Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 38
38 “There should be no compulsion in religion for guidance has been made distinct from error, and every man can distinguish between the two. ” It permits the Muslims to fight only those people who fight them with the object of destroying Islam and compelling the Muslims to renounce it, and they are permitted to carry on the war only so long as the enemy continues the war with this object. When the latter is willing to stop the war, they must also stop it, and they must not reject overtures of peace merely out of resentment and desire for vengeance, intending totally to crush the enemy and thus cause a further and useless loss of life. In the face of these injunctions can it be said that Islam permits the use of the sword for its propagation? All the wars undertaken by the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) were defensive in their nature and were undertaken against enemies who had left their homes with the avowed object of destroying Islam. Is it, then, the function of a true religion to teach that if a man seeks to destroy that religion by the sword the followers of that religion should make their humble submission to him and sacrifice their lives to honour his caprice ? Surely, no true religion could teach such a thing ! For, in other words, it would amount to teaching that evil and wickedness should be permitted to flourish un- checked and truth and righteousness should be sacrificed to them. Islam and Slavery Again, it is alleged that Islam encourages slavery, whereas Islam is the greatest enemy of slavery’ and has put an end to all modes of reducing men to slavery which were current in pre-Islam days. Islam forbids the reduction to slavery of men who are captured for no reason, or merely because they belong to a hostile tribe or nation, or who have been taken prisoners in worldly wars. It permits only of such prisoners of war being reduced to slavery who are captured in a war under- taken by the enemy with the object of enforcing the renunciation or acceptance of a religion by means of the sword. And can it be doubted that such an attempt is an offence which places those