Through Force or Faith? — Page 121
Chapter 2 — Islamic Teachings about Jihad 121 were other reasons for those wars which are ignored to be able to accuse Islam of coercion. No sane person can accept that the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and his companions acted in such a blatantly contrary manner to the very teachings that they pro- claimed to people as being from God and which constituted the basis for their national identity. Besides, if their conduct belied those teachings, people of that time would most certainly have objected; and yet we find no such mention in history. When we look at the Holy Quran, we find injunctions against coercive con- version right from the outset. It is said: َو ِلُق ُّقَحْلا ْنِم ْمُكِّبَّر١۫ ْنَمَف َءٓاَش ْنِمْؤُيْلَف َّو ْنَم َءٓاَش ْرُفْكَيْلَف١ۙ And say, ‘ It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him, who will, disbelieve’. … ( S u rah al-Kahf, 18:30) Then it is said: اَمَّنِاَف ُّلِضَي اَهْيَلَع١ۚ َو ۤاَم اَنَا ْمُكْيَلَع ٍلْيِكَوِبْؕلُق اَهُّيَاٰۤي ُساَّنلا ْدَق ُمُكَءٓاَج ُّقَحْلا ْنِم ْمُكِّبَّر١ۚ ِنَمَف ىٰدَتْها اَمَّنِاَف ْيِدَتْهَي ٖهِسْفَنِل١ۚ َو ْنَم َّلَض Say, ‘O ye men, now has the truth come to you from your Lord. So whosoever follows the guidance, follows it only for the good of his own soul, and whoever errs, errs only against it. And I am not a keeper over you’. ( S u rah Y u nus, 10:109)