After dealing with the rights of the citizens of an Islamic
State, I would like to briefly discuss the rights which Islam
has conferred on its enemies. In the days when Islam came into
focus the world was completely unaware of the concept of humane
and decent rules of war. The West became conscious of this
concept for the first time through the works of the seventeenth
century thinker, Grotius. But the actual codification of the
'international law' in war began in the middle of the nineteenth
century. Prior to this no concept of civilized behavior in war
was found in the West. All forms of barbarity and savagery were
perpetrated in war, and the rights of those at 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 'laws' in the
real sense of the word. They are only in the nature of
conventions and agreements and calling them 'international law'
is actually a kind of misnomer, because no nation regards them
binding when they are at war, unless, of course, when the
adversaries also agree to abide by them. In other words, these
civilized laws imply that if our enemies respect them then we
shall also abide by them, and if they ignore these human
conventions and take recourse to barbaric and cruel ways of
waging war, then we shall also adopt the same or similar
techniques. It is obvious that such a course which depends on
mutual acceptance and agreement cannot be called 'law'. This is
the reason why the provisions of this so-called 'inter- national
law' have been flouted and ignored in every way, and every time
they have been revised, additions or deletions have been made in
them. 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 God and His Prophet which are followed by Muslims
in all circum- stances, irrespective of the behavior of the
enemy. It is now for the scholars to find out how far the West
has availed of the laws of war given by Islam thirteen hundred
years ago; and even after the adaptation of some of the laws of
Islam how far the West attained those heights of civilized and
humane methods of warfare which Muslims reached through the
blessings of Islam. Western writers have often asserted that the
Prophet had borrowed everything in his teachings from the Jews
and the Christians. Instead of saying anything in its refutation
I will only recommend the reader to refer to the Bible so that
he can see which methods of war 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 find out what rights and
obligations Islam recognizes for an enemy.
The Rights of the Non-Combatants
Islam has first drawn a clear line of distinction between the
combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. As far
as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women,
children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the
Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child
or any woman" (AD). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or
"Do not kill the peo-ple 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 she came to
be killed?" From this statement of the Prophet the exegetes and
jurists have drawn the principle that those who are
non-combatants should not be killed during or after the war.
The Rights of the Combatants
Now let us see what rights Islam has conferred on the
combatants.
1. Torture with Fire
In the Hadíth there is a saying of the Prophet that: "Punishment
by fire does not behoove anyone except the Master of the Fire"
(AD). The injunction deduced from this saying is that the
adversary should not be burnt alive.
2. Protection of the Wounded
"Do not attack a wounded person"-thus said the Prophet. This
means that the wounded soldiers who are not fit to fight, nor
actually fighting, should not be attacked.
3. The Prisoner of War should not be Slain
"No prisoner should be put to the sword"-a very clear and
unequivocal instruction given by the Prophet (S).
4. No one should be tied to be killed
"The Prophet has prohibited the killing of anyone who is tied or
is in captivity."
5. No Looting and Destruction in the Enemy's Country
Muslims have also been instructed by the Prophet that if they
should enter the enemy's territory, they should not indulge in
pillage or plunder nor destroy the residential areas, nor touch
the property of anyone except those who are fighting with them.
It has been narrated in the Hadíth: "The Prophet has prohibited
the believers from loot and plunder" (al-Bukhari; AD). His
injunction is: "The loot is no more lawful than the carrion"
(AD). Abu Bakr al-Siddiq used to instruct the soldiers while
sending them to war, "Do not destroy the villages and towns, do
not spoil the cultivated fields and gardens, and do not
slaughter the cattle." The booty of war which is acquired from
the battleground is altogether different from this. It consists
of the wealth, provisions and equipment captured only from the
camps and military headquarters of the combatant armies.
6. Sanctity of Property
The Muslims have also been prohibited from taking anything from
the general public of a conquered country without paying for it.
