How Was The Qur'anic Doctrine Announced To the World? (7)

HOW WAS THE QUR’ANIC DOCTRINE

ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD?

All the responsibility of war falls on the people who have engaged in it the first. When the Qur’an says: “Fight those who fight you”, it means to fight those who fight actually and use their weapons. The tradition took great care to establish this condition in such a clear manner as to prevent any confusion. Women, children, old men, blind persons, invalids, the insane, the peasants in their fields and the hermits[1] isolated in their cells; all are immunized against hostilities. Whence, the prohibition of any engine having a general destructive effect such as flooding and fire. On applying rigorously the Qur’anic command which prescribes to pardon those who cease fighting, the Prophet went to the extent of interdicting the pursuit of a fleeing enemy.

What is the purpose of this legislation? We see it now. It aims precisely at dismissing any danger. Islam condemns the spirit of destruction and that of domination:

“That home of the Hereafter (e.g. Paradise). We shall assign to who rebel not against the truth with pride and oppression in the land nor do mischief by committing crimes and the good end is for Muttaqûn (the pious and righteous persons.” (XXVIII, 83).

It does not aim at imposing a universal ideology, “if it had not been your Lord’s Will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth! Will you then compel mankind against their will, to believe?” (X, 99).

Can we change the Will of God? It is by a divine decree that “there will be always divergences among men”  “And if your Lord had so willed. He could surely have made mankind one Ummah: but they will not cease to disagree”. (XI, l18).

“And most of the mankind will not believe even if you desire eagerly” (XII, l03).

Far from requiring to force consciences and to impede the liberty of faith, “There is no compulsion in religion.” (II, 256), on the contrary, Islam opposes those who prevent the expansion of liberty and who put it to their hard ordeals,

“They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months (i.e. 1^st, 7^th, 11^th and 12^th month of the Islamic calendar). Say “Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allâh is to prevent mankind from following the Way of Allâh, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid Al-Harâm (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islamic Monotheism) if they can. And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever.”  (II, 217).