THIS IS A common question raised by people who are either unaware of its teachings or who actively seek to malign Islam. Prophet Muhammadsa is called Raḥmatal lil ‘Ālamīn (Mercy for all peoples)78 and the Holy Quran is also called “Mercy”.79 How can we assume that this is a religion of terror, brutality, violence and compulsion on others to accept it? The following verses clearly and unequivocally condemn any form of compulsion in faith:
There should be no compulsion in religion.80
And say, ‘It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve.’81
Those who believe, then disbelieve, then again believe, then disbelieve and then increase in disbelief, Allah will never forgive them nor will He guide them to the way.82
Say, ‘O ye disbelievers! I worship not that which you worship; Nor worship you what I worship. And I am not going to worship that which you worship; Nor will you worship what I worship. For you your religion, and for me my religion.’83
On the contrary, the Holy Quran advocates for inter-faith harmony:
Say ‘O People of the Book! Come to a word equal between us and you – that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partner with Him, and that some of us take not others for Lords beside Allah.’84
Muslims are also instructed to invite others to Islam peacefully and with reasoning:
Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in a way that is best. Surely, thy Lord knows best who has strayed from His way; and He knows those who are rightly guided.85
As a result, the Holy Quran has left no room whatsoever for forcing others to convert to the faith of Islam. Some critics hint that the greatest expansion of Islam happened during the years of warfare and conquest, but this claim does not hold up to historical scrutiny. Islam was spreading during the early Makkan years so much so that it raised alarm among Makkan leaders, which in itself became one of the biggest reasons why they started persecuting them. Later on, Muslims migrated to Madīnah and that was also because Islam had spread to Madīnah and it was a place where the persecuted Muslims of Makkah could find a safe haven. All of this increase in their numbers happened prior to any warfare. Then, the wars started and although the number of Muslims kept on increasing but it was in a comparatively limited way. It was only when the Treaty of Hudaibiyya was signed, followed by a three-year period of peace, that Muslim numbers started to grow at a comparatively much faster rate.
This treaty itself demonstrates how earnestly Prophet Muhammadsa wanted peace. Some of the features of this treaty are as follows:
These are the conditions of peace between Muhammadsa, son of ‘Abdullah, and Suhail ibn ‘Amr, the envoy of Makkah. There will be no fighting for ten years. Anyone who wishes to join Muhammadsa and to enter into any agreement with him, is free to do so. Anyone who wishes to join the Quraish and to enter into an agreement with them is also free to do so. A young man, or one whose father is alive, if he goes to Muhammadsa without permission from his father or guardian, will be returned to his father or guardian. But should anyone go to the Quraish, he will not be returned.86
This gives us a glimpse into the unfair conditions that were laid out in the treaty that put the Muslims at a disadvantage, but Prophet Muhammadsa agreed to them anyway for the sake of peace. Some of his companions, like Hazrat ‘Umarra, even expressed their reservations and concern over the humiliating conditions, but Prophet Muhammadsa reasoned with them. Even when the treaty had just been signed, a young man named Abū Jandalra, who had just made good his escape from Makkah, appeared on the scene, bound and exhausted, and pleaded with the Muslims to allow him to remain with them and to not send him back. He had been terribly mistreated by the Makkans just because he had converted to Islam. Prophet Muhammadsa told him that the treaty had now been signed and that he will not go back on his word. He returned him to the Makkans and urged him to remain patient.87 Such was the determination of Prophet Muhammadsa to establish and maintain peace, yet some critics suggest that Islam was spread by the sword.
Similarly, it was the magnanimity of Prophet Muhammadsa and his Jihad for peace that caused Islam to spread at the time of the Fall of Makkah, a bloodless victory. This victory happened when Prophet Muhammadsa entered the city of Makkah with a force of 10,000 followers. This was such a powerful force that no one dared to challenge it enabling Prophet Muhammadsa to take the city of Makkah without any resistance. At that time, he had the opportunity to take revenge from all those who had harmed him, tortured his companions, or killed his friends and relatives. However, he did none of that. Instead, he addressed the Makkans as follows:
You have seen how true the promises of God have proved. Now tell me what punishment you should have for the cruelties and enormities you committed against those whose only fault was that they invited you to the worship of the One and Only God.88
The Makkans requested for mercy, and Prophet Muhammadsa responded:
By God, you will have no punishment today and no reproof.89
These words of love, compassion, and absolute forgiveness are the reasons why Islam spread so quickly and became the dominant religion in the world within a century of the above statement of general amnesty declared by Prophet Muhammadsa.
