“The University of Islam
by Dr. Shawqi DAYF
Contents
Chapter IX
Tolerance
The term tasamuh (tolerance) in Arabic comes from a root that denotes leniency in all matters, whether in transactions, or in demanding one’s rights. There is a saying of the Prophet which affirms: “The religion most beloved by God is tolerant True Religion (al-Hanifiyyah al-Samha’).” Hanifiyyah or “True Religion” refers to Islam, the True Religion of Abraham and all the prophets up to Muhammad. The Prophet -peace be upon him- says that God loves this religion because it is tolerant and easy-going, not involving hardship or too many restrictions.
In several verses in the Quran, God commands the Muslims to be tolerant towards polytheists. When the Prophet -peace be upon him- banned the Muslims from giving alms to pagans, hoping thus to put pressure on them to adhere to Islam, God revealed this verse in Sura 2 (Al-Baqarah: 272): “It is not required of thee (O Messenger) to set them on the right path, but Allah sets on the right path whom He pleaseth. Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls, and ye shall only do so seeking the “Face” of Allah. Whatever good ye give, shall be rendered back to you, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.” Thus the Prophet was told that his duty was only to deliver the message, and leave it up to those who receive to believe if they chose. Whoever chooses the right path, it is for his own benefit, and whoever chooses error, it is his own problem. But guidance is for God alone, while the reward for what you Muslims spend in charity will come back to you. Whatever you spend, you must do so for God’s sake alone, and not for vanity or for show, and whatever you give to Muslims or non-Muslims will be paid back to you in full. This admonition represents a remarkable demand for the Muslims to show tolerance towards the poor among the pagans of Makkah, even though they were in the company of many of the tyrants who were oppressing the Muslims. However, God insisted on the Muslims to show kindness towards their poor out of mercy towards them. More than that, God even commands the Muslims to show tolerance towards the tyrants who oppressed and tormented them, telling them in Sura 45 (Al-Jathia: 14): “Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allah: it is for Him to recompense (for good or ill) each People according to what they have earned.”
The latter verse had been revealed when a group from among the Prophet’s companions complained to him of vicious harassment from the Makkan pagans. In reply, God commands them to overlook this offense and forgive their tormentors. The counsel was generally to be patient in the face of adversity and abuse, as God commanded in this verse in Sura 3 (Al-Imran: 186) : “And ye shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if you persevere patiently, and guard against evil- then that will be a determining factor in all affairs.” God here warns the Muslims that they will hear much abuse from Jews and Christians as well as polytheists, and counsels patience in the face of this abuse, since patience is the key to success.
In the above cited verse, form Sura 45 (Al-Jathia), God tells the believers to forgive so that He “may recompense each People according to what they have earned.” The implication is that they should not seek revenge against those who wrong them, for it is God alone who will accord them the recompense they deserve on the Day of Judgement. “
http://www.isesco.org.ma/english/publications/The%20University%20of%20Islam/p11.php
Note: the subtlety of the use of the word ‘tolerance’ here can be interpreted as nobless oblige, rather than in any theoretical sense. 0bama is equivocating.
“At best, the “religion of peace” has a dual personality toward other religions. In some places they are explicitly cursed by Allah, in others there appears to be a measure of tolerance shown. There are about 500 verses in the Qur’an that speak of Allah’s hatred for non-Muslims and the punishment that he has prepared for their unbelief. There is also a tiny handful that say otherwise, but these are mostly earlier verses that many scholars consider to be abrogated by the later, more violent ones.
As for Sura 109, any true Qur’an scholar will point out that the purpose of the verse was to distinguish Islam from the gods of the Quraysh (of which one was named “Allah”) rather than to advocate religious tolerance for non-Muslims. At the time that he narrated this very early verse, Muhammad did not have any power, and thus no choice but to be “tolerant” of others. By contrast, there was no true tolerance shown when he returned to Mecca with power many years later and demanded that anyone who would not convert to Islam be evicted from the city or put to the sword (see Sura 9). In fact, he physically destroyed the cherished idols of the people to whom he had previously addressed in Sura 109.”
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Myths-of-Islam.htm