War and Peace in Islam
To understand the status of war and peace in Islam, we need to understand what the target of the Islamic mission is. War and peace are two different methods, not goals in themselves. Hence, if we are able to determine what the target of the mission of Islam is, this will itself determine if the method that Islam advocates is war or peace.
The Quran gives a very clear answer to this question. In this regard, the Quran (25:52) addressing the Prophet, lays down a general commandment to engage in peaceful jihad through it by changing people’s thinking. In other words, the mission of the Quran is not territorial conquest, but, rather, the moulding of people’s minds. Islam’s target is to bring about an intellectual revolution, not the physical subjugation of people.
If you study the Quran as well as the way the Prophet carried on with his mission, it will be clear that the target of his mission was to transform people’s hearts and minds. Thus, the Quran states:
It is He who sends down to His Servant clear revelations, so that He may lead you out of darkness into light. (57:9)
According to a hadith, the Prophet said that there is just one thing that is of real importance as far as reforming human beings is concerned—and that is the reform of the heart. (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith No. 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1599) If a person’s heart is transformed, his whole life is completely changed. When the Prophet received the first revelation, he called the people of Makkah and informed them that he had been sent to give them news about what would happen after death. (see, Sahih al Bukhari, hadith No. 4770; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 208) In the same way, when he entered Madinah, he exhorted the people of the town to save themselves from hell-fire. (Ibn Hisham, al Seerah, vol. 1, p. 501)
The Quran and the Prophet’s life clearly indicate that the real and basic aim of Islam is the transformation of people’s minds. This is the beginning of the Islamic mission as well as its finale. But there are all sorts of people in the world, and, according to the Creation Plan of God itself, everyone has full freedom. On the basis of this freedom, some people opposed the Prophet. Some even went to the extent of doing battle with him, seeking to destroy his mission. It was because of this that the Prophet and his Companions had to take up arms in their defense, as a temporary measure. Accordingly, one can rightly say that in Islam peace has the status of being the general rule, while war is just an exception.
The life of the Prophet Muhammad as a prophet extended over a period of 23 years. In this period, the Quran was revealed in installments over time according to the prevailing conditions. The revelation of one section of the Quran extended over a period of some 20 years, and another section over a period of around three years. The verses revealed in the 20-year period all relate to peaceful teachings—for instance, worship, ethics, justice, humaneness, and so on. As far as the war-related verses are concerned, they were revealed only in the three-year period, when the followers of Islam were faced with armed aggression.
There are 114 chapters in the Quran, and more than 6000 verses. Of these verses, only some 40 relate, directly or indirectly, to war or qital: in terms of proportion, less than 1 per cent. .
In the same way, the Bhagavad Gita contains many moral and wise teachings. But, along with this, the Gita also relates that Krishna insisted that Arjuna should go ahead and fight in war.
It is obvious that these statements in the Gita are an exception, not the general rule. The same is true in the case of the Quran as well.
An important aspect of the peace-loving nature of Islam is that it makes a distinction between an enemy or opponent, on the one hand, and an attacker, on the other. According to Islam, if a group launches a one-sided or unilateral attack and gives rise to a state of aggression, then, as a necessary evil, war can be fought for the sake of defense. But as far as an enemy is concerned, Islam does not permit launching war simply because of existing enmity. In this regard, the following verse of the Quran gives clear instruction to Muslims:
Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (41:34)
This Quranic verse teaches us that even if someone appears to us as an enemy, we should not regard him as an eternal enemy. Rather, as this verse suggests, inside every enemy a potential friend is hidden. The Quran exhorts us to discover this friend and turn this potential of friendship into a reality. After this, we would not have any complaints about anyone’s enmity.
This issue is also illustrated in a hadith. Indicating the Prophet’s general policy, the Prophet’s wife Aisha narrates that whenever he had to choose between two things, he always chose the easier one. (Sahih Al Bukhari, Hadith No. 3560; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2327; Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 4785; Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1984; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 24549)
Methods of action are of two types: violent methods and peaceful methods. If you compare the two, you will agree that in the event of a dispute, adopting a violent method is always a harder option. In contrast, adopting a peaceful method is always an easier option. Accordingly, one could say that the general policy of Islam is that whenever one is faced with a situation of conflict involving an opponent, one must respond by choosing a peaceful method, not a violent one. In present times, when human freedom has been accepted as an inalienable right, peaceful methods alone should be used. This is because using violent means involves many obstacles, unlike the case of peaceful means.
