A prophet says: I was ordered to fight people

A prophet says: I was ordered to fight people!


One of the famous objectors, and his followers made a diatribe in the mass media, criticizing Muhammad's (PBUH) speech: " I was ordered to fight people…"

They alleged that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) was ordered to fight all people!!
They resorted to what's mentioned in Al Bukhari and Muslim:

1 – The Correct Bukhari, book of (Faith), chapter (But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way), no. 24. Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al Musnadi said: Abu Rouh Al Harmi Ibn Omara said: Shouba narrated from Waqed Ibn Muhammad, said: I heard my father narrated from Ibn Omar that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "I was ordered to fight people till they witness that there's no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and give zakah (alms). If they do so, they preserve their blood and money from me, except by the right of Islam, and Allah will judge them".
2 – The Correct Muslim, book of (Faith), chapter (the order of fighting people till they say there's no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah), no. 30. Abu Al Taher, Harmala Ibn Yahia, and Ahmad Ibn Eissa said: Ibn Wahb told us: Yunus narrated from Ibn Shehab that he said: Saeed Ib Al Musaib narrated that Abu Huraira told him that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: " I was ordered to fight people till they say there's no God but Allah. He who says it preserves himself and his money from me, except by his right, and Allah will judge him".
The reply:
First: the person who discusses this speech doesn't concern us. Negligibles are too many, and there's no sin greater than disbelief. Allah, the Almighty, says: {And thus have We made for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals. But sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper} (The Criterion: 31). As for this person's followers, I say: as there're leaders who guide their followers to the good, there are leaders who guide their followers to hell. Allah, the Almighty, says: {And We made them leaders inviting to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped} (The Stories: 41)
I call out at the followers of that man to search justly, in order not to be doomed ; as Allah, the Almighty, doomed previous nations. He, the Almighty, said about Pharaoh's and Haman's followers, who are their soldiers and obey their orders without thinking: {Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers were deliberate sinners} (The Stories: 8)
It's mentioned in Al Jalalain interpretation: {Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman} his minister {and their soldiers were deliberate sinners) from sin means: contravenes, so they were punished.
Second: their claim, which says: the prophet (PBUH) was ordered to fight all people, is false….It indicates that they're liars, why?
Because when I revised all the speech versions, I didn't find their claim…!
I have a question here: where did they find the word (all) in all the version?!
The answer: It's not found at all. It's only found in their shallow minds….
Therefore, this is a proof for their dishonesty and brain washing the public's minds.
Someone can ask: Who are the people that Muhammad (PBUH) was ordered to fight, as he said: "I was ordered to fight people till they witness that there's no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah……."?
I say: It's not logic to understand from this speech that he (PBUH) was ordered to fight all people, because his companions, his wives, his children were among "all people" and he (PBUH) didn't fight them….!
To clarify this, I will ask some questions about the Quranic verse, in which Allah, the Almighty, says: {Those to whom the people said, 'The people have gathered against you, therefore fear them', but it increased them in faith, and they said, 'God is sufficient for us; an excellent Guardian is He } (The Family of Imran: 173)
"Those to whom people said" who are those people? Are they all the people?
The answer: no, they're not all the people. It means: Naeem Ibn Masood Al Ashjaey, only one man, and Allah, the Almighty, called him "people".
"The people have gathered against you" who are those people? Are they all the people?
The answer: no, they're not all the people. It means: Abu Sufian and his friends. "have gathered against you" to weed you out.
Thus Naeem Abu Masood Al Ashjaey, and Abu Sufian, and his friends are not all the people.
In consequence, Muhammad's (PBUH) speech: "I was ordered to fight people…." means: "to fight a certain group of people".
In his book, Al Fateh, Ibn Hajar, clarifies this saying: the word is general and has specific meaning. So, in his (PBUH) speech: "to fight people" means: the disbelievers (not the Christians and the Jews). This is proved by Al Nasaee's narration: "I was ordered to fight the disbelievers".
Allah, the Almighty, says: {Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled} (The Repentance: 29)
Thus, Muhammad (PBUH) wasn't ordered to fight all the disbelievers, as this did never happen. He (PBUH) was ordered to fight the leaders of disbelief, who used to torture the righteous people, combat Allah's religion, and stand as an obstacle in Muhammad's way in inviting people to Islam, so that he (PBUH) saves the weak from hellfire and leads them to heaven….

