War is a state of open and declared hostile armed conflict between states or nations (1). Conscious efforts to mitigate human and capital losses have been made over time by implementing some regulations. Modern-day treaties between nations to protect those not involved in combats have only partially succeeded, as harrowing accounts of brutality are still rampant.

This article focuses on the Islamic teachings and practices introduced over 1400 years ago to regulate armed conflicts. However, a brief reference to the pre-Islamic Holy Scriptures and the modern-day treaties may also be relevant.

In the Old Testament, Moses (as) is commanded to enter the land of Canaan by force, defeat its population, and settle his people in it (2).

One passage from the New Testament says:

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword’ (3).

According to another,

“Then said he unto them. But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one” (4).

The story of the modern rules of war, also known as the Geneva Convention, began in the Italian village of Solferino in June 1859, where allied forces of France and the Kingdom of Sardinia fought against Austria in the Second Italian War of Independence, leaving tens of thousands of dead and wounded.

Briefly, the Geneva Convention protects civilians during war. It also protects wounded and sick soldiers, medical and religious personnel, medical units and medical transports, and shipwrecked military personnel at sea. The Convention establishes that prisoners of war shall be treated humanely and released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities (5,6,7).

ISLAMIC GUIDELINES:

The following is a set of Islamic guidelines to regulate armed conflicts in light of Qur’anic injunctions, traditions, and practices of the Prophet of Islam (sa) explained by His Holiness Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (ra) (8).

According to the Holy Qur’an:

‘Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made because they have been wronged—and Allah indeed has power to help them—Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, “Our Lord is Allah”—And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah will surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty. Those who, if We establish them in the earth, will observe Prayer and pay the Zakat and enjoin good and forbid evil. And with Allah rests the final issue of all affairs (9).

WHO CAN MUSLIMS FIGHT AGAINST?

· Muslims can go to war only against those who attack them first.

· Muslims can fight only those who fight against them.

· Muslims cannot fight against those who take no part in warfare.

· Muslims are to fight only a regular army charged by the enemy to fight on his side. Muslims are not to fight others on the enemy side.

Fighting is to continue only so long as interference with religion and religious freedom lasts. When religion becomes free, interference is no longer permitted, and the enemy declares and begins to act accordingly. There is to be no war, even if the enemy starts it.

Muslims must keep warfare within limits even after the enemy has initiated the attack. Extending the war, either territorially or in terms of weapons used, is wrong.

· In warfare, immunity is to be afforded to all religious rites and observances. If the enemy spares the places where religious ceremonies are held, then Muslims also must desist from fighting in such places.

SANCTITY OF RELIGIOUS ENTITIES:

· If the enemy uses a place of worship as a base for an attack, then Muslims may return the attack. No blame will be attached to them if they do so. No fighting is allowed even in the neighborhood of religious places. To attack religious places and to destroy them or to do any harm to them is forbidden. A religious place used as a base for operations may invite a counter-attack. The responsibility for any harm done to the place will then rest with the enemy, not with Muslims.

· If the enemy realizes the danger and the mistake of using a religious place as a base and changes the battle-front, then Muslims must conform to the change. The fact that the enemy started the attack from a religious place is not to be used as an excuse for attacking that place. Out of reverence, Muslims must change their battle-front as soon as the enemy does so.

ACCEPT THE OFFER OF PEACE DURING THE WAR:

In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says,

‘And if they incline towards peace, incline thou also towards it, and put thy trust in Allah. Surely, it is He Who is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. And if they intend to deceive thee, then surely Allah is sufficient for thee. He it is Who has strengthened thee with His help and with the believers (10).

If, in the course of a battle, the disbelievers at any time incline towards peace, Muslims are to accept the offer at once and to make peace. Muslims are to do so even at the risk of being deceived. They are to put their trust in God. Cheating will not avail against Muslims, who rely on the help of God.

PRECEPTS OF THE HOLY PROPHET OF ISLAM ABOUT WAR:

Apart from the precepts laid down in the Qur’an, Muslim teaching also includes the precepts and examples of the Holy Prophet of Islam. What he did or taught in concrete situations is also essential to Islamic teaching. Some sayings of the Prophet (sa) on war and peace are as follows.

· Muslims are forbidden altogether to mutilate the dead.

· The Holy Prophet (sa) generally arranged that the Muslims should give the enemy dead a decent burial.

· Children are not to be killed, nor women.

