After we have learned the Qur’anic injunctions with regards to “combative Jihad,” now it’s time to learn the orders and rules which Prophet Muhammad placed for Muslims when they fight their enemies in order to differentiate between true combative Jihad, and any other kind of fighting. Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. said:

“Don’t look forward to meet the enemies [in battle]. If you do meet them, then show perseverance and know that heaven awaits you in the shadow of their swords.” [Recorded by Bukhari]
“Fight for the cause of Allah and never betray a pact, never conceal a thing from the booty, never mutilate, never kill a child, a woman, an old man, a hermit, and never cut down a tree or destroy a building.” [Recorded by Tirmidhī, Muslim, Abu-Dāwud and others]
“Never kill a non-combatant,” (i.e. the Arabic word used referred to the non-combatant personnel who follow the enemies’ army for service, like engineers, doctors, nurses, etc.)[Recorded by Tirmidhī and others].
“The worst of all people on the judgment day are: a man who is killed by a prophet, a man who killed a prophet, a man who leads others to perversity, and a man who mutilates another.” [Recorded by Ahamd and authenticated by Albani]
“Whoever guarantees safety for an enemy, and then kills him, let him know that I reject his action even if the killed person was a polytheist.” [Recorded by Bukhari]
“If you kill, then make it a quick death.” [Recorded by Muslim]
“Whoever treats a non-Muslim covenanter unjustly, or detracts any of his rights, or over burden’s him with what he can’t bear, or takes anything from him against his own freewill, let him know that I shall be his foe on the judgment day.” [Recorded by Abu-Dāwud]

The above prophetic traditions hold the following injunctions:

1. Don’t wish for fighting and killing people.
2. If you meet your enemy in battle, don’t be afraid and show perseverance.
3. Never betray a pact.
4. Never conceal anything from the booty, no matter how small it is.
5. Never mutilate.
6. Never kill a child.
7. Never kill a woman.
8. Never kill an old man.
9. Never kill a hermit.
10. Never kill non-combatants.
11. Never cut down a tree.
12. Never destroy a building.
13. Never breach a safety promise.
14. If you kill those who fight, make it a quick death.
15. Deal justly and kindly with non-Muslim covenanters.

Now, wouldn’t it be interesting to place all injunctions mentioned in these 10 posts in one complete list so that we can understand the Islamic ethics and morals governing the lawful practice of Jihad!

1. Don’t wish for fighting and killing people.
2. Fight in self defense those who attack you.
3. Fight in defense of your home and country.
4. If you meet your enemy in battle, don’t be afraid and show perseverance.
5. Secure your homelands and its borders, and fight against those who lurk to attack you therein.
6. Fight those who occupy your homeland and kill them wherever you find them until you drive them out and retrieve your homeland.
7. Fight against aggressors until there is no more compulsion in religion.
8. Fight for those who are persecuted on account of faith, and cannot fight for themselves.
9. Never desert the army during war, or turn your back to the enemy except for a stratagem or giving aid to weaker comrades.
10. Never transgress the limits or attack those who do not attack you, nor do they fight.
11. Never kill children or women.
12. Never kill old men.
13. Never kill a hermit.
14. Never kill non-combatants.
15. If you kill those who fight, make it a quick death.
16. Never mutilate.
17. Never cut down a tree.
18. Never destroy a building.
19. Never breach a safety promise.
20. Never fight in the 4 sacred months unless attacked during them.
21. Spend part of your income in preparing your army or your enemy shall destroy you.
22. Muster as much power as you can in order to dishearten your enemies from attacking you.
23. Fight against those among your non-Muslim citizens who refuse to contribute in the defense of their countries and they refuse to pay the Jizyah until they pay it and submit humbly to the public welfare.
24. While at war, grant your refuge to those who seek it from the noncombatants and accompany them to their place of safety.
25. If your enemies incline to peace, accept it from them and put your trust in Allah, He shall help and protect you against their schemes and treason.
26. Never betray a pact.
27. Fight against those who betray their peace pacts and break their pledges.
28. If any non-Muslim from among those who committed treason embraced Islam, do not harm him, for embracing Islam abolishes all previous sins.
29. Fulfill your pacts with those who deal with you in an upright manner and respect their pacts.
30. Deal justly and kindly with non-Muslim covenanters.

