Causes of War

Now the question which arises relates to the circumstances and people against whom the Muslims were permitted to engage in a Jihād of the sword, and what were its causes. In response to this question, we need not say anything of our own accord. The historical accounts are clear and by studying them an individual who possesses even the slightest insight can reach the correct conclusion, provided that his eyes are not covered by the veil of prejudice. First and foremost, in the Makkan life of the Holy Prophet(sa), the cruelties which were inflicted upon the Muslims by the Quraish and the schemes they employed in order to expunge Islām, were enough reason for war to break out between any two nations, in every era, and in all types of circumstances. History substantiates that in addition to extremely degrading mockery, and exceedingly offensive taunt and slander, the disbelievers of Makkah forcefully stopped the Muslims from worshipping the One God and announcing His Unity. They were very brutally beaten and battered mercilessly, their wealth was usurped unlawfully, they were boycotted in an attempt to kill and ruin them, while some were martyred ruthlessly and their women were dishonoured. This was to the extent that disturbed by these cruelties, many Muslims left Makkah and migrated to Abyssinia. However, the Quraish did not rest at this either and sent a delegation to the Royal Court of the Negus in an attempt that these Muhājirīn would somehow return to Makkah and the Quraish would become successful in reverting them from their faith, or eliminating them. Then, great pains were inflicted upon the Master and Leader of the Muslims, who was dearer to them than their own souls, and he was subjected to all kinds of suffering. Upon professing the name of God, the friends and comrades of the Quraish bombarded the Holy Prophet(sa) with stones in Ṭā’if, to the extent that his body became drenched in blood. Ultimately, with the agreement of all the representatives of the various tribes of the Quraish, it was decided in the National Parliament of Makkah that Muḥammad(sa), the Messenger of Allāh, be assassinated so that all traces of Islām may be wiped out, and Divine Unity may be brought to an end. Then, in order to practically implement this bloody resolution, the youth of Makkah who were from the various tribes of the Quraish, assembled a group and attacked the home of the Holy Prophet(sa) by night. However, God protected the Holy Prophet(sa), and he departed from his home - leaving them in the dust - and he took refuge in the cave of Thaur. Were these cruelties and bloody resolutions not then equivalent to an announcement of war by the Quraish? In the backdrop of these incidents, can any sensible individual assert that the Quraish of Makkah were not at war with Islām and the Muslims? Then could these cruelties of the Quraish not become sufficient grounds to warrant a defensive war by the Muslims? In such circumstances, could any honourable nation of the world, which has not resigned itself to suicide, stand back from the acceptance of such an ultimatum as was given to the Muslims by the Quraish? Most definitely, if there had been another nation in place of the Muslims, they would have entered the field of battle against the Quraish much earlier. The Muslims however, were ordered to exhibit patience and forgiveness by their Master. As such, it is written that when the persecution of the Quraish intensified, ‘Abdur-Raḥmān bin ‘Auf(ra), and other Companions, presented themselves before the Holy Prophet(sa), and sought permission to fight the Quraish, but the Holy Prophet(sa) responded:

“For now, I have been ordered to pardon. Thus, I cannot give you permission to fight.”1