Here one should add that out of the few, limited wars that took place at the time of the Prophet, there were certain temporal context-related factors at work. These wars were fought in the first half of the seventh century CE. This was a period of religious coercion and persecution. At that time, there was simply no religious tolerance, in the sense that we understand the term today. The opponents of tawhid, the oneness of God, unleashed fierce aggression against the Prophet, that compelled him to fight in defense. However, in today’s world, religious freedom has been accepted as the inalienable right of every person and community. Hence, today there is absolutely no question of engaging in war to secure one’s religious rights.
Peace has such great importance in Islam that Muslims have been instructed to maintain peace under all conditions even while tolerating unfavourable situations. In the face of torments at the hands of others, they must respond with patience, steadfastness and avoidance of confrontation. They must preserve peace at all costs, even, if need be, through unilateral and one-sided action. This is an important Islamic principle. This commandment has been given because the constructive agenda of Islam can be carried out only in a climate of peace and balance. There is only one exception to this, and that is in the event of an enemy becoming an aggressor and engaging in physical aggression.
The Prophet of Islam began his prophetic mission in Makkah where he carried on his work for 13 years. During this period, his Makkan opponents repeatedly harassed him. Yet, he and his Companions unilaterally tolerated this. One expression of this policy of exercising patience and avoiding confrontation was when, to stave off war, the Prophet and his Companions left Makkah and went to Madinah, some 300 miles away. Yet, despite this, the Makkan opponents did not remain silent. Instead, they launched aggressive attacks on Madinah. These attacks are called ghazwas in the biographies of the Prophet. The total number of these ghazwas, both big and small, is calculated at 83. But only on three of these occasions did full-fledged war break out between the Prophet and his opponents. This means that in 80 ghazwas the Prophet was able to stave off physical confrontation with his opponents through avoidance and wise policy. Only on three occasions—the battles of Badr, Uhud and Hunayn—did he engage in armed conflict, and this was because of compelling circumstances.
An example of this policy of the Prophet of avoiding physical confrontation is that of the Treaty of Hudaybiya. When war-like conditions developed between the Prophet and his opponents, he began efforts to end these conditions through unilateral or one-sided action and to establish peace between both parties. For this purpose, he began discussions for reconciliation with his opponents, which carried on for two weeks. These discussions took place at Hudaybiya, near Makkah. That is why the treaty that resulted is called the Treaty of Hudaybiya. This was a peace treaty between the two parties. During the discussions that led up to the treaty the Prophet noticed that his opponents were unwilling to budge from their obstinacy. And so, accepting the one-sided conditions that they insisted on, he entered into a peace treaty with them.
The purpose of this treaty was to end the tension between the two parties and establish a climate of normalcy, so that in such an atmosphere the work of dawah and other constructive activities—which are the real aim of the Islamic mission—could be carried on with. With this treaty, normalcy was established, and so all the constructive activities that Islam promotes began being carried out in full swing. And the final result of this was that Islam spread across the entire region.
Here it is necessary to add that, according to Islamic teachings, war is the task of only a duly established government. It is not the task of non-governmental actors, whether individuals or organizations. If non-governmental organizations feel the need for any reform, they can make efforts, but only while remaining within peaceful limits. It is not at all legitimate for them to resort to violence.
In this regard, there are two very important points to note. One is that it is not legitimate for non-governmental organisations to launch violent movements under any pretext whatsoever. The other is that although it is legitimate for an established government to engage in war, it can only do so if it openly announces it. In Islam, an undeclared or unannounced war is not legitimate at all. Keeping these two conditions in mind, it will be readily apparent that both guerilla war and proxy war are illegitimate in Islam. Guerilla war is illegitimate according to Islam because it is launched by non-governmental organisations. And, proxy war is illegitimate because although a government is also involved in it, its involvement is unannounced. War without announcement is not permissible for an Islamic government.
