2) Apart from the 2 underlined reasons above, do
not fight against anyone else for any other reason.
3) Even when fighting, do not cross the limits of
human dignity, decency and morality, irrespective of the behaviour of the
enemy.
The following verse of the Quran is the proof for
the guidelines of war highlighted above.
“Fight in the way of Allah
against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loves
not aggressors.” (Al-Baqarah 2:190)
4) While entering the opposition’s territory, the
Muslim armies are not to even “touch” anyone who does not want to fight the
Muslims, especially children, women, men, even those men from the opposition’s
army who decide to lay down their arms and ask for peace.
5) The Muslim armies are not to loot and destroy any
of the opposition’s assets, ie houses, farms, buildings, places of worship,
natural resources etc. It does not have the right to use the things belonging
to the people without their consent. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) used to tell Muslim
armies being dispatched to the battle that they should not even use the milk of
the cattle without the permission of the owners. However, booty of war from the
battleground is altogether different. It consists of the wealth, provisions and
equipment captured from the camps and military headquarters of the combatant
armies and may legitimately be appropriated.
6) The Muslim armies are not to harm even the trees,
land, nature in general, present in the opposition’s territory.
7) The Muslims must never compel the opposition
to leave their religion, their temples and places of worship, and become
Muslims instead. Islam must never be forced upon the people.
The Prophet (SAW) himself used to instruct his
armies about the guidelines given above. The following speech of the first
Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA), to the armies that he sent to Syria
highlights all these points:
"Stop, O people, that I may
give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit
treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies.
Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees,
nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of
the enemy's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who
have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone."
The following hadises (sayings) of the Prophet (SAWW) are
relevant here:
"You are neither
hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. You do
not return evil for evil, but excuse and forgive." - Bukhari, Volume 6,
Book 60, Number 362
"Do not kill any old person,
any child or any woman" (Abu Dawud).
"Do not kill the monks in
monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of
worship" (Musnad of Ibn Hanbal).
During a war, the Prophet (SAWW) saw the corpse
of a woman lying on the ground and said: "She was not fighting. How then
came she to be killed?"
8) The opponent must never be burnt during combat
as this brings about intense pain, and the aim of Islam is not to inflict
intense pain and torture upon people but to defend the Muslims against visible
aggression. So for this purpose, such measures that bring about death after
subjecting the opponent to prolonged periods of intense pain are prohibited.
The Prophet (SAWW) once said: "Punishment by fire does not behove anyone
except the Master of the Fire" (Abu Dawud).
9) Wounded soldiers who are not fit to fight, nor
actually fighting, must not be attacked. The Prophet (SAWW) said: "Do not
attack a wounded person".
10) No prisoner should be killed. The Prophet
(SAWW) said: "No prisoner should be put to the sword".
11) No opponent should be tied to be killed in
the near future.
12) The corpses of the opposition must be
returned to the opposition upon request. In the battle of Ahzab, a renowned
enemy warrior was killed and his body fell into the trench which the Muslims
had dug for the defence of Madina. The unbelievers presented ten thousand
Dinars to the Prophet and requested that the dead body of their fallen warrior
be handed over to them. The Prophet replied: "I do not sell dead bodies.
You can take away the corpse of your fallen comrade."
13) Medical assistance MUST be provided to the
injured among the opposition by the Muslims if they can. A well-known example
is that of Salahuddin Ayyubi (Saladin), who gave medical help to his opponent
Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, who was seriously ill during the Crusades.
He sent his own doctor and personally supervised Richard's treatment until he
became well. This is in sharp contrast to the behavior of the crusaders
themselves. When they entered Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, they slaughtered
seventy thousand Muslims, including women, children, and the elderly, as Edward
Gibbon, a famous historian, writes: "They broke children's skulls by
knocking them against the wall, threw babies from roof tops, roasted men over
fires and cut open women's bellies to see if they had swallowed any gold."
Also compare Salahuddin Ayyubi’s attitude to that shown by the Hindus in
Gujarat and the US in their detention facilities.
14) Muslims must be merciful and caring towards
the captured enemy.