If in a war the Muslim army occupies an area of the enemy
country, and is encamped there, it does not have the right to
use the things belonging to the people without their consent. If
they need anything, they should purchase it from the local
population or should obtain permission from the owners. Abu Bakr
al-Siddiq, while instructing the Muslim armies being dispatched
to the battlefront would go to the extent of saying that Muslim
soldiers should not even use the milk of cattle without the
permission of their owners.
7. Sanctity of a Dead Body
Islam has categorically prohibited its followers from disgracing
or mutilating the corpses of their enemies as was practiced in
Arabia before the advent of Islam. It has been said in the
Hadíth: "The Prophet has prohibited us from mutilating the
corpses of the enemies" (al- Bukhari; AD). 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 and sacrificed their lives for the
sake of Islam, by cutting off their ears and noses, and
threading them together to put round their necks as trophies of
war. The abdomen of Hamzah, the uncle of the Prophet, was ripped
open by Quraysh, his liver was taken out and chewed by Hind, the
wife of Abu Sufyán, the leader of the Meccan 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 is sufficient to convince any reasonable man who
is not blinded by prejudice or bias, that Islam is really the
religion sent down by the Creator of the universe, and that if
human emotions had any admission in Islam, then 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.
8. Return of Corpses of the Enemy
In the Battle of Ahzab a very renowned and redoubtable warrior
of the enemy was killed and his body fell down in the trench
which the Muslims had dug for the defense of Medina. The
unbelievers presented ten thousand dinars to the Prophet and
requested that the dead body of their fallen warrior may be
handed over to them. The Prophet replied "I do not sell dead
bodies. You can take away the corpse of your fallen comrade."
9. Prohibition of Breach of Treaties
Islam has strictly prohibited treachery. One of the instructions
that the Prophet used to give to the Muslim warriors while
sending them to the battlefront was: "Do not be guilty of breach
of faith." This order has been repeated in the Holy Qur’án and
the Hadíth again and again, that if the enemy acts treacherously
let him do so, you should never go back on your promise. There
is a famous incident in the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when
after the settlement of the terms of the treaty, Abu Jandal, the
son of the emissary of the unbelievers who had negotiated this
treaty with the Muslims, came, fettered and blood-stained,
rushing to the Muslim camp and 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 out. 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 sad plight of Abu Jandal and many of
them were moved to tears. But when the Prophet declared that "We
cannot break the agreement", not even a single person came
forward to help the unfortunate prisoner, so the unbelievers
forcibly dragged him back to Mecca. This is an unparalleled
example of the observance of the terms of agreement by the
Muslims, and Islamic history can show many examples of a similar
nature.
10. Rules about Declaration of War
It has been laid down in the Holy Qur’án: "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 aggression against them. Otherwise the Qur’án
has clearly given the injunction to Muslims that they should
intimate to their enemies that no treaty exists between them,
and they are at war with them. The present day 'inter- national
law' has also laid down that hostilities should not be started
without declaration of war, but since it is a man-made rule,
they are free to violate it whenever it is convenient. On the
other hand, the laws for Muslims have been framed by God, hence
they cannot be violated.
Conclusion
This is a brief sketch of those rights which fourteen hundred
years ago Is-lam gave to man, to those who were at war with each
other and to the citizens of its state, which every believer
regards as sacred as law. On the one hand, it refreshes and
strengthens our faith in Islam when we realize that even in this
modern age which makes such loud claims of progress and
enlightenment, the world has not been able to produce just and
more equitable laws than those given 1400 years ago. On the
other hand it hurts one's feelings that Muslims are in
possession of such a splendid and comprehensive system of law
and yet they look forward for guidance to those leaders of the
West who could not have dreamed of attaining those heights of
truth and justice which was achieved a long time ago. Even more
painful than this is the realization that throughout the world
the rulers who claim to be Muslims have made disobedience to
their God and the Prophet as the basis and foundation of their
government. May God have mercy on them and give them the true
guidance.
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