_"Warfare is Ordained for You"
Bill Fortenberry

___
There are many today, including our President, who claim that Islam is a religion of peace. They assure us that Muslim leaders desire peace as much as we do, and that an acceptable compromise can easily be reached. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The religion of Islam is a religion of war, for Allah, himself, said of his followers that “warfare is ordained for you.” If the god of Islam has ordained Muslims to war, how then can their religion be one of peace? Is not religion the following of the teachings of one’s God?
I have gathered together nearly all of the verses in the Quran in which Muslims are either commanded or greatly encouraged to be a warlike people. Read them carefully and consider well their implication for the future of our nation.
Legal Retaliation
“O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. And for him who is forgiven somewhat by his (injured) brother, prosecution according to usage and payment unto him in kindness. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. He who transgresseth after this will have a painful doom. And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding, that ye may ward off (evil).”
[Quran 2:178-179]
- This punishments prescribed in this passage cannot be considered capital punishments for they do not call for the life of the offender to be taken. The Quran calls for equal retaliation so that if a man kills another man’s wife, then the wife of the first man must also be slain.
Religious War
"Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers. The forbidden month for the forbidden month, and forbidden things in retaliation. And one who attacketh you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you. Observe your duty to Allah, and know that Allah is with those who ward off (evil)."
[Quran 2:190-194]
- This passage commands Muslims to fight until all religion is for Allah. Some will point out that the Quran also commands Muslims not to begin hostilities, but this passage along with many others clearly states that hostility toward wrong-doers (non-muslims) is not prohibited.
- It is also very important to note that Muslims are given full permission to do forbidden things in their retaliation against the enemies of Islam. Since anyone who is a disbeliever has committed a forbidden act, the law of equal retaliation allows for forbidden things to be done to them in return.
“Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not. They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing.”
[Quran 2:216-217]
- The Muslim people have been ordained by Allah for warfare. Even warfare during the sacred month is permitted if it is against those who disbelieve.
- The philosophy that persecution is worse than killing provides legal justification for the killing of persecutors. Remember that the Quran calls for equal retaliation. Therefore the killing of a persecutor is deemed an act of mercy for the punishment was not as great as the crime.
“Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward. How should ye not fight for the cause of Allah and of the feeble among men and of the women and the children who are crying: Our Lord! Bring us forth from out this town of which the people are oppressors! Oh, give us from thy presence some protecting friend! Oh, give us from Thy presence some defender! Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! the devil's strategy is ever weak. Hast thou not seen those unto whom it was said: Withhold your hands, establish worship and pay the poordue, but when fighting was prescribed for them behold! a party of them fear mankind even as their fear of Allah or with greater fear, and say: Our Lord! Why hast Thou ordained fighting for us ? If only Thou wouldst give us respite yet a while! Say (unto them, O Muhammad): The comfort of this world is scant; the Hereafter will be better for him who wardeth off (evil); and ye will not be wronged the down upon a date-stone.”
[Quran 4:74-77]
- Warfare against the disbelievers is here stated to be a measure of the faith of the Muslim people. It is explained very clearly that those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah.
- This passage also promises great reward for those who fight for Allah.
“Those of them with whom thou madest a treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty, and they keep not duty (to Allah). If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember. And if thou fearest treachery from any folk, then throw back to them (their treaty) fairly. Lo! Allah loveth not the treacherous. And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom ye know not. Allah knoweth them. Whatsoever ye spend in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and ye will not be wronged.”
[Quran 8:56-60]
- This passage validates the use of terrorist tactics by Muslims, for they are commanded by Allah to deal with those who break treaties in a manner which will cause great fear.
- I am sure that many people who read this article will conclude that I have been unfair to the Quran because many of my quotes have stopped short of verses which allow for treaties of peace to be made between Muslims and non-Muslims. This passage provides one of the three reasons that I reject the viability of such treaty provisions, for here we find that if any Muslim leader so much as suspects treachery from the other party of the treaty, then that Muslim leader is no longer bound by the terms of that treaty.
- Should the breaking of the treaty cost the Muslims any misfortune, they are assured that Allah will repay them in full.
“O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence. Now hath Allah lightened your burden, for He knoweth that there is weakness in you. So if there be of you a steadfast hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand (steadfast) they shall overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. Allah is with the steadfast. It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth (for you) the Hereafter, and Allah is Mighty, Wise. Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which had gone before, an awful doom had come upon you on account of what ye took. Now enjoy what ye have won, as lawful and good, and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”
[Quran 8:65-69]
- Again we see that Muslim believers are commanded to fight.
