islamic-jihad-legacy-of-forced-conversion-imperialism-slavery

Life of Prophet Muhammad and the Birth of Jihadletter of mine, proceed until you reach Nakhla between Mecca and Al-Ta’if. Lie in wait there for the Quraysh(caravan)…’ 45 Abdullah and his party complied and reached Nakhla.It was the time of Orma (i.e., the lesser pilgrimage to the Ka’ba). Not to alarm the approachingcaravan, one of the Muslim raiders shaved his head to give an impression that they were returning from thepilgrimage, and therefore, could not be hostile. Once the caravan came with their reach, they fell upon it: oneattendant of the caravan was killed; two were captured while another escaped. They returned to Medina withthe rich caravan and the two prisoners.It was the sacred month of Rajab; one of the four months of the year, when fighting and bloodbathwas prohibited in the Arabian tradition. This breach of the age-old sacred custom created great dissatisfactionand outcry among the citizens of Medina, including some disciples of Muhammad. This landed the Prophet inan awkward situation. He initially tried to distance himself from the incidence putting the blame on theperpetrators’ shoulders. But seeing that Abdullah and his co-raiders had become heart-broken (which couldpotentially discourage future raids), Allah quickly came to the rescue by revealing the following verse tojustify the bloodshed, even though it took place during the sacred month:They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: ‘Fighting therein is a grave(offence); but graver is it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah, to deny Him,to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members.’ Tumult and oppression areworse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith ifthey can… [Quran 2:217].The verse concluded by warning those amongst Muslims, who had shown displeasure over the incident andcould potentially leave Muhammad’s creed, that ‘…And if any of you turn back from their faith and die inunbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fireand will abide therein’ [Quran 2:217]. With this command, the fighting and killing the Quraysh or anyperceived enemy—any time, any where, for any reason—became divinely justified. The Prophet also honoredAbdullah with the title of Amir-ul-Muminin (Commander of the Faithful).It needs to be taken into consideration that, prior to this successful plundering raid, Muhammad’scommunity had been suffering from extreme hardships. Therefore, this blood-laden but successful raid had aspecial significance for Muhammad’s community and creed in that it brought them rich booty (spoil of war)to assuage their hardships. Allah made plundering booty lawful to Muslims, revealing: ‘Now enjoy what yehave won, as lawful and good, and keep your duty to Allah’ [Quran 8:69]. Allah also revealed a verse, Quran8:41, on the distribution of booty captured in wars; and accordingly, the Prophet kept a fifth of the plunder ashis share and the remainder was distributed amongst the raiders. The two prisoners were exchanged forransoms bringing more revenues. 46 For Muhammad and his community, this also marked the beginning ofembracing plundering and looting of non-Muslim caravans and communities as the major source oflivelihood.The great Battle of BadrThe next, indeed the most famous and significant, raid for Muhammad’s prophetic mission came two monthlater in March 624. He planned to attack and plunder a rich caravan of the Quraysh, which was returning fromSyria under the care of Abu Sufyan, the leader of Mecca. On the initiation of this raid, notes Ibn Ishaq, ‘whenthe apostle heard about Abu Sufyan returning from Syria, he summoned the Muslims and said, ‘This is theQuraysh caravan containing their property. Go out to attack it, perhaps God will give it as a prey.’ The45. Ibn Ishaq, p. 287; Muir p. 208–20946. Ibn Ishaq, p. 286–8822