It is a widespread belief that Islam was spread
by the sword. There are two main reasons showing
that this was in fact not the case.
First, the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet
Muhammad, proclaimed that he would adhere to
God’s commandments. And contrary to forcing
people to accept Islam, God explicitly prohibited
forced conversion: “There is no compulsion in
faith” (Qur’an 2:256)
There is an interesting story related to the
revelation of this verse. A man, who was among
the companions of the Prophet, had two sons who
embraced Christianity before the emergence of the
religion of Islam. The two sons came to Medina
among a group of Christians, and at that time their
father insisted that they both should become
Muslims. However, they refused their father’s
request and brought the matter before the Prophet.
The father asked, “Oh Prophet of Allah, how
could part of me enter hell while I am watching?”
It was then that God revealed the above verse
forbidding any compulsion in religion. Thus, the
man’s two sons were free to remain Christians.
The Messenger of Mercy did not force them to
become Muslims according to their father’s wish.
In another verse, the Qur’an says: “But had
your Lord so willed, all who are on the earth would
have believed in your message, each one of them
and all of them together - will you then be the one
to compel people so that they become believers, O
Prophet?” (10:99). All admit, even those who
accuse the Prophet of forced conversions, that the
Prophet was a God-fearing person who obeyed
Him whole-heartedly in everything. How, then,
can he violate these explicit divine commands?
There are even authentically recorded
incidents in which the Prophet advised some
individuals not to accept Islam for a time being,
due to their safety. In one instance, a person by
the name of Amr bin Abasa Assulami came from a
far distance to Mecca to embrace Islam. It was a
time when Muslims were persecuted in Mecca and
it was extremely difficult to meet the Prophet.
Somehow, Amr managed to find the Prophet and
he expressed his desire to embrace Islam.
The Prophet, however, told him that he should not
embrace Islam at that time, since the situation
between the Prophet and his people was
dangerous. The Prophet then advised Amr to go
back to his family until the victory of the Prophet
becomes apparent. It was not until approximately
7-8 years later that Amr met the Prophet again to
embrace Islam. Surely, had the Prophet been only
concerned with converting people despite their
own safety, he would not have advised Amr to
return to his family on account of the imminent
danger.
It is true that the Prophet was extremely keen
to convey God’s message and to lead people to
salvation. The Qur’an describes this eagerness:
“Would you, perhaps, torment yourself to death
with grief over them if they are not willing to
believe in this message?” (18:6). But this eagerness
never prompted him to convert even a single
person against his will.
Second, there is no historical evidence
suggesting that the Prophet Muhammad acted
contrary to the principle that there should be no
compulsion in religion. There is not a single
recorded instance in the Prophet’s thoroughly
documented life of such an incident.
Although some early Western historians advanced such
claims, more recent studies have shown that
conversions did not happen suddenly at the point
of the sword, but when people living alongside
Muslims gradually and genuinely accepted the faith
voluntarily. Indeed, it is as the Orientalist George
Sale said: “Whoever says that Islam spread by the
power of the sword, his/her word is a pure
allegation, because the sword was not even
mentioned in many countries and Islam spread
there.”
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation of
India, once said, “I became more than ever
convinced that it was not the sword that won a
place in Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It
was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of
the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges,
his intense devotion to his friends and followers,
his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in
God and his own mission.”
The famous French historian Gustaf Lobon
stated in his book, Arab Civilization, “Power was
not a factor in the spread of Islam; that’s because
Arabs left the people they vanquished free to
practice their own religion.”
Another famous European writer, Thomas
Carlayle, said: “Accusing [the Prophet] of relying
on the sword for people to respond to his
preaching is incomprehensible nonsense!”
History, logic, objectivity, and scholarly
research all reject the notion that the Prophet
Muhammad forced his religion on unwilling
masses. It was voluntary acceptance and the utter
conviction of the truth of Islam that caused mass
conversions in many countries. Indonesia,
Malaysia, China and several South Asian countries
are telling examples of this reality. We can see a
glimpse of this today – though in a less dramatic
way – in Europe and North America where in
those continents Islam is the fastest growing
religion.
