Through Force or Faith? — Page 165
Chapter 2 — Concluding Remarks 165 that there is a very clear directive in the Holy Quran not to use sword to spread faith; instead, present the intrinsic qualities of the faith and attract people towards it by goodly example. It is wrong to argue, from the wars that took place in the early days, that Islam endorses use of sword because that sword was not to spread the faith but was to protect the faith from the attacks of the enemy; or to establish peace; and coercion for the faith was never the motive. As far as the ‘striving with the sword’ in our times is concerned, the great spiritual son of the Holy Prophet s as and his Caliph , the adjudicator, the arbitrator, Imam Mahdi as gave his verdict in these words: I have brought you a commandment which is that jihad with the sword has been ended but the jihad of the puri- fication of your spirits must continue to be waged. I say this not on my own but in order to proclaim the design of God. Reflect on the h adīth of Bukh ā rī wherein it is stated that the Promised Messiah would put an end to fighting for the faith. Accordingly I command those who have joined my ranks that they should discard all such notions. They should purify their hearts and enhance their mercy and should have sympathy for the afflicted. They should spread peace on earth, for this would cause their faith to spread. They should not wonder how this would come about. As God Almighty has utilized the elements and all earthly means for the purpose of bringing about new inventions to serve human needs like mechanical locomo- tion, etc. , in the same way He will put His angels to work for the fulfillment of spiritual needs through heavenly