Through Force or Faith? — Page 125
Chapter 2 — Islamic Teachings about Jihad 125 wars began. We see that the condition they were in also rejects the charge of coercion. Allah, the Exalted, has described it in this way: أًـْيَش َّو َوُه ٌّرَش ْمُكَّل١ؕ َو ُهّٰللا ُمَلْعَي َو ْمُتْنَا اَل َنْوُمَلْعَتَبِتُك ُمُكْيَلَع ُلاَتِقْلا َو َوُه ٌهْرُك ْمُكَّل١ۚ َو ىٰۤسَع ْنَا اْوُهَرْكَت أًـْيَش َّو َوُه ٌرْيَخ ْمُكَّل١ۚ َو ىٰۤسَع ْنَا اْوُّبِحُت Fighting is ordained for you, though it is repugnant to you; but it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you like a thing while it is bad for you. Allah knows all things, and you know not. ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:217) When Muslims, after being subjected to oppression and tyr- anny for a prolonged period, were ejected from the land of their forefathers and many Muslims men and women were killed for no crime; the oppressors did not stop tyranny and continued to obstruct the message of Islam, God’s law of preservation wished to prevent the extermination of the oppressed. Permission was granted to resist with sword those who had raised the sword; and they were enjoined to enter the battlefield to confront the evil of those who had killed in an attempt to restrain the evil. And yet it was a difficult choice for them because, by virtue of being believ- ers, they were intrinsically reconciliatory. Besides, these Muslims were just a few in number and against them as if the whole coun- try was aligned. Their state was such that, due to the fear for their safety, they could not even sleep at night. How could have they started the war with the idea of coercion? The state of Muslims at that time, as depicted by the Quran, argues that those battles of Muslims were for self-defence and self-preservation and not for