Third: after clarifying the group of people meant in Muhammad's speech…There's an important question: why did the prophet (PBUH) fight them?
The answer is in the rest of the speech: "till they witness that there's no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and give zakah (alms). If they do so, they preserve their blood and money from me, except by the right of Islam, and Allah will judge them".
Therefore, he (PBUH) didn't fight them except after inviting them kindly to obey Allah's, the Almighty, orders, and letting them choose between Islam, or the Jizia (taxes), if they're Christians and Jews, or fight. If they choose fighting, that was reluctantly to Muslims, Allah, the Almighty, says: { Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you} (The Cow: 216)
So, he (PBUH) fights the leaders of disbelief, in order to let people worship Allah, the Almighty, and save their followers from hellfire. He (paid) the price for this from his (PBUH) and his companions' blood and remains.

As a result, he (PBUH) didn't fight the leaders of disbelief for the sake of money, position, or leadership….

On the contrary, he fought them "till they witness that there's no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and give zakah (alms)".
Then, this is a proof for his (PBUH) complete mercy with the disbelievers, as he (PBUH) saves them from hellfire by Islam, after letting them choose between the three options previously mentioned….
Besides, he (PBUH) didn't fight the leaders of disbelief by own self, but by Allah's, the Almighty, order.

Ibn Hajar mentioned, in his book, Al Fateh, his words "I was ordered" means: Allah, the Almighty, ordered me, as no one can order a prophet except Allah, the Almighty. And when a companion says: "I was ordered", this means: the messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered him, and can never mean that another companion did that.

Thus, this was an obligation for Muhammad, because Allah, the Almighty, knew that they wouldn't believe, so He, the Almighty, let his prophet (PBUH) know it. In opposition to what the objectors understand, he (PBUH) didn't order his followers to fight by his own will.
Fourth: there's a big difference between "fight" and "kill".
The first means: exerting an effort to stop an enemy from harming me.

The second means: eradicating the enemy.
No doubt that the speech mentions the first word.

