Invitation to Islam Prior to Jihad
The practice of inviting non-Muslim nations to join Islam or pay the Jizyah prior to engaging in Jihad was first initiated by Prophet Muhammad. It was followed by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and leaders of Islamic empires, codified within the Islamic Shari'ah[1] and is continued today by various Islamic leaders and terrorist organizations.
Historical
Muhammad
Letter commanding followers to raid caravans
This is the letter that led to the murder of an Arab merchant and the revelation of Quran 2:217.
Letter to the Christians of Aylah
After hearing rumors that the Romans had gathered at the border of the Byzantine Empire and northern Arabia, Muhammad led his army to engage them in battle. However, upon reaching Tabuk the rumors proved themselves to be false. With nothing to do, he sent a detachment to the Christians and Jews east of Tabuk with a letter.
Letter to Heraclius, the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople
O people of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us and you, that we worship. None but Allah, and that we associate nothing in worship with Him; and that none of us shall take others as Lords besides Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are (they who have surrendered (unto Him)..(3.64)[5]
Letter to Negus, King of Abyssinia
"Say (O Muhammad ): ‘O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allâh, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allâh.’ Then, if they turn away, say: ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ " [The Noble Qur'an 3:64]
Should you reject this invitation, then you will be held responsible for all the evils of the Christians of your people.[6]Letter to Muqawqas, the Vicegerent of Egypt
From Muhammad slave of Allâh and His Messenger to Muqawqas, vicegerent of Egypt.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Thereafter, I invite you to accept Islam. Therefore, if you want security, accept Islam. If you accept Islam, Allâh, the Sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you will bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts.
"Say (O Muhammad : ‘O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allâh, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allâh.’ Then, if they turn away, say: ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ " [Al-Qur'an 3:64][6]Letter to Chosroes, Emperor of Persia
From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allâh to Chosroes, king of Persia.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance, believes in Allâh and His Messenger and testifies that there is no god but Allâh Alone with no associate, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I invite you to accept the religion of Allâh. I am the Messenger of Allâh sent to all people in order that I may infuse fear of Allâh in every living person, and that the charge may be proved against those who reject the Truth. Accept Islam as your religion so that you may live in security, otherwise, you will be responsible for all the sins of the Magians.[6]Letter to Haudha bin ‘Ali, Governor of Yamama
From Muhammad, Messenger of Allâh to Haudha bin ‘Ali.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Be informed that my religion shall prevail everywhere. You should accept Islam, and whatever under your command shall remain yours.[6]Letter to to Harith bin Abi Shamir Al-Ghassani, King of Damascus
From Muhammad, Messenger of Allâh to Al-Harith bin Abi Shamir.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance, believes in it and regards it as true. I invite you to believe in Allâh Alone with no associate, thenceafter your kingdom will remain yours.[6]Letter to the King of ‘Oman, Jaifer, and his brother ‘Abd Al-Jalandi
From Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah to Jaifer and ‘Abd Al-Jalandi.
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance; thereafter I invite both of you to the Call of Islam. Embrace Islam. Allâh has sent me as a Prophet to all His creatures in order that I may instil fear of Allâh in the hearts of His disobedient creatures so that there may be left no excuse for those who deny Allâh. If you two accept Islam, you will remain in command of your country; but if you refuse my Call, you’ve got to remember that all your possessions are perishable. My horsemen will appropriate your land, and my Prophethood will assume preponderance over your kingship.[6]Caliphs
Caliph Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to Khosru, the Persian Commander
636 AD, at the Battle of Qadisiyya, the commander of the Muslim forces, Khalid ibn Al-Walid, sent an emissary with a message from Caliph Abu Bakr to the Persian commander, Khosru.
Yazgird III and Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khatab letters
Copy of communications between Sassanian Yazdgird III (632 AD - 651 AD) and Umar Ibn Al Khatab Khalifat Al Muslemin, after the battle of Ghadesiyeh. The original copy of this letter from Yazdgird III is kept in the British museum of London. The date in which this letter has been written is after the battle of Ghadesiyeh.
From: Umar Ibn Al Khatab Khalifat Al Muslemin
To: Yazdgird III Shahanshah of Persian Empire
you accept my offer and commit Bei'at (Joining with Khalifat and bringing Islam). Once upon a time your land ruled half the known world but what has it come down to now? Your troops are defeated in all fronts and your nation is bound to collapse. I offer you a way to rescue yourself. Start praying to a mono God, a single union God, the only God who created everything in the universe.
