Through Force or Faith? — Page 129
Chapter 2 — Islamic Teachings about Jihad 129 Quraish could possibly succeed in having them renounce Islam or put an end to them. Abū Jahl had declared, about the master and leader of Muslims whom they held dearer than their own lives, ‘If I found Muhammad offering a Prayer in the Ka‘ba, I shall trample his neck under my feet,’ (God-forbid). ( Bukhārī, Book on Commentary, Chapter on S u rah al-‘Alaq, 96:16). They attempted to carry it out on several occasions. He was severely tortured and subjected to all kinds of hardships. The brethren of Quraish pelted stones at him in Ta’if for mentioning the name of God to the extent that his entire body was drenched with blood. Ultimately the representa- tives of all tribes of Quraish of Makkah agreed to the resolution to kill Muhammad s as , the Messenger of Allah, so as to stamp out the name of Islam and put an end to the concept of Unity of God once and for all. To implement this murderous resolution, young men of Makkah who belonged to different tribes of Quraish entered his house one night jointly. But God protected him and the Holy Prophet s as left his house before that thus frustrating their designs. He took shelter in the cave of Thaur. ( Sīrat Ibn Hishām, vol. 2, Chapter on What Befell the Messenger of Allah, vol. 3, and Chapter on Migration of the Messenger of Allah) These were the atrocities committed by Quraish on the basis of which Quran gave Muslims the permission to wage a war against the tyrants. In backdrop of these incidents, who can doubt that the Quraish of Makkah were not at war with Islam and Muslims? Would these atrocities of the Quraish against the Muslims not constitute sufficient grounds for the defensive wars of Muslims? Of course, yes! If there were any other nation instead of Muslims, it would have confronted the Quraish a lot sooner.