Khutbah

The Fallacy that Islam was spread by the sword

Dr. Zakir Kapadia

AS-SALAAMU ALAIKUMWA REHMATUL LAAHI WA BARAKAATUH,

Wait for adhaan

Standard Introduction:

 

AUZO BIL LAAHI MIN ASH SHAYTAANIR RAJEEM,

BISMIL LAAHIR RAHMAANIR RAHIM

 

AL HAMDU LILLAAHI RABBIL ‘ALAMEEN. WAS SALAATU WAS SALAAMU ‘ALAA ASHRAFIL MURSALEEN. SAYIDINAA WA NABI YENAA WA MOULANAA MUHAMMADIN WA’ALA AALEHEE WA AS HAABEHEE WASALLIM.

All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and upon his family and upon all of his companions.

AL-HAMDU LILLA HIL LAZI HADAANA LIHAAZA WAMA KUNNA LANAHTADIYA LAW’LA ANN HADAANA ALLAH. (You must expand this Arabic portion of Khutbah, depending on the month/season, e.g. Hajj, Ramadaan, etc.)

 

Meaning:

Praise is due to Allah,

 

Praise is due to Allah who guided us to the righteous path, and indeed we wouldn’t have attained this state of guidance without Him Allah,

 

AMMA BA’AD.

 

English Part of the Khutbah:

IKHWATI FIL ISLAM, ASH-HAAB AL ILM, WA RUWAAD AL ILM, Brothers in Islam, Learned Colleagues and Scholars,

 

AS-SALAAMU ALAIKUM,  WA REHMATUL LAAHI WA BARAKAATUH,

 

In today’s Khutbah we hope to enlighten you by reproducing below two articles on the question of how Islam spread which is related to the topic of a prejudicial view that is deeply entrenched in the Western psyche that relates Islam to Violence. At the root of this prejudice is the erroneous belief that Islam had spread through the Sword. If by this means that people were threatened with death unless they embraced the religion, there is very little' historical evidence to support this contention.

 

The first article is by world renowned Dr. Chandra Muzaffar who the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). He is a Malaysian political scientist who is considered a symbol of intellectual activism.

 

The second article is by world renowned Mr. Uri Avnery, a leading Israeli intellectual associated with the human rights group, "Gush Shalom".

 

Before people start thinking why I am including an article by a Jewish journalist, writer, peace activist in a Khutbah, I think it is only appropriate to say a few words on his biography which is as follows:

But brothers, these are very thought provoking articles that leads you to think that why weren't these good articles written by our so called Muslim Ulama and scholars?

 

Between 1950-1990 for a span of 40 years, Uri Avnery was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, "Ha'olam Haze" news magazine.

 

He served a massive 3 Terms as member of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) (1965-1969, 1969-1973, 1979-1981).

 

In 1975 he was the Founding member of the Israeli council for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

 

In 1993 he was the Founding member, "Gush Shalom" (Peace Bloc), Independent Peace Movement.

 

Since 1948 has advocated the setting up of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

 

At the time, the Muslims awarded him the Honorary citizenship of Abu-Ghosh near Jerusalem, for his part in preventing the eviction of the village, awarded 12.12.53

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SWORD –by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

 

It was Albert Einstein who once noted that it is easier to split the atom than to crack a prejudice.

 

Although it is true Muslim rulers and generals conquered territories but often the conquered inhabitants were allowed to retain their religion or belief. In fact, until the middle of the eighth century", in the words of the British writer, Karen Armstrong, Jews and Christians in the Muslim empire were actively discouraged from conversion to Islam, as, according to Quranic teaching, they had received authentic revelations of their own.  In many instances, it was only after political authority had been securely established that the masses voluntarily adopted the religion of their new rulers. This is something that has happened in almost every religion. After the emperor Asoka became a Buddhist there was a huge influx, his subjects to his new religion. In the case of Islam trade also played an important role in the spread of the faith especially between the 8th and 15th centuries. Traders assumed the mantle of missionaries. Some historians have observed that the honesty and integrity of these traders attracted a lot of people to their religion. In Southeast Asia, as in East and West Africa, trade was perhaps the most effective channel for the propagation of the religion.

 

An even more influential factor in the spread of Islam in the early centuries was of course Islamic mysticism or Sufism. Across North Africa and Central Asia, in various parts of the Indian subcontinent and most parts of Southeast Asia, the gentle persuasiveness of Sufi preachers with their message of virtue and compassion culled from the Quran made a huge impact upon culturally diverse communities.