As such, the Companions bore every pain and insult in the way of religion, but did not let go of the handle of patience. When the goblet of the persecution of the Quraish had been satiated and began to overflow; and the God of this universe found the divine message to have been conveyed incontrovertibly, it was only then that God ordered His servant to leave the city. For now, the matter had exceeded the limit of forgiveness, and the time had come when the perpetrators would reach their evil end. Hence, this migration of the Holy Prophet(sa) was a sign of the acceptance of the ultimatum of the Quraish. It was a subtle indication by God of the announcement of war; both the Muslims and disbelievers understood this. As such, during the consultation at Dārun-Nadwah,2 when an individual proposed that the Holy Prophet(sa) should be exiled from Makkah, the chieftains of the Quraish rejected this proposal on the basis that if Muḥammad(sa) was to leave Makkah, the Muslims would definitely accept their ultimatum and enter the field of battle in opposition to them. Upon the occasion of the second Bai‘at at ‘Aqabah, when the question of the migration of the Holy Prophet(sa) arose before the Anṣār of Madīnah, they immediately said, “This entails that we should become prepared for war against the whole of Arabia.” When the Holy Prophet(sa) left Makkah, he cast a sorrow-stricken glance upon the boundaries of Makkah and said, “O Makkah! You were more beloved to me than all other cities, but your people have not allowed me to live here.” Upon this, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr(ra) said, “They have exiled the Messenger of God. Now they shall indeed be destroyed.”3 In summary, until the Holy Prophet(sa) resided in Makkah, he endured all kinds of torment, but did not take up the sword against the Quraish. The reason being that firstly, before any measures could be taken against the Quraish, according to the custom of Allāh, the divine message needed to be conveyed incontrovertibly, and this called for respite. Secondly, it was also the desire of God that the Muslims exhibit a model of forgiveness and patience to that final limit whereafter remaining silent was equivalent to suicide, which cannot be deemed a commendable deed by any sensible individual. Thirdly, the Quraish headed a kind of democratic government in Makkah and the Holy Prophet(sa) was one of its citizens. Hence, good citizenship demanded that until the Holy Prophet(sa) remained in Makkah, he respect the authority, and not allow anything as would disturb the peace, and when the issue exceeds the limit of forgiveness, he migrate from there. Fourthly, it was also necessary that until his people had become deserving of punishment due to their actions in the estimation of God, and until the time to destroy them had not arrived, the Holy Prophet(sa) live among them, and when the time arrives, he migrate from there. The reason being that, according to the custom of Allāh, until a Prophet of God remains within his people, they are not struck by a punishment as would destroy them.4 When a destructive punishment is impending, the Prophet is ordered to leave such a place. Due to these reasons, the migration of the Holy Prophet(sa) possessed distinct indications within it, but it is unfortunate that these wrong-doing people did not recognize them, and continued to grow in their tyranny and oppression. For if the Quraish had abstained even now, and had refrained from employing a course of compulsion in religion, and had permitted the Muslims to live a life of peace, then God is the Most Merciful of those who are Merciful, and His Messenger was also Raḥmatullil-‘Ālamīn.5 Indeed, even then they would have been forgiven. However, the writings of divine decree were to be fulfilled. The migration of the Holy Prophet(sa) served as fuel upon the fire of the Quraish’s enmity and they stood up with an even greater zeal and uproar than before, to obliterate Islām.

In addition to inflicting persecution and tyranny upon the poor and weak Muslims, who until now were still in Makkah, the first undertaking of the Quraish, as soon as they found out that the Holy Prophet(sa) had left Makkah, was that they set out to pursue him. They scanned every inch of the Valley of Bakkah, in search of the Holy Prophet(sa) and even reached the mouth of the cave of Thaur. However, Allāh the Exalted aided the Holy Prophet(sa) and placed such a veil upon the eyes of the Quraish, that after having reached the very place of destination, they returned frustrated and unsuccessful. When they became disappointed in this search, they made a public announcement that any individual who brought Muḥammad(sa) back - dead or alive - would receive a bounty of a hundred camels, which is equivalent to approximately 20,000 Rupees in today’s currency. Many young men from the various tribes of the Quraish set out in all directions to search for the Holy Prophet(sa), in greed of the bounty. As such, the pursuit of Surāqah bin Mālik, which has already been mentioned in Volume I of this book, was also a result of this announcement of reward. However, the Quraish were made to confront failure in this scheme as well. If one contemplates, for war to break out between two nations, even this sole reason is enough, in that a bounty of this nature is set for the Master and Leader of the other. In any case, when this scheme also proved unsuccessful and the Quraish found out that the Holy Prophet(sa) had reached Madīnah safe and sound, as it has been mentioned above, the chieftains of the Quraish sent a terribly threatening letter to the head chieftain of Madīnah, ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl, and his companions:

“You have given protection to an individual of ours (i.e., Muḥammad(sa)), and we swear in the name of Allāh that you shall either leave him and declare war against him, or in the least, exile him from your city. If not, we shall most definitely gather our entire army and attack you; and we shall kill your men and take your women in to our own possession, making them lawful unto ourselves.”6

The anxiety which could have clung to the poor Muhājirīn due to this letter is evident, but a tremor of fear also surged through the Anṣār as well. When the Holy Prophet(sa) received news of this, he went to ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy himself. The Holy Prophet(sa) reasoned with him and calmed him down saying, “Your very own kith and kin are with me, will you fight against your own loved ones?” It was in these days that Sa‘d bin Mu‘ādh(ra), chieftain of the Aus, came to Makkah for the purpose of ‘Umrah. Upon seeing him, the eyes of Abū Jahl gorged with blood in rage and he furiously said, “You have (God-forbid) given protection to that renegade (Muḥammad(sa)). Do you believe that you will be able to protect him...?”7 In this era, the Quraish were so preoccupied in uprooting Islām that when Walīd bin Mughīrah, a chief of Makkah was about to die, he began to weep helplessly. The people inquired of his suffering, to which he responded, “I fear, lest the religion of Muḥammad(sa) might spread after my death.” The leaders of the Quraish responded by saying, “Do not worry, we guarantee that we shall not allow his religion to spread.”8 All of these instances are subsequent to the migration, when the Holy Prophet(sa) had left Makkah, distressed by the persecution of the Quraish, and it could be thought that the Quraish would leave the Muslims at their state. This was not all, rather, when the Quraish noticed that the Aus and Khazraj refused to give up their protection of the Holy Prophet(sa), and it was apprehended that Islām may take root in Madīnah, they toured the other tribes of Arabia and began to incite them against the Muslims. Since the Quraish enjoyed a distinct influence upon the other tribes of Arabia, due to their guardianship of the Ka‘bah, for this reason, upon the instigation of the Quraish, many tribes had become deadly enemies of the Muslims. The state of Madīnah was as if it had become surrounded by a raging fire. As such, the following narration has already been mentioned:

