Islam encourages us to be good to all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, so long as those people do not oppress us in matters of religion. Almighty Allah says: “Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers.” (Al-Mumtahanah: 8)
As Muslims, we are always urged to bring people together and release the tensions between nations for the benefit of achieving universal brotherhood.
Sheikh `Abdul-Majeed Subh, a prominent Al-Azhar scholar, states: “There is nothing wrong in conducting such a party as a form of courtesy and show of kindness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to accept greetings from mushriks (polytheists) and anyone else.
It is even reported that Abu Bakr visited `A’ishah while a Jewish woman was giving her some kind of treatment by the means of ruqya (supplication). Abu Bakr looked at the woman and said, “Use the verses of the Book of Allah while doing the supplication, for this is better.”
The prominent Muslim scholar Dr. Muhammad M. Abu Laylah, professor of Comparative Religions, and head of the English Department at Al-Azhar University, states the following:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed the Christians to pray in his mosque at Madinah and he gave them a nice reception. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also talked to the Jews and visited some of them, even in their temples in Madinah. Also, it is reported that `Umar ibn Al-Khattab went to a Christian church and met the Patriarch of Jerusalem and took the city keys from him upon his request. Moreover, `Umar commanded `Ali ibn Abi Talib to take some Muslims with him and to go to the church to have a meal prepared for him for this occasion.
Islam, in many ways, tries to bring people together and release the tensions between nations for the benefit of humanity. We are also told that Allah will never punish any people without sending a Prophet to teach them about right and wrong, good and evil.
In light of these few examples, we say that there is nothing wrong with encouraging the Hindus to practice their own religion without necessarily being seriously involved or accepting it as a genuine religious rite.
It is left for Muslims to see how much they can serve their religion and to get people to at least be sympathetic with it. In many cases, examples surpass words.”
Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal Al-Nadvi, Imam of Calgary Mosque, Canada, and Former Professor at King Saud Univ., Saudi Arabia, concludes: “If Muslim brothers are using this gathering for making da’wah exploiting this chance of having a big crowd of people and thus spreading the message of Islam, so it is one of the good methods of giving da’wah.
What matters here is to call for the message of Islam as a unique religion and to invite others to appreciate this message and to also call for good relations between Muslims and others, just like what the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. He used to go for big gatherings of the disbelievers in order to invite them to Islam.”