Through Force or Faith? — Page 67
Sanctions for Self-Defence in Islam 67 expand the influence of one’s sovereignty, is strictly forbidden in Islam. It is further said that such a war is justified only if the enemy is the first to attack. It is also not permitted that if you are at war with a particular nation, you may attack every individual of that nation. If you do so, it will be transgression and Allah, the Exalted, reproves transgression. Your fight should strictly be with the sol- diers who confront you in arms. Further, it is commanded to constrain the war. You are not to keep expanding the battlefronts just to teach the enemy a lesson. Moreover, it is prohibited even to fight in the vicinity of places of worship, except if the enemy leaves no choice, let alone the notion of destroying them. This is why the Holy Prophet s as always specif- ically admonished his armies that cloisters and churches are to be protected, they are not to be destroyed, and they are not to be damaged. It is unimaginable to fight in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque, this is the house of God that is destined to unite the peo- ples of the entire world with peace and security on one hand to make them one united nation; therefore, its sanctity is to be main- tained under all circumstances except only if you are forced by the enemy, and he attacks you, then it is a compulsion. Allah’s intent, by sanctioning war, is to remove tyranny from the world, therefore, it is said that when anarchy ends or the enemy renounces war then no transgressions should be commit- ted by a Muslim. Once religious freedom is established, there is no justification for wars for political objectives. These are the Islamic teachings. If the objective of Islam was only to spread Islam by force, there would not have been this injunction, َ َ عُدْوَان ل فَإِن ِ انتَهَوا ْ فَ that is, if they desist, there is no retaliation against them. So, do