The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 323
Jihad with the Sword 323 should be open to criticism because of the clemency extended to the enemy and because they fell short of the severity that characterised the battles of Moses and other. Israeli Prophets. Had the battles fought by Islām imposed the same degree of severity upon the enemy as was done in the battles mentioned in the Bible, apparently the. Christian missionaries would have accepted these battles also as having been carried out under the command of. God Almighty. Now every sensible person can decide whether this attitude is an honest one. On the one hand the Christians proclaim that God is mercy, and even His punishment has an aspect of mercy. Then if the battles of. Moses despite their severity are believed to have been directed by God Almighty, how is it that the battles that possessed the fragrance of Divine mercy are not accepted as having been imposed by God Almighty? Why should those who deem the slaughter of suckling babies before the very eyes of their mothers and the merciless slaughter of the mothers within sight of their children as having been carried out under Divine command, not accept as falling in the same category battles which a persecuted people were permitted to fight in order to repel the aggression of their persecutors? [Āryā Dharam, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, vol. 10, pp. 81-83, footnote]. If chastisement by the sword is in conflict with Divine attributes then this objection would apply primarily and very strongly to Moses who slaughtered whole peoples and caused rivers of blood to flow and left no room for anyone's repentance. The battles undertaken according to the teachings of the Holy Qur'an kept the door of repentance open which is in accord with the law of nature and with Divine mercy. We observe that when God Almighty sends His punishment upon the world in the shape of