَلَيْكُمْ فَقُولُوا وَعَلَيْكُمْ
Verily, I am riding against the Jews tomorrow, so do not greet them with peace and if they greet you with peace, then say, ‘And upon you.’
Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah 3699, Grade: Sahih
From these, we can understand that the command not to initiate peaceful greetings and not to accommodate their path was specific to these hostile tribes. The Muslims in this case were told to continue marching on their way without stopping to accommodate these people or even greet them, as their status as potential combatants was unknown. In another context, the Companions would greet non-Muslims with peace.
Even so, it was still not permissible for the Muslims to harm these non-Muslims while they walked along the path, despite the hostilities between them.
Imam al-Qurtubi, as cited by Ibn Hajar, commented on this tradition:
وَلَيْسَ الْمَعْنَى إِذَا لَقِيتُمُوهُمْ فِي طَرِيقٍ وَاسِعٍ فَأَلْجِئُوهُمْ إِلَى حَرْفِهِ حَتَّى يَضِيقَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ أَذًى لَهُمْ وَقَدْ نُهِينَا عَنْ أَذَاهُمْ بِغَيْرِ سَبَبٍ
The meaning is not that if we meet them on a wide road we should force them to take its narrowest edge, as this would be harming them and we have been prohibited from harming them without a just cause.
Source: Fatḥ al-Bārī 11/40
It is not allowed in Islam to harm anyone or anything without a just cause. Letting them take the narrow part of the road was simply a means to avoid honoring them, since at the time, their tribe was being aggressive and threatening towards the Muslims.
Imam al-Qurtubi commented:
مَعْنَاهُ لَا تَتَنَحَّوْا لَهُمْ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ الضَّيِّقِ إِكْرَامًا لَهُمْ وَاحْتِرَامًا
It means do not give up your section of the road to them in order to honor and respect them.
Source: Fatḥ al-Bārī 11/40
If we were to honor such people at the time of their wrongdoing, that would only embolden them to commit more crimes. Harshness in this context is a legitimate means of changing their behavior for their own good as well as their victims. The operative principle here is that ‘mercy to the oppressors is cruelty to the victims.’
In general, Islam encourages us to be kind and gentle even to those who are very rude to us, as long as they are not violent against us or others.
Aisha reported: A group of Jews asked permission to visit the Prophet, and when they were admitted, they said as a play on words, “Death be upon you!” I said to them, “Rather, death and the curse of Allah be upon you!” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
يَا عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَفِيقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ فِي الْأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ
O Aisha, Allah is gentle and He loves gentleness in all matters.
She said, “Have you not heard what they said?” The Prophet said:
وَعَلَيْكُمْ
I said to them, ‘And upon you.’
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6927, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi
The Prophet ﷺ made this statement about a group of Jews that cursed him inside his own home, telling his wife Aisha to be kind and not to curse them in retaliation.
In sum, the tradition about not initiating greetings with non-Muslims and making them use the narrow path was specific to the context of hostilities. It does not mean non-Muslims should be harmed or that we should be rude to them as they use the road. Rather, the general rule in Islam is to be kind and gentle with others.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
