WAR ONLY FOR DEFENSE

The Quran tells us: Permission to fight is granted to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged. (22:39)

This Quranic verse teaches us an important principle that also relates to inter-community and international relations. And that is that the only legitimate war is one that is fought in defense, in response to clear aggression. All other forms of war are forms of zulm, or oppression, and oppressors have no place in God’s world. As this Quranic verse indicates, wars other than those that are defensive have no justification whatsoever.

War is something truly despicable. According to the eternal law of nature, peace is the general rule or norm, while war is an exception. War can be resorted to only under extreme necessity—in order to protect oneself, and that, too, only when all possible peaceful ways to avoid confrontation have been sincerely tried and have failed.