The next 3 injunctions are related only to Makkah:

31. Never fight in or near the sacred mosque (i.e. Makkah) unless attacked there.
32. Fight against the non-Muslims who try to attack Makkah or occupy it.
33. Do not allow any sort of Polytheism to be practiced in Makkah again.

Finally there is the injunction related to the booty which is:

34. Never conceal anything from the booty, no matter how small it may be.

This injunction was stated at a time when the defeated armies left behind horses, camels, money, swords, shields, armors, bows, arrows, helmets, camping tents, etc… All these stuff were collected by the victorious army and distributed on the soldiers to enhance their degree of preparation, except for a predetermined portion specified in the Qur’an to be 1/5^th, it was distributed on orphans, the poor, wayfarers, and what the prophet deemed most deserving for the common good of the Muslims’ community.

I hope that the previous organization of the injunctions governing “combative Jihad”, now makes this concept clearer in the mind of the reader. Some of the verses discussed and explained, are always quoted out of context and used by extremists as legitimate evidence for their attacks. They have also been the door way which Islam haters use whenever they want to accuse Islam of being the religion of terrorists and blood thirsty people. Both parties neglect all the historical events explained in the previous posts and insist on adopting twisted understandings of “Jihad.” In my opinion, Jihad is one of the noblest and most respected concepts in Islam. May Allah guide us all to the truth, Amen.

Finally, I would like to conclude this subject with some testimonies stated by notable non-Muslim writers:

“…Of any organized attempt to force the acceptance of Islam on the non-Muslim population, or of any systematic persecution intended to stamp out the Christian religion, we hear nothing. Had the caliphs chosen to adopt either course of action, they might have swept away Christianity as easily as Ferdinand and Isabella drove Islam out of Spain, or Louis XIV made Protestantism penal in France, or the Jews were kept out of England for 350 years. The Eastern Churches in Asia were entirely cut off from communion with the rest of Christiandom throughout which no one would have been found to lift a finger on their behalf, as heretical communions. So that the very survival of these Churches to the present day is a strong proof of the generally tolerant attitude of Mohammedan [sic] governments towards them.” [Sir Thomas W. Arnold, “The Preaching of Islam”, London, 1896].

“History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.” [Delacy O’Leary, “Islam at the Crossroads”, London, 1923].

I shall leave you with the words of a Judge who served in the International Court of Justice for 10 years (1991-2000):

“Let us go back to the beginnings. We are constantly taught in law schools and international forums that the first systematic treatment of international law as a discipline was at the hands of “Grotius” with his famous “Law of war and peace” in 1625 AC. If there is some doubt about this we are referred to his Spanish predecessors of a century before who could possibly mount a claim to being the first systematic expositors of international law as a discipline in its own right. Rarely we are told, and few are the law teachers who are aware, that “Mohammed bin Hasan Shaybani” wrote an “Introduction to the Law of Nations” at the end of the eighth century, i.e. over 800 years earlier, and followed it with a second and more advanced treatise. Nor are we told that multi-volume treatises on the same subject followed within the next century or two. The subjects dealt with covered nearly the whole gamut of classical international law topics – the law treaties, the treatment of diplomats, hostages, asylum, prisoners of war, conduct on the battlefield, protection of women and children and non-combatants, contracts across the line of battle, the use of poisonous weapons, devastation of enemy territory. It went to such minute detail as the protection and communication across the line of battle of the correspondence of prisoners of war – matters seriously addressed in western jurisprudence only in comparatively recent times. The respect for these laws of war were recorded by contemporary European writers at the time of the Crusades. One writer, “Oliverus Scholasticus”, relates how the Sultan “Al-Malik Al-Kamil” supplied a defeated Frankish army with food:

“Who could doubt that such goodness, friendship and charity come from God? Men whose parents, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, had died in agony at our hands, whose lands we took, whom we drove naked from their homes, revived us with their own food when we were dying of hunger and showered us with kindness even when we were in their power.” [Judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, “Justice without Frontiers”, Sri Lankan, 1997].

For complete unbiased understanding, kindly read my previous posts:
Roots of “JIHAD” Part I        Roots of “JIHAD” Part II       Roots of “JIHAD” Part III
Roots of “JIHAD” Part IV     Roots of “JIHAD” Part V       Roots of “JIHAD” Part VI
Roots of “JIHAD” Part VII   Roots of “JIHAD” Part VIII   Roots of “JIHAD” Part IX

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Written By: Ehab Shawky