According to the ISIS published article “The kafir’s blood is halal for you, so shed it”, the blood of the kafir or the non-believer is ‘cheap, filthy, and permissible to shed’. Utilizing verses from the Holy Qur’an and perverting its meaning, these violent extremists continue to provide misleading and often erroneous justifications on the permissibility of killing those they perceive as their enemies. Contrary to their belief that all people who do not adhere to Islam must be fought brutally because it is right to shed their blood, we are here to redirect the attention of these violent extremists to the correct teachings of Islam based on proper and carefully studied life and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Prophet Muhammad was known as the kindest of men in the same way as he excelled all others in courage and valor. The Prophet showed us, in his best way, how to deal with people from all walks of life. Yet, some who claim to be his followers and proudly say that they emulate the Prophet are doing exactly the opposite. There are those who declare to be following in his footsteps but their actions are contrary to the tenderness, kindness, and mercy shown by the Prophet. They commit heinous atrocities in the name of Allah and the Prophet. They manifest the faith through the prisms of hate and enmity.
Perhaps, the very reason for this is that some Muslims today have forgotten what the Prophet himself taught. Allah said “And we have not sent you O Muhammad except as a mercy to the worlds” (Al-Anbiya 107). The verse is evident that the Prophet was sent as a mercy to the whole world – not only to Muslims but to the whole world.
It is not true that the Prophet was sent to kill all those unbelievers until the din or faith is for Allah alone. He was sent as a mercy to the world. Abu Huraira reported that when Allah’s Prophet was asked to invoke a curse on the polytheists he replied, “I was not sent as one given to cursing; I was sent only as a mercy.” (Muslim). The Prophet never taught his companions to be violent to others. If even a simple curse was never tolerated, how much more if a Muslim kills innocent non-Muslims? The Prophet said “He who harms a non-Muslim harms me, and he who harms me harms Allah” (At-Tabarani).
When Allah said “So when the sacred months have passed, then kill the mushrikin wherever you find them and take them, surround them, and wait for them at every outpost” (At-Tawbah 5). However, we have not seen the Prophet and his companions kill all non-believers in their time. When he conquered Makkah without bloodshed, he asked the Makkan unbelievers who were awaiting his decision about them: “How do you expect me to treat you?” They responded unanimously: “You are a noble one, the son of a noble one.” He announced to them this decision: “You may go free! No reproach this day shall be in you; may Allah forgive you.
Remember that those people were the Prophet’s major enemies who tortured him and his companions and yet He neither announce to kill all of them nor force them to convert in Islam. The abuse he suffered from the polytheists of Makkah was brutal. They spared no opportunity to demonize him, starving his entire clan for three years. He was physically abused by Uqba Abi Mu’ayat strangling him from behind when he was praying in public, Abdu Jahl ordered camel intestines to be dumped over him while he was prostrating, Utayba Abi Lahab spat at him, and others beat him unconscious. Despite this, you will not read in the history of the Prophet that he indefinitely killed non-believers and these people.
Let us place in our sound minds that to justify killings by merely listening to a normal person puts us in grave danger on the Day of Judgement. When the Prophet saw a sparrow in her nest lamenting the loss of her chicks which had been stolen by someone, he said: “Who has caused her grief over her chicks”. The Prophet said: “No sparrow is killed without cause except that it complains to Allah about it on the Day of Judgement.” (Muslim). This is just a small bird crying for the loss of his chicks and we saw the Prophet’s anger. Imagine if you killed children of a non-believer’s mother in the context that it is permissible to slay anyone without justifiable reasons. What face will you show to your creator on the Day of Judgement?
This is also understood in the words of the Prophet when Zayd Su’na, a great Jewish Rabbi of Madinah, was disrespected. He said “O Umar, go with him, pay off his loan, and give him an additional 32 kilos of dates because you frightened him (Ibn Hibban). A non-believer’s dignity was disrespected but the Prophet paid so much respect to his honor. Shedding his blood will put more anger to the Prophet. Following the Battle of Badr, Umar asked the Prophet to take revenge, and requested permission to remove Suhayl Ibn Amr’s front teeth, a chief of Quraysh and a vocal adversary of Islam, so that he could never preach against the Prophet. However, the Prophet responded, “I will not mutilate him, lest Allah mutilate me–even if I were a Prophet. Muhammad highlighted in his statement that no authority, not even a Prophet, would escape accountability for torturing those under their custody. This is despite the fact that those captives had specifically intended to assassinate him and had prepared to celebrate over his corpse with wine.
This is the life of Prophet Muhammad who is a role model of Muslims around the world. We have said again and again that it is not right to put the law of Islam into your hands and this is what Prophet Muhammad has exemplified. When choosing between violence and peace, Prophet Muhammad would always select the righteous path as shown by his tenderness and kindness.
To the violent extremists, if you continue justifying and killing innocent non-Muslims, expect the anger of Prophet Muhammad and our lord, Allah.
