Again: “The doors of the celestial regions shall not open to them (the wicked) until a camel pass through the eye of a needle.” (Book v. c. iii. pt. 3; comp. [Mark x. 25].)
Abū Umamah relates that the Prophet said, “Blessed be Him who hath seen me. And blessed be him who hath not seen me and yet hath believed.” (Book xxiv. c. xxvi. pt. 3; comp. [John xx. 29].)
Muʿāẕ relates that the Prophet said, “Do unto all men as you would they should do unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” (Book i. c. i. pt. 3; [Matt. vii. 12].)
Abū Hurairah relates that the Prophet said, “Verily God will say in the day of resurrection, O ye sons of men! I was sick and ye did not visit me. And the sons of men will say, O Thou defender, how could we visit Thee, for Thou art the Lord of the universe, and art free from sickness? And God will say, O ye sons of men, did you not know that such a one of my servants was sick and ye did not visit him,” &c. &c. (Book v. c. i. pt. 1; comp. [Matt. xxv. 21].)
Although it would be difficult to prove it from the text of the Qurʾān, the general belief of Muḥammadans is that Christians are not in a state of salvation, and Laz̤a, or the “blazing fire,” mentioned in [Sūrah lxx. 15], is, according to the Imām al-Bag͟hawī, reserved for them.
The condition of a Christian in a Muslim state is that of a Ẕimmī, or one who pays tribute to a Muḥammadan governor, for which he enjoys protection. He is allowed to repair any old church which may have been in existence at the time the country was subdued by Islām, but he is not allowed to erect new ones; “for,” says Abū Ḥanīfah, “the construction of churches or synagogues in Muslim territory is unlawful, being forbidden in the Traditions.” “It also behoves the Imām to make distinction between Muslims and Ẕimmīs (i.e. Christians, Jews, and others paying tribute). It is therefore not allowable for them to ride upon horses or use armour, or to wear the same dresses as Muslims.” The reason for this, says Abū Ḥanīfah, “is that Muḥammadans are to be held in honour and Ẕimmīs are not.”
The wives also of Ẕimmīs are to be kept apart from those of Muslims on the public roads and baths. And it is also ordered that a mark should be placed on their doors, in order that when Muslim beggars come to them they should not pray for them!
The learned have ruled that a Ẕimmī should not be allowed to ride at all, except in cases of necessity, and if he be thus of necessity allowed to ride, he should dismount when he meets a Muslim. (Hidāyah, vol. ii. 219.)
A judge when he administers an oath to a Christian, must direct him to say: “I swear by God who sent the Gospel to Jesus.”
It is a singular ruling of the Muḥammadan law that a claim of parentage made by a Christian is preferable to a claim of bondage advanced by a Muslim. Abū Ḥanīfah says if a boy be in the possession of two men, the one a Muslim and the other a Christian, and the Christian assert that the boy is his son, and the Muslim assert that he is his slave, he must be decreed to be the son of the Christian and free, because although Islām is the superior religion, there can be no balance between the claim of offspring and the claim of bondage. (Idem, vol. iv. 133.)