The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 46
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 46 disbeliever during war only upon his acceptance of Islām is also a sort of compulsion, then this would be an ignorant allegation. To abstain from fighting when the grounds of dispute cease to exist is known as morality and benevolence, not compulsion and cruelty. The only grounds upon which the Holy Prophet sa fought against the disbelievers of Arabia was because they took up the sword against the Holy Prophet sa , and desired to stop the peaceful propagation of Islām by force. In contrast, the Holy Prophet sa desired to establish peace and religious freedom in the land. Now, if an individual becomes Muslim, irrespective of whether his heart is opened to Islām while sitting at home or in the field of battle, whenever he accepts Islām, in the least, his expression to that affect would surely indicate that now such a person ceases to pose the threat which was the initial cause of battle. In this case, therefore, action against such a person would definitely be brought to a halt. In actuality, as shall become evident ahead, war was initiated by the disbelievers. Hence, when an individual became a Muslim, this naturally inferred that such a person had now abstained from war, and had inclined towards reconciliation. Hence, war against such a person was brought to a halt. The purport of the following Ḥadīth of the Holy Prophet sa is also the same, where he states: ُ آاِلٰه َ اِلَّااللّٰه ا َ اُمِرْت ُ اَن ْ اُقَاتِل َ النَّاس َ حَتّٰی یَقُوْلُوْا ل “I have been ordered to fight those disbelievers who have entered the field of battle against Islām. ” 1 However, various people have misunderstood this Ḥadīth to infer that the Holy Prophet sa had been ordered to fight against all the disbelievers of the world, until they became Muslim. However, this inference clearly contradicts the Qur’ānic teaching and historical accounts. Furthermore, it would be an utterly dishonest act to ignore that meaning of a statement of the Holy Prophet sa , which concurs with the Holy Qur’ān and history, and no objection can be levelled against it in terms of the Arabic language itself, for a meaning which is completely at odds with a clear Qur’ānic teaching and evident historical accounts. Hence, the purport of this statement of the Holy Prophet sa is that he had been ordered to fight those disbelievers who had taken up the sword against the Muslims, and were becoming a disruption to the national peace. 1 Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābul-Īmān, Bābul-Amri Bi-Qitālin-Nāsi Ḥattā Yaqūlū Lā Ilāha Illallāh…. . , Ḥadīth No. 125