Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 312
312 of one hundred camels for the person who should hand over the Prophet to them, dead or alive. When they learned of his safe arrival in Medina, where he was received with honour and was in fact accepted as the chief by all sections of the people, they sent an ultimatum to the people of Medina: Expel the Prophet by force if necessary, or Medina will be invaded. Thus was war declared upon the Muslims by the Meccans. It was under these conditions that the Muslims were permitted to take up arms and fight against unwarranted and ruthless invasion of liberty of conscience and freedom of faith and worship. There was no other issue in dispute between the Muslims and the Meccans. It is emphatically stressed in the Quran that if permission were not to be granted to repel aggression, freedom of conscience would be utterly destroyed. The Quran states that God would assist the Muslims in the fighting which had thus been forced upon them because they were the oppressed party, but admonishes them that when God grants them security they must in their turn seek to promote righteousness and purity, faith in God, and the welfare of the people. “Permission to fight is granted to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged ⎯ Allah indeed has power to help them ⎯ to those who have been driven out of their homes