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Before the advent of Islam the
world was ignorant of the concept of humane and decent rules
of war. The West first began to develop this concept through
the works of the seventeenth century thinker, Grotius. But
the nineteenth century. Prior to this all forms of barbarism
and savagery were perpetrated in war, and the rights of
those in a war were not even recognized, let alone
respected.
The 'laws' which were framed
in this field during the nineteenth century or over the
following period up to the present day cannot be called
agreements, because nations do not regard them as bindings
unless, of civilized laws imply that if our enemies respect
them, we shall also respect them but if they ignore them
then we shall ignore them, too. Arrangements which depend on
mutual acceptability cannot be called 'laws'. This is the
reason why so-called 'international law' has been constantly
flouted and ignored.
Law Of War And Peace In
Islam
The rules which have been
framed by Islam to make war civilized and humane are in the
nature of law, because they are the injunctions of Allah and
His prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) which
are followed by Muslims in all circumstances, irrespective
of the behavior of the enemy. It would be instructive to
research into how well the West has adopted the laws of war
given by Islam fourteen hundred years ago; and, even after
their adoption, how well the West has managed to attain
those heights of civilized and human warfare behaviour which
Muslims have reached through the blessings of Islam.
Western writers have often
asserted that the Prophet (blessings of Allah and peace be
upon him) borrowed his teachings from the Jews and the
Christians. It is sufficient here to recommend the reader to
refer to the Bible* so that he can see what methods of ware
are recommended by the sacred Book of these Western
claimants to civilization and culture.
We have examined in some
detail the basic human rights that Islam has conferred on
man. Let us now look at the rights and obligations Islam
recognizes for any enemy.
The Rights Of
Non-Combatants
Islam has drawn a clear
distinction between combatants and non-combatants in any
enemy country. As far as the non-combatant population it
concerned ¾ women, children, the old and the infirm ¾ the
instructions of the Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any
old person, any child or any woman" (AbuDawood). "Do not
kill the monks in monasteries" and "Do not kill the people
who are sitting in places of worship" (Musnad of Ibn
Hanbal).
During a war, the prophet saw
the corpse of a woman lying on the ground and observed: "She
was not fighting. How then came she to be killed?" From this
statement of the Prophet the exegetists and jurists have
drawn the principle that those who are non-combatants should
not be killed during or after a war.
The Rights Of
Combatants
Now let us see what rights
Islam has conferred on the combatants.
Torture By Fire
In the Hadith there is
a saying of the Prophet that: "Punishment by fire does not
behoove anyone except the Master of the Fire" (AbuDawood).
The injunction deduced from this saying is that the
adversary should not be burnt alive.
Protection of the
Wounded
"Do not attack a wounded
person" said the Prophet. This means that wounded soldiers
who are not fit to fight, nor actually fighting, should not
be attacked.
"Do not attack a wounded
person" said the Prophet. This means that wounded soldiers
who are not fit to fight, nor actually fighting, should not
be attacked.
Prisoners of War Should
Not Be Killed
"No prisoner should be put to
the sword" ¾ a very clear and unequivocal instruction given
by the Prophet.
"The Prophet has prohibited
the killing of anyone who is tied or is in captivity."
No Looting And
Destruction In The Economy's Country
Muslims have been instructed
by the Prophet not to pillage or plunder or destroy
residential areas, nor harm the property of anyone not
fighting. It has been narrated in the Hadith: "The
Prophet has prohibited the Believers from loot and plunder"
(Bukhari, AbuDawood). His injunction is: "The loot is no
more lawful than the carrion" (AbuDawood). AbuBakr Siddeeq
used to tell soldiers on their way to war: "Do not destroy
the villages and towns, do not spoil the cultivated fields
and gardens, and do not slaughter the cattle."
Booty of war from the
battleground is altogether different. It consists of the
wealth, provisions and equipment captured from the camps and
military headquarters of the combatant armies and may
legitimately be appropriated.
Sanctity Of Property
Muslims have been prohibited
from taking anything from the general public of a conquered
country without paying for it. If the Muslim army occupies
an area of the enemy country, it does not have the right to
use the things belonging to the people without their
consent. If the army needs anything, it should purchase it
from the local population or should obtain permission from
the owners. AbuBakr Siddeeq used to tell Muslim armies being
dispatched to the battle-from that they should not even use
the milk of the cattle without the permission of the owners.
Sanctity Of A Dead Body
Islam has categorically
prohibited its followers from mutilating the corpses of
their enemies, as was practised in Arabia before the advent
of Islam. It is said in the Hadith: "The Prophet has
prohibited us from mutilating the corpses of the enemies" (Bukhari,
AbuDawood). The occasion on which this order was given is
highly instructive. In the battle of Uhud the disbelievers
mutilated the bodies of the Muslims who had fallen on the
battlefield by cutting off their ears and noses and
threading them together to put round their necks as trophies
of war. The stomach of Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet, was
ripped open by the Quraysh and his liver was taken out and
chewed by Hinda, the wife of AbuSufyan, the leader of the
Makkan army. The Muslims were naturally enraged by this
horrible sight. But the Prophet asked his followers not to
mete out similar treatment to the dead bodies of the
enemies.
This great example of
forbearance and restraint should be sufficient to convince
any reasonable man that Islam really is the religion sent
down by the Creator of the universe; if Islam allowed human
emotions free rein, this horrible sight on the battlefield
of Uhud would have provoked the Prophet to order his
followers to mutilate the bodies of their enemy in the same
manner.
Return Of Corpses Of
The Enemy
In the battle of Ahzab a
renowned enemy warrior was killed and his body fell into the
trench which the Muslims had dug for the defence of Madina.
The unbelievers presented ten thousand Dinars to the Prophet
and requested that the dead body of their fallen warrior be
handed over to them. The Prophet replied: "I do not sell
dead bodies. You can take away the corpse of your fallen
comrade."
Prohibition
Islam has strictly prohibited
treachery. One of the instructions that the Prophet used to
give to Muslim warrior when sending them to the battlefront
was: "Do not be guilty of breach of faith. "This order has
been repeated in the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith again
and again. there is a famous incident in the peace treaty of
Hudaybiya when, after the settlement of the terms of the
treaty, AbuJandal, the son of the emissary of the
unbelievers who had negotiated the treaty with the Muslims,
came bound and blood-stained to the Muslim camp crying for
help. The Prophet told him: "Since the terms of the treaty
have been settled, we are not in a position to help you. You
should go back with your father. God will provide you with
some other opportunity to escape this persecution."
The entire Muslim army was
deeply touched and grieved at the plight of AbuJandal and
many of them were moved to tears. But when the Prophet
declared "we cannot break the agreement," not a single
person came forward to help the unfortunate prisoner; so the
unbelievers forcibly dragged him back to Makkah. This is an
unparalleled example of the observance of the terms of
agreement by Muslims; Islamic history can show many similar
examples.
Rules about
declaration of war
It has been laid down in the
Holy Qur’an: "If you apprehend breach of treaty from a
people, then openly throw the treaty at their faces" (8:58).
In this verse, Muslims have been prohibited from opening
hostilities against their enemies without properly declaring
war against them, unless, of course, the adversary has
already started the aggression. Present-day 'international
law' has also laid down that hostilities should not be
started without declaration of war, but since this is a
man-made rule, it is often disregarded. Muslim laws, on the
other hand, have been framed by Allah and may not be
disregarded. |