- I find it rather humorous that, in this passage, Allah shows his inferiority to the God of Israel. He promises to give his Muslim warriors victory against odds of ten to one and then retracts that statement because it is too hard for his followers to accept and promises to give victory if they are outnumbered by as much as two to one. God, on the other hand, first promised to make Israel victorious against odds of one hundred to one in Leviticus 26:8 and later, in Joshua 23:10, promised them victory against foes that outnumbered them by one thousand to one.
“Freedom from obligation (is proclaimed) from Allah and His messenger toward those of the idolaters with whom ye made a treaty. Travel freely in the land four months, and know that ye cannot escape Allah and that Allah will confound the disbelievers (in His Guidance). And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve, Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him). Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not. How can there be a treaty with Allah and with His messenger for the idolaters save those with whom ye made a treaty at the Inviolable Place of Worship ? So long as they are true to you, be true to them. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty. How (can there be any treaty for the others) when, if they have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor honour in respect of you ? They satisfy you with their mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them are wrongdoers. They have purchased with the revelations of Allah a little gain, so they debar (men) from His way. Lo! evil is that which they are wont to do. And they observe toward a believer neither pact nor honour. These are they who are transgressors. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion. We detail Our revelations for a people who have knowledge. And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist. Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first ? What! Fear ye them ? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. And He will remove the anger of their hearts. Allah relenteth toward whom He will. Allah is Knower, Wise.”
[Quran 9:1-15]
- This is the second reason that I reject the offer of treaties mentioned throughout the Quran. Here Allah teaches his followers that they are not bound by any treaty that they make with non-Muslims. The one exception made is for those who give the Islamic nations their full and willing support, yet even these are to be slain without mercy at the end of the sacred months if they have not converted to Islam.
- The third reason that I cannot accept Allah’s offers of peace is found in the question in the middle of this passage in which it is explained that only those treaties which are made in Mecca are to be considered valid between Muslims and non-Muslims. I am not aware of a single treaty between Muslims and Christians which has ever been brokered at Mecca.
“O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end.”
[Quran 9:73]
“O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end.”
[Quran 66:9]
- Here again Muslims are commanded to fight harshly against non-Muslims.
Personal Attacks
“O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).”
[Quran 9:123]
- This command is not a reference to war, but rather each and every Muslim is commanded to fight with and be cruel toward any non-Muslim which may be near them.
Promised Reward
“And their Lord hath heard them (and He saith): Lo! I suffer not the work of any worker, male or female, to be lost. Ye proceed one from another. So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and suffered damage for My cause, and fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow - A reward from Allah. And with Allah is the fairest of rewards.”
[Quran 3:195]
- Those who die in battle for Allah are promised that they will have all of their sins forgiven and that they will receive the fairest of rewards.
“O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter ? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter. If ye go not forth He will afflict you with a painful doom, and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. Ye cannot harm Him at all. Allah is Able to do all things. If ye help him not, still Allah helped him when those who disbelieve drove him forth, the second of two; when they two were in the cave, when he said unto his comrade: Grieve not. Lo! Allah is with us. Then Allah caused His peace of reassurance to descend upon him and supported him with hosts ye cannot see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the nethermost, while Allah's Word it was that became the uppermost. Allah is Mighty, Wise. Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! That is best for you if ye but knew.”
[Quran 9:38- 41]
- This promise of reward for those who fight for Allah is accompanied by a curse against any Muslim that chooses not to fight.
“Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the messenger of Allah, and were averse to striving with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way. And they said: Go not forth in the heat! Say: The fire of hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood. Then let them laugh a little: they will weep much, as the reward of what they used to earn. If Allah bring thee back (from the campaign) unto a party of them and they ask of thee leave to go out (to fight), then say unto them: Ye shall never more go out with me nor fight with me against a foe. Ye were content with sitting still the first time. So sit still, with the useless. And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and they died while they were evil-doers.”
[Quran 9:81-84]
- Here the curse is repeated, and it is explained that those Muslims who do not fight will be sent to the fires of hell. It is also stated that they will never have a chance for repentance. Any Muslim who chooses just one time not to go to battle against the non-Muslims will be forever doomed.
“Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.”
[Quran 9:111]
- In this passage the reward is seen as the price by which Allah has purchased himself an army. Because he has promised Muslims heaven, he feels that they are obligated to slay and be slain for him.
Capital Punishment
“What aileth you that ye are become two parties regarding the hypocrites, when Allah cast them back (to disbelief) because of what they earned? Seek ye to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him thou (O Muhammad) canst not find a road. They long that ye should disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that ye may be upon a level (with them). So choose not friends from them till they forsake their homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them,”
[Quran 4:88-89]
- Any Muslim who turns from the Islamic faith becomes guilty of a capital offense, and faithful Muslims are commanded to kill him without trial.
