Chapter 5: Muhammad's Battles
In Al-Madina, Muhammad organized a Muslim army to fight the Meccans, and annihilate the Jews and the Christians who rejected Islam. He had decided that he could achieve with the sword the results his Quran had to produce.
Using force is a sign of weakness. When a head of state resorts to force against his own people, it shows that he is unable to solve his problems by peaceful means. It is a clear indication of his weakness, fear of losing his authority, and a troubled mind.
Muhammad Convinced His Followers To Fight [TOP]
To convince his followers to fight, Muhammad had to give them revelations from Allah, especially since they had to fight against their own relatives in Mecca - against their fathers, brothers, and even grandfathers.
The revelations came in the following verses in the Quran:
O Apostle (Muhammad) incite (literal translation) the believers (Muslims) to fight (Surat Al-Anfal 8:65).
Then Muhammad distorted a story which he took from the Old Testament, to convince the Muslims who were driven out of their homes in Mecca to fight their clans. That story is the story of the children of Israel when they asked the Prophet Samuel to appoint for them a king. That king was king Saul. Muhammad, did not know the name of the prophet Samuel or the name of king Saul (I Samuel 8:4,5 and 10:21-24). So he did not mention Samuel and he called Saul, Talut.
He also mixed the biblical story where God commanded Gideon to bring to the water all the people who were gathered with him to fight so that God might test them, with the story of Saul and his fight against the Philistines, (compare Surat Al-Bqarah 2:245-249 and Judges 7:2-7). Muhammad did just that to motivate the Muslims to fight.
Fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearer, Knower. . .
Bethink thee of leaders of the Children of Israel after Moses, how they said unto a Prophet whom they had. Set up for us a king and we will fight in Allah's way. He said: Would ye then refrain from fighting if fighting were prescribed for you? They said: Why should we not fight in Allah's way when we have been driven from our dwellings with our children? Yet, when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, all save a few them. Allah is aware of evil-doers. (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:224, 246 MPT).
Those who are familiar with the Bible story know that the children of Israel were not driven from their homes and families, but rather were commanded by God to leave Egypt. But because those who migrated with Muhammad to Al-Madina were Meccans, who were driven from their homes and their children in Mecca, Muhammad distorted the Bible story to achieve his purpose. The verses continue:
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 (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:216 MPT).
Lo! Allah loveth those who battle for his cause in ranks, as if they were solid structure (Surat Al-Saff 61:4 MPT).
Move revelations were given to Muhammad to convince the Muslims to fight:
When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying:) I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. That is because they opposed Allah and His messenger. Whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, (for him) lo! Allah is severe in punishment.
That (is the award), so taste it, and (know) that for disbelievers is the torment of the Fire. O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's end (Surat Al-Anfal 8:12-16 MPT).
This verse demonstrates the behavior of those who obey the Quran.
When the Muslims mourned because they killed their relatives in battle, a revelations came to Muhammad to comfort them:
Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them.
And thou threwest not when thou didst throw, but
Allah threw, that He might test the believers by
a fair test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower
(Surat Al-Anfal 8:17 MPT).
As he began to win battles and his power increased, Muhammad's dream was to establish a united Islamic Kingdom in the Arabian Peninsula. It would be a kingdom where the Jews and the Christians would live as second class citizens, despised, deprived of all privileges, and forced to pay high taxes, or be killed.
This is what Muhammad said to the Muslims concerning the Jews and the Christians:
Fight against such of those who have been given the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His Messenger (Muhammad) and follow not the religion of truth (Islam), until they pay tribute (taxes paid by Jews and Christians who do not want to renounce their religion), being brought low (Surat Al-Tawbah 9:29 MPT).
The above mentioned verse clearly shows that Islam was promoted by the sword, and that Jews and Christians living in an Islamic country are to be treated as second class citizens and obliged to pay high taxes to retain their religion.
The following verse demonstrates the intention of Islam to build and Islamic empire:
Say to infidels (literal translation), if (now) they desist from unbelief their past would be forgiven them: but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter warning for them). And fight them until there is no more sedition (literal translation) and religion (Islam) becomes Allah's in its entirety (Surat Al-Anfal 8:38,39).
The Muslims think that they are agents of Allah on earth, and that their duty is to promote Islam by force and terrorism.