 

Perhaps more than any of these influences, it is the socio-political and socio-economic environment that prevailed in various parts of the world in the centuries immediately after the advent of Islam that explains its rapid and dramatic growth. In settings dominated by hierarchical and often oppressive structures, the egalitarian justice offered by Islam came as a breath of fresh air.

 

As the famous H.G. Wells put it, Islam prevailed because it was the best social and political order the times could offer. It prevailed because everywhere it found politically apathetic peoples, robbed, oppressed, bullied, uneducated and unorganized and it found selfish and unsound governments out of touch with any people at all. It was the broadest, freshest and cleanest political idea that had yet come into actual activity in the world and it offered better terms than any other to the masses of mankind." It was, partly because of what it offered humankind, that even when Muslims were conquered, their conquerors eventually adopted the religion of the conquered.  Thus, the descendants of Hulagu, the Mongol conqueror of Baghdad in the 13th century, chose to embrace Islam. In this regard it is significant that Islam today is spreading most rapidly in societies where Muslims are in a minority, in North America and Europe-and not in Muslim majority countries where they exercise power. What all this shows is that the allegation that 'Islam had spread by the sword' is perpetuated for a purpose. Before we examine the motive, it should be emphasized that the Quran is perhaps the only religious text that explicitly prohibits coercion in matters of faith.

 

Here Dr. Chandra quotes Ayaat 256 from Surah 2, Baqara:

 

 

Translation: Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error:  whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.

 

It also acknowledges religious plurality in the oft quoted verse, Surah 109, Al Kafirun, Ayaat 6:

 

Translation: "To you your Deen; to me, mine". This is why for a period of time in the Ottoman empire, if a Muslim coerced a Christian or a Jew to convert to Islam, he was put to death.

 

If this is the Islamic position on forced conversion in theory and in practice, why has the lie about the sword and violence persisted for so long? The elites in the West who for the last few centuries have exercised over whelming influence on the thinking of the rest of human kind have succeeded in transferring their terrible guilt about perpetrating unspeakable violence upon people everywhere through perpetual wars, conquests and persecutions on to their adversaries. Thus their enemies have become the epitome and the embodiment of their own violence. Islam and Muslims- the perennial nemesis of the West- have borne the brunt of this transference of guilt.

 

There is no better example of this than the crusades blessedly the popes. When the crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, they massacred 30,000 Muslims and Jews. Contrast this with the compassion and magnanimity of the illustrious Saladin when he recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.

 

He not only protected the Christian community-along with the Jews but also their places of worship and yet medieval Christian literature it was the Muslim who was portrayed as a blood thirsty warrior eager to embark upon Holy wars. The truth is the term 'holy war' does not even belong to Islam. As the Austrian Catholic philosopher, Hans Koechler points out, that literally, "holy war" is the translation of the Latin term bellum sanctum which was used to describe a "crusade" against the Saracens in the Middle Ages; thus, this notion was part of the doctrine of the Roman-Catholic Church over many centuries.

 

The crusades are but one gory entry in the long and sordid catalogue of violent conquests associated with elites in the West. There was the merciless slaughter of perhaps 30 million indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australasia. It is sad that in each and every one of these colossal catastrophes the Church had some role or other. At the same time however there were some notable Christian figures who spoke out against the monumental crimes committed in their name.

 

Nonetheless in, the course of reacting to oppression and subjugation, it is undeniably true that a fringe within the Muslim community has also indulged in horrendous acts of violence. murdered innocent people in total violation of unambiguously lucid Islamic principles. Their deeds have only helped to reinforce prejudiced stereotypes about Muslim violence.

 

____________________________________
The second article quoted below verbatim is by world renowned Mr. Uri Avnery, as we said before:

 

Since the days when Roman emperors threw Christians to the lions, the relationship between the emperors and the heads of the church have undergone many changes. .

Constantine the Great, who became emperor in the, year 306 - exactly 1700 years ago - encouraged the practice of Christianity in the empire, which included Palestine, Centuries later, the church split into an Eastern (Orthodox) and a Western (Catholic) part. In the West, the Bishop of Rome, who acquired the title of Pope, demanded that the emperor accept his superiority. - The struggle between the emperors and the~ played a central role in European history and divided the peoples, It knew ups and downs. Some emperors dismissed or expelled a pope, some popes dismissed or excommunicated an emperor. But there were times when emperors and popes lived in peace with each other. We are witnessing such a period today, . Between the present Pope, Benedict XVI, and the emperors of today. There exists a wonderful harmony. Last week's speech by the Pope, which aroused a worldwide storm, went well with Bush's regime.

