the name of Allah is still mentioned there in abundance, and Allah loves to have His name remembered.

Al-Dahhāk said: “Allah loves that His name be mentioned even when He is associated with others,” meaning that a person who commits polytheism yet still remembers Allah is better than the negating, obstinate denier who never mentions Allah’s name at all.

The People of the Book are therefore better than the outright polytheists. We have already noted that when Persia and Byzantium fought and the Persians prevailed, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—were distressed and disliked the Persians’ victory over the Christians, because the Christians are closer to the religion of Allah than the Magians. The messengers were sent to secure benefits and perfect them, to eliminate harms and reduce them, to prefer the greater of two goods when possible, and to ward off the worse of two evils by means of the lesser. Accordingly, the destruction of Christian monasteries and churches is a corruption when it is carried out by Magians or polytheists; whereas if the Muslims were to demolish them and turn