Invitation to Islam Prior to Jihad: Difference between revisions

The practice of inviting non-Muslim nations to join [[Islam]] or pay the [[Jizyah]] prior to engaging in offensive [[Jihad]] was first initiated by the Prophet [[Muhammad]]. His [[Sunnah|example]] was then followed by the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s and the leaders of Islamic empires, codified within the Islamic [[Shariah|Shari'ah]]<ref>Ahmad Ibn Lulu Ibn Al-Naqib, translated by Noah Ha Mim Keller - [http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Traveller-Classic-Islamic-Al-Salik/dp/0915957728 Reliance of the Traveller: The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law Umdat Al-Salik (o9.0-8)] - Published by Amana Corporation; Revised edition (July 1, 1997), ISBN-13: 978-0915957729</ref> and is continued today by various Islamic leaders and [[Terrorism|terrorist]] organizations.

====Letter to the Christians of Aylah====

After hearing rumors that the Romans had gathered at the border of the Byzantine Empire and northern Arabia, Muhammad led his army to engage them in battle.  However, upon reaching Tabuk the rumors proved themselves to be false. With nothing to do, he sent a detachment to the Christians and Jews east of Tabuk with a letter.

{{Quote||''To John ibn Rubah and the Chiefs of Aylah''.  Peace be on you!  I praise God for you, beside whom there is no Lord.  I will not fight against you until I have written thus unto you.  Believe, or else pay tribute.  And be obedient unto the Lord and his Prophet, and unto the messengers of his Prophet.  Honour them and clothe them with excellent vestments, not with inferior raiment.  Specially clothe Zeid with excellent garments.  As long as my messengers are pleased, so likewise am I.  Ye know the tribute.  If ye desire to have security by sea and by land, obey the Lord and his Apostle, and he will defend you from every demand, whether by Arab or foreigner, saving the demand of the Lord and his Apostle.  But if ye oppose and displease them, I will not accept from you a single thing, until I have fought against you and taken captive your little ones and slain the elder; for I am the Apostle of the Lord in truth.  Believe in the Lord and in his Prophets.  And believe in the Messiah son of Mary; verily he is the Word of God: I believe in him that he was a messenger of God.  Come then, before trouble reach you.  I commend my messengers to you.  Give to Harmala three measures of barley; and indeed Harmala hath interceded for you.  As for me, if it were not for the Lord and for this (intercession of Harmala), I would not have sent any message at all unto you, until ye had seen the army.  But now, if ye obey my messengers, God will be your protector, and Mahomet, and whosoever belongeth unto him.  Now my messengers are Sharahbil, &c.  Unto you is the guarantee of God and of Mahomet his Apostle, and peace be unto you if ye submit.  And convey the people of Macna back to their land.<ref>Muir, Sir William. (1878). [http://books.google.com/books?id=-jxbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''The life of Mahomet'']. (p. 456). London: Smith, Elder & Co</ref>}}

====Letter to Heraclius, the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople====

{{Quote||In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful (This letter is) from Muhammad, the slave of Allah, and His Apostle, to Heraculius, the Ruler of the Byzantine. Peace be upon the followers of guidance. Now then, I invite you to Islam (i.e. surrender to Allah), embrace Islam and you will be safe; embrace Islam and Allah will bestow on you a double reward. But if you reject this invitation of Islam, you shall be responsible for misguiding the peasants (i.e. your nation).<BR><BR>O people of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us and you, that we worship. None but Allah, and that we associate nothing in worship with Him; and that none of us shall take others as Lords besides Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are (they who have surrendered (unto Him)..(3.64)<ref>M. Muhsin Khan (Translator) - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/052-sbt.php#004.052.191|2=2011-10-30}} Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihaad), Number 191] - USC-MSA, [[Compendium of Muslim Texts]]</ref>}}

====Letter to Muqawqas, the Vicegerent of Egypt====

Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Thereafter, I invite you to accept Islam. Therefore, if you want security, accept Islam. If you accept Islam, Allâh, the Sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you will bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts.

====Letter to Chosroes, Emperor of Persia====

Peace be upon him who follows true guidance, believes in Allâh and His Messenger and testifies that there is no god but Allâh Alone with no associate, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I invite you to accept the religion of Allâh. I am the Messenger of Allâh sent to all people in order that I may infuse fear of Allâh in every living person, and that the charge may be proved against those who reject the Truth. Accept Islam as your religion so that you may live in security, otherwise, you will be responsible for all the sins of the Magians.<ref name="The sealed nectar"></ref>}}

The [[Letter to America - Osama bin Laden|letter to America]] is a 4,000-word document written by Osama bin Laden in 2002. It first appeared on the internet in Arabic on a Saudi Arabian website, and has since been translated and posted on Islamic websites run from the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/alqaida.terrorism| title = Osama issues new call to arms| publisher = The Observer| author = Jason Burke| date = November 24, 2002| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2002%2Fnov%2F24%2Falqaida.terrorism&date=2013-08-08| deadurl = no}}</ref>

==See Also==