Jummah Khutbah: The Prophet's Dialogue with the Christans

The Prophet's Dialogue with the Christians

As the end of the season approaches — the season of celebration — our Christian neighbors and neighbors of other faiths are drawing close to it. And as we see that, we realize how important that event is to them, and how important it is to us as Muslims to understand and perhaps have a dialogue with our neighbors. Especially with the case around Jerusalem still very active — people wondering why this battle around it, why all this drama is happening in the political scene, why all this fight is happening in Palestine over the situation in Jerusalem.

We have seen how politically there was a significant — we could say symbolic — defeat in changing the status of Jerusalem. But is that the end of it, or is that the beginning of the dialogue? I personally believe that this whole thing is actually an ultimatum for us as Muslims to start having a dialogue on an individual level, for people to start understanding why Jerusalem is so significant to us Muslims and to Christians as well. But how can we understand that without starting from somewhere? How do we start a dialogue? What kind of dialogue should we have with our fellow coworkers and neighbors — Christians and others from different denominations? How can we have a healthy dialogue with them?

This was not left for us to figure out. Allah mentioned that to us in the Qur'an, and Rasulullah ﷺ gave us the true example of how to have a dialogue with people of other faiths — particularly in the case of Christians. In the books of Seerah, particularly in the book of Ar-Rawḍ al-Unuf by Imam Sulayman al-Suhayli, rahimahullah, he mentioned the story of Wafd Najran — the delegation that came from the city of Najran.

The Delegation of Najran

Najran is a city in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, close to the Yemeni borders. At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, it was a hub city for Christianity — many Christians lived in that area.

When Allah revealed to the Prophet ﷺ the message, and after the conquest of Mecca, Islam started spreading all over. The Prophet ﷺ began sending his messages and delegates to meet with people in different places and different cities. One of the cities that received the message from the Prophet ﷺ was the city of Najran. They received that message from Rasulullah ﷺ.

In order to have the right conversation, instead of sending a reply, they sent an entire delegation — priests, bishops, and people of very significant standing in the faith — all the way to Medina to meet with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. They came to see who this man was. What is this message? What is he asking for? Is he a true prophet as he claims or not? They came to investigate.

I want to share with you in this khutbah a few of the steps that the Prophet ﷺ took in order to have a healthy dialogue with them, and what we can do whenever we have the chance to have a conversation with a fellow coworker, neighbor, or anyone of the Christian faith.

Step One: The Prophet ﷺ Welcomed Them Into the Masjid

When the delegation of Najran arrived, they had no hotels, no meeting halls. The Prophet ﷺ allowed them to stay in the masjid. They stayed there for the days and nights they spent in Medina. They even worshipped there — in the direction they usually worshipped toward, which was the east — and they worshipped in their own ways. When the Prophet ﷺ was informed about what they were about to do, he said: let them do it. It's okay.

Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, commenting on this story, says that this is an example showing it is permitted for people of other faiths — for Christians in particular — to come into the masjid, and if there is a need for them to perform their prayers, they may do so.

Step Two: The Prophet ﷺ Initiated the Conversation

The Prophet ﷺ did not wait for the conversation to start from their side. He initiated it. He went himself and sent them a message. In that message, Rasulullah ﷺ began with: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ — "In the name of Allah, the Lord of Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Ya'qub."

Why would he begin with that? To initiate the conversation with something these are the common prophets that we all share together. Then he says: "Inni ad'ukum" — I am inviting you to Allah. "Ad'ukum ila ibadatillah min ibadatin-nas" — I am asking you to worship Allah, not the people. "Wa min wilayatil-ibad ila wilayatillah" — And I ask you to submit yourself to Allah, not to human beings.

This was even a command that Allah sent to him in Surah Al-Imran. The entire story of the Wafd of Najran is documented in Surah Al-Imran — though not mentioned by name, the events and dialogue are there. Those who want to learn more can read Surah Al-Imran, the third surah in the Mus'haf.

Allah is commanding us to invite the Christians: "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you — that we will not worship except Allah, and not associate anything with Him, and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." And then we start talking from there.

Step Three: Begin With What Is Common, Not What Is Controversial

A lot of people come to me and say, "Shaykh, how can I convince somebody that Jesus was this and that, or that the Bible is so and so?" I say: why do you have to start with something so controversial? Why don't we begin with something we all agree on? Like — that we worship God. That's fine. It's the same God for all of us. Let's agree on this first. Let's agree that He is One. And then from there, start to define what it means for Him to be One. And when we agree on these things, we can branch out to other matters.

The Prophet ﷺ began with what is common, inviting them to Allah. We see this not only with the Wafd of Najran. When the Prophet ﷺ came back from Al-Ta'if — after that exhausting journey where he had been rejected and was bleeding and tired — he ended up in an orchard. There was a young man there by the name Addas, from the region of northern Iraq, and he was a Christian slave of two men who lived in that area.

He came to the Prophet ﷺ, saw his condition, and brought him some grapes. As it was presented to him, Rasulullah ﷺ said: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ. The young man asked, "What did you say?" He said, "Bismillah — in the name of Allah." The young man said: I have never heard this here before. Where is that coming from? So the Prophet told him about the message of Allah. Then he asked the young man where he was from. The man said, "I'm from Nineveh." The Prophet ﷺ said: "From the town of the righteous servant, Yunus ibn Matta."

The man was shocked. "How do you know about Yunus ibn Matta?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "He is my brother. He was a prophet and I am a prophet." At that moment, the young man fell at the feet of the Prophet ﷺ, weeping. The point is — the Prophet ﷺ began with something common, something the young man could relate to immediately.

