permanently eroded by their unjust and hysterical hostility towards the Muslims, and especially by their persecution of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
c. With regard to the Bedouins, the expeditions helped to win some of them as allies of the Prophet (peace be upon him), to deter others from attacking the Muslims and to deter still others from supporting the Quraysh.
In general, the Prophet (peace be upon him) set the highest ideal of a tough fighter, who was both resourceful and vigorous and also absolutely sincere and disinterested in his devotion to the cause of Islam. His superb skill as a commander and his readiness for combat, both physically and psychologically, at the advanced age of over fifty, were astonishing, and excited the highest admiration. The expeditions put the Muslims firmly on the road to victory. They afforded them ample opportunity to perfect their military skills, and to gather considerable military forces. They gained from the wealth of the Quraysh provisions as well as armaments. They became well-versed in the techniques of managing and winning battles, and acquired valuable expertise and experience in such matters as field intelligence and the management of information and psychological advantage. They had the chance to test the quality of their faith in what the power, and help of God could achieve for them. When fighting, a Muslim expected to realize either of two objectives:
a. Total victory over an unjust and belligerent enemy, or;
b. Shahādah (martyrdom) in the way of God knowing fully that his death is not brought on by the risk of military engagement, but only if the destined end of his fate has been reached.
8. THE PHILOSOPHY OF FIGHTING IN ISLAM
Fighting in Islam is only sanctioned within the context of daʿwah or a calling to Islam. This means in part that it fits within a certain conceptual system, alongside religious faith, ethical norms and a world-view based on recognition and worship of the True God, Allah. Seen within that framework, fighting or waging war is not the primary concept nor is it the first priority. There are more fundamental concepts and more important priorities which must be clarified before one can meaningfully talk about war or fighting in Islam. We have already seen that the concept of fighting or waging war was totally absent during the whole of the Makkan period. Only after the Hijrah, and the setting up of the Islamic State in Madīnah, was fighting in the way of God prescribed and sanctioned.
Islam calls on mankind to submit to the authority of God Almighty Alone, and warns them not to associate partners with Him. The Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) was commanded to exert himself to the utmost, invoking the Qur’ān, in the pursuit of this goal. This command came in one of the early Makkan revelations in which the word jihād is explicitly used:
So obey not the unbelievers but strive against them with your utmost effort, making use of the Qur’ān. [al-Furqān 25:52].
Fighting in the way of God is one phase of jihād, a phase that was only sanctioned in the Madīnan stage, thirteen years after the commencement of the Islamic daʿwah. Thus war or fighting is the subsidiary function of jihād, and jihād is a function of the daʿwah to Islam. It stems from the Arabic ‘jāhada’ which means ‘emptying’ or ‘exhausting’. A man is said to have ‘jihād al-nafs’ when he has exhausted his utmost effort. Thus the injunction to make Jihād in the way of God is basically the injunction that a Muslim should exert himself to the utmost in his efforts to bring that state of affairs described in the Qur’ān as, ‘when the word of Allah is supreme’… ‘ḥattā takūna kalimatu Allāhi hiya al-ʿulyā,” not in a particular region, but the world over:
And fight them (the unbelievers) until religious persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then surely Allah is Seer of what they do. [al-Anfāl 8:39].
The Arabic phrase used in the above verse to refer to the enforcement of God’s authority is: ‘Wa yakūna al-dīnu kulluhu lil’lāh.’ This could be interpreted as the condition when non-Muslim powers accept the principle of religious freedom and totally desist from religious persecution and agree, in principle and practice that all people at any time have the full right to convert to Islam, or any other divine religion for that matter, and desist from placing any obstacles in the way of religious freedom.
Thus, in the light of this interpretation, waging war against a non-Muslim state, would only be justifiable in Islam, if that non-Muslim state resorts to oppression and practises religious persecution against its people. War will also be justified if that state seeks to impose a religion or ideology against the will of its people, because there is no compulsion in religion.
In the light of the above Qur’ānic verse, Islam seems to be committed to the view that armed resistance to injustice and oppression is sanctioned. It is the duty of the Muslims to help alleviate the suffering of the mustaḍʿafīn (the powerless) wherever they exist, be they Muslims or non-Muslims. By implication, a truly Muslim state will make it one of the pillars of its foreign policy to help promote the cause of liberty and justice where and wherever it can. This commitment is bound to set that Muslim state at variance with unjust and tyrannical regimes, should they exist. The odds are that it will find itself in conflict or outright war with such regimes. Could a Muslim state be charged with aggression or belligerence on this account? If such an accusation is made it would be unjustified. If in fact a Muslim state does champion the cause of liberty and justice, could it be said, on this account, that a Muslim state can never coexist peacefully with non-Muslim states? It is conceded that a truly Muslim state would indeed be in conflict with unjust, tyrannical and oppressive regimes. But this conflict need not, at all times, assume the proportion of armed conflict or war. It is conceivable that the conflict could take the form of a cold war of words and ideology. It may, for example, take the form of severing of trade or diplomatic ties. Be that as it may, outright war cannot be ruled out. But war can be evaded if the oppressive regimes declared their willingness to improve their commitment to basic human rights and to be more sensitive to the demands of religious freedom and human dignity. Also, a Muslim state may best serve the goals of upholding the ideals of justice and liberty by embarking on policies of dialogue and negotiations, rather than war and confrontation. If the Muslims’ overriding goal is the spread of the true faith in the One True God, Allah, then this cannot be brought about by war and hostilities. The only road to influence the convictions of mankind is across the bridge of dialogue and persuasion. ‘There is no compulsion in religion,’ declares the Qur’ān, and the power of war and coercion of mankind is very limited indeed. It is very difficult to see how humanity can be persuaded that there is just One, True God, Allah, through the use of force and coercion.
The foregoing interpretation which we suggest for the Arabic phrase: ḥattā lā takūna fitnatan, wa yakūna ad-Dīnu kulluhu lil’lāh is supported by other verses from the Qur’ān, which we will cite presently. But, on the other hand, it seems to be opposed by the so called ‘Āyat al-Sayf’ (the verses of the sword). We will first give those verses which seem to support peaceful coexistence between Muslim and non-Muslim nations and powers, and which advocate basic human rights and liberties, before we proceed to discuss the verses of the sword, so called.
First of all, there is a group of Qur’ānic verses which clearly enjoin the Muslims to be fair-minded and peace oriented in their dealings with non-Muslims, even if the latter are lacking in justice. Moreover, these verses unequivocally shun aggression and the initiation of hostilities by the Muslims: God says in the Qur’ān:
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not begin hostilities. Surely Allah loves not the aggressors. And slay them, whenever you find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the sacred Mosque, until they first fight you, but if they fight you therein then slay them. Such is the reward of the unbelievers. [al-Baqarah 2:190-191]
And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers. [al-Baqarah 2:193]
You who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, witnesses to fair dealing. And let not