First the immediate context. Pope Benedict XVI’s recent speech in Regensburg University has led to protests in the Muslim world. His quotation from the 14th century Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, has deeply hurt the sensibilities of the Muslim all over the world. Since then we are reassured that the Pope has expressed regrets, distanced himself from the quotation from the emperor and given an invitation for frank dialogue, with mutual respect.
Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story because the Pope’s remarks have ignited a controversy about the true message of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and Islam. The Pope’s qualified and carefully worded apology, if it can be called one, or the Vatican’s clarification gives the impression that the Muslims have not fully understood the intent and reasoning behind the papal lecture. The irony is that they have.
The Emperor’s quotation is based on three elements: allegation against the Prophet’s legacy; a statement that Islam was spread by the sword; and a derivation that there is a nexus between violence and Islam and violence in Jihad.
The Ambassador takes up the three elements individually.
- Moe's legacy.
One, the Prophet’s legacy is one of peace and amity; not of strife or war. He was a peace-maker and a peace-builder.Is that statement objectively true? Leaving the Qur'an aside for the moment as Allah's legacy, not Moe's, lets consider the Hadith which are Islam's oral tradition of Moe's legacy.
- Sahih Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
- Abu Dawud
- Malik's Muwatta
- Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have." - Sahih Muslim Book 019, Number 4327:
The spoils of war were not made lawful for any people before us, This is because Allah saw our weakness and humility and made them lawful for us. - Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 54:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any Sariya' (army-unit) setting out in Allah's Cause. By Him in Whose Hands my life is! I would love to be martyred in Al1ah's Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred. - Sahih Muslim Book 019, Number 4294:
It has been reported from Sulaiman b. Buraid through his father that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say: Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of Muhairs and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajirs. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muilims and will be subjected to the Commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or Fai' except when they actually fight with the Muslims (against the disbelievers). If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them...
Bukhari Ch 61 # 2756: ...It is mentioned from Ibn 'Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "My provision has been placed under the shadow of my spear, and abasement and humility have been placed on the one who disobeys my command.Those are not the sentiments of a man of peace; that is the attitude of a pirate, not a prophet.
- Islam was spread by the sword
Al-Jihad (holy fighting) in Allah's cause (with full force of numbers and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its pillars (on which it stands). By Jihad Islam is established, Allah's word is made superior, (his word being La ilaha illallah which means none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), and his Religion (Islam) is propagated. ...[Note: the Qur'an Complex English translation is not being displayed. If you desire to verify the quote, you can download the pdf version from http://abdurrahman.org/qurantafseer/muhsinkhan.pdf. [29.5MB] Turn to Pg. 52 of the pdf and scroll down toward the bottom of the page. ]
If Islam was not propagated militarily then explain the prominent place of conquests in this table of contents of Islamic history.
- and a derivation that there is a nexus between violence and Islam and violence in Jihad
The Reliance of the Traveller. Version 1.06 - By Ahmad Ibn Naqib Al-Misri
BOOK O: JUSTICE >> Chapter O-9.0: Jihad
Chapter O-9.0: JihadNow it is established, by Islamic law, that Jihad is warfare to establish the religion. What is the the connection between Islam and violence? To fully comprehend it, you should read the entire Qur'an. Three Surhas, 8, 9 & 48 are particularly significant, but violence runs throughout the book, in 164 verses.
(O: Jihad means to war against non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word mujahada signifying warfare to establish the religion. And it is the lesser jihad. As for the greater jihad, it is spiritual warfare against the lower self (nafs), which is why the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said as he was returning from jihad.
``We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.''
The scriptural basis for jihad, prior to scholarly consensus (def: b-7) is such Koranic verses as:
1- ``Fighting is prescribed for you'' (Koran 2:216);
2- ``Slay them wherever you find them'' (Koran 4:89);
3- ``Fight the idolators utterly'' (Koran 9:36);
and such hadiths as the one related by Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
``I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and perform the prayer, and pay zakat. If they say it, they have saved their blood and possessions from me, except for the rights of Islam over them. And their final reckoning is with Allah'';
and the hadith reported by Muslim,
``To go forth in the morning or evening to fight in the path of Allah is better than the whole world and everything in it.''Details concerning jihad are found in the accounts of the military expeditions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), including his own martial forays and those on which he dispatched others. The former consist of the ones he personally attended, some twenty-seven (others say twenty-nine) of them. He fought in eight of them, and killed only one person with his noble hand, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, at the battle of Uhud. On the latter expeditions he sent others to fight, himself remaining at Medina, and these were forty-seven in number.) [Emphasis & links added.]
Jihad is mandatory, not optional.
- 2:216. Jihad (holy fighting in Allah's Cause) is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.
- 9:39. If you march not forth, He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by another people, and you cannot harm Him at all, and Allah is Able to do all things.
- 64:10. O You who believe! Shall I guide you to a commerce that will save you from a painful torment.
- 64:11. That you believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), and that you strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives, that will be better for you, if you but know!
- 64:12. (If you do so) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwelling in Gardens of 'Adn Eternity ['Adn (Edn) Paradise], that is indeed the great success.
- 64:13. And also (He will give you) another (blessing) which you love, help from Allah (against your enemies) and a near victory. And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) to the believers.
- 9:29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
- 47:4. So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden. Thus [you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam (i.e. are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire) or at least come under your protection], but if it had been Allah's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost,
{Cross posted from Islamophobia Exposed , the first in a new series derived from my research into the recent UN resolutions condemning criticism of Islam. I am using the lies spewed by these OIC Ambassadors to show the world the truth about Islam. Feel free to copy and cross post.}