Another example is Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i. He was the leader of the tribe of Ta'i in the northern Arabian Peninsula. The Prophet ﷺ invited him to Allah, and he came all the way to Medina — wearing fancy clothes and garments, even with a golden cross around his neck. When he arrived and the Prophet ﷺ began speaking to him, the first thing he said was: "Ya Adi, why don't we start talking about Allah and one God only? Why don't you remove this from around your neck, and let's first talk about what we both agree on." Eventually, Adi ibn Hatim accepted the message of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Step Four: Your Role Is to Invite, Not to Force

When it comes to delivering the message to people of other faiths, guidance is not in your hands. You cannot guide people. You can only instruct, only invite. That is something we learned from the Prophet ﷺ. He did not force the Wafd of Najran to become Muslim. He did not force Adi. He did not force Addas. He was not holding any stick over their heads saying: you must believe. Instead, he simply invited them to Allah. And that is what he did.

There is no coercion in religion. Guidance and the straight path are clear — clear from misguidance. But this is only for those who are willing to open their hearts and minds. If no one is willing to do so, it does not matter how much you try — they will never accept it.

"You do not guide those whom you love. But Allah guides whom He wills." My responsibility, my job, is only to present the evidences. My job is only to create the environment for people to receive guidance. And the way you do that is through dialogue — you talk to people, you open your mind and heart to them, you let them see it for themselves, and you ask Allah to guide them. That is how it works.

Step Five: Be Patient and Accommodating

Rasulullah ﷺ, with the Wafd of Najran, was very patient and very accommodating — because it is about creating the environment for guidance. When they came to Medina, they came showing off all their glory and fancy garments. That did not intimidate the Prophet ﷺ at all. He accommodated them, had them sit in the masjid, and had them stay there. They observed with their own eyes how the Muslims worshipped. The Prophet ﷺ left an impact on their hearts through what they witnessed.

The same thing applies to us today, jama'ah. If you invite a non-Muslim friend here, do you invite them with confidence, or do you pile on disclaimers first? Unfortunately, sometimes we are not behaving the way we should in the masjid, and that is why we feel the need for all these precautions. But here was Rasulullah ﷺ, confidently letting them sleep and stay in the masjid — because he knew the Muslims would conduct themselves well. And that left a great impact.

In the story of Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i as well — when he came to the Prophet ﷺ, the Messenger gave him the wisadah — the cushion to sit on — and the Prophet ﷺ himself sat on the floor. Think about this. This man had come to investigate what this person had sent him — a letter inviting him to Allah. You would expect this man who sent the letter to be in a position of power and authority displaying it. And he was powerful — this was after the conquest of Mecca and even after Khaybar. Still, when Adi, the guest, arrived, the Prophet ﷺ chose to sit on the floor.

Adi spoke about this moment later in his life. He said: "When I saw this from the Prophet ﷺ, I was certain — that was not the act of a king. He is not fighting for power or sovereignty. Otherwise, he would have shown it at the very first meeting." Instead, the Prophet ﷺ showed him humbleness and humility. And that is what opened Adi's heart to Allah.

This is exactly the same reflection made in the story of Abu Sufyan. When he saw the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ entering Mecca with thousands of people from across the Arabian Peninsula — different tribes, different backgrounds — Abu Sufyan was astonished. He told Al-Abbas: "The kingdom of your nephew today has become so great." Al-Abbas was taken aback. He said: are you serious? You still don't see it? This is nubuwwah — prophethood. You cannot do this through power alone. You cannot bring all these people together simply because you have authority in your hand. It is the power of prophethood.

And that is exactly the same remark made by the delegation of Najran when they saw the humbleness of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Step Six: Present the Truth Without Being Apologetic

When it comes to dialogue with the People of the Book, the Prophet ﷺ was not holding the truth back from them. He was not apologetic. When they began the dialogue with him, he presented the evidences. And that is something we must understand as well. When we say: have a dialogue and talk to people of other faiths — we are not asking you to be so accommodating that you compromise your values. You do not compromise your beliefs. You say it as it is. You are not responsible for whether they accept it or reject it. If they do, that is their choice. Present what you believe to be true — the evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. And when they said something that did not align with what he believed, he refuted it — but always in that which is best.

As the Qur'an says, you do not argue or have a dialogue with the People of the Book except in that which is best. You always respond in the best manner.

Many people call for debates and demand proofs just to win an argument. That was never the case with the Prophet ﷺ. Remember: when you start a dialogue with anyone — even with a Muslim, and certainly when you dialogue with People of the Book — when you speak about Allah, about Isa, about Maryam, about matters of faith — make sure you remember: it is about winning the heart, not winning the debate. It is not about you winning the argument. It is about winning hearts. And that requires patience, emotional intelligence, expertise, and experience. Always make sure that whatever dialogue you have, you do it in that which is best.

May Allah give us the ability to understand our faith truly, give us the ability to deliver it to those around us, and give them the ability to be guided. May Allah forgive us and forgive you. Ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah

Once again, on the subject of guidance — we have to understand that we do not hold guidance in our hands. Our responsibility is only to deliver the message to the people. So remember: guidance is not in my hand and not in your hand. You are only a facilitator. Allah will give us the ability to be among those who bring people to Him. And that in itself is a great ni'mah — a great blessing.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"That Allah guides through you a single person is better for you than everything the sun has ever risen upon." Like the whole universe — it is nothing compared to the reward you receive for guiding somebody to Allah. So this itself is a great opportunity. And this is the time. A lot of people want to understand your perspective — on Isa ﷺ, on Maryam his mother, on what Muslims believe about these matters. Please make sure that as you do so, you are sensitive to their beliefs, and you consider their season. This is not the time to try to win a debate. It is a time to win hearts for Allah. Keep that in mind and ask Allah for guidance.