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'. And 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 behaviour 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 adapta- tion 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
Bible6 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" (Abu Dawud). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or
"Do not kill the people 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
exegetists 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 hadith there is a saying of the Prophet that:
"Punishment by fire does not behove anyone except the aster of the
Fire" (Abu Dawud). 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 hadith: "The Prophet has prohibited the
believers from loot and plunder" (al-Bukhari; Abu Dawud). His injunction is:
"The loot is no more lawful than the carrion" (Abu Dawud). 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 despatched to the battlefront would go to the extent
of saying that Muslim soldiers should not even use the milk of the
milch 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 practised in
Arabia before the advent of Islam. It has been said in the hadith:
"The Prophet has prohibited us from mutilating the corpses of the
enemies" (al- Bukhari; AbC Dawud). 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 Sufyan, 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 defence 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 Quran and the
hadith 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 Makkah. 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 Quran:
"If you apprehend breach of treaty from a people, then openly throw the treaty at their faces" [Quran 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 Quran 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, he laws for Muslims have been framed by God, hence they cannot be violated.
"If you apprehend breach of treaty from a people, then openly throw the treaty at their faces" [Quran 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 Quran 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, he 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 Islam 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 akes such
loud claims of progress and enlightenment, the world has not been able
to produce juster 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.
Related Topics:
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Reference:
HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM
by 'Allamah Abu al-'A'la Mawdudi
al Tawhid Journal, vol. IV No. 3 Rajab-Ramadhan
1407
