Love & War. This was the theme for the 2015 Juloos. We felt it important to write about this because many Muslims today do not understand the concept of “Jihad” and they see the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ involvement in battles as an excuse to unleash the animals within themselves, or to become a sort of “Rambo” to murder innocent people and destroy places of worship or as a means to subjugate people so as to impose their beliefs on them.
With the Name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
Although the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, under the command and Guidance of Allah Subhanatallah, was involved in quite a number of wars and military expeditions his ultimate aim and object was solely peace because Islam means peace and Islam strives towards peace.
In all the wars that he was involved in viz. Badar, Uhud and the Trench, the Holy Prophet ﷺ with his followers were defending themselves and what they believed in.
Firstly they were an ill equipped minority that would not have started a war and secondly all these battles took place close to Medina showing that the enemies were the aggressors. In the battle of Trench, the Holy Prophet ﷺ instructed that a huge trench be dug to prevent the Meccan army from entering Medina.
This must not be seen as a military strategy only because it was more importantly the means to prevent unnecessary bloodshed? Three years after Uhud, the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims went to Mecca for Hajj unarmed showing without doubt that the Holy Prophet ﷺ and Islam stood for peace.
This was the Prophet ﷺ offensive – an unarmed one that was craftily designed to capture the hearts of his enemy. The Meccans had tried on numerous occasions in the past to exterminate the Muslims and here they were coming right to their doorsteps unarmed.
This incident would set off a chain of incidents which would finally lead to the peaceful conquest of Mecca and the entire region. The Meccans did not want the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his followers to perform the Hajj but they could not use force because they did not fight in the sacred months and they could not prevent anyone from making the pilgrimage.
They had no option but to enter into negotiations which resulted in the Treaty of Hudaibiya. The Muslims would return to Medina and come for Hajj the following year. Apart from this and other conditions they also agreed on a truce.
Although most of his companions were totally against him signing this treaty because it was a one-sided treaty in favour of the Meccans, the Prophet ﷺ signed it.
The next year the Muslims returned to Mecca to perform the Hajj and when the non-Muslims of Mecca saw the way in which the Muslims conducted themselves, then many of them accepted Islam.
The Prophet ﷺ never needed a sword to spread his message and he never at any time forced people to believe because the Truth will always prevail. He had Truth and this is the most powerful weapon. With kindness, love and a message that appealed to reason and logic he won over people’s hearts.
When the leaders of Mecca saw this, they realised that they were losing their influence over their people and in order to stem the tide of change they broke the treaty by attacking Muslims.
The Muslims then had no choice but to advance on Mecca and although they could have extracted retribution easily for the way they were treated in the past, the Holy Prophet ﷺ offered amnesty to all who entered the Kaaba or the house of Abu Sufyan and in this way Mecca was peacefully taken.
Even at this point, the Meccans did not have to accept Islam to gain amnesty and they were free to believe as they pleased. Islam is based on freedom of religion and freedom of consciousness.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ then entered into treaties with the Jews and people of other faiths and they were welcome to live as an integral part of the area. He had absolutely no fear of them.
Together they formed one community. The only time he took any stand against them was when they broke these treaties by either attacking Muslims or aiding the enemies of Islam or not paying the state tax.
What comes through in all of this is that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was not seeking status or power for himself but he was sincerely out to make his surroundings a better place to live in. He was striving to bring an end to tribal wars, ill treatment of women, slavery, uneven distribution of wealth, racial discrimination, drug abuse etc. and the wars that he ended up in was not what he desired but it was what he was drawn into because the existing tyrants wanted to keep their grip on power.
No matter how people treated him, the Holy Prophet ﷺ never at any time looked at them as his enemy who needed to be exterminated but he looked at them as people that needed to be guided and he looked at them as people that could believe in future or that their future generations would believe. He never judged or wrote anyone off.
In our country we are not engaged in war or we do not have problems of suicide bombings yet this knowledge about war still has a bearing on us. What sort of mentality and attitude do we have towards people of other faiths and beliefs?
If we are intolerant in our thoughts and rejoice when suicide bombers murder innocent people in the name of Islam, it is as good as being a suicide bomber. It is as good as being like the unbelieving Meccans who depended solely on arms.
If we care for others and strive towards teaching others and making things easy for those around us, no matter who they are, then this is following our Prophet ﷺ for these are the weapons he used. Building such an arsenal is no easy task.
Islam is realistic & Muslims should not be cowards either. At some point or the other we would have to fight brutal wars because there will always be villains and tyrants out there to oppress and subjugate us for their own selfish ends.
Although we need to make a strong statement when we defend peace and freedom we must at the same time be absolutely kind, caring and compassionate.
Engaging in war must never destroy our loving, caring and compassionate natures. We must never harm women, children and places of worship. War must be the last option. End
Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad Sallallahu Allayhi Wasallam.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
The Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (fondly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp; +27 84 910 1486