Prophet Muhammadsa chose to award punishment for only a handful of Makkans whose crimes against humanity had been of the worst category. Most of these were also forgiven, later on. One of them was ’Ikrimah, son of the arch-enemy of the Muslims, Abū Jahl. ’Ikrimah was on the way to Abyssinia when his wife went after him and said to him, “Are you running away from a man as gentle and soft as Prophet Muhammadsa?” She then assured him that he need not worry and that Prophet Muhammadsa will forgive him too. ‘Ikrimah then returned to Makkah and said to Prophet Muhammadsa, “I understand from my wife that you have forgiven even one like me”. Prophet Muhammadsa affirmed that he had forgiven him. At that point, ’Ikrimah was so overwhelmed by the magnanimity of Prophet Muhammadsa that he made the declaration of faith and became a Muslim right there and then. This is what caused the religion of Islam to spread very rapidly, not fear or violence or brutality!
Explaining the reasons for the spread of Islam, the Promised Messiahas says:
Islam is such a religion that does not need the support of the sword for its propagation. Rather, the inherent excellences of its teachings, its truth, enlightenment, reasoning, arguments, and the active assistance of God the Exalted, the signs, and His personal attention are such matters that always drive its progress and propagation...The message of Islam does not need any compulsion for its propagation... To consider that the Ghāzis (Islamic veterans of war)…cause rebellion in the name of Jihad is an absurd thought, and it is nothing but foolishness and ignorance to call these rebellious people by the name of Ghazi. If an ignorant Muslim harbors even the least amount of sympathy for these people considering them to be performing Jihad, I say in truth that the one who calls a rebellious person Ghazi, and praises those who bring a bad name to Islam is an enemy of Islam... In England, France and other European countries, Islam is very harshly criticized for having been spread by the use of force... The truth is that this rebellion has been spread by the maulavīs (Islamic clerics), who are the unwise friends of Islam. They did not understand the reality of Islam, and provided an opportunity to others to raise objections because of their concocted beliefs… Had they not deceived others about Jihad or misunderstood the meaning of Jihad, no one would have taken advantage of the opportunity to criticize Islam.90
The Promised Messiahas has also challenged the corrupt Muslim scholarship in the following words:
Is it not shameful that a complete stranger should be unjustly killed while occupied in his daily affairs, thus widowing his wife, making his children orphans, and turning his house into a funeral parlour? Which Ḥadith or verse of the Holy Quran authorizes such behaviour? Is there any maulavi who can respond? Foolish people hear the word Jihad, and make it an excuse for the fulfilment of their own selfish desires. Or perhaps it is sheer madness that inclines them towards bloodshed.91
Some people allege that Prophet Muhammadsa once said “I will fight the people until they testify the Shahada” and that this is a clear-cut injunction to force people to convert. It is important to note that the Arabic word translated as “fight” in this ḥadīth is uqātilu, which has multiple meanings, one of which is to “kill one’s inner desires”.92 This is similar to an Arabic idiom which says qataltul-khamra bil-mā’i, which does not mean “I have killed the water” but “I have mixed the wine with water such that it has lost its power”.93 The root of uqaatilu, which is “qa-ta-la”, can also mean “to know something” (Lane). When Prophet Muhammadsa said uqātilun nāsa, it only means that he shall struggle against the people until Islam is spread, by way of preaching and talking about the good teachings of Islam.
Even if that was not the case and he was using the connotation of fighting literally, we should understand that he is only referring to a specific people as the Arabic word for people has the definite article “al” attached to it. Hence, this specifies the group of people who had initially started the fighting against the Muslims and wanted to destroy the Muslims. Prophet Muhammadsa only fought them in self-defense and never sought to convert anyone through the sword.