Fifth: Dr.Abdel Mahdy Abdel Aqder mentions a good reply in his book: (Replying to Misunderstandings about the Prophet (PBUH) and His Route, pages 153 – 154): There's no terrorism or extremism in the speech. It just stops the leaders of disbelievers' extremism and terrorizing people who wants to enter Islam. It stops them from depriving people from entering Islam. It provides religious freedom to all people. It also stops extremism from other perspectives. As it prohibits a Muslim from fighting a person who said the two testimonies (that there's no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). It also prohibits considering someone a disbeliever by judging his/her inner will, and confesses someone's Islam by seeing his/her apparent deeds. That's why the scholars mentioned this speech, besides the narration of Ossama Ibn Zaid, he said: the messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent us in a detachment to Al Hurqat, when we reached there, we found a man and when we were going to catch him, he said: there's no God but Allah". We hit him till death, and when I told the prophet (PBUH) about that, he said: "who will be your defender in front of Allah, the Almighty, in the day of judgment, as you killed a person who said that there's no God but Allah?". I replied: "O messenger of Allah, he said it fearing from weapon". He (PBUH) told me:" did you see what's inside his heart, so that you know whether he said it due to that reason or not? Who will be your defender in the day of judgment?". He (PBUH) kept repeating that to the extent that I wished I hadn't entered Islam before that day. (narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan).
The speech (I was ordered to fight people) and (did you see what's inside his heart) were mentioned by Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah in one chapter. This signifies that he who pretends to be a Muslim even by saying the two testimonies (there's no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah) only, will be treated as a Muslim. We shouldn't deny what he shows, and we shouldn't search for what’s inside the heart, as this belongs to Allah, the Almighty.
The speech urges to fight those who prevent Muhammad (PBUH) from inviting all people to the way of truth. They should be fought till truth is clear to all people and the religious freedom is available to everyone.
I say: the Dr. means the chapter (reasons for fighting pagans).
Sixth: the Old and the New Testaments tell us that Allah, the Almighty orders to fight people, same as what Muhammad (PBUH) did.
I wish the objectors could tell me: did Muhammad (PBUH) ever say what Jesus said (according to what's attributed to him in the Bible) in several verses? of which:
1 – Luke 19:27 "27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”!
2 – Mathew 10:34 "34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."!
3 – Luke 12:49 "49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!"!
Here I have a question: what's the opposite of the word (peace) that Jesus mentioned?
The answer: war
Another question: How were wars at the time of Jesus? Were they by swords and fire or guns?
The answer: by swords and fire.
Thus, Jesus's words are clear to he who wants to understand…Afterwards, they criticize the prophet of Islam (PBUH), because Allah, the Almighty, ordered him to fight the evil people. On the other side, they don't criticize the Bible's verses which say: Jesus orders to slaughter his objectors, and fight them by sword and fire………..!
The Old Testament mentions how the Lord allows killing men, women, and children from six tribes and destroying them completely….This is according to what's mentioned in Deuteronomy 20:
10 “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. 11 And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. 12 But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 And when the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, 14 but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. 16 But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction,[a] the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, 18 that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God.
We notice in the text: how cruel are the Lord's teachings before and after fighting the enemy. Then compare this with what our prophet (PBUH) said to his companions in his behests when facing the enemy, as in the following:
1 – The Correct Muslim, no. 3261: narrated from Buraida, he said: when Muhammad (PBUH) ordered a leader of an army or a party, he (PBUH) used to recommend him and the Muslim army members to fear Allah. He (PBUH) said: " Invade in the name of Allah, in the cause of Allah, and fight the disbelievers. Don't steal, or betray, or mayhem the killed bodies, or kill a baby. When you face your enemy from the pagans, invite them to three attributes, accept the one they choose, and stop fighting them. Then, invite them to Islam, if they respond to you, accept it, and stop fighting them……..
2 – Abu Dawood's Sunan, no. 2247. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:" Go ahead in the name of Allah, and the religion of the messenger of Allah. Don't kill an old man, or a baby, or a child, or a woman. Don't steal, collect your spoils, make betterments and benefactions, as Allah likes the beneficents".
3 – The Correct Muslim, book of (Jihad "holy war"), chapter (prohibiting the killing of women and children in wars), no. 3280. The son of Omar said: I found a killed woman in one of those incursions, so Muhammad (PBUH) prohibited killing women and children.
4 – Abu Dawood's Sunan, no.2295. Rabah Ibn Rabie narrated from his grandfather, he said: we were with the messenger of Allah (PBUH) in an incursion, he (PBUH) found a group of people gathered around something. He (PBUH) sent a man and told him: go and see why those people are gathered. The man came back and said: they gathered around a killed woman. Muhammad (PBUH) said: "that woman wasn't fighting", and the leader of that incursion was Khaled Ibn Al Waleed. He (PBUH) sent him a man and told him: " tell Khaled: never kill a woman or an aseef". Al Albany's correct series, no.701.
(aseef): is the member who serves in the army, but doesn't take part in fighting. The prophet (PBUH) ordered not to kill him.
5 – Ibn Majah's Sunan, no.2832. Hanthala Al Kateb said: we were in an incursion with the messenger of Allah (PBUH), when we passed by a group of people gathered around a killed woman. He (PBUH) said: "this wasn't to fight with the others". Then, he (PBUH) said to a man: go to Khaled Ibn Al Waleed and tell him: "The messenger of Allah orders you not to kill a woman or an aseef".
We notice here that he (PBUH) prohibited killing women, children, elder people, monks…..
I ask the reader to look justly at the following:
1 – Expelling and mass exterminating whole seven nations, and refusing their vow and reconciliation….this is according to what the Lord said to Moses (PBUH):
Deuteronomy 7:1 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, 2 and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction.[a] You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire."
2 – Prophet David (PBUH) and his forces kill 40 000 horsemen:
2 Samuel 10:" 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there."
Note: How many people had prophet David (PBUH) killed? "40,000 horsemen". And how many people had prophet Muhammad (PBUH) killed? Only one, Obay Ibn Khalaf.
3 – Prophet David (PBUH) and his forces kill their enemies and put them under saws:
2 Samuel 12: "26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent[d] of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at[e] the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
I think this is enough for anyone who has eyes to read, and a mind to understand, not just repeating words unconsciously. Thanks Allah for the blessing of mind…


Written by: Akram Hassan Morsi
Translator: Mrs. translation of Islamic