Why Did Muslims Not Exterminate the Jews Throughout History?

 Why Did Muslims Not Exterminate the Jews Throughout History?

This is a question that may arise in the minds of many Muslims and perhaps non-Muslims as well.

 

If Islamic texts describe the Jews as the most intense in hostility toward the believers, and mention that the decisive battle before the end of time will be with them, and that they will fight alongside the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal) against the Muslims; and if Surah al-Isra (the Night Journey) refers to two major periods of corruption involving them in Palestine and at Al-Aqsa Mosque, followed by their gathering again in Jerusalem after their dispersion, then why did Muslims and their rulers throughout history not attempt to exterminate them? On the contrary, Muslims often rescued them and treated them with benevolence, to the extent that some Jews rose to high ranks in government and society. Indeed, Jewish life under Islamic rule is often described as a “Golden Age” in their history, during which their sciences and literature flourished.

 

God Almighty says in His Noble Book:

"You will surely find the most intense of the people in hostility toward the believers to be the Jews and those who associate others with God; and you will surely find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they recognize of the truth. They say, ‘Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses.’" (Qur’an, al-Ma’idah 5:82–83)

It is also reported in the Prophetic tradition:

 

"The Hour will not be established until the Muslims fight the Jews." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 

Surah al-Isra also refers to two periods of corruption committed by the Children of Israel on earth, accompanied by great arrogance, and later their gathering again after dispersion:

"And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture: ‘You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely reach a great height of arrogance.’" (al-Isra 17:4)

Then, after mentioning the punishment for the two periods, the Qur’an says:

"And when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We will bring you together in crowds." (al-Isra 17:104)

 

The Qur’an also speaks of their breaking of covenants:

"So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their proper places and have forgotten a portion of what they were reminded of. And you will continue to discover betrayal from them, except for a few of them. But pardon them and overlook their deeds. Indeed, God loves the doers of good." (al-Ma’idah 5:13)

Despite all of this, Jews lived within Islamic societies for many centuries under considerable tolerance from Muslims and their rulers. They were allowed to participate in trade, medicine, scholarship, and administration, and some attained high positions in state affairs. Their intellectual and cultural life flourished to such an extent that this period is often referred to as the "Golden Age of the Jews."

Muslims also provided refuge to Jews when they were expelled from several nations, offering them protection from persecution. In some cases, Muslim ships evacuated them alongside Muslims without discrimination, and Muslim lands were opened to them from North Africa to Anatolia, the center of the Ottoman Caliphate.

 

How then should one understand the historically tolerant conduct of Muslims toward Jews, despite Qur’anic verses and Prophetic traditions that warn of their hostility and depict them as a principal adversary?

The answer lies in the conclusion of the same verse that mentioned their breaking of covenants and divine condemnation:

"But pardon them and overlook their deeds. Indeed, God loves the doers of good." (al-Ma’idah 5:13)

 

Thus, the Qur’an establishes a framework for dealing with them that is based on forgiveness, restraint, and benevolence, despite the descriptions of their conduct. The reports of their hostility and corruption do not imply that they are to be exterminated; rather, they serve as a warning to Muslims to remain aware and vigilant, while the fundamental principle governing relations remains justice and good conduct.

The Qur’an also refers to their gathering after dispersion:

"And when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We will bring you together in crowds."

(al-Isra 17:104)

 

This suggests that the Qur’anic text foretells their gathering again after dispersal in Jerusalem. Yet the Qur’an does not command Muslims to prevent such a return. Rather, the verse may be understood as indicating that this gathering occurs within the framework of divine decree and providence, a matter that Muslims should prepare to confront and address with wisdom.

 

These verses raise important questions for Muslim legal and political thought: should such a return be resisted outright, or could a peaceful return be accepted within a legal framework, perhaps by allocating lands not privately owned for settlement under Islamic governance? The Qur’anic texts invite reflection on how Muslims should respond to what is presented as an inevitable historical development.

 

This suggests that, had their return occurred naturally and peacefully within the Islamic world, without reliance on force, occupation, or exclusive state control at the expense of the indigenous population, it might have been accommodated within the Islamic system of coexistence and protected status (dhimma).

 

Some cite the well-known historical episode in which Theodor Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, offered money to Sultan Abdulhamid II in exchange for permitting Jewish settlement in Palestine. The Sultan refused, despite the severe financial difficulties of the Ottoman state, recognizing that the Zionist project did not merely seek return as a religious or humanitarian right, but aimed to establish a colonial political entity on Islamic land.

Yet the issue may be deeper than that. Had Jews sought recourse through Ottoman courts, invoking relevant legal principles regarding the right of return, it is theoretically possible that a ruling might have required the Ottoman state to allow individual return under the Islamic legal system of covenant and protection, rather than through a colonial project aimed at displacement of the population and the creation of an exclusivist nationalist state.

 

Two important conclusions therefore emerge:

First: Muslims, despite knowing from their religious texts that Jews would be among their most formidable adversaries and that a final confrontation would occur, did not seek to exterminate or eradicate them. On the contrary, Jews lived for centuries within Islamic states, were treated with fairness, and some rose to prominent positions in scholarship, administration, and commerce, so much so that these centuries are often described as the Golden Age of Jewish civilization, during which their sciences and literature flourished. Muslims also provided them protection in many of the crises they faced elsewhere and opened their lands as places of refuge.

Second: Their return to the land from which they had departed might have occurred without wars, without monopolizing the state, and without transforming the land into a permanent arena of conflict, and without uprooting its indigenous inhabitants through killing or displacement. Both the textual sources and the historical experience indicate that coexistence was possible, and indeed existed, for many centuries within the Islamic world.