 

In his lecture at a German university, the 265th Pope described what he sees as a huge difference between Christianity and Islam: while Christianity is based on reason, Islam denies it. While Christians see the logic of God's actions, Muslims deny that there is any such logic in the actions of Allah. .

 

As a Jewish atheist, I do not intend to enter the fray of this debate. It is much beyond my humble abilities to understand the logic of the Pope. But I cannot overlook one passage, which concerns me too, as an Israeli living near the fault-line of this "war of civilizations",

 

In order to prove the lack of reason in Islam, the Pope asserts that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ordered his followers to spread their religion by the sword. According to the Pope, that is unreasonable, because faith is born of the soul, not of the body.

How can the sword influence the soul? To support his case, the Pope Quoted - of all people - a Byzantine emperor, who belonged, of course, to the competing Eastern Church. In the 14th century, Emperor Manuel Palaeologus told of a debate he had - or so he said (its occurrence is in doubt) -with an unnamed Persian Muslim scholar, In the heat of the argument, the emperor (according to himself) flung the following words at his adversary: .Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman such as command to spread by the sword the faith he preached'. These words give rise to three questions: (a) Why did the Emperor say them? (b) Are they true? (c) Why dld the present Pope quote them?

 

When Manuel II wrote his treatise, he was the head of a dying empire. He assumed power in 1391, when only a few provinces of the once illustrious empire remained. These, too, were already under Turkish threat. At that point in time, the Ottoman Turks had reached the banks of the Danube. They had conquered Bulgaria and the north of Greece, and had twice defeated relieving armies sent by Europe to save the Eastern Empire. On 29 May 1453, only a few years after Manuel's death, his capital, Constantinople (the present Istanbul ), fell to the Turks, putting an end to the empire that had lasted for more than a thousand years.

 

During his reign, Manuel made the rounds of the capitals of Europe in an attempt to drum up support. He promised to reunite the church. There is no doubt that he wrote his religious treatise In order to incite the Christian countries against the Turks and convince them to start a new crusade. Tpe aim was practical, theology was serving politics.

 

In this sense, the. quote serves exactly the requirements of the present Emperor, George Bush II. He, too, wants to unite the Christian world against the mainly Muslim "Axis of Evil". Moreover, the Turks are again knocking on the doors of Europe, this time peacefully. It is well known that the Pope supports the forces that object to the entry of Turkey into the European Union. Is there any truth in Manuel's argument?

 

The pope himself threw in a word of caution. As a serious and renowned theologian, he could not afford to falsify written texts. Therefore, he admitted that the Qur'an specifically forbade the spreading of the faith by force. He quoted the second Sura, Verse 256 (strangely fallible, for a pope, he meant Verse 257) which says: "There must be no coercion in matters of faith.

 

How can one ignore such an unequivocal statement? The Pope simply argues that this commandment was laid down by the Prophet (SAW) when he was at the beginning of his career, still weak and powerless, but that later on he ordered the use of the sword in the service of the faith. Such an order does not exist in the Qur'an. True, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) called for the use of the sword in his war against opposing tribes - Christian, Jewish and others - in Arabia, when he was building his state. But that was a political act, not a religious one; basically a fight for territory, not for the spreading of the faith.

 

The treatment of other religions by Islam must be judged by a simple test: how did the Muslim rulers behave for more than a thousand years, when they bad the power to "spread the faith by the sword"? -Well, they just did not.

 

For many centuries, the Muslims ruled Greece. Did the Greeks become Muslims? Did anyone even try to Islamize them? .the contrary, Christian Greeks held the highest positions in the Ottoman administration. The Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians, Hungarians and other European nations lived at one time or another under Ottoman rule and clung to their Christian faith. Nobody compelled them and all of them remained devoutly Christian. True, the Albanians did convert to Islam, and so did the Bosniaks. But nobody argues that they did this under duress.

