EL BAKA^y'S LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION. 643 
And do not be deluded by those who say, * Behold, he is a 
Christian ! let no kindness be shown to him ! let it be counted 
acceptable to God to hurt him!' For such sentiments are 
contrary to the Kuran and the Sunna, and are repudiated by 
men of intelligence. It is written, ^ God does not forbid 
your showing kindness and equity to those who do not wage 
war with you on account of your religion, nor expel you from 
your abodes, for God loves the. equitable.'* And God says 
(in reply to those who say * we are not bound to deal equi- 
tably with the heathen,') — 'Nay: with whoever is faithful 
to his pledges, and fears God, for God loves those that fear 
him.'t And we have heard from the saints about the dispo- 
sitions of the prophets, and their inculcation of beneficence to 
all men. The Prophet used to say, ' Whenever honourable 
persons come to you, receive them with honour!' and he 
used to show respect to all that came to him, whether they 
were Moslims, or Kitabis J, or infidels. And he gave in- 
junctions concerning those among them who were on terms of 
compact, and those who were on terms of tribute ; so that he 
said : ' Whoever kills a companion §, shall not smell the odour 
of Paradise ; and its odour can be perceived at a distance of 
500 years' journey.' And his forefather, Abraham, was kind 
to everybody, so that God mentions him in his book with 
reference to his generous conduct to guests, and extols his 
mildness in his altercation with the angels sent on account of 
the unbelievers ; for he says, — ' He disputed with us about 
the people of Lot ; lo, Abraham is humane ! ' || And an em- 
bassy from the Christians of Najran came to the Prophet, 
and he received them with honour, and did them justice, as it 
was his disposition and his custom to do ; then he made a 
treaty with them on terms of tribute, and did not molest 
them or their religion after he had invited them to accept El 
* Sur. Ix, 9. t Sur. iii. 69. 
:j: i, e. People of the Book, Jews or Christians. 
!1 Snr. xi. -77. 
T T 2 
