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About this Paper

A number of people have accused Islam of being a religion which glorifies violence. The main points of critique have been attacks on women, children and other defenceless people, for which Islam has been rendered responsible.

In the past, numerous groups, which effectively achieved to receive massive media attention, have claimed such attacks for themselves, have tried to legitimise their actions Islamically, and have, above all, exalted their so-called jihād to be the supposedly highest principle of Islam.

The key question to inquire is: Does their conduct comply with the foundational texts of Islam?

The paper at hand should contribute to an investigation of this question by analysing the early Islamic foundational texts.

This paper is written in easy-to-understand language and can be coherently read without prior knowledge about Islam or Islamic studies. It is not only intended for an academic readership but engages anyone interested in the topic.

Extend: 50 Pages

 

About the Author

Abu Hamzah ibnu Musafir has been studying Islamic theology since the mid-nineties, spending several years in the Arab world for that purpose. He enrolled in various faculties in Cairo as well as in Damascus.

During his studies, he memorized the Quran and other Arabic foundational texts, as well as Arabic poems. He published numerous writings in Arabic and other languages on different disciplines of Islamic theology.

His studies specialize in the foundations of Islam, the analysis and comparative study of various religious movements, theoretical and applied ḥadīth studies, the fundamentals of narration and comparative religion studies.

 

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Contents (Fulltext)

• Transcription Table
• Introduction
• Evaluating the Traditions Mentioned Below
• Sources of Cited Traditions
• Verse 2:190 – Fighting as a Reaction of Being Fought Against
• Construing the Killing of Women, Children and Other Defenceless People as Acts of Transgression
• Letters by the Umayyad Caliph ʿUmar ibnu ʿAbdi l-ʿAzīz
• Ḥadīth About a Woman Who was Killed
• Defencelessness is Expressly Mentioned as a Reason for the Prohibition
• More Reports About the Woman Who was Killed
• References to the Elderly
• References to Monks
• Multiple Examples of Defenceless People – Instructions by the First Caliph Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq
• An Address by the First Caliph Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq
• References to Farmers in Letters from the Second Caliph ʿUmar ibnu l-Khaṭṭāb
• Orders from the Prophet with References to Labourers and Servants
• References to Merchants
• A Ḥadīth About the Prophet’s Firm Rejection of Killing Offspring
• Ḥadīth: A Prophet’s Companion Does not Kill Children
• Statements by Other Scholars and Personalities of Early Islam
• The Unanimous Announcement of this Prohibition by the Early Scholars of Ḥadīth
• Concluding Statements
• Practices Forbidden by Islam, Practiced by Militant Groups Attributed to Islam
• The so-called “Islamic State’s” un-Islamic appeal: to attack civilians
• Preposterous arguments by al-Qāʿidah’s leadership to legitimise attacks on civilians
• Muslims are no Machiavellians. The end does not justify the means
• Grotesque claims by Abū Musʿab as-Sūrī
• Attacks on mosques and places of worship of other religions
• Other deliberate attacks
• War Crimes in General
• Closing Remarks
• Notes on the Transcription
• Notes on the Formatting and Capitalization of Transcribed Words
• Chronological Index of Early Islamic Authors
• References