 

In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and massacred its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants indiscriminately in name of the gentle Jesus (AS). At that time, 400 years into the occupation of Palestine by the Muslims, Christians were still the majority in the country. Throughout this long period,. no effort was made to impose Islam on them. Only after the expulsion of the Crusaders from the country, did the majority of the inhabitants start to adopt the Arabic language and the Muslim faith – and they were the forefathers of most of today's Palestinians. . There is no evidence whatsoever of any attempt to impose Islam on the Jews. As is well known, under Muslim rule the Jews of Spain enjoyed a bloom the like of which the Jews did not enjoy anywhere else until almost our time. Poets like Yehuda Halevy wrote in Arabic, as did the great Maimonides. In Muslim Spain, Jews were ministers, poets, scientists. In Muslim Toledo, Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars worked together and translated the ancient Greek philosophical and scientific texts. That was, indeed, the Golden Age. How would this have been possible, had the Prophet (SAW) decreed the "spreading of the faith by the sword"? .

 

What happened afterwards is even more telling. When the Catholics reconquered Spain from the Muslims, they instituted a reign of religious terror. The Jews and the Muslims were presented with a cruel choice: to become Christians, to be massacred or to leave. And where did the hundreds of thousand of Jews, who refused to abandon their faith, escape?

 

Almost all of them were received with open arms in the Muslim countries. The Sephardi ("Spanish") Jews settled all over the Muslim world, from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east, from Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in the north to Sudan in the south. Nowhere were they persecuted. They knew nothing like the tortures of the Inquisition , the terrible mass expulsions that took place in almost all Christian countries, up to the Holocaust.

Why? Because Islam expressly prohibited an~ persecution of the "peoples of the book". In Islamic society, a special place  was reserved for Jews and Christians. They did not enjoy completely equal rights, but almost They had to pay a special poll tax, but were exempted from military service - a trade-off that was quite welcome to many Jews. It has been said that Muslim rulers frowned upon any attempt to convert Jews to Islam even by gentle persuasion - because it entailed the loss of taxes.

 

The story about "spreading the faith by the sword" is an evil, a myth that grew up in Europe during the great wars against the Muslims - the reconquest of Spain by the Christians, the Crusades and the repulsion of the Turks, who almost conquered Vienna. I suspect that the German Pope, too, honestly believes in these fables. That means that the leader of the Catholic world, who is a Christian theologian in his own right, did not make the effort to study the history of other religions.

 

 

Conclusion of the First Part of the Khutbah:

 

NAD’OO ALLAHA AN YAGHFIRA LANA ZUNUBANA

Meaning:          We make Duas to ASWT,  so that he will accept all our Ibadat & forgive our sins.

 

WA AAKHERO DAA’ WAANA ANIL HAMDO LIL LAAHEY RABBIL AALAMEEN

Sit down & make a du’a yourself.

Second Khutbah:

Globally Standardized Conclusion:

AL HAMDU LILLAAHI NAHMADUHU WANAS TA’EENAHU, WANASTAGH-FIRUHU, WANATOOBU ILAYHI, WANA’OOTHU BILLAAHI MIN SHUROORI AN-FUSINAA, WAMIN SAYYI AATI AA’MAALINAA.

 

MAY- YAHDILLAAHU FA HUWAL MUHTAD, WA MAY- YUDLILL FALAN TAJIDAA LAHU WALIYAN MURSHIDA. WA ASH-HADU AN LAA ILAAHA IL LAL-LAÁH, WAHDAHOO LAA SHAREEKA LAH, WA ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN ‘ABDUHOO WARASOOLUH

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds.

Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad (SAW), is His servant, and His messenger.

YA AY-YUHAL-LATHEENA ‘AAMANUT TAQUL-LAAHA, HAQQA TUQAATIHEE WALA TAMU TUN-NA, IL-LA WA ANTUM MUSLIMOON.”

O You who believe, - Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.

YA AY-YUHAL-LATHEENA ‘AAMANUT TAQUL-LAAHA, WA QOOLOO QAWLAN SADEEDAA. YUSLIH-LAKUM A’MAALAKUM WA YAGHFIR LAKUM THUNOOBAKUM, WAMAY YU-TIL-LAAHA WARASOOLAH, FAQAD FAAZA FAWZAN ATHEEMAA.”

O You who believe, - Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His prophet (SAW) as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

INNALLAAHA WA MALAAIKATAHU YUSALLÚNA ALAN NABI. YAA AY YOHAL LATHEENA AAMANU SALLÚ ALAYHI WASALLI MÚ TAS LEEMA.

