War in Islam
Some ‘Islamic thinkers’ claim that there are two types of war in Islam—one that they call ‘muslihana jang’, or war engaged in to reform others, and another that is fought in defense. This claim is totally baseless. There is no evidence to support this either in the Quran or the Hadith.
The fact is that only one type of war is allowed in Islam—and that is defensive war. Islamic teachings advocate a ‘reformist movement’, but certainly not a ‘reformist war’. This notion of a ‘reformist war’ is totally alien to the whole of the Quran and Traditions. Its source is the outpourings of poets, preachers and writers, and certainly not the Book of God or the Traditions of the Prophet.
According to a famous hadith, all forms of reform depend on the heart. This hadith relates that with the reforming of the heart, the whole body is reformed. The same thing holds true with regard to the political system. You can reform someone only by enabling reform to emerge in his heart or mind.
From this hadith we learn that a ‘reformist movement’ (and not a ‘reformist war’) focuses entirely on the transformation of people’s thinking and consciousness. It entails transforming people’s minds by providing them proofs. It requires telling them about heaven and hell so that their hearts are softened. It requires reminding them of God’s signs so as to awaken their inner nature. This is the method of reform of human beings, or what can be called a ‘reformist movement’.
War always aims at removing external obstacles, not at producing an inner state of higher consciousness within individuals. For the latter purpose, the appropriate method is advice, exhortation and guidance. It has nothing to do with war.
In Islam, only one sort of war is allowed—and that is defensive war. If a group commits aggression against the followers of Islam, the latter can oppose this to the extent that it is capable of doing so. This response can take different forms, such as open war, or other forms, too. But in ordinary circumstances, Islam’s method is that of peace and dawah.
A Study
After the Hudaybiya Treaty, when conditions were stabilised, the Prophet sent out missionary groups to various places outside Madinah. One of these groups was sent to a region along the Syrian border, to the north of Madinah. This area was inhabited by Christian tribesmen who were under Byzantine rule.
There were 15 people in this missionary group, which was led by Ka‘ab Ibn Umair al-Ghifari. When they reached Zat-e Itla, near Syria, they saw that quite a few people had gathered together. The Muslims presented these people with the message of Islam. However, they did not accept this offer, and, instead, started raining arrows on the Muslims. (Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir, Vol 4, P. 241) In this one-sided attack, 12 Muslims were martyred. Ka‘ab ibn Umair al-Ghifari was injured, but managed to return to Madinah.
This assault on the Muslims by the Christian tribe on the Syrian frontier was, indirectly, an attack by Byzantine, because these Christians were under Byzantine rule. In this way, Byzantine initiated aggression against Islam.
The Prophet sent Al-Harith bin Umair Al-Azdi to the ruler of Basra along with a letter of invitation to Islam. When al-Harith reached a certain place in Syria, he met with a man called Shurahbil Ibn Amr al-Ghassani, who asked him where he was heading. He replied that he was going to the ruler of Basra. When Shurahbil came to know that Al-Harith was sent by the Prophet, he ordered that he be killed. (see, Kitāb Al-Tabaqāt al-Kubra by Ibn Sa’d, Vol. 4, P. 255) It is said that this murder was at the behest of the ruler of Basra.
Shurahbil was a Christian and a Byzantine official. According to international custom, his action was an act of war. Hence, the Prophet marshalled an army of 3000 men, and, in the year 8 A.H., this army marched towards Syria.
When Shurahbil got wind of the Muslim army’s departure, he got together an army of some 100,000 men to fight the Muslims. Along with this, the Byzantine Emperor sent a 100,000-strong army to help him. The balance of power, in terms of numbers between the Muslims and their opponents, was very unequal. The battle that ensued did not prove decisive, but the Muslims fought so bravely that the Byzantine soldiers were in awe of the Muslims’ military abilities.
Washington Irving has written a scholarly work on the Prophet of Islam. He wrote that when, with the expansion of Islam, the scattered Arab tribes got united, the Byzantine Emperor felt this Arab unity to be a threat to him. So, he decided to prepare a large army to attack what he regarded as his potential foe and crush it. Accordingly, he began gathering his forces on the borders of Arabia.
When the Prophet heard about the Byzantine army gathering on the Arabian border so that by attacking Arabia the doors of Islam could be shut, he immediately ordered that measures be taken in response. The Tabuk campaign took place after this.
The Prophet exhorted the Muslims to join this campaign in large numbers. And so, despite difficult conditions, an army of 30,000 men was assembled. The Al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya relates that when the Prophet would step out on a military campaign against his opponents, he would often do so quietly. But it was different in the case of the Tabuk campaign. On this occasion, he clearly announced before the people, exhorting them to participate in the campaign. (Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir, Vol. 5, P. 3)
The Tabuk campaign was an important event in the history of Islam. It has been described in great detail in the biographies of the Prophet and in historical accounts. If you study this event, you will be able to appreciate some important principles of the Prophet’s method of war. Two of these principles are as follows:
1. The Prophet’s military action in the course of the Tabuk campaign was for the purpose of defense. It was not an aggressive or offensive attack. From this we learn that Islam does not permit aggressive war. In Islam, war can be resorted to only when it becomes necessary for the purposes of defense.
2. Another principle that we learn from this campaign is that even while taking defensive steps, confrontation is not indispensable. If it is possible that through a show of strength the enemy will step back and abandon its aggressive intentions, then one’s response should remain limited to this show of strength. It is not necessary to go to the extent of military confrontation. This is why, contrary to his general practice, the Prophet made preparations for the Tabuk campaign very openly, rather than silently. As a result of this, even before he reached the Syrian border the Byzantines had received the news that the Prophet, along with 30,000 men who were ready to sacrifice their lives, was advancing towards them.
This open expression of strength had its desired effect. The Byzantine monarch was so overawed that he ordered his soldiers to withdraw. When the Prophet heard about this, he also stopped taking any further steps.
The general policy of Islam is to abstain from war as far as possible. This policy is in accordance with Islam’s essential purpose, because the purpose of Islam is to rescue people from the path leading to Hell and to set them on the path leading to Heaven, not to kill them while they are in a state of ignorance.
A trader’s eye is on a prospective customer’s pocket. A warrior’s eye is on a prospective enemy’s neck. Contrary to this, the focus of Islam is on a person’s heart. Islam aims at transforming people’s hearts, so that they may partake of the mercies of their Lord.
A person may be an enemy or may follow another religion, but he is, first of all, a human being. Islam wants us to reach this inner humanity inside every person and knock on the doors of his heart. It is quite possible that, in this way, his inner self will be awakened and that he might enter the True Faith.
An example of this is recorded in Byzantine history. At the same time that the Byzantines were at loggerheads with the Muslims, a Byzantine Christian named Farwah Ibn Amr al-Juzami accepted Islam. He had been appointed by the Byzantines to rule over the Banu An-Naafirah people. When Islam emerged and spread in Arabia, Farwah, too, accepted the faith. He sent news of his acceptance of Islam to the Prophet through a messenger, along with a white mule as a gift. When the Byzantine ruler heard about this, he had Farwah imprisoned, and later had him killed. When Farwah was taken to the spot where he was to be killed, he recited the following couplet:
Convey to the leader of the Muslims the news that my bones and my entire being are for my Lord. (As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, P. 592)
Farwah was killed. It is no simple matter to be willing to be killed for remaining firm on one’s principles. Such a person’s very being testifies to the truth of the principles for which he gives up his life. He pens the truth of his ideology with the ink of his blood. Such a death is a source of life for thousands of people. And this is exactly what happened. Sacrifices like this one willingly made by the early Muslims made many territories enter the fold of Islam.
