In a tradition, Aisha the Prophet’s wife reports about the general policy of the Prophet of Islam: “Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two options, he always opted for the easier course of action rather than the harder course of action.” (Bukhari). It is very clear that the option of peace is the easier option, so the Prophet always tried to take the peaceful option. He never opted for war by choice.
Upon reflection on the Prophet’s life, one can find that for the Prophet, offensive war was out of the question. During the life of the Prophet, there has not been a single event wherein the Prophet opted for aggressive war. According to Islamic teachings, there is no such thing called justified violence. The Prophet never engaged in war except under compulsion. Also, this involvement was very limited. Another important point one should understand is the difference between defensive war and engaging in war under compulsion which is created by the attackers. For the Prophet, defence was not an excuse to engage in war. The Prophet always tried to avoid violence. There are examples of occasions where the Prophet tried to avoid war. There are some occasions where he was compelled to opt for a limited war. One such example is the Battle of Hunayn.
Violence and war are not options. Peace must be established at any cost.
The wars that the Prophet engaged in, lasted only for a day. It is true that the battle of Khaybar lasted up to twenty-five days. But it was not a battle or war—it was a siege. It is true that some verses of the Quran seem to legitimise defensive war. But it was totally in the temporary sense of the word. At that time, a tribal culture was prevalent in Arabia. God Almighty wanted to bring an end to the tribal culture. Therefore, for a temporary period, the Quran allowed some limited kind of defensive war. But in a true sense, it wasn’t defensive war. Rather, it was compulsory war. This temporary phase of war put an end to the tribal cultures of the age that allowed violence.
Today, we are living in the age of peace which was envisaged by the Quran. In the present age, Muslims don’t need to take part in any war or engage in violence. They enjoy complete freedom and all kinds of opportunities. Their human rights are secure, and even as far as politics is concerned they are living in the age of democracy. All these factors have made war and violence outdated. The so-called jihads we see in Muslim countries are not jihad, but what can be called anti-jihad. There is no true justification for these violent activities.
At the time of the Prophet there was a need for compulsory defence. Here the choice was not between peace and violence. The choice was between defending and perishing. Therefore, Prophet was compelled to engage in war sometimes, as he had no choice.
In every such occasion he tried his best and utmost to first avoid war by negotiation or some other strategy. Then, he tried to limit the war. Due to this policy there was no full-fledged war during the Prophet’s time. All the wars in his time were skirmishes, and not wars in the true sense of the word. Now, in the present age we have a reliable option for peace, that is, to refer the conflict to the United Nations. In Prophet’s time there was no such body as the United Nations, so one had no option other than to take decisions on one’s own.
In every situation of war or attack, there exists the easier option of compromise.
There is, a guiding principle in the Quran: As-sulh khair (THE QURAN 4:128). It means that peace is the best option. According to this verse, self-defence is not an option. War was permissible only in the face of compulsion created by the other party. This also after exhausting all efforts to establish peace and make compromises. In other words war being the only way available to settle the matter.
The concept of unilateral attack is another meaningless term. All attacks occur after some provocation. If one abstains from provoking others, then there will be no attack. But, if, in a rare case, there is an unprovoked attack, then the immediate and available solution is to select between two evils. Opting for defence is opting for the greater evil (keeping in mind the destruction which a modern day war causes), while opting for compromise is choosing the lesser evil. In such situations, the question is not why you shouldn’t opt for defence. The problem is that in the name of defence, you are opting for a greater evil. If the choice is between greater evil and lesser evil, then it is wisdom to opt for the lesser evil. One party accepting lesser evil is bringing about greater good for the entire mankind.
At the time of attack, people generally know of one option, that is, of defence. But in fact, in every such situation, there is one more option— that is, of compromise. In such situations, compromise means opting for the policy of buying time. After making a compromise, you get the opportunity to re-plan your strategy. The example of the Prophet of Islam shows that this kind of policy always leads to new success. The Hudaibiya Agreement at the time of the Prophet was based on this wisdom. The Prophet opted for compromise by accepting all the conditions of the other party. Apparently, it was a case of surrender, but it was actually opting for a policy of buying time. Thus, after finalising this agreement, the Prophet availed the situation to reorganize his energies and re-plan peaceful work, of calling people towards God with the result being great success.
According to Islamic teachings, there is no such thing as justified violence.
According to the Quranic principle of As-sulh khair (THE QURAN 4:128), in terms of results, peace is always the best. The Islamic strategy is always based on the ensuing results. If experience shows that war— even defensive war—leads to more loss than gain, then it is better to opt for compromise rather than for defence, except in extremely compelling situations. During the Prophet’s time, the Battle of Hunayn was an example of this. It was an entirely compulsory option for the Companions of the Prophet. If there is no such compulsion, one should opt for compromise rather than taking the option of defence.
There is a Hadith report in Sahih al-Bukhari which says: “Don’t wish for confrontation with the enemy. Always ask for peace from God.” It means that violence and war are not options. You must try to establish peace at any cost.
