Is the Prophet’s Command to Expel Polytheists Comparable to Zionist Policies?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

How can Muslims oppose the Zionist expulsion of Palestinians while affirming the Prophet’s command to remove polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula? Isn’t this similar in principle, especially given the classical view that pagans cannot be granted dhimmi status?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

The expulsion of Palestinians by Zionist forces is an act of aggression, dispossession, and oppression that violates Sacred as well as International Law, and that was not the case with the expulsion of some polytheists.

“Do not let the hatred of a people cause you to swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just; that is nearer to piety.” [Quran 5:8]

Political Change vs Ethnic Cleansing

The Prophet’s instruction (Allah bless him and give him peace) regarding the removal of certain polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula arose in a specific historical, legal, and geographical context, after years of persecution from the polytheists as well as their breaking of treaties which they willingly agreed to with the believers [Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim]

It was not a blanket endorsement of ethnic cleansing, nor a general license to forcibly expel people from their ancestral homes. It was tied to the Peninsula’s unique role as the sacred sanctuary of Islam, and implemented under just authority and due process, not arbitrary seizure.

By contrast, Zionist displacement of Palestinians is an ongoing settler-colonial campaign to uproot an entire indigenous population from its land for political and nationalist aims, in flagrant violation of international norms and basic human dignity. Therefore, the two are not comparable in principle: one was a limited, divinely guided legal policy in its proper place; the other was an unjust usurpation of land, home, and dignity.

Practical Guidance: What Can You Do?

• Support Palestinians through lawful advocacy, humanitarian aid, and truthful speech.
• Educate others on the distinction between legitimate religious governance in its specific context and modern acts of colonial oppression.
• Uphold justice consistently, for ourselves and others, so that our stand against oppression is principled, not selective.

And Allah knows best.
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.