6.Conquest
Objective Rebuttal
Analysis/Comments-6
Lands must be conquered: According to Islamic teachings, the earth is Allah's. If there are parts of the earth not following Islamic law, it is the duty of the faithful to gain control of that land and establish Shari'a. It is a sin to let it be. Lost lands must be reconquered (
Comments:
Bible and Qur’an agree that the God is the supreme Creator of universe: [Qur’an;59:24; Genesis;1:1,26] He is Absolute sovereign (Qur’an;59:23,5:28, Daniel;4:25,35), Mighty (Qur’an;2:255,11:66; Job;36:5) and Omnipotent (Qur’an;6:18,61; Geneses17:1; Exodus;6:3). He is the Lord of Universe: “Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all between them, and Lord of every point at the rising of the sun!”[Qur’an; 37:5]. “To Him belongs what is In the heavens and on earth, and all between them, and all beneath the soil.”[Qur’an; 20:6.]. “fill heaven and earth? says the LORD”[Jeremiah;
“For, had God so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community; however, He lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides aright him that wills [to be guided]; and you will surely be called to account for all that you ever did!”[Qur’an:16:93]
The gaining control of lands and people, for material gains, glory and power is not the objective of a good Muslim. [Already explained above in comments # 4] who has to understand, practice and then convey the message of God to the humanity in peaceful environments without coercions.[Qur’an;2:256,
The message of Islam is to be conveyed to the humanity peacefully, the question arises then why the Muslims armies smashed the Persian, Byzantine and other empire around
1) The answerer two folds, firstly according to the traditional procedure of Allah, if a Messenger (Rasool) himself delivers the message of guidance to the community or nations, and they became rebellious by refusing to accept it: then those nations and communities were entitled to divine punishment. (Qur’an; 5:33-34, 11:117, 13:32, 28:59, 65:8, 73:15-16). Allah says: “But those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a fire, to abide therein: and They shall have a humiliating punishment.”(Qur’an;
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), prior to his death (632 C.E) had invited the rulers of neighboring powers to Islam through epistles and emissaries. Those who responded negatively, they were entitled for Divine punishment as per the tradition of God. After Prophet (peace be upon him), this pending task was accomplished by his successors by subduing the Byzantine and Persian empires. It is no more applicable now. Apart from Divine punishment the object of Jihad was not to coerce them to accept Islam, but to ensure that freedom of choice is provided to the people of neighboring areas to choose between truth (Haqq) and falsehood (Batil), forced conversion is prohibited by Qur’an;2:256. The non Muslims always enjoyed freedom of faith as protected citizens under Muslim rule. It is incorrect to consider every war fought by Muslims as Jihad. Jihad is the struggle only for the cause of Allah (jihad-fi-sabi-lillah): the concept of Jihad was nevertheless, used by some medieval Muslim rulers (even presently by some groups) to justify wars motivated by self power, sectarianism, geographical and economic ambitions.
After the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 632 C.E, initially the early Muslim caliphates, the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to convey the message of Islam to the humanity. The tyrant oppressor rulers did not allow the freedom to convey the message of Islam to their people. It was different world to 21st century. They had to be subdued in order to free the people from oppression and listen to the message of Islam. “… so that he may hear the word of Allah and then escort him to where he can be secure: that is because they are men without knowledge” (Qur’an;9:6). In process they created classical Islamic civilization. Later, in the 13th century, both
The super power status facilitated in extending the Muslim influence and in conveying the message of Islam world over, even in the areas not directly under Muslim rule. Forced conversion is forbidden in Islam (Qur’an;2:256), as evident that, despite Muslim rule in Spain, India and Eastern Europe for centuries, the majority of population remained non Muslim and freely continued to practice their faith. Where as, after the end of eight centuries of Muslim rule in Spain (711-1492 C.E) Muslims and Jews were forced to convert to Christianity and those who declined, were expelled by force. The Muslim traders and preachers through their good conduct and moral righteousness achieved the miracle of conversion in
In present time the above mentioned two reasons are no more applicable. Under UN Character, people enjoy the freedom to preach and practice any religion. More over the latest communication like, satellite TV channels and internet have brought the people ever closer in a global village. They can freely communicate, so Islam is the fastest growing religion. The lost lands can be reconquered not with sword and guns but with the sword of spirit of Divine message.
[Allah knows the best]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *