Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 316
316 wealth. Damage to property is permissible only if it is unavoidable in direct prosecution of a war. The directions given by the Prophet to Zaid when he was put in command of the force sent to Syria, and those given by Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa, to Zaid’s son, Usamah, who was commissioned to lead an army to the northern frontiers to check a threatened invasion by the Byzantines, furnish good illustrations. One requirement which tends to limit the horrors of war and to bring armed conflict to a speedy close is that those who are forced to have recourse to it must fight with courage and steadfastness. The Quran is very emphatic about that. One of the prayers of the righteous involved in the use of force against the enemy is that offered by the children of Israel when they were faced with fighting Goliath: “Our Lord, bestow steadfastness upon us, and make our foothold sure, and help us against the disbelieving people” (2:251). The Quran states: “With how many prophets have there been a number of devoted men who fought beside them? They slackened not for aught that befell them in the way of Allah, nor did they weaken, nor did they humiliate themselves before the enemy. Allah loves the steadfast. The only words uttered by them were: ‘Our Lord, forgive us our errors, and our excesses in our conduct and make firm our steps and