Another important Islamic principle calculated to guarantee a peaceful
society is that of refraining from all offensive action. In Islam, war is to be
waged only as a matter of defence, and that, too, when it is quite unavoidable.
The Qur’an permits to fight only against attackers, so that we have no right to
wage war against anyone who is not on the offensive.
The Prophet Muhammad himself engaged directly in warfare on only three
occasions, at Badr, Uhud and Hunayn. In each case, he was forced into fighting.
The Battle of Badr took place when the Meccan army advanced upon Medina with
the avowed intention of slaying the Prophet and his Companions. Only then did
the Prophet ready himself and his companions for defensive action. The battle
of Uhud, which takes its name from a mountain on the periphery of Medina, was
fought between the Meccans and the Muslims of Medina. The fact that the
fighting took place on the borders of Medina, which is a 300-mile march from
Mecca, is a clear indication of the defensive nature of the engagement as far
as the Medinans were concerned. For the Prophet, there was no way out but to
defend himself.
The third battle took place at Hunayn, when the Prophet was on his way
from Mecca to Taif. The path to Taif lay between two mountains, and there,
under cover of the Mountainous terrain, the enemy lay in wait. Finding
themselves suddenly ambushed, the Prophet and his companions were forced to
fight in self-defence.
Islam aims at fashioning souls which are God-oriented; which find God
so great that everything else pales into insignificances; which comes to
possess such boundless peace of mind that nothing can disturb it; which is
totally free of negative reaction; which can turn everything in this world,
whether far or near, into food for more profound thought which, finally can
never become a prey to worldliness. This truth is aptly illustrated by this
hadith of the Prophet Muhammad:
Nine things the Lord has
commanded me:
Fear of God in private and
in public;
Justness, whether in anger
or in calmness;
Moderation in both poverty
and affluence;
That I should join hands
with those who break away from me;
And give to those who
deprive me;
And forgive those who wrong
me;
And that my silence should
be meditation;
And my words remembrance of
God;
And my vision keen
observation.
(Razin)
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