· Priests, religious functionaries, and religious leaders are not to be interfered with.

· The old, women, and children are not to be killed.

· The possibility of peace should always be kept in view.

· When Muslims enter enemy territory, they should not strike terror into the general population. They should permit no ill-treatment of ordinary folk.

· A Muslim army should not camp in a place where it causes inconvenience to the general public. When it marches, it should take care not to block the road or cause discomfort to other wayfarers.

· No disfigurement of the face is to be permitted.

· The least possible losses should be inflicted upon the enemy.

· When prisoners of war are guarded, those closely related should be placed together.

· Muslims are forbidden to pillage or plunder.

· If anyone of the enemy declared his acceptance of Islam, even in the course of the fighting, he was to be spared as he no longer presented the danger.

· Ambassadors and delegates from other countries should be held in great esteem. Any mistakes or discourtesies they commit should be ignored. The Holy Prophet (sa) forbade any interference with the emissary of the enemy or harming or inflicting any injury upon him.

· By ancient custom among the Arabs, a spy was liable to be executed. The Holy Prophet (sa) maintained this penalty.

The Holy Prophet (sa) was so insistent on these rules for a fighting army that he declared that whoever did not observe these rules would fight not for God but for his mean self. Abu Bakr (ra), the First Khalifah of Islam, supplemented these commands of the Prophet (sa) by some of his own. One of these commands also constitutes part of the Muslim teaching:

“Public buildings and fruit-bearing trees (and food crops) are not to be damaged.”

PRISONERS OF WAR

· Of the prisoners of war, the Holy Qur’an teaches:

‘It does not behoove a Prophet that he should have captives until he engages in a regular fighting in the land. You desire the goods of the world, while Allah desires for you the Hereafter. And Allah is Mighty, Wise’ (11).

· The Holy Qur’an further says:

‘Then afterward either release them as a favor or by taking ransom-until the war lays down its burdens’ (12)

· Prisoners should live in comfort. Muslims should care more for the comfort of their prisoners than for their own.

· If a Muslim commits the sin of ill-treating a prisoner of war, atonement is to be made by releasing the prisoner without ransom.

· When a Muslim takes charge of a prisoner of war, the latter is to be fed and clothed in the same way as the Muslim himself.

· The best thing, according to Islam, is to let off prisoners without asking for ransom. As this is not always possible, release by ransom is also provided.

There is a provision for prisoners of war who cannot pay and have no one who can or will pay for their release. Often, relations can pay but do not because they prefer to let their relations remain prisoners – possibly intending to misappropriate their property in their absence. This provision is given in the Qur’an:

‘And such as desire a deed of manumission from among those whom your right hands possess, write it for them, if you know any good in them; and give them out of the wealth of Allah which He has bestowed upon You’ (13).

Those who do not deserve to be released without ransom but who have no one to pay ransom for them, if they still ask for their freedom, can obtain it by signing an undertaking that, if allowed to work and earn, they will pay their ransom. However, they are to be allowed to do so only if their competence to work and earn is reasonably certain. If their competence is proven, they should even have financial help from Muslims in their effort to work and earn. Individual Muslims who can afford to do so should pay, or public subscription should be raised to put these unfortunates on their feet.

It is evident from the above that Islam has instituted steps that have the effect of preventing or stopping a war or reducing its evil. The invisible wounds of humiliation suffered on the battlefield fuel future bloodshed. If practiced in letter and spirit, the Islamic guidelines can minimize or even overcome feelings of hatred and vindictiveness and help promote peace.

References:

1. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war – [Accessed July 24, 2024].

2. Holy Bible: Deuteronomy 20: 10-18

3. Holy Bible: Matthew 10:34

4. Holy Bible: Luke 22:36

5. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols https://www.icrc.org/en/document/geneva-conventions-1949-additional-protocols [Accessed July 19, 2024].

6. Name, Rank, and Serial Number: The Legacy of the 1929 Geneva Convention: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/1929-geneva-convention. [Accessed July 19, 2024].

7. Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-treatment-prisoners-war# [Accessed July 19, 2024]. 8. Life of Muhammad (sa), https://www.alislam.org/book/life-of-muhammad/ [Accessed July 19, 2024].

9. The Holy Qur’an 22:40-42

10. The Holy Qur’an 8:62-63

11. The Holy Qur’an 8:68

12. The Holy Qur’an 47:5

13. The Holy Qur’an 24:34