It looks as if the antagonists, critics and sceptics of Islam have read Islam with a pair of tainted glasses or jaundiced eyes. When they motivatedly malign Islam with intolerance, prejudice or terrorism, they appear to be on the slippery ground. Their case, built upon banana peel, is too weak to be taken seriously.
CASUALTY FIGURES
The casualty figure of the War of Mahabharata is in crores. So assert loosely our Hindu scholars. However, according to Dr. Muhammad Ahmad, an authority on Hinduism, its exact figure stands at: 39,36,600. For a detailed study read Mahabharat Aadi Parv, Part II, Gita Press, Gorakhpur.
The French Revolution gobbled up 66 lakh.
The figure of the Socialist Revolution of Russia is more than one crore.
The World War I figure is more than 73 lakh.
The World War II swallowed 1.6 lakh.
It would not be out of place here to mention that with Truman’s approval, Nagasaki was bombed on August 6, 1945. Hiroshima was reduced to rubble two days later and its casualty figure stands at 3,50,200. The Nagasaki death toll was 1,40,000. It should also be of interest to note that when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on US Navy in Pearl Harbour, 19 warships were sunk or damaged and some 2,300 Navy personnel were reduced to smithereens.
KEY QUESTION
Now the key question: what is the casualty figure of the various Islamic “attacks” launched by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and the revered Caliphs?
First, neither the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) nor any of his Caliphs launched any offensive against anyone. They never ever initiated any war. Their action was absolutely defensive as the wars were thrust upon their unwilling shoulders. The fact is that they were attacked. Theirs were only counter-attacks made in the defence of their first State governed on Islamic principles in Madinah.
On the surface, the attempts were for violations of agreements or conspiracies or hypocrisies by the Jews and their admirers. But the real motive was decimation of the first Islamic State.
Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) always tried to fight with the enemies of Islam in the war fields of his choice. He did not want to give advantage of the war zone to them. He also wanted to reach the crucial point before the enemy. In most of the cases he outwitted the other party. He would observe the battle from a high position to keep him informed of the developments.
Espionage is the essential part of not only war but governance also. The Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) too understood well its importance. His information bureau initially consisted of 10 persons, who kept him properly informed, particularly during the attacks. He encouraged defence production, military exercises and alertness on the part of the army.
An essential part of his war strategy was, let’s note, asking the enemy for peace in the form of reciting the Kalimah. In the case of blatant refusal, the war would start. He was against forced conversions. Normally the Orientalists hide this fact. The Last Prophet’s preference was for peace.
Before proceeding further, let’s respond to the probable query by you: “Why you have quoted the World Wars figures which have nothing to do with Islam.
82 WARS
Our response is: We have done so painfully just to show the deplorable Jewish and Christian mentality. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki mentality, perhaps, still exists and has been seen in the tragedies like Sabra and Chattilla, whose casualty figure is 6,000.
You may also want to know the why and what of how within the short span of time of eight years (2 Hegira to 9 Hegira) the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) had to fight 82 big and small wars. The to-the-point answer is repeated once again that these wars were thrust upon him and his companions and followers. He did not start any war. He only reacted to the wars. And see the beauty of his war strategy that in these 82 wars, the total casualty figure was 600 (you have read right: 600) from both sides.
OUR QUESTION
We ask: What sort of objectivity and honesty is this that no non-Muslim appreciates these and similar facts? When will their jaundiced view about Islam and Muslims melt into thin air? We also feel that much responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Muslims also.
Has any Orientalist, honestly and sincerely, cared to appreciate and highlight this fact, related to the nature of wars? Does this reality itself not underscore the truth that the battles and even skirmishes of Islam were for peace and defensive? Battles, note it, were stopped the moment the backbone of the perfidy, the backbone of the irritation and the backbone of the mischief was broken. There were never mass murders, mass assassinations, mass loots, and, hold your breath, not a single rape.
OTHER REASONS
Besides seeking the pleasure of Allah, the defence of the first Islamic State, the other reason was removal of the hurdles against the onward march of Islam. The argument behind this is the fact that Islam is the Last Word of Divine Guidance for mankind. And no other Divine Book is to come now nor is any other prophet to descend on earth.
Thirdly, Islam is morally bound to intervene in the cases where open tyranny is being practised against any oppressed strata of mankind. Islam does not sit on the fence of bloodshed of the innocent. Is it not a sound and healthy policy? The critics of Islam owe a cogent reply.
The Islamic wars – do not get confused by the wars launched by the Muslim debauch rulers here and there – have never been fought for wealth, woman or territory, natural resources or expansion of the area of influence. The Islamic warriors never demolished the places of worship or changed leaderships, nor did they ever purchase opposition parties in foreign countries. They never liquidated their local or foreign critics, nor did they ever create or bribe lobbies in their favour anywhere. Can the US, UK, Russia and China as well as their satellite states make any such claim?
Specific instructions were always given by the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), who was Commander-in-Chief also, regarding certain basic human issues. Some of the instructions were:
SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS
1) If the enemy as the first and foremost step opts for peace or accepts Islam, do not fight against him at all, as he has repented and embraced Islam as his ideology. What was his in his pre-Islamic phase of life is his and of his kith and kin now also.
