Ismail ibn Musa Menk Mohammed as a general

Mohammed as a General

Opening Greeting

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. May the peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon you all.

Addressing the Misconception about Islam Being Spread by the Sword

It is important for us to go through a misconception that people have, and that is that Islam was spread by the sword. And obviously, that Muhammad, may peace be upon him, was a warrior and a warmonger who just went out to spill the blood of people. That is the furthest away from the truth that we could ever have it.

If you take a careful look at Islam, there is a verse in the Quran that states that there is no compulsion when it comes to the entry into faith:

"There is no compulsion in religion"

You cannot compel someone to enter into Islam. So what happened at that time, Muhammad, may peace be upon him, treated, as we said in previous episodes, the non-Muslims with such respect that they turned to Islam on their own. They all accepted Islam because they saw the value of the faith.

The True Nature of Islam's Growth

They studied the religion. To this day, if you take a careful look at this religion that is very, very fast growing, it is growing not because of the sword. In fact, if anything, the sword is being used against the Muslims at times.

What we need to realize is the people who study the faith and they study the message of Muhammad, peace be upon him, with an open heart and an open mind in order to look at what he brought, will be convinced very, very quickly that this message is the divine message of worshipping one God alone and developing character and conduct so that we can be an asset to humanity at large and all the other creatures of the Almighty. That is what Islam is. So to think for a moment that Muhammad, may peace be upon him, spread Islam with the sword is actually absurd.

The Historical Context of Wars During the Prophet's Time

Why did the wars take place? There were a few wars that took place towards the end of the life of Muhammad, may peace be upon him, not at the beginning. At the beginning, they had been driven away from Mecca, which was their home. They had their wealth, which was usurped. They had their land, which was grabbed. And what happened is when they went to Al-Madinah al-Munawwara and they had left Mecca, were forced to leave Mecca in what was known as the Hijrah. And that is where the calendar comes from.

The Hijrah calendar comes from that particular time. And they went into Madinah al-Munawwara. There was a time when they grew in number. The Muslims grew in number to the degree that they felt the Almighty had given them the permission to get back what was taken from them. They were being killed. They were being persecuted. They were being tortured. And the people of Mecca, although there were treaties that were signed, had been breaking the treaties. And so what happened is Allah Almighty had asked Muhammad, peace be upon him, to go back and claim what was taken from them.

The Battle of Badr and the Concept of Just War

And for this reason, Muhammad, may peace be upon him, had then prepared the army. And the battle, the first battle, the first major battle that took place was the Battle of Badr. And that was between the two sides. One was those who were the oppressors, who were the Meccans, who had killed Muslims, usurped their land and taken their property away. And the other side were the Muslims who were trying to get back what was theirs.

If someone steals your watch, for example, isn't it your right to go and get it back? If someone would come into your home and want to rob you, does it mean you're a warmonger, you're a warrior? Should you just sit back and let them do what they want to you? This is common logic. So he was going back with his people in order to get what was rightfully his. And in the process, what was taught is something unique. And this is something we really need to spend a moment to explain.

Islamic Treatment of Prisoners of War

And that is that as the wars took place, like the first war, there were people who were taken captive. In today's world, these would be known as enemy combatants. And they would be thrown into a kennel-like cage and perhaps tied down in a very awkward position and made to lay there for eternity perhaps or indefinitely. No one knows when or how. And these were people who were considered or who are considered absolute enemies who are to be condemned for life and so on.

Islam says no, that's not what should happen. No ways, that is inhumane. These are human beings. Yes, they are captives. They are sentenced to life imprisonment. Correct. Yes, because of what they have just been doing. Because they have come with the intention of killing you. So they are sentenced to life imprisonment. But we do not have the prisons, number one. And we do not want, and I'm talking about what happened at the time of Muhammad, peace be upon him. We do not want these people to live in a cage or in a kennel. We don't want to tie them up. They are human beings. We need to acknowledge that they are human beings.

The Humane System of Guardianship

So we will give them away. We will give them away to a certain individual or to a family. And they will have to live with that family for the rest of their lives. But there is a great chance of them being freed as well. And I'll explain that in a few moments. So they will have to live with this family or with this individual for the rest of their lives. They will be clothed with the clothing that the family clothes themselves with. That is by right. They will be fed with similar food that that family eats. That is their right. And at the same time, they will work for the family, but not to be burdened with that which they cannot do. And they will not have a payment for what they work for. And this was the way prisoners were treated.

Freedom Through Education and Service

It may have been called enslaving and so on. But if you look at it carefully, it was people who were taken captive. In most instances, like I said, they were set free. And they were asked, like at the Battle of Badr, they were asked, if anyone from amongst you who has now been sentenced to life imprisonment, meaning they have been caught as captives, prisoners of war, if you are prepared to teach any one of the children here or the adults how to read and write, if you are to benefit humanity in some way that we appreciate, we will let you free. And so many were let free as they taught the children and some of the adults how to read and write. They were let free. So they bought their freedom. And a lot of them then accepted Islam because they came to interact with the Muslims.

