The Prophet (peace be upon him) was keen to instruct any troop commander dispatched on any mission that he must first explain to the people the message of Islam and call on them to accept it. Only if they reject it and choose to fight that Muslims could fight them. Never did the Prophet or his commanders launch a surprise attack on people, killing them before offering them a chance to understand Islam, reflect on its message and either accept it or make peaceful arrangements with the Muslim state. Even when God instructed His Messenger to terminate treaties with Arabian tribes, He ordered him to give them a four-month notice during which they could determine the attitude they wanted to take. Islam never goes into war for an easy gain, or for land annexation, or to establish its authority over others. It goes into war to protect its people and to ensure that others have a free choice.
Should it ever happen that a Muslim army does not observe Islamic rules requiring that the other side be given sufficient notice of the choices available to them, the matter is soon rectified. In the early Islamic period, the people of Bukhara sent a small delegation to Damascus, the capital of the Muslim state, complaining to the caliph that the Muslim army took over their city without giving them notice and offering them the three standard alternatives of 1) accepting Islam; 2) paying jizyah, which is a tribute confirming loyalty in return for protection against any outside attack; or 3) war. The caliph, Umar ibn Abd Al-Aziz, appointed a soldier of that same army to look into the complaint. The delegation went back, dejected, feeling that a soldier could never rule in their favor against his own commander. However, when they reported the results of their mission to their people, some of them suggested that they would lose nothing if they pursued the matter with the occupying Muslim army. They did so, and the one-soldier tribunal sat to look into their complaint. They were amazed when they heard the soldier make his ruling and tell his commander: “God has sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) to mankind with His guidance. He did not send him to be a military conqueror. You and your army should leave the city immediately, and after a while you can approach it with the normal warning giving it the normal choices.” Having already experienced life under the Muslim army over the few months it took their delegation to go to Damascus to see the caliph, the people of Bukahara requested the Muslim army to stay and in time the majority of them became Muslims.
This was not an exceptional incident. The caliph did not choose an ordinary soldier from the ranks of the army; he chose one whom he knew to possess good Islamic knowledge, fully aware of the Prophet’s guidance on how to deal with non-Muslims. The soldier was indeed a scholar, and when he looked into the matter, his main concern was that God’s law should be implemented. Therefore, he looked into the matter with the intention of establishing Islamic justice that does not allow depriving anyone of their rights. His ruling was based on earlier rulings by the Prophet.
Ubayy ibn Kaab, a companion of the Prophet reports: “Some captives from the people who lived near the two Arab idols Al-Lat and Al-Uzza and worshipped them were brought to the Prophet. The Prophet asked his companions who brought them: ‘Have you called on them to accept Islam first?’ They answered in the negative. He then asked the captives: ‘Have my companions called on you to accept Islam?’ They also answered in the negative. The Prophet said to his companions: ‘Let them be free and leave them to go back to their own place of security.’ He then recited two verses of the Qur’an: ‘Prophet! We have sent you as a witness (to the truth), a herald of happy news and a warner, and as one who calls people to God by His leave, and as a light-giving beacon.’ (33: 45-46) ‘This Qur’an has been revealed to me that I may thereby warn you and all whom it may reach. Will you in truth bear witness that there are other deities beside God? Say: I bear no such witness. Say: He is but one God. I disown all that you associate with Him.’” (6: 19)
This Hadith is related by Al-Bayhaqi.
Another version of this report goes as follows: “The Prophet sent a force to the people near Al-Lat and Al-Uzza, but they attacked certain quarters, taking their fighters and offspring captive. These complained to the Prophet saying: ‘Messenger of God! Your people attacked us without giving us any notice.’ The Prophet asked the people in the force whether this was true, and they confirmed it. The Prophet said to them: ‘Take them back to their place of security, and then call on them to accept Islam.’”
These two reports obviously speak of the same incident, which is very significant. It teaches Muslims that they must never be after an easy victory, and must never try to establish their authority on others by force, resorting to the methods other people may employ. They must abide by their own code of conduct. This code does not allow Muslims, no matter how strong or outnumbered they are, to attack other people taking them by surprise. Their aim must never be to overpower and subdue any people so that they would accept Islam, or live under the authority of the Muslims. Their aim is only to make God’s message known to people and to offer them the chance to live in peace with the Muslim state. Only if people chose to be hostile, Muslims can attack them after giving them sufficient warning.
This was in line with the Prophet’s practical guidance. He certainly used the element of surprise in his military operations, but he never used it in the common way, whereby a surprise attack is launched to inflict a military defeat. He used the surprise element by moving fast, under cover, to reach an enemy that was preparing to launch an attack on Madinah, so that such an enemy finds itself facing the Muslims before completing its own preparations. As they found themselves facing such a Muslim force, the enemy people would reflect on the possibilities open to them before fighting. Different enemies chose different alternatives. The Al-Mustalaq tribe soon gave up and accepted the Prophet’s peace terms. The Jews of Khaybar chose to fight and engaged the Muslims in a hard battle until they were defeated. The people of Makkah surrendered their city with little or no fighting. In all these situations, the surprise element was used by the Prophet up to the point of appearing close to the people who were fighting Islam. In all of them he had all the justification to launch a surprise attack, but he never did so. Hence, it was not surprising that the scholarly soldier who looked into the Bukhara case should return a verdict against his own commander and order the Muslim army to evacuate the city taken by surprise. It was such high moral standards that attracted many groups of people to Islam. Muslims today should learn this lesson from their ancestors. This is how they can serve their faith best.