2) Never ever kill children, women, the old and infirm, persons living aloof and alone in their houses;
3) Never ever go near the gardens, never cut trees, never dilapidate the houses, and as referred to above never destroy the places of worship. Does this morally strong policy not click innocent antagonists of the Islamic ideology?
4) Never ever mutilate dead bodies, never ever attack in the dead of night;
5) Feed the prisoners of war well, give them what you eat. PoWs of the Battle of Badr are on record to have said: May Allah shower bounties upon Muslims who fed us to the fill and themselves remained hungry. Similarly, 6,000 PoWs of the Battle of Hunain, so says history, expressed happiness after they were released and all of them were given khil’ats (dresses of very high quality) by their captors, in which they reached their homes.
ENEMIES BEFORE PROPHET
After the defeat of Quraish at Makkah were standing in front of the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) the people who had literally spread thorns in his path; there were people who had burnt chests of the helpless Faithful with red hot iron bars; there were people who had given bloodbaths to him through stones, bricks, spears and swords; there were people who had hurled choicest abuses upon the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and there were people who had forced him to leave his birthplace.
The awestricken gathering was asked by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him): Do you know what attitude shall I adopt towards you today?
The gathering, shivering in their shoes, responded in unison: We expect goodness from you. You are our noble brother, and noble nephew.
GHOSTS GALLERY
Mind it, the crowd also consisted of Akrama, son of Abu Jehl, who had proved to be a factor in the previous wars against Muslims; there was Hayar bin Al-Aswad, who had felled Zainab from the camel resulting in the abortion of her premature child. The grief of this planned murder caused death of the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him); there were people like Abdullah bin Ubaiy, who would want the world to believe that the wahi or Divine Oracle that the Prophet narrates are, in fact, his words; there was Abu Sufiyan’s wife Hinda, who had munched the liver of Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet and knifed the nose and ears of his dead body.
6) After the victory of Makkah, a lone exception apart, no Muslim asked for the return of the usurped land, now in possession of the usurpers. No Muslim asked for the removal of their movable or immovable property. The Prophet, out of his graciousness, allowed these usurpers to continue owning Muslim properties, earlier owned by the followers of Islam. His argument was a thing given in the way of Allah once is not supposed to be taken back.
CLEAR-CUT INSTRUCTIONS
7) After the defeat of Quraish at Makkah, the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) behaved liberally, so liberally that today’s Shylocks cannot think of. One who lays down one’s weapons should not be killed. One who enters the Haram should not be liquidated. One who remains in one’s house should not be touched. One who seeks shelter in the house of Abu Sufiyan should not be hurt. One who flees away should not be pursued. The wounded should not be killed, nor be the arrested touched.
8) When the enemy shows signs of humility and desires for peace, respond with equal measure.
If you want to see how the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) ironed out the differences that originated from race, blood, colour and wealth, cast a glance on the society that he created through the ghazwat. In the Battle of Badr, one feels amazed at seeing Abu Bakr daggers drawn at his son, Abdur Rahman; and Huzaifa pitted against his father Utbah. It was certain nobler values they fought for against each other.
In the Battle of Mu’tah Muslims were just 3,000 while the number of the enemy was around 1,00,000. And who was their Commander-in-Chief: a freed slave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), Zaid.
You may point out what the ghazwat have to do with pride or prejudice against Muslims. Didn’t you note that in the Battle of Mu’tah, the Islamic army respectables like Khalid bin Waleed and Jafar Abdullah performed their duty happily under Zaid bin Harith, a slave freed by the Last Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him)? Thus a classless society was created which continues till date in the Arab world.
In each and every battle of Islam the number of Muslims was minimal. In the Battle of Badr, the ratio was 313 Vs. 1000. In the Battle of Uhd the ratio was 1,000 Vs. 5,000. In the Battle of Ahzab, the ratio was 3000 Vs. 24,000. The ratio in the Battle of Mu’tah was 3000 Vs. 1,00,000.
MINORITY VS. MAJORITY
The Muslim expert opinion on the subject is: neither the small number of fighters nor the larger number of attackers is the decisive factor. Weapons also play a secondary role. The decisive factor is: unparalleled commitment to Allah, unmatched discipline, unalloyed devotion, total dedication and the hard-rock determination coupled with passion and patience. These qualities constitute the decisive factor in defeat and victory. Albert Murray has also expressed similar views on the subject.
Martyrdom was such a passion with the Holy Companions that it looked as if they were fighting for Shahadah, not to kill the enemy. In fact they wanted to be killed in the path of Allah, which ensures Jannah.
Is the said commitment to discipline, devotion, dedication, and determination found in the armies of the United States, Russia, China and the armies of those moonies who spit damp fire in and out of season? Before the Islamic giants, the army personnel of the day look like dwarfs in whose blood is running not bravery but cowardice.
The armies of the day do not know what the high moral ground is; what are the values that enthuse the warriors to immediately react and ensure peace and equality.
REACT & RECTIFY
Fear of death is the mother of cowardice. Belief in Allah, belief in the Prophethood, belief in the Day of Judgement and the desire for Jannah melt the chicken-heartedness into air.
Add to it the bounties that martyrs would receive on the Day of Resurrection.
Further add to it the dismal conditions of a society: moral dirt, moral squalor, moral degeneration, violation of agreements, betrayals, indefensible tyranny, intolerable discrimination, and utter thanklessness compel the noble souls to react and rectify the malaise.