“Ubayy bin Ka‘b(ra) who was from among the distinguished Companions narrates, ‘When the Holy Prophet(sa) and his Companions migrated to Madīnah, and the Anṣār gave protection to them, in turn all of Arabia collectively stood up against the Muslims. In that era, the Muslims would not even put off their arms at night and during the day they would walk around armed in case of a sudden attack. They would say to each other that let us see if we live till such a time when we might be able to sleep in peace at night without any fear except the fear of God.’”9

The state of the Chief of Mankind himself was that:

“In the beginning, when the Holy Prophet(sa) arrived to Madīnah, he would often remain awake during the night in apprehension of an enemy attack.”10

With regards to the very same era, the Holy Qur’ān states:

“O ye Muslims! And remember the time when you were few and were considered to be weak in the land, and were in constant fear lest people should snatch you away and destroy you. But God sheltered you and granted you support with His Succour and opened the doors of pure provisions upon you. Therefore, you should now live as thankful servants.”11

This was the state of external threats and, even in Madīnah, the state was that until now, a substantial segment from among the Aus and Khazraj stood firm upon polytheism. Although they were apparently with their brethren and kindred, but in such circumstances, how could a polytheist be trusted? Secondly, were the hypocrites, who at the outset had accepted Islām, but in secret they were enemies of Islām, and their presence in Madīnah posed threatening possibilities. Thirdly, were the Jews, with whom although there was a treaty, but to these Jews the value of this treaty was nothing. Hence, in this manner, there were such elements present even in Madīnah itself, which were no less than a store of hidden ammunition against the Muslims. A tiny spark by the Arabian tribes was enough to set this ammunition on fire, and destroy the Muslims of Madīnah with a single blast. At this vulnerable time, which was such that a more critical time had never dawned upon the Muslims before, divine revelation was sent to the Holy Prophet(sa), that now he should also take up the sword in opposition to these disbelievers, who had entered the field of battle against him, sword in hand, purely by way of injustice and tyranny. In this manner, Jihād by the sword was announced.

At this time the number of such Muslims who were able to fight was not more than a few hundred. Even from among these few hundred souls, most of them suffered from a state of extreme weakness and poverty. For some, the matter reached the point of starvation every other day. Among them, there were very few who could even make the very basic equipment of war available to themselves. On the other hand, the state of the opposing party was such that in terms of religion, the entire country was, without exception, an enemy. Practically, in addition to the Quraish as well, who were thousands in number, and were far more powerful than the Muslims in terms of wealth, property and military supplies, many other Arabian tribes had become allies of the Quraish. It was due to these threats that the Muslims could not sleep at night. At such a vulnerable time the command of God was revealed that: “O Muslims! Now you shall also take up the sword against these disbelievers.” There remains no doubt whatsoever with regards to the fundamental purpose of this Jihād, because in such circumstances only such an individual can enter the field of battle who had decided upon one of two things. The first being that now, my death is inevitable, why not therefore give my life in the field of battle like men. Secondly, now, if there is any possibility to avert death, then it is to take up the sword and enter the field of battle, and then ‘Come what may.’ The early battles of the Muslims were due to this latter objective, but despite this divine command and coerced decision to fight, the state of many weak-hearted Muslims was that their hearts would sink at the thought of war. As such, the Holy Qur’ān states:

“When Jihād was prescribed for the Muslims, a section of them feared the disbelievers to the extent that this fear was greater than their fear of God; and these people would say, ‘O our Lord! Why have you prescribed Jihād upon us so soon; would you not grant us respite yet a while?’”12

Then He states:

“O ye Muslims! We are aware that Jihād of the sword has been ordained for you at a time when it is a difficult and burdensome task for you to bear; but remember, it may be that you consider a thing to be a means of difficulty for you, while it is good for you, or it may be that you consider a thing to be good for you, while it is bad for you. Undoubtedly, Allāh knows all things, and you know not.”13