The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Power of Peace
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practical examples of this principle. For instance,
during the campaign of Ahzab, the Prophet
attempted to avoid the battle by digging a
trench, and thus successfully averted war. If, on
the occasion of Hunain, the Prophet had to
engage in battle, it was because it had become
inevitable.
3. There was another kind of war, according to the
Qur’an, which was temporarily desirable. That
was the struggle to end religious persecution
(fitna)
(2:193).
In this verse
‘fitna
refers to that coercive system
which reaches the extremes of religious persecution.
Prevalent all over the world in ancient times, this
system had effectively closed the doors to all kinds
of spiritual and material progress for man.
Therefore, God commanded His devotees to put an
end to the kings’ and emperors’ reign of terror in
order to usher in an age of freedom in which man
might receive all kinds of spiritual and material
benefits.
This task was undertaken internally within Arabia
during the life of the Prophet of Islam. Afterwards,
