Through Force or Faith? — Page 58
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 58 Then, He says: َّنَرُصْنَيَل ُهّٰللا ْنَم ٗهُرُصْنَّي١ؕ َّنِا َهّٰللا ٌّيِوَقَل ٌزْيِزَعٍضْعَبِب ْتَمِّدُهَّل ُعِماَوَص َو ٌعَيِب َّو ٌتٰوَلَص َّو ُدِجٰسَم ُرَكْذُي اَهْيِف ُمْسا ِهّٰللا اًرْيِثَك١ؕ َو َنْيِذَّلا اْوُجِرْخُا ْنِم ْمِهِراَيِد ِرْيَغِب ٍّقَح ۤاَّلِا ْنَا اْوُلْوُقَّي اَنُّبَر ُهّٰللا١ؕ َو ْوَل اَل ُعْفَد ِهّٰللا َساَّنلا ْمُهَضْعَب Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly, only because they said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’. —And if Allah had not repelled some people by means of others, cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft remembered, would surely have been destroyed. And Allah will, surely, help him who helps Him. Allah is, indeed, Powerful, Mighty. ( S u rah al- H ajj, 22:41) That is, permission is granted because: Firstly, يُقَاتَلُون َ بِأَنَّهُم ْ ظُلِمُوا because of the atrocities they were sub- jected to; they were being slaughtered without any justification; therefore, the permission is given to them that, now that your sov- ereignty is established, if you are attacked, or if someone comes to kill you, you fight back and take revenge; or, now that a sovereign state exists, punish the murdered as retribution. Secondly, it is stated that ٍّ ْر ِ حَق ی َ أُخْرِجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِم ْ بِغ , that is, they were expelled from their homes without any justification. What is their fault? The fault is that they say َّ رَبُّنَا الل —that is, Allah is our Lord. Then, Allah, the Exalted, says that if this permission were not granted—which was given after a long period of perseverance by Muslims and after putting up with atrocities and being subjected