Ahl al-Kitāb
Ahl al-Kitāb, or People of the Book, is the Arabic term the Qur'an uses to distinguish Jews and Christians from the polytheistic majority of Muhammad's time.
In Islamic law, People of the Book (those who rely on sacred scripture) have preferential treatment over polytheistic communities living under Islamic law. Over the centuries, some Muslim jurists have expanded the concept to include other religions—like Zoroastrianism, or Hinduism—which refer to a sacred scripture and which are considered to provide a moral code analogous to that of Islam.