Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue: Prophet Muḥammad’s Covenants, Dialogues, and Correspondence with Non-Muslims

Abstract

The need for interfaith dialogue has become an undeniable reality of modern life, thanks to the technological advancements that have brought people and communities of different religions closer to each other than ever. Religion still plays a vital role in formulating its followers’ attitudes towards and relations with the people of other faiths. Islam is one of the world’s major religions. Its followers commonly live in multi-cultural and multi-religious societies. The sayings and practices of Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him) hold a much-respected place among Muslims. The Prophet’s life presents a very successful model of dialogue with the people of other faiths. He frequently signed agreements with different tribal and religious communities and wrote letters to religious and political leaders of his time. These covenants, dialogues, and epistles, both in their content and form, are unexplored mines for what guidance they provide for dialogue with the people of other faiths. The paper begins with a brief history of the interfaith dialogue during the twentieth century, especially after 1970. Then it proceeds to introduce the covenants, dialogues, and correspondence of the Prophet with his contemporary non-Muslims. This is followed by a discussion of guidelines derived from the Prophet’s covenants, dialogues, and correspondence with non-Muslims. The paper concludes that the sīrah of the Prophet provides detailed guidelines for dialogue with other religions and that interfaith dialogue can prove an effective means of Islamic call in the contemporary period in which traditional methods are gradually losing their influence. This study recommends that Muslims engaged in dialogue with other religions must carefully study the Prophet’s sīrah to seek guidance.