“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;”
[Quran 5:33]
- Muslims are commanded to either kill, maim or banish those who are contrary to the Islamic faith.
__
I have gathered together nearly all of the verses in the Quran in which Muslims are either commanded or greatly encouraged to be a warlike people. Read them carefully and consider well their implication for the future of our nation.
Legal Retaliation
“O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. And for him who is forgiven somewhat by his (injured) brother, prosecution according to usage and payment unto him in kindness. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. He who transgresseth after this will have a painful doom. And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding, that ye may ward off (evil).”
[Quran 2:178-179]
- This punishments prescribed in this passage cannot be considered capital punishments for they do not call for the life of the offender to be taken. The Quran calls for equal retaliation so that if a man kills another man’s wife, then the wife of the first man must also be slain.
Religious War
"Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers. The forbidden month for the forbidden month, and forbidden things in retaliation. And one who attacketh you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you. Observe your duty to Allah, and know that Allah is with those who ward off (evil)."
[Quran 2:190-194]
- This passage commands Muslims to fight until all religion is for Allah. Some will point out that the Quran also commands Muslims not to begin hostilities, but this passage along with many others clearly states that hostility toward wrong-doers (non-muslims) is not prohibited.
- It is also very important to note that Muslims are given full permission to do forbidden things in their retaliation against the enemies of Islam. Since anyone who is a disbeliever has committed a forbidden act, the law of equal retaliation allows for forbidden things to be done to them in return.
“Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not. They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing.”
[Quran 2:216-217]
- The Muslim people have been ordained by Allah for warfare. Even warfare during the sacred month is permitted if it is against those who disbelieve.
- The philosophy that persecution is worse than killing provides legal justification for the killing of persecutors. Remember that the Quran calls for equal retaliation. Therefore the killing of a persecutor is deemed an act of mercy for the punishment was not as great as the crime.
“Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward. How should ye not fight for the cause of Allah and of the feeble among men and of the women and the children who are crying: Our Lord! Bring us forth from out this town of which the people are oppressors! Oh, give us from thy presence some protecting friend! Oh, give us from Thy presence some defender! Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! the devil's strategy is ever weak. Hast thou not seen those unto whom it was said: Withhold your hands, establish worship and pay the poordue, but when fighting was prescribed for them behold! a party of them fear mankind even as their fear of Allah or with greater fear, and say: Our Lord! Why hast Thou ordained fighting for us ? If only Thou wouldst give us respite yet a while! Say (unto them, O Muhammad): The comfort of this world is scant; the Hereafter will be better for him who wardeth off (evil); and ye will not be wronged the down upon a date-stone.”
[Quran 4:74-77]
- Warfare against the disbelievers is here stated to be a measure of the faith of the Muslim people. It is explained very clearly that those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah.
- This passage also promises great reward for those who fight for Allah.
“Those of them with whom thou madest a treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty, and they keep not duty (to Allah). If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember. And if thou fearest treachery from any folk, then throw back to them (their treaty) fairly. Lo! Allah loveth not the treacherous. And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah's Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom ye know not. Allah knoweth them. Whatsoever ye spend in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and ye will not be wronged.”
[Quran 8:56-60]
- This passage validates the use of terrorist tactics by Muslims, for they are commanded by Allah to deal with those who break treaties in a manner which will cause great fear.
- I am sure that many people who read this article will conclude that I have been unfair to the Quran because many of my quotes have stopped short of verses which allow for treaties of peace to be made between Muslims and non-Muslims. This passage provides one of the three reasons that I reject the viability of such treaty provisions, for here we find that if any Muslim leader so much as suspects treachery from the other party of the treaty, then that Muslim leader is no longer bound by the terms of that treaty.
- Should the breaking of the treaty cost the Muslims any misfortune, they are assured that Allah will repay them in full.
“O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence. Now hath Allah lightened your burden, for He knoweth that there is weakness in you. So if there be of you a steadfast hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand (steadfast) they shall overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. Allah is with the steadfast. It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. Ye desire the lure of this world and Allah desireth (for you) the Hereafter, and Allah is Mighty, Wise. Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which had gone before, an awful doom had come upon you on account of what ye took. Now enjoy what ye have won, as lawful and good, and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”
[Quran 8:65-69]
- Again we see that Muslim believers are commanded to fight.
- I find it rather humorous that, in this passage, Allah shows his inferiority to the God of Israel. He promises to give his Muslim warriors victory against odds of ten to one and then retracts that statement because it is too hard for his followers to accept and promises to give victory if they are outnumbered by as much as two to one. God, on the other hand, first promised to make Israel victorious against odds of one hundred to one in Leviticus 26:8 and later, in Joshua 23:10, promised them victory against foes that outnumbered them by one thousand to one.
