The Holy Qur'an supports this in the following verse...

The Holy Qur'an supports this in the following verse: {Fighting is prescribed upon you though ye dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing that is good for you and that you 1 The Holy Qur'a n: The Heifer (2): 251. love a thing that is bad for you. Allah knoweth and you knoweth not.} 2 On the surface, this verse shows that if fighting were a natural thing then Allah would not have said: {thoug h ye dislike it.}.

Therefore, war is a social phenomenon brought about by corrupt instincts and not something natural in humanity. War as the last resort We find that the (S)3 did not instigate a single war, but rather made war only in self-defence. Even then he did not resort to defensive wars until after the exhaustion of a number of alternatives: Firstly neutrality, as this was the case between the Prophet (S) and Abyssinia. Neutrality is the first phase of non-aggression.

After neutrality comes the turn of the treaty of non-aggression as practised by the Prophet (S) when he entered into a treaty with the Jews of Madinah or when he entered into a treaty with the non-believers of Makkah at Hudaib ia. Islam through conviction After these two possibilities co mes the role of Islam. For if the other party (the enemy) accepts Islam he will have spared his wealth and blood and there will be no enmity other than for the wrongdoers and oppressors.

The acceptance of Islam is clearly not a matter for compulsion it rather consists of solid evidences, which promote the conviction of the intellect in the matters of the beginning and the resurrection, the Prophet (S) and the Sacred Law etc. The Jizyah tax . . . finally In the absence o f neutrality, or a treaty, or the acceptance of Islam, then the 'Jizyah' tax4 comes into play as was practised by the Prophet (S) with the Christians of Najran.

The 'Jizyah' tax is of two types: 2 The Holy Qur'an: The Heifer (2): 216. 3 Sall-Allah Alayhi wa Alihi wa Sallam, meaning Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him and his infallible family. This is always stated after the mention of the name of the Prophet out of respect for the Prophet of Islam (S). Islam's View on War The 'Jizyah' of the people of the 'Dhimma' or protectorate who live under the auspices of Islam.

This tax is taken from them in the same way that the 'Khums' and 'Zakat' taxes are taken from the Muslims. We have mentioned in our books of jurisprudence that the 'Jizyah' tax is taken solely from the unbelievers (contrary to what is widely believed).