Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon Muhammad, His last Messenger, his household, his companions and all those who follow him till the Last Day. Was Islam Spread By The Sword? The Council of Senior Scholars of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was asked this tricky question: "Some enemies of the religion claim that Islam was spread by the sword. Is this true?" The Councils terse response was short, courageous and truthful:
"Praise be to Allaah. Islam was spread by proof and evidence, in the case of those who listened to the message and responded to it. And it was spread by strength and the sword in the case of those who stubbornly resisted, until they had no choice and had to submit to the new reality. And Allaah is the source of strength." [Fataawaa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah, 12/14]
Many pacifist Muslims would feel more comfortable with the first part of the response. They would cite the unsolicited defense of Orientalist Thomas Arnold who wrote The Preaching of Islam with the aim of killing off the spirit of jihad among the Muslims and proving that Islam was not spread by the sword, rather that it spread by means of peaceful preaching, free from any use of force. The pacifist Muslims fell into the trap and thus they deny that Islam was spread by the sword. There is no such thing in Islam as taking the initiative in fighting in their view and jihad is not prescribed in Islam, except in the case of self defence.
Of course, this goes against the Quraan and Sunnah; let alone the fact that it goes against what the Muslim scholars have stated. By Word, With The Sword Sahl ibn Sad(RA) said: The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said on the day of Khaybar: "Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man at whose hands victory will come, one who loves Allaah and His Messenger, and Allaah and His Messenger love him." The people spent that night wondering which of them would be given the banner and all of them were hoping for it. Then he said, "Where is AIi?"It was said, "His eye is hurting." So he spat in his eyes and made duaafor him, and he was healed, as if there had not been anything wrong with him.
Then he gave him the flag and he [Ali] said: "Shall I fight them so that they will be like us?" He said: "Go ahead, until you reach their encampment. then call them to Islam and tell them what they are obliged to do, for by Allaah if Allaah were to guide a man at your hands that would be better for you than having red camels [the best kind]." (Bukhari) All through the ages, human beings have fought for or against their beliefs: slavery, republicanism, colonialism, racism and democracy are examples of such noblehuman endeavours! Thus, the idea that Muslims are willing to spread Islam by word but supported with the sword whenever required is both chivalrous and praiseworthy; not something to be condemned or ashamed of! Still, the historical truth is that most of the territories that are predominantly Muslim today received Islam by word rather than the sword.
For example, no single banner of jihad was raised in Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh three of the most populous Muslim enclaves on earth! Islaam In Nigeria And this brings us to the question: how did Islaam come to Nigeria? Our cover story answers the question in detail. Islaam came to Nigeria by word and it was revived and strengthened by the sword. We, the inheritors of these noble efforts that started with the dawah of the Companions should show gratitude by spreading the word with vigour! WAllaahu mustaan [And Allaah is our Source of help]!
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited