'No God except Allah'

[glo]

I just asked this question in another thread, but tthe whole thread seems to have disappeared.
I am keen to get an answer, so perhaps I can ask the question here, rather in an escalating thread ... (Mods, please move this thread into another section, if appropriate)

Did Muhammed say “I have been ordered by Allah to fight and kill all people (non-Muslims) until they say, “No God except Allah”.?
Is this recorded in the Qu'ran? And if so, in which context?

For me, as a non-Muslim, it sounds very worrying indeed.
How does it tally with Islam being a religion of peace???

Thanks you, and peace to you all.

 

[- Qatada -]

Hi.


This is the claim and explanation:

Bukhari: God's Apostle said, I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, None has the right to be worshipped but God. (Volume 4, Book 52, Number 196)


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With regards to the narration, only part of it has been quoted, and the full text reads:

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "I have been ordered to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, and pay zakat, and if they do this, then their blood and money shall be protected from me, except by an Islamic right, and their account will be with Allah.


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This narration lists some of the pillars of Islam that Muslims must adhere to. The fighting being ordained here refers to the enforcement of laws and regulations within an Islamic state. Just as modern governments enforce their legal policies, so to does the Islamic state. These legal policies refer to Muslims paying their Zakat (charity tax) and abiding by the laws in an Islamic state. Those who understood the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the best, were his companions, and we can examine their application of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to derive a better understanding. We find that after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), many hypocrites who had pretended to be Muslim began to turn away and leave their religious duties, one example was Zakat (the charity tax). They wanted to compromise the commands of God. It was then that Abu Bakr, the First Caliph and the Caliph of that time, cited this narration to make it clear that a compromise would not be tolerated and he would fight them until they agreed to follow Islam in full. The fighting that resulted was known as the Riddah wars. Similarly, we can see that today's governments would not tolerate it if a citizen refused to pay tax or abide by the laws of the country. If one lives in a state or country they must abide by the regulations to ensure a secure and healthy society. We should note that the 'people' referred to in this narration does not refer to all of humanity. As Shaykh Ahmed Ibn Taymiyyah says:

“It refers to fighting those who are waging war, whom Allah has permitted us to fight. It does not refer to those who have a covenant with us with whom Allah commands us to fulfill our covenant.” (Majmu` al-Fatawa 19/20)


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Clearly, this narration does not refer to imposing Islam upon non-Muslims, since the Qur'an explicitly states:

Qur'an 2:256 There is no compulsion in religion...

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Also, we have already dealt with the claims that this verse was abrogated under our discussion of verse 9:5. Once understood in their correct context, these verses and narrations become clear.

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http://www.load-islam.com/artical_d...ection=wel_islam&subsection=Misconceptions#14



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Refer to this link for similar claims and the refutation:
http://www.load-islam.com/artical_det.php?artical_id=414&section=wel_islam&subsection=Misconceptions





Many people use one narration, place it out of context and depend their whole argument upon it.


That isn't the case in Islam, we use all the evidences which are mentioned and then give an explanation according to them. Someone can easily take a governments policy and quote "war has begun against the enemy..." and then claim that this nation will wage war forever against that enemy - simply because they haven't shown the remainder of the texts. It's similar to taking something out of context.



Anyway, i hope it answers your question.





Peace.