15) Muslims must feed the prisoners and never
deprive them of food in order to torture them and hence force out the secrets
of the enemy from them in any way. Ibn Umayr, one of the captives of Muslims
in the Battle of Badr recalled: "Whenever I sat with my captors for lunch
or dinner, they would offer me bread and themselves [eat] the dates, in view of
the Prophet's recommendation in our favor." Please note that in that desert
situation, bread was a more luxurious item of food than dates.
16) The prisoners must not be deprived of food,
shelter, clothing, respect, and the basic needs of human beings.
17) The captive belongs to the state and not to
his captor, ie a single Muslim or a group of Muslims. The ruler of the Muslim
empire/state has the ultimate option, as he sees fit, to grant him freedom
immediately or at a later time.
18) The captives can be released in two main ways
as practised by the Prophet (SAWW) himself. One, out of mercy, for the sake of
Allah. But in this case the word of the captives must be taken that they will
never fight against the Muslims again, and it should be made clear to them that
if they do, they will be severly dealt with next time they are captured. Second
way is by taking ransom. Ransom could be money, or some beneficial reasonable
service to the Muslim community such as teaching a few Muslim children how to
read and write for example. However in case of taking money for ransom, the
Prophet (SAWW) used to ensure that the families of the captives would be able
to pay the ransom first before asking them to.
19) The captives can be killed if the
“Ruler/Imam” of the Muslims deems it fit, not an individual Muslim. The
criteria for killing captives is that the captive committed numerous atrocities
against the Muslims, so many and so brutal that his release would be a threat
to the Muslims.
20) The Muslims must always be truthful and
trustworthy in their dealings with the opposition. This is actually taught in
their religion Islam, as opposed to other religions whose books might contain
such teachings but whose leaders and governments do not enforce them and hold
them important in their hearts. The following Quranic verses contain teachings
of being truthful:
“O you who believe! Fulfil your
undertakings…” (Al-Ma'idah 5:1)
“Fulfil the covenant of God when
you have entered into it, and break not your oaths after you have confirmed
them; indeed you have made God your surety; for God knows all that you do…”
(An-Nahl 16:91)
In the peace treaty of Hudaybiya when, after the
settlement of the terms of the treaty, Abu Jandal, the son of the emissary of
the unbelievers who had negotiated the treaty with the Muslims, came bound and
blood-stained to the Muslim camp crying for help, the Prophet said to him:
"Since the terms of the treaty have been settled, we are not in a position
to help you. You should go back with your father. God will provide you with
some other opportunity to escape this persecution." The entire Muslim army
was deeply touched and grieved at the plight of Abu Jandal and many of them
were moved to tears, but not one of them came forwards to help him in order to
keep the promise of the treaty that the Muslims will not give asylum to
Non-Muslims if the latter come to the Muslims for help and protection. By the
way, the terms of the treaty were made by the Non-Muslims. This is an
unparalleled example of the observance of terms of agreement. Islamic history
can show many similar examples.
Also, if Muslims sense the violation of an
existing treaty by the enemy, they should first declare the annulment of that
treaty before embarking on war again. This is to make sure that the people of
the world know why exactly the Muslims are planning to attack the people with
whom they made a peace-treaty! The Quran says:
“If you fear treachery from any
group, throw back [their covenant] to them, [so as to be] on equal terms: for
God loves not the treacherous.” (Al-Anfal 8:58)
Note: Islam never fought civilian populations, but only fought despotic
rulers. Islamic war was one of liberation from despotic rulers and governments
and not one of coercion of the people towards Islam and the ideologies of
Islam. The liberated people had the freedom to choose their religion, and Muslims
often fought to ensure this freedom. The process of active intervention to stop
or remove aggression is a development that modern international law has
recently recognized, hence the creation of the League of Nations and later the
United Nations. And fourteen centuries before this development, Islam decreed
such responsibility. This principle is based on the Quranic saying:
"If two parties among the
Believers fall into a quarrel, make ye peace between them: but if one of them
transgresses beyond bounds against the other then fight ye (all) against the
one that transgresses until it complies with the command of Allah; but if it
complies then make peace between them with justice and be fair: for Allah loves
those who are fair (and just). The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So
make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear
Allah, that ye may receive Mercy." (Al-Hujurat 49:9-10)
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