Thus war is merely a passing, temporary instrument of his daʿwah and policy. War had been necessitated by certain circumstances and contingencies. If these circumstances and contingencies ceased to exist, so would war become obsolete, according to the prevalence of altogether new conditions. The concept of a warrior Prophet is not alien to the Judaic tradition or history (witness the careers of David and Solomon). Nor was it abhorrent to the Abrahamic tradition. It was only uncongenial to the particular mission of Jesus and of his immediate predecessors, John the Baptist and Zachariah of the Holy Altar. They were passive victims of the violent, soulless Israelites of the time.
The murdering of Zachariah and his son John, and the attempt on the life of Jesus by the forces of evil amply showed, I think, that changing times and human conditions both demanded and called for the resumption of the Prophet-warrior tradition of Judaism. However, the concepts of mercy, love and tolerance emphasized in the mission of Jesus were neither lost nor wasted. They were incorporated in the eternal mission of Muḥammad (pbuh), in his superior capacity as ‘Nabīy al-raḥmah’ (i.e. The Prophet of Mercy). It is indeed remarkable that a man of such gentle nature, of such pacific and friendly disposition, as Muḥammad was during his whole life until the age of fifty-three, should suddenly take to the battlefield and become involved in military challenges and conflicts, and even more remarkable that he emerged victorious. With the possible exception of the Battle of Uḥud, which was not a decisive defeat, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a victor throughout his military career. Nevertheless, it is the portrait of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as the gentlest and mildest of all men that has survived in the sīrah sources (i.e. Life of the Prophet) and is narrated over and over again. The violent phase of his life and career did not overshadow or compromise his most gentle nature:
He was neither gruff, nor impolite nor was he taken to raising his voice like a hawker in the market-place. If he passed by, a flaming candle would no more than flicker owing to the serenity of gait; and if he walked over reeds, not a sound would come from below his feet. He never used obscene language. Through Him, the Almighty God opened eyes that were blind, ears that were deaf, and hearts that were sealed.6
Not only is it clear that he was quite averse to war and violence by disposition and style for the greater part of his life, it is also perfectly clear that he never used war as a tool of personal ambitions, aggrandisement or other material interests. The conclusion, therefore, inescapable that, in waging the wars he did, he was constrained into doing so by the realities and necessities of his religious and political mission, that is, by the need and obligation to fulfil God’s commandments and achieve His will and purpose for man at the time. Moreover, the forces of evil would not leave the Muslims alone, but were adamant in their determination to destroy them.
That eventually also made military confrontation inescapable. Throughout the last three centuries that witnessed the decline of Muslim religious and political power, the military dimension of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was totally ignored. Through decline and weakness, the Muslims of modern times came very close to losing their hearts and spirits. They clamoured for peace at any cost or any price, even if that meant a dishonourable and unconditional surrender to a cruel and ruthless enemy. They failed to see that, in certain circumstances, preparing for a possible war and demonstrably possessing the will to fight is the Muslims’ best defence against their enemy. Otherwise, the Muslims will be easy targets for the aggressive attacks of their enemies; ‘sitting ducks’ for the enemy to shoot at, to use a phrase which Shaykh Ahmad Deedat, the celebrated Muslim thinker and lecturer, was very fond of repeating. The Qur’ān has repeatedly warned the Muslims against such slackening and failure of spirit vis-à-vis their enemies, warned them against neglecting the exhortation to jihād and being content with dishonourable peace.
So do not faint and call for peace, when you should be the uppermost, and Allah is with you and He will not deprive you of your labours. [Muḥammad 47:35]
Muslims today are subjected to the worst sorts of victimization, oppression and domination, yet they fail to resort to jihād, with the exception of a few cases, and thus continue to be the target of the aggression of their enemies. Worse still, the malicious, but very powerful and effective propaganda machines of these enemies are portraying them as terrorists and aggressors. So powerful and so effective is this campaign of the anti-Islamic mass media, that the Muslims are cowed into a passive defensive posture. Had they heeded the repeated calls of the Qur’ān to the legitimacy of jihād for the purposes of self-defence, and in defence of justice and liberty, and had they emulated the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him), they could not have found themselves in the pitiful state of affairs in which they are now living.
We end this chapter with the general conclusion to be drawn from the above discussion. Far from being apologetic or polemical, our construal of the Islamic theory of jihād and peace is that it should be considered the normal state of affairs for Muslims to peacefully coexist with the People of the Book in honour, dignity, mutual trust and reciprocated equality and friendship. But should the People of the Book revert to aggression and enmity, then it would be quite cowardly and reprehensible for the Muslims to shy away from the prospects of military engagement and confrontation. To clamour for peace in these circumstances is tantamount to an unconditional and cowardly surrender. It is in the light of such unfavourable conditions that we should understand the Qur’ān’s repeated calls to the Muslims, never to abandon the preparations for the engagement of their enemy under all circumstances of war and peace:
Make ready against them all that you can of (armed) force, and of horses tethered, that you may terrify thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them that you know not. [al-Anfāl 8:60]
Thus, jihād, in the broad sense of the word, which means to exert oneself to the utmost of one’s effort and ability, is a way of life for a Muslim community. It is to be followed in times of war and times of peace – particularly times of peace because it is an essential prerequisite of waging jihād in the narrow military sense. It is also a method for successful nation-building, which is based on the solid foundation of totally developed, trained and mobilized individuals. Underscoring this interpretation, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Whosoever died and he never participated in a military campaign, nor told himself of such participation, he would die and a residue of hypocrisy still in his heart.7
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is also reported to have said:
Whenever a group of Muslims abandoned jihād, and became totally absorbed in cultivating the land and the raising of cattle, then God would impose humiliation and abasement upon them, and would not remove it, until they return to their religion, and be ready for jihād in self-defence.8
The Great Epic of Badr: An Astounding Victory of Islam
1. BADR, THE FIRST TASTE OF DECISIVE VICTORY
Badr, was no ordinary historical incident, nor was it an isolated event in the Prophet’s career. In a sense, no Islamic struggle will be complete or manage to achieve its final goal of victory over the forces of evil and unbelief without finding its Badr. Thus viewed, Badr becomes a permanent feature of the Prophetic paradigm of jihād, or struggle, in the way of God Almighty. In other words, Badr, is an essential stage in any genuine and successful Islamic struggle.
In order to help the reader grasp and appreciate the importance of Badr in the Prophet’s career, we must try to answer the following questions:
a. What were the reasons and causes that led to the Battle of Badr?
b. How did Badr take place?
c. What were the striking features of that fateful encounter with the Quraysh at Badr?
d. Why did the Muslims emerge victorious, and the Quraysh and the unbelievers defeated and humiliated?
e. What were