Through Force or Faith? — Page 148
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 148 اَّمِاَف ْمُهَّنَفَقْثَت يِف ِبْرَحْلا ْدِّرَشَف ْمِهِب ْنَّم ْمُهَفْلَخ ْمُهَّلَعَل َنْوُرَّكَّذَي So, if thou catches them in war, then by routing them strike fear in those that are behind them, that they may be admonished. ( S u rah al-Anf a l, 8:58) Explanation: The word ْ فَشَرِّد ْ بِهِم مَّن ْ خَلْفَهُم in this noble verse is defined in lexicon as, Allah’s word ْ فَشَرِّد ْ بِهِم مَّن ْ خَلْفَهُم means scatter their coalition and scatter them. The true meaning of tashr ī d is ta t r ī d, that is, to repulse or rebuff. It is also said that it means inform their posterity of their errors or by their means frighten and scare others who are behind them. (Lis ā n al-Arab) In this verse too that state is referred to when war has been imposed on Muslims and they are facing the enemy in a battle- field. In the word ْ فَشَرِّد ْ بِهِم مَّن ْ خَلْفَهُم , Muslims are admonished that they are not to show any cowardice at such occasions. Instead, they will have to deal with enemy with such firmness by display- ing bravery and gallantry that other supporters and allies of the enemy would not dare attack; and the danger of further warfare would be reduced to the fullest possible extent because the reli- gion of Islam desires to establish peace at every opportunity and instructs that if the enemy is inclined to make peace, you must stop hostilities ( S u rah al-Anf a l, 8:62) because the ultimate objec- tive is restoration of peace. In S u rah at-Tauba, 9:1–6, there is a detailed account of the conquest of Makkah and succeeding conditions. In the context of those special circumstances, there are some injunctions pertain- ing to war that appear objectionable to adversaries. We shall now present those verses and their background and, moreover, how the Holy Prophet s as and his companions implemented them.