We bring you and the world his message, he who is the true God. Stop your Fire Worship, command your nation to stop their Fire Worship which is false; join us by joining the truth. Worship Allah the only true God, The creator of universe. Worship to Allah and accept Islam as your salvation. End your Pagan ways and your false worships now and bring Islam so you can accept Allah as your savior. By doing so, you will find the only way to your survival and peace for Persians. If you know what is best for Ajam (Arabic term for Persians meaning Retarded & Weird), you will choose this path. Bei'at is the only way.
Sign, Khalifat Al Muslemin
Omar Ibn Al Khatab[8]
From: Shahanshah of Persian Empire, Yazdgird III Sassanid
To: Umar Ibn Al Khatab, Khalifat of Tazi (Persian term for Arabs)
But we are not the same as you; we are not in the same level as you. We help other human being, we spread love among humanity, we spread Good throughout the Earth, we have been spreading our culture but in respect for other cultures throughout the whole world for thousands of years, yet you in the name of Allah invade other men's land! You mass murder the people, create famine, fear and poverty for others, you create Evil in the name of Allah. Who is responsible for this entire catastrophe? Is it Allah who commands you to murder, pillage and to destroy? Is it you the followers of Allah who do this in his name? Or is it both? You have risen from heat of the deserts and burnt out infertile lands with no resources, you want to teach people the love of God by your military campaigns and the power of your Swords! You are Desert Savages, yet you want to teach Urban people like us who lived in the cities for thousands of years, the love of God! We have thousands of years of culture behind us, a powerful tool indeed!
Tell us? With all your military campaigns, barbarianism, murder and pillage in the name of Allah, what have you taught to this Muslim Army? What knowledge have you taught the Muslim that you also insist on teaching it to non Muslim? What culture have you learned from our Allah, now that you want to force-teach it to others? Alas, ...... that today our Persian Armies of Ahura have been defeated from your recently Allah Worshiping Armies; Now, our people have to worship the same God, the same Five times a day, but forced by the sword to call him Allah and pray to him in Arabic because your Allah only understands Arabic I suggest, you and your gang of bandits pack up and move back to your deserts where they are used to live. Take them back where they used to the burning heat of the sun, tribal life, eating Lizards and drinking Camel Milk. I forbid you to let your band of thieves loose in our fertile lands, civilized cities and our glorious nation. Don't turn these "beasts with hearts of stone" loose, to mass murder our people, kidnap our women and children, rape our wives and send our daughters to Mecca as slaves! Don't let them do these crimes in the name of Allah put a stop to your criminal behavior. Aryans are forgiving, warm, hospitable, and decent people and everywhere they went, they have spread seeds of friendship, love, knowledge and truth; therefore, they shall not punish you and your people for your pirate ways and criminal acts. I beg you to remain with your Allah in your deserts and do not move close to our civilized cities, for your believers are "Much Fearful" and your behavior is "Most Barbaric."
Sign,
Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khatab during the conquest of Al-Basrah
Miscellaneous
Tariq ibn Ziyad's address to his soldiers, 711 CE
Tariq ibn Ziyad was a Muslim conqueror of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain).
"Remember that if you suffer a few moments in patience, you will afterward enjoy supreme delight. Do not imagine that your fate can be separated from mine, and rest assured that if you fall, I shall perish with you, or avenge you. You have heard that in this country there are a large number of ravishingly beautiful Greek maidens, their graceful forms are draped in sumptuous gowns on which gleam pearls, coral, and purest gold, and they live in the palaces of royal kings. The Commander of True Believers, Alwalid, son of Abdalmelik, has chosen you for this attack from among all his Arab warriors; and he promises that you shall become his comrades and shall hold the rank of kings in this country. Such is his confidence in your intrepidity. The one fruit which he desires to obtain from your bravery is that the word of God shall be exalted in this country, and that the true religion shall be established here. The spoils will belong to yourselves.
