[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Islamic Advocacy in Practice: Confronting the Enemy With a Call to Faith
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 02:35:36 +0100
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Monday, 9, January, 2006 (09, Dhul Hijjah, 1426)
Islamic Advocacy in Practice: Confronting the Enemy With a
Call to Faith
Adil Salahi, Arab News
It is often said of Islam that its early spread was achieved
by force of arms, implying that the Arabs were able to conquer large
territories and forced their populations to abandon their religious beliefs and
convert to Islam. This is how non-Muslim historians explain the quick spread of
Islam in its early periods. But this is a shallow reading of historical events.
It does not look beyond what appears on the surface. Hence it cannot explain a
highly unusual phenomenon that provided a welcome for Islam among diverse
communities and different cultures.
What happened during the first quarter of a century after the
death of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was beyond the wildest dreams of the
most fertile imagination. The Persian Empire, one of the two superpowers of the
day, totally collapsed before the small armies coming out of Arabia.
Simultaneously, the other superpower, the Byzantine Empire, lost large
territories to the same forces. Yet we do not find in either case anything like
the history of great conquerors who swept over large areas causing much
devastation. On the contrary we find a civilizing force that treats the enemy
population most humanely and wins their hearts and minds. Not only so, but we
find armies offering peace rather than war, extending a hand of cooperation,
rather than demanding a humiliating surrender.
This is explained in the following report that shows the
Islamic practice followed by all Muslim commanders in their numerous encounters
with enemy forces. Salman was a man from Persia who spent time searching for
the true religion until he became a companion of the Prophet. When the Muslims
moved against the Persian Empire which threatened them with war, he was the
commander in certain encounters, and he was among the top men in others. In
both situations, he followed the same practice. In one encounter, the Muslims
besieged one of the main palaces of the Persians. They then sought Salman's
permission to attack the palace. He said: "Let me first call on them as I heard
the Prophet calling on the enemy. He addressed the Persian forces, saying: 'I
am a Persian like you, yet you see how the Arabs obey me. If you will accept
Islam, you will belong to us, having the same rights and bound by the same
duties. If you insist on following your own faith, we will let
you do so, but you have to pay us a tribute signifying your submission. You
will not be praised for that.' He then spoke to them in Persian explaining
their choices, before saying: 'If you refuse both these options, we will fight
you making sure that both parties are aware of the forthcoming battle.' The
Persians said: 'We will certainly not accept your faith, and we will not pay
you any tribute. We would rather fight you.'"
On hearing this, the Muslims urged him to give permission to
launch an immediate attack, but he refused. He repeated his offers on three
consecutive days. When the Persians insisted on war, he told his troops to get
ready and fight. They attacked the fortified palace and it soon fell to them.
This is an authentic report related by several eminent
scholars of Hadith, including Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad, Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak
and Abu Nuaym in Al-Hilyah. It shows how the Muslim forces were in a powerful
position that could have given them a quick victory had they chosen to launch
an immediate attack. But such a victory was not the goal of the Muslim army. It
was an army with a mission. The first option it offered was that of faith: If
the Persians were ready to declare their belief in God and in Prophet
Muhammad's message, they would be one community with the Muslims, having the
same rights and duties. But the Persians should take that option willingly,
without force. They were free to refuse it and to stick with their own faith.
In this case, they could have peaceful arrangements with the Muslims. They
needed to declare their submission to the Muslim authority, symbolized in the
payment of a tribute that ensured their safety. The Muslims would be
responsible for their defense against any outside forces, and they would
recognize the Muslim authority.
Only when both options are rejected that the Muslims would be
in a position to attack, but they would not do so without informing the enemy.
They could never launch a surprise attack to achieve an easy victory. They will
have to declare their intention to the enemy. Moreover, their offer of peace
should be made over three days to give the enemy time to reflect and choose
whatever was suitable for them.
We will be giving more details of how Muslim commanders made
the message of Islam known to their enemies, so that they could make an
informed choice. But when we compare this attitude to what happens today when
armed conflict flares up, we find that the Muslims established war ethics that
have never been matched by any other nation throughout history. Even today,
when the world boasts of its civilized values and agrees on conventions to
observe certain agreed standards, it cannot aspire to equal the practice of the
Muslims established fourteen centuries ago. In recent years we saw the only
superpower in our world launching attacks on two Muslim countries, Afghanistan
and Iraq, caring little for what happened to the civilian population, treating
this as 'collateral damage.' Warplanes and heavy bombers attacked weddings and
killed scores of people claiming that these were military targets. Torture of
civilian prisoners is practiced on wide scale without a twin
ge of conscience. The Geneva Conventions on the treatment of enemy prisoners
are trampled upon. When the world expresses its disapproval, it is given the
shallow excuse that the torture was the act of some individual soldiers and not
the policy of the occupying army. Yet time after time we hear more reports of
more torture in different prisons.
The Muslims of 14 centuries ago were not bound by any
international convention. Their enemies did not show any similar attitude. The
Muslims were guided by their faith which disapproves of compulsion in any form.
The orders establishing their practice of giving notice at every step came from
the highest authorities. Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second Caliph, wrote to Saad
ibn Abi Waqqas, one of the most prominent companions of the Prophet and the
commander of an army fighting the Persians: "I re-emphasize what I had written
to you earlier: Call on your opponents for three days to accept Islam. Whoever
responds positively to your call before the start of hostilities is to be
considered as one of the Muslims, having the same rights as all Muslims. He
will have his share of the booty. Anyone accepting your call after the battle
has started, or after the enemy has been defeated, forfeits his property to the
Muslims, because they had gained it before he became a Mus
lim."
Again we see the same standard ordered by the Caliph, the
head of the Muslim state. The choice to accept Islam is an individual choice
made in all freedom, and with total awareness of the consequences of all
options.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
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