The Path to Freedom Through Atonement

Now, the others who were perhaps, like I say, the term used might have been enslaved, but in actual fact, if you look at what Islam did, it gave them the higher of the respect of a human being. They were living with a family. They had food similar to that family, clothing similar to the family. And any time the person who was responsible for them or a family member committed a sin, the first line to achieve forgiveness was known as (عتق رقبة - itquraqaba) - free that slave who is under your guardianship or the person who is under you, free them. Then only you will be able to achieve forgiveness for the sin that was totally unrelated perhaps, like a person who did not fast during one of the days of Ramadan, for example, and he ate intentionally. That person would only be forgiven if one of the things they did is to free a slave and so on. The same applies to a person who broke his promise and oath. If you broke an oath, the first line would be to free a slave. And this is what Islam brought. And it was so humane that all of them were freed.

The System of Mukatab (Contractual Emancipation)

So much so that if, for example, a slave had come and wanted to buy his own freedom, it was encouraged in Islam. It is known as (المكاتب - al-mukatab), a person who comes and strikes a deal with you to say, look, let me go out and work and earn something and I'll pay you back and so on. So it's like a fine that is being paid. They pay a fine. Why? Because they are prisoners and they are paying something in order for them to be released.

Whereas if you look at how barbaric we've become today, we will throw people into a little kennel. We will tie them. We will treat them worse than dogs. And at the same time, call it the new way of treating these people who are perhaps what we might term dangerous in our own language. Islam says no matter how dangerous a person is, he's a human being. Treat him like a human being.

Muhammad as a General: Peace, Tolerance and Justice in War

So this is where we look at Muhammad in combat or as a general. He preached peace, tolerance and justice even in war. No destruction of infrastructure. Sadly, it happens and it's happening today. Islam says not at all. If you destroy trees, if you destroy infrastructure, you are very sinful. You've engaged in a major, major crime.

And this is why as a general, Islam had actually grown. People were learning from the Muslims, the laws and the rights of the enemy at times of war. Imagine your enemies have rights. Not just rights that are lip service where when it suits us, we don't fulfill them. These are rights that are divine. They are given by Allah for these particular people. And we bear witness that these people are creatures of Allah. They need to be treated in a humane way.

The Nature of the Battles and Options Given to Opponents

And like I said, going back to the battles, the battles took place for several reasons. And initially, it was solely and only because Islam was persecuted. The Muslims were persecuted. Their property was taken. They got it back. And at a certain time, they actually got it all back. And as the wars took place, there were certain tribes that had sided with the enemy. Each one of them was met and they had certain options. They were told, look, you sided with the enemy against us. You came to attack us. So we are here to retaliate. We are here in order to meet out whatever you had met out when it came to us.

And they had an option. Either they would actually surrender and allow that land to be overtaken. That was one thing. Because of what they did or they fought. And whatever the outcome was, was actually is recorded in the books of history. Or if they accepted Islam and said, look, we we actually believe in what you brought. Then it would be stopped immediately. And the war would be stopped because the Almighty has taught that if a person has wronged you. And this is where we should not misunderstand this. If a person has wronged you and they happen to then join your faith, they become your brothers.

Forgiveness Through Faith

So that particular oppression that they did, it would be forgiven wholesale by the instruction of Allah, especially when it came to the time of Muhammad may peace be upon him and the battles that took place because they now have become your brothers. So Islam wipes out whatever bad you've done in the past. And this is something unique. It's something amazing.

So let us try to understand that when Muhammad may peace be upon him had come in. To, for example, the battleground, it was full of peace and justice. He treated even the enemy with so much of justice that those who were taken prisoner of war were treated uniquely that the bulk of them, really the bulk of them, if you were to go back to the books, had actually accepted Islam as a result of just interacting and watching and seeing what happened and looking at how beautiful Islam was and how the treatment of a prisoner of war was in Islam and is still in Islam. We ask the Almighty to grant us goodness.

Modern Evidence Against the "Sword" Theory

The issue of Islam being spread by the sword, if you take a look at that, let's take a look at modern day Islam and it being spread so fast and it is actually one of the fastest growing religions, if not the fastest, which sword is being used today. In fact, it is harder and more difficult to become a Muslim because of the negative publicity that Islam has and because of the image that is being tarnished of the Muslims by people claiming to be Muslims and sometimes perhaps by others intentionally.

So, it would be so difficult for a person to actually become a Muslim, yet people are becoming Muslims. So, we ask the Almighty to grant us the understanding that there is no compulsion in this faith, number one. Number two is it is growing today as we speak without any sword that is being used against anyone.

The Logical Impossibility of Forced Belief

So much so that common logic would actually prove that belief is in the heart. You can never put a sword on the neck of a person and say, I want you to believe because they cannot. They might surrender to you just like that, but they will never believe and we say and we firmly believe that that belief is within the heart. So, it is impossible for a sword to be used to compel someone to force them to bring about something in their hearts that is something absurd.

Conclusion

Islam does not preach that. It does not promote it. It has never preached that and whoever says that or says that Islam says that is actually either misunderstanding it or is engaged in intentional mischief. We ask the Almighty to protect us all. I hope that this episode has cleared the air on a few of these matters.