This world is made in such a way that situations of conflict between individuals and groups are inevitable. In such situations, Islam instructs us that we should not allow disputes to degenerate into violent conflicts. This is the Quranic approach of patience and avoidance of conflict. As a firm principle, the Quran tells us that from the point of view of results, the best way is to resolve disputes through reconciliation. This is because, by adopting the method of reconciliation one is able to save one’s resources from being wasted in confrontation and fully use them in constructive activities instead. Reflecting this wise approach, the Prophet, according to a hadith recorded in the Sahih al-Bukhari, advised us not to desire to confront our enemies, and that we should seek peace from God. (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith No. 2966; Sahih Musli, Hadith No. 1742; Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 2631; Musnad Ahmad, hadith No. 19114)
In this regard, the Quran says:
Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God puts it out. (5:64)
This Quranic verse tells us about the essence of Islamic teachings about war and peace—that people are often willing to go to war with each other for various reasons. This is related to the principle of competition. But the task for the followers of Islam is that when others stir the flames of war, they must, through unilateral and one-sided action if need be, put the flames out. In other words, their policy should be not war, but, rather, avoidance of war. On the one hand, they must, without going to the extent of war, protect their interests. On the other hand, their responsibility is also to become messengers of peace. They should be heralds of peace, not war-mongers.
This Islamic spirit was clearly reflected in the Prophet’s life. Even when he was the head of the State in Madinah he did not unleash war in order to subdue people and make them his subjects. Instead, he initiated dialogue with various tribes in Arabia and entered into treaties with them. In this way, he brought together various tribes scattered across Arabia on the basis of peace.
If you seriously study Islam, you will realise that, in fact, Islam seeks to cut the very roots of the factors that lead people to go to war. Why do people go to war? There are two basic reasons. Firstly, to eliminate their enemies. And, secondly, to acquire political power. There is simply no justification in Islam for war for these either of these two purposes.
As far as an enemy is concerned, as I mentioned earlier, a Quranic verse serves as an eternal guiding principle in this regard. This verse tells us:
Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (41:34)
This verse suggests that as regards responding to a foe, Islam’s teaching is this: finish off his enmity, not the enemy himself. This suggests that no enemy is one’s real enemy. Inside every enemy a potential friend is hidden. And so, the followers of Islam should, through one-sided and unilateral goodness and kind behaviour, try to reach that hidden friend. Through their good behaviour, they can transform their enemies into their friends.
A study of the Quran indicates that it distinguishes between enemies or opponents, on the one hand, and attackers, on the other. As far as enemies are concerned, the Quranic commandment is not to deal with them with hatred. Rather, through goodness one should try to change them into one’s friends. However, if someone attacks you in an entirely one-sided manner, to respond by fighting in self-defense is legitimate. Among the Quranic verses that relate to this is the following:
And fight in God’s cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression – for surely, God does not love aggressors. (2:190)
Quranic verses of this sort indicate that Islam allows for war only when others launch an aggressive attack on the followers of Islam. In the absence of this sort of actual aggression, Islam does not permit war.
A basic principle in Islam with regard to war and peace is expressed in the following Quranic verse:
As long as they act straight with you, act straight with them. (9:7)
This Quranic commandment teaches that the principle guiding relations between different communities is that as long as others relate in a peaceful manner with the followers of Islam, the latter must behave likewise. It is impermissible for followers of Islam to resort to war, on any pretext whatsoever, against others if the latter relate in a peaceful manner with them. Other than in the event of being faced with aggression, no pretext or cause for war is acceptable.
The Prophet was born in the year 570 CE. He received his prophethood in 610 CE. After this, he remained in this world as a prophet for 23 years. He spent the first 13 years of this period in Makkah, and the remaining 10 in Madinah. Some verses of the Quran were revealed in the Prophet’s Makkan period, and some others in his Madinan period.
Throughout his life as a prophet what did the Prophet do? He recited to the people non-war-related Quranic verses, such as ‘Read in the name of your Lord Who created’ (96:1). He kept asking them to acknowledge the one God. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 16023) He taught them how to worship and make supplications to God. He taught them about morality and humaneness. He told them that when others troubled them, even then they must behave with patience and avoid conflict. He gave people the teachings of the Quran, as a book for reforming themselves and for inviting others to tread God’s path. He taught them that real success is entry into paradise, not entry into the institutions of power in this world. By his own practical example, he showed people how to carry on the mission of Islam through peaceful means and without resorting to confrontation. He demonstrated how it is possible for people to save themselves from falling prey to hatred of others in even the most turbulent situations, and how, at such times, one can remain peaceful and carry on working for the true welfare of others.
All these non-violent activities of the Prophet are undoubtedly exalted Islamic actions. In fact, it is these that are the very essence of the mission of prophethood. As far as war is concerned, it is only as an exceptional necessity.
