Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 192
192 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI—THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION ANSWER: I still say that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not spread Islam by coercion. The sword that was raised was not meant to threaten people to accept Islam. Rather, it was done on account of two reasons: (1) For one, these battles were defensive in nature because when the disbelievers attacked with the intent to decimate Islam by the use of the sword, there was no option left except to draw the sword in self-de- fence. (2) Second, long before these battles, it had been prophesied in the Holy Quran that God would send down chastisements on those who did not accept this Prophet, be it from heaven or from earth; or would make some of them taste the sword of some others. There were also other prophecies to the same effect which were fulfilled at their appointed time. Now, it should be understood that in the letter that I wrote to 'Abdul-Hakim Khān, I only meant that if belief in the Messenger [of Allah] is unnecessary, why did God Almighty show His wrath for the sake of this Messenger such that streams of the blood of disbelievers were made to flow? It is true that no coercion was used for Islam, but since it is promised in the Holy Quran that those who deny and reject this Messenger will be killed, in order for them to be chastised, the occasion to punish them came about when those disbelievers them- selves took the initiative to wage wars. It was then that those who had drawn the sword were dispatched by the sword. After all, if rejecting the Messenger was an inconsequential matter in the sight of God, and salvation was possible despite that rejection, what was the need of sending down this chastisement which came down in such a manner that has no match in world history? Allah the Exalted says: إِنْ يَكُ كَاذِبًا فَعَلَيْهِ كَذِبُه وَ إِنْ يَكُ صَادِقًا يُصِبُكُمْ بَعْضُ الَّذِي يَعِدُكُمْ ! Meaning that, if this Messenger is a liar, he will perish himself. But if 1. Surah al-Mu'min, 40:29 [Publisher]