To ensure that Muslims would fight even till death, Muhammad promised every Muslim who dies in battle total forgiveness of all his sins and eternal life in Paradise where he will be wedded to women of wide lovely eyes, and enjoy rivers of wine. (Surat Al-Tur 52:17-24). Martyrdom is the only way for a Muslim to obtain forgiveness of sins.
And if you are slain or die, in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass. And if ye die, or are slain Lo! it is unto Allah ye are brought together (Surat Al-Imran 3:157,158).
Allah hath purchased of the believers (Muslims) their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise). They fight in His cause, and slay and are slain a promise binding him (Surat At-Tawbah 9:111).
Fight them, and Allah will torture (literal translation) them by your hands and disgrace them, help you to (victory) over them . . . .(Surat At-Tawbah 9, 14). 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 (Surat Al-Maidah 5:33 MPT)
For the Muslims to kill, crucify or cut the hands and feet of those who do not believe in Islam was a clear sadistic behavior. These Quranic verses are still used as commandments and rules in Islamic countries.
The Sword of Islam Goes Forth [TOP]
With this kind of ammunition, the followers of Muhammad were ready to fight till death. Muhammad led twenty nine raids. The reason for the raid of Badr in the first place was not to promote Islam, but to attack and loot the caravan of Abu-Sufian which was loaded with precious goods (Prophets of Allah, page 438).
Abu-Sufian knew of Muhammad's planned raid and escaped by taking another route. Muhammad continued his raids against the Meccans. Meanwhile he decided to exterminate the Jewish clans from Al-Madina. He expelled the Jewish clan of Banu Qainuqa, attacked another Jewish clan, Banu Alnadir, and drove them out of Al-Madina.
Banu Quraiza, sympathizers with the Meccans during the battle of Ditch, suffered a worse fate when its women and children were enslaved and its men were slaughtered. In 628 A.D. the Jews of Khaybar were dispossessed of their lands. Al-Madina had no more Jews.
Muhammad decided to use force to subdue the Meccans and all those who opposed him. He led several raids: the raid of Uhud, the greater raid of Badr, the raid of Hunain, then the raid of Tabuk. These raids resulted in several small Jewish and Christians clans submitting to Muhammad.
Finally, Muhammad led his conquest of Mecca. This time the Meccans received him. He was Quraysh and from now on his Quaraysh clan would reign over a united Arabian Peninsula.
Thus, by the sword Muhammad eliminated Judaism and Christianity from the Arabian Peninsula. He declared that the Jews and the Christians were polytheists, and as such they were unclean and should not be allowed to approach the sacred mosque, the Kaaba in Mecca.
Muhammad declares in the Quran:
The Jews call "Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the Son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the infidels (literal translation) of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the truth (Surat At-Tawbay 9:30).
Muhammad commanded the Muslims:
O ye who believe! Truly the polytheists (literal translation) are unclean, so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the sacred mosque (Al-Kaaba in Mecca) (Surat At-Tawbah 9:28).
O ye who believe, take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust (Surat Al-Maidah 5:51).
In view of this last verse, it is of great interest to notice that Arab Muslims in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pleaded to Christians nations to protect them against the attack of Saddam Hussein, the Muslim president of Iraq, and force him to withdraw from Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991.
It seems that when it comes to power, politics and money, and when heads of Muslims states feel that they are in danger, the commands of the Quran are ignored. For the Arabs of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to ask the Americans and Europeans, which are known as Christian countries, to protect them from Iraqi invasion is a total disobedience of the commands of the Quran.
On the other hand, what would anyone expect from the Muslims, after they read all these violent verses in the Quran inciting them to fight? It is not surprising to see them fight until death and sacrificing their lives in suicidal attacks against the Jews and Christians, who the Quran stigmatizes as infidels.
Is is clear that the Quran condone racism, violence, terrorism, and killing of Jews and Christians, in the name of Allah. When there is a command in the Quran, the Muslims must obey it. In that case, all Muslims are fundamentalists. The question then arises as to why there is such animosity from islam toward Judaism and Christianity. Why don't we read in the Quran verses against Buddhism and Hinduism and other pagan religions which were in existence before Islam? Is it because the Bible, the book of the Jews and Christians. expose the atrocities and brutality of Islam?
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