jihad and the islamic law of war - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

jihad and the islamic law of war
Muslim community to struggle through force of arms.
This makes it clear that the preaching of Islam is a
question of allowing the truth to reach the ears of
those who have yet to hear it, not of forcing others to
accept it. Indeed, to force another to accept a truth in
his heart is impossible, as acknowledged clearly in the
Qur’anic verse There is no compulsion in religion.The right way
has become distinct from error (Al-Baqarah 2:256). This verse
was revealed in Medina and was in fact directed at Muslims
who wanted to convert their children from Judaism or
Christianity to Islam. 13
As the Qur’an is so clear that the Prophet’s only responsibility
as regards bringing others to the truth is only to
preach it to them, to bring the good news of Paradise, and
to warn of Hell, we are left with the hadith which claims that
the Prophet has been commanded to fight until “the people”
accept the oneness of God, the Messengerhood of the
Prophet, perform the canonical Prayer, and pay the Alms,
all of which is tantamount to their becoming Muslims.
The majority of the scholars of Qur’anic exegesis and
law hold that the command to preach peacefully and to
never coerce a person in his choice of religion was never
abrogated and continued to hold sway through the end of
the Prophet’s life and beyond.Amongst this majority there
are two main positions. Some hold that the people referred
to in the verse are the Arabian idol-worshippers, while all
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