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Ethics of War in Islam

[This page is created in response to Tuesday September 11, 2001 attack on U.S.A.  Most of the text is taken from English Translation of Sayyid Qutb's "In the Shade of the Qur'an" by M.A. Salahi and A.A. Shamis (1999) unless enclosed in [  ]. The contents will be continuously updated as time permits.  May Allah (God) guide us all.]

Qur'an ("Qor-Ann" Islamic Holy book)

"Early Muslims were restrained to fight when they were in Makkah [in present day Saudi Arabia] [for thirteen years they were instructed to:]

"...Restrain yourselves and attend regularly to Prayer (Salat) and pay alms (Zakat)..." [The Qur'an, An-Nisa or Women 4:77]

"First permission to fight came from God [Allah] when Muslims migrated to Madinah [in present day Saudi Arabia]:..."

"Fight for the cause of God [Allah] those who fight against you, but do not commit aggression.  God [Allah] does not love aggressors." [The Qur’an, Al-Baqara or Cow 2:190]

[and later in:]

"Permission to fight is hereby given to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged..." [The Qur’an, Al-Hajj or Pilgrimage 22:39]

"These verses had given the Muslims permission to fight those unbelievers who had oppressed them...The passage of Surah al-Baqarah [2:190] was revealed while the Muslims in Madinah [in present day Saudi Arabia] were in confrontation with the pagan Arabs of Quraysh [a tribe in Makkah] who had driven them out of their homes, persecuted for their religious beliefs, and were coercing them to abandon Islam...Fighting should, therefore, be undertaken for the sake of God [Allah], and for no other purpose that may be defined by human desires or motivations..."

"...'Agression' implies attacks on non-combatants and peaceful, unarmed civilians who pose no threat to Muslims or to their community as a whole. This includes women, children, the elderly, and those devoted to religious activity such as priests and monks, of all religious and ideological persuasions..."

Hadith, Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

"Abdullah ibn Umar reported that when, in one of battles the Prophet [Muhammad (pbuh)] was told that a woman was found among those killed, he immediately ordered that women and children should not be killed during combat (Malik, Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud and Tirmidhi) [Major Books of Hadith, Saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)]

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