ALLAHUMMA SALLI ALAA MUHAMMAD, WA AALA AALI MUHAMMAD, KAMAA SALLAYTAA ALA IBRAHIMA, WA AALA AALI IBRAHIM. ALLAHUMMA BAARIK ALA MUHAMMAD, WA AALA AALI MUHAMMAD, KAMA BAARAKTAA ALA IBRAHIM, WA AALA ALI IBRAHIM, INNAKA HAMEEDUN MAJEED.”

Behold, Allah and his angels shower blessings on the Prophet (SAW). O you who believe! Ask for blessings on him, and salute him with a worthy greeting.

The Du’a – before the Khutbah Ends:

Again, for the sake of global standardization using the global "Islamic Language", one uses a standard and brief du’a:

 

ALLAHUMMAGH FIR LIL’ MUSLIMEENA WAL MUSLIMAAT…. Stop for the congregation to say AAMEEN

 

WAL MOAMINEENA WAL MOUMINAAT…STOP FOR AAMEEN

AL-AHYAA’EE MINHUM WAL AMWAAT…STOP FOR AAMEEN

INNAKAA SAMEE’UN MUJIBUD DA’WAAT… STOP FOR AAMEEN

 

Meaning:

 

Ya Allah, forgive all our Muslim men and women,

Forgive the believing men and women,

Those who are alive and those who died,

You are indeed the One who listens and accepts all supplications.

 

RABBANA LAA TUZIGH QULOOBANAA, BA’DA ITH HADAY TANAA WAHAB LANAA MILLA DUNKA RAHMA. INNAKAA ANTAL WAH-HAAB.

O Allah, do not let our hearts deviate from the Truth now that we have been guided , but grant us Mercy from Your very Presence, for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.

 

RABBI JA'ALNI MUQEEMUS SALAATI, WAMIN DUR-RIY-YATI, RABBANAA WATA QABBAL DU'AAH.

My Lord, help me to perfect my salaat, and of my descendants, Our Lord, accept this dua.

RABBIGH FIRLEE WALI WAALI DAYYA, WALIL MU'MINEENA YAWMA YAQOOMUL HISAAB.

My Lord, forgive me, and my parents, and all Believers until the Day of Reckoning.

 

SUB' HAANAKA RABBEKA RABBIL 'IZZATI 'AMMAA YUSIFOON, WA SALAAMUN 'ALAL MURSALEEN, WAL HAMDU LIL-LAAHI RABBIL AALAMEEN."

Glory to Allah, Lord of Majesty and Honour, and Peace on the Prophets, and Praise to Allah, Lord of all creation!

 

Other Duas you could make:

Ya Allah, accept our Ibadat and forgive us.

Ya Rabb, have mercy on us. Help us obey you and praise you.

Ya Allah, we stand before you having observed all the tenets of Islam, so lead us to prosperity  and growth, to triumph and solidarity, to unity and wealth beyond our imagination.

 

Ya Allah, we beg for your MAGFIRATAK, and ask you for success, health and wealth for all the brothers who are present here and now in this blessed room.

 

Ya Rabb, increase our love that binds us together now, and in the future to come.

 

With regards to their dear beloved ones who have passed away, Ya Rabb, may you grant them a place in Jannatul Firdaus. May you forgive all their  KHATAYAA, KABEERA WA SAGHEERAH. May you fill their Qabr with your holy noor. Ya Rabb, may you also save us from  ADHAAB AL QABR. Ya Allah, grant their rooh, eternal peace, AR RAAHA AL ABDIYYAA on the YAWM AL HISAAB.

 

Ya Allah, accept all our duas, fulfil all our righteous wishes, fulfil our dreams,.

Ya Allah, may your rehma and safety encompass all our families, wherever they may be.

 

Ya Allah, grant these brothers who are present, here and now, SABR that is YUHIB HUM AS SABR.

Ya Allah,  make the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) intercede or YASHFAAH on our behalf on YAWM A QIYAAMAH.

 

Globally Standardized Conclusion:

IBAA DAL LAAH:

IN NAL LAAHA  YA’A MURU BIL ADLI WAL IHSAN

WA EE TA’EE ZIL QURBAA WA YANHAA ANIL FAHSHAA’EE WAL MUNKAREE WAL BAGH’YI

YA EE ZUKUM LA AL LAKUM TAZAK KAROON.

FAZ KU ROONI AZ KUR KUM WAS KU RU LI WA LA TAK FURUN.

Then you conclude by saying to the mu’azzin:

WA AA  QIMUS  SALAAH

Then you come down to lead the prayers.

 

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