“Freedom from obligation (is proclaimed) from Allah and His messenger toward those of the idolaters with whom ye made a treaty. Travel freely in the land four months, and know that ye cannot escape Allah and that Allah will confound the disbelievers (in His Guidance). And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve, Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him). Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not. How can there be a treaty with Allah and with His messenger for the idolaters save those with whom ye made a treaty at the Inviolable Place of Worship ? So long as they are true to you, be true to them. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty. How (can there be any treaty for the others) when, if they have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor honour in respect of you ? They satisfy you with their mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them are wrongdoers. They have purchased with the revelations of Allah a little gain, so they debar (men) from His way. Lo! evil is that which they are wont to do. And they observe toward a believer neither pact nor honour. These are they who are transgressors. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion. We detail Our revelations for a people who have knowledge. And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist. Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first ? What! Fear ye them ? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. And He will remove the anger of their hearts. Allah relenteth toward whom He will. Allah is Knower, Wise.”
[Quran 9:1-15]
- This is the second reason that I reject the offer of treaties mentioned throughout the Quran. Here Allah teaches his followers that they are not bound by any treaty that they make with non-Muslims. The one exception made is for those who give the Islamic nations their full and willing support, yet even these are to be slain without mercy at the end of the sacred months if they have not converted to Islam.
- The third reason that I cannot accept Allah’s offers of peace is found in the question in the middle of this passage in which it is explained that only those treaties which are made in Mecca are to be considered valid between Muslims and non-Muslims. I am not aware of a single treaty between Muslims and Christians which has ever been brokered at Mecca.
“O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end.”
[Quran 9:73]
“O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end.”
[Quran 66:9]
- Here again Muslims are commanded to fight harshly against non-Muslims.
Personal Attacks
“O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).”
[Quran 9:123]
- This command is not a reference to war, but rather each and every Muslim is commanded to fight with and be cruel toward any non-Muslim which may be near them.
Promised Reward
“And their Lord hath heard them (and He saith): Lo! I suffer not the work of any worker, male or female, to be lost. Ye proceed one from another. So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and suffered damage for My cause, and fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow - A reward from Allah. And with Allah is the fairest of rewards.”
[Quran 3:195]
- Those who die in battle for Allah are promised that they will have all of their sins forgiven and that they will receive the fairest of rewards.
“O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter ? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter. If ye go not forth He will afflict you with a painful doom, and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. Ye cannot harm Him at all. Allah is Able to do all things. If ye help him not, still Allah helped him when those who disbelieve drove him forth, the second of two; when they two were in the cave, when he said unto his comrade: Grieve not. Lo! Allah is with us. Then Allah caused His peace of reassurance to descend upon him and supported him with hosts ye cannot see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the nethermost, while Allah's Word it was that became the uppermost. Allah is Mighty, Wise. Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! That is best for you if ye but knew.”
[Quran 9:38- 41]
- This promise of reward for those who fight for Allah is accompanied by a curse against any Muslim that chooses not to fight.
“Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the messenger of Allah, and were averse to striving with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way. And they said: Go not forth in the heat! Say: The fire of hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood. Then let them laugh a little: they will weep much, as the reward of what they used to earn. If Allah bring thee back (from the campaign) unto a party of them and they ask of thee leave to go out (to fight), then say unto them: Ye shall never more go out with me nor fight with me against a foe. Ye were content with sitting still the first time. So sit still, with the useless. And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and they died while they were evil-doers.”
[Quran 9:81-84]
- Here the curse is repeated, and it is explained that those Muslims who do not fight will be sent to the fires of hell. It is also stated that they will never have a chance for repentance. Any Muslim who chooses just one time not to go to battle against the non-Muslims will be forever doomed.
“Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.”
[Quran 9:111]
- In this passage the reward is seen as the price by which Allah has purchased himself an army. Because he has promised Muslims heaven, he feels that they are obligated to slay and be slain for him.
Capital Punishment
“What aileth you that ye are become two parties regarding the hypocrites, when Allah cast them back (to disbelief) because of what they earned? Seek ye to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him thou (O Muhammad) canst not find a road. They long that ye should disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that ye may be upon a level (with them). So choose not friends from them till they forsake their homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them,”
[Quran 4:88-89]
- Any Muslim who turns from the Islamic faith becomes guilty of a capital offense, and faithful Muslims are commanded to kill him without trial.
“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;”
[Quran 5:33]
- Muslims are commanded to either kill, maim or banish those who are contrary to the Islamic faith.
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