"Remember that I place myself in the front of this glorious charge which I exhort you to make. At the moment when the two armies meet hand to hand, you will see me, never doubt it, seeking out this Roderick, tyrant of his people, challenging him to combat, if God is willing. If I perish after this, I will have had at least the satisfaction of delivering you, and you will easily find among you an experienced hero, to whom you can confidently give the task of directing you. But should I fall before I reach to Roderick, redouble your ardor, force yourselves to the attack and achieve the conquest of this country, in depriving him of life. With him dead, his soldiers will no longer defy you."[10][11]Governor al-Hajjaj to his general, Muhammad Qasim, in 712, while invading Sindh
Letter of the Zaporozhian Cossacks of Ukraine replying to the Sultan of Turkey
A Letter written in the 1660s in response to a letter from Sultan Mohammed IV of the Turkish Empire demanding the Cossacks of Ukraine to voluntarily accept Turkish rule.
Brother and companion to the accursed Devil, and Secretary to Lucifer himself, Greetings!
What the hell kind of noble knight art thou? Satan voids and thy army devours. Never wilt thou be fit to have the sons of Christ under thee. Thy army we fear not, and by land and by sea in our chaikas we will do battle against thee.
Thou scullion of Babylon, thou beer-brewer of Jerusalem, thou goat-thief of Alexandria, thou swineherd of Egypt (both the Greater and the Lesser), thou Armenian pig and Tartar goat. Thou hangman of Kamyanets, thou evildoer of Podolia, thou great silly oaf of all the world and of the netherworld and, before our God, a blockhead, a swine's snout, a mare's ass, and clown of Hades. May the devil take thee!
That is what the Cossacks have to say to thee, thou basest born of runts! Unfit art thou to lord it over true Christians!
The date we know not, for no calender have we got. The moon (month) is in the sky, the year is in a book, and the day is the same with us here as with ye over there - and thou can kiss us thou knowest where!
Koshoviy Otaman Ivan Sirko
Modern
Muslim leaders
Terrorist organizations
See Also
- Terrorism - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Terrorism
- Violence Under Muhammad (Primary Sources) - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Violence Under Muhammad (Primary Sources)
Translations
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External Links
References
- ↑ Ahmad Ibn Lulu Ibn Al-Naqib, translated by Noah Ha Mim Keller - Reliance of the Traveller: The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law Umdat Al-Salik (o9.0-8) - Published by Amana Corporation; Revised edition (July 1, 1997), ISBN-13: 978-0915957729
- ↑ Khan, Dr. Majid Ali (1998). Muhammad The Final Messenger. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi, 110002 (India). ISBN 81-85738-25-4
- ↑ Muir, Sir William. (1878). The life of Mahomet. (p. 217). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ↑ Muir, Sir William. (1878). The life of Mahomet. (p. 456). London: Smith, Elder & Co
- ↑ M. Muhsin Khan (Translator) - Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihaad), Number 191 - USC-MSA, Compendium of Muslim Texts
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman Al, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet, Darussalam Publications, ISBN 9960899551, 2005, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=r_80rJHIaOMC&pg=PA412&dq=The+letters+of+the+Prophet+Muhammad+to+the+kings+beyond+arabia&hl=en&ei=CsrTTuLOH9Co8AOOsoHiDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=The%20letters%20of%20the%20Prophet%20Muhammad%20to%20the%20kings%20beyond%20arabia&f=false, pp. 412-426
- ↑ Tabari and History of the World, Volume IV Book XII. The Mohammedan Ascendency, page 463, by John Clark Ridpath, LL.D. 1910.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yazgird III and Omar Al Muslemin letters - Iran Heritage, accessed October 29, 2011
- ↑ Al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari (Ta'rikh al rusul wa'l-muluk), vol. 12: The Battle of Qadissiyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine, trans. Yohanan Friedman (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), p. 167.
- ↑ Medieval Sourcebook: Al Maggari: Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes - Fordham University, accessed October 29, 2011
- ↑ Charles F. Horne, ed., The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, (New York: Parke, Austin, & Lipscomb, 1917), Vol. VI: Medieval Arabia, pp. 241-242.
- ↑ Trifkovic, Serge. The Sword of the Prophet: History, Theology, Impact on the World. Regina Orthodox Press, September 11, 2002.
- ↑ Andrew Gregorovich - The Cossack Letter "The Most Defiant Letter!" - InfoUkes Inc, accessed October 29, 2011