Moral Principles as the Basis of Islamic Culture — Page 14
u>hom you have entered into an engagement or agreement then ser11e notice on them that the engag'4ment or agreement is no longer binding upon you but the terms of the notice should place both parties ;: ,, position of equal aavantage and should put neither party at a disaa- vantage. Any other co11ru would amo1mt to treachery~ and God loves not those who are guilty of tread:. ~y. ". (Ch. V!II, v. 58). Islam makes it obligatory upon a Muslim State to come to the assistance of Muslims who are being persecuted on account of their faith, but even in such a case treaties and engagements must be scrup- ulously observed. (Ch. VIII, v. 72). 1slam regards war as abnormal and permits recourse to it only irt exceptional circumstances. Even when war becomes unavoidable Islam requires that its scope must be limited as far as possible. The concep- tion of t ~tal war is strongly condemned by Islam. The Quran does not permit recourse tc war except as a defensive measure and even then does not permit its extension beyond unavoidable limits. (Ch. II, v. 190) Even in the case of defensive: war the Quran does not permit the commencement of hostilities without due notice. Nor does Islam petmit the use of weapons or devices which are calculated to cause destmction on a wide scale except by way of answer to their use by the enemy. Islam forbids the killing or capture in the course of war of non-combatants, ministers_ of religion, scholars devoted to rb int~l lectual service of the commμnity, teachers of religion, women, children and old men. Nor does it permit destructiGn of property or sourcles of wealth merely for the sake of causing damage or injury to the enemy. Such destruction is pennitted only in case$ where it becomes necessarv for the Jirect pr~secution of war. The: Holy Prophet of Islam w. 1s particular iy sensit;ve towards any injury being inflicted upon women. On one 0ccasion, after a battle, he noticed a woman among the dead. He was greatly incensed and observed that this was most reprehensible in the ey~ of God. To all appearance the woman had joined in the fighting and had been killed in the-course of fighting, but even then the Prophe-:: conc!ernncd her killing. The Prophet's attitude was that lighting is the business of men and that normally women do not enter the fie!d (•f battle for thf' purpose of nghting. Their presence near -14-