Is Religion the Main Factor in Wars and the Spread of Killing among Nations and Peoples?
Is Religion the Main Factor in Wars and the Spread of Killing among Nations and Peoples?
Is It the Cause of the Economic Stagnation and Cultural Backwardness?
To answer these questions, we will explain the condition of nations and peoples when they submit to the power and authority of Allah (Mighty & Majestic), following and holding fast to the truth, and when religion is absent. I will do so with extreme brevity.
Someone who is estranged from Allah (Mighty & Majestic), who does not believe in the Existence of a Creating God, who has no religion or belief to cling to, might think that religion is the cause of wars between nations and peoples and the spread of killing amongst them. He might also think the same about economic stagnation and cultural backwardness. But this view from the atheist who denies the Existence of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is incorrect. It stems from lack of knowledge and ignorance about the facts of reality. It is either due to heedlessness and ignorance of the evidence and the confirmation of facts, or to not following the truth. It might also be due to the following of vain desire and trivial passions, despite knowledge of the facts of reality, and therefore, absolute, audacious rejection of the truth since it contradicts one's stubborn pride and goes against one's wishes and desires.
The first thing such a person should do is to believe in the Existence of God the Creator (Noble & Sublime), and we have presented much irrefutable evidence for the Existence of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) which no one with good nature and sound mind can ignore.
Secondly, he should know that the true religion according to Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is only one—Islam, even if Divine Law, which contains various and variable different rules of jurisprudence, has changed over time, in accordance with the interests of nations and peoples, since time and place differ, according to the Will of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and His Ultimate Wisdom.
The truth is one; it cannot resemble or be mixed with falsehood, since it concurs with man's pure nature and sound reason. No intelligent beings with straightforward, abundant logic and superior reason can differ over it, and we have previously proven this in brief.
The condition of nations and peopleswhen they submit to the authority and power of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and follow and adhere to the truth:
As we have stated previously, the natural situation is for all people to have the same religion: Islam, and this would mean:
They believe in the Oneness of God the Creator and the Greatness of His Attributes and the Absoluteness of His Power, without ascribing to Him anything defective in His Being or any shortcoming in the Perfection of His Attributes.
They believe in all of the prophets and messengers that Allah (Blessed & Exalted) sent to preach to His creation and guide them to His Straight Path after they had fallen into error and gone astray. If the proof and testimony that prove and testify to their prophethood and the truth of their call and message become clear, they do not deny the message of any one of them, nor do they distinguish between any of them by following their personal inclinations; rather they follow the latest prophet or messenger sent to them with Divine Legislation.
They believe in all the Divine Scriptures sent down from Allah (Mighty & Majestic) upon His prophets and messengers. They seek judgment from it, without denying or opposing any of it, and so on.
The result of this would be: the submission of all nations and peoples to the authority of Allah (Noble & Sublime), judgment by it, the application of Divine Law, and adherence to the methodology of the prophets and messengers.
However, what happened is that people divided and differed when each one followed his own desires and interests. Their pure natures and sound minds were corrupted, and they strayed from Allah's Straight Path. Allah (Mighty & Majestic) explained this in His Saying,
{And verily! This, your religion (ummatukum), is one religion, and I am your Lord, so keep your duty to Me. * But they (men)have broken their religion among them into sects (fa taqatta`oo 'amrahum baynahum zuburan), each group rejoicing in its belief.}
[Al-Mu'minoon 23: 52-53]
The word, "ummatukum," means: your religion—that your religion is one religion—Islam.
The phrase, "fa taqatta`oo 'amrahum baynahum zuburan," means: they have divided over the matter of their religion into different groups and sects, as we have shown:
The natural state of affairs is for people to be united on that which pleases their God and Creator (Noble & Sublime), not divided and at odds with each other. They should love one another and live in peace together, without feuding and fighting.
They should implement the Wise Rules and Legislation of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) with its lofty directives and noble, intelligent standards of behavior, and so on.
Like that, all nations and peoples would rise, economically, as a result of applying what Allah (Mighty & Majestic) has commanded.
To prove this:
History has shown the condition of the Arab tribes and other peoples before the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the arrival of Islam as a religion, compared to after his coming (pbuh) when realization of the Oneness of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) had been completed and the people submitted to His Authority and Power (Noble & Sublime).
Before the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Arab tribes and others were disparate tribes, feuding and fighting, wars and enmity arising amongst them for the most trivial of reasons.
But after the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with Islam as the religion, throngs of people entered the religion of Allah, the tribes became united. They gathered on the word of true monotheism with which the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had come: La ilaha illa Allah (There is no true god but Allah), and the individual members of the tribes and others became brothers who loved each other. One would sacrifice himself and his wealth for his brother in Islam. Many, many luminous incidents among the companions of Allah's Messenger (pbuh) have gone down in history on this matter. The Most High spoke the truth when He said,
{…and remember Allah's Favor on you, for you were enemies one to another, but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren…}
[Aal-`Imran 3: 103]
The situation of nations and peoplesin the absence of the religion and in the absence of following the truth or forsaking adherence to it:
In the absence of the religion among nations and peoples, and forsaking adherence to the truth which pleases Allah (Mighty & Majestic), we find that:
Injustice and corruption spread because everyone follows their own personal interests and vain passions. Unjustified killing becomes rampant because of the deviant doctrine of "survival of the fittest."
Gone are the commendable, noble values necessary for the existence of human societies and which society cannot exist without, such as honesty, trustworthiness, justice, etc.; they are obliterated and wiped out, as we have shown previously.
Moral decadence spreads, such as fornication and reprehensible abominations, as a result of the fantasy that God the Creator, Who will bring them to account for their wicked beliefs and evil actions, does not exist.
According to what we have presented, security and peace among peoples and nations will not be achieved, and therefore there will be no advancement in the field of economics; there will only be economic stagnation and cultural and social backwardness in many aspects of life.
To give an example of what we mean:
Many, many wars have been fought between many countries for reasons of racial differences and cultural affiliations.
Thus we find that communist governments—that deny the Existence of God the Creator, like the Soviet Union, China, and others—were the worst governments in terms of oppression, compulsion, and aggression against the freedom and dignity of their people. In fact, the leaders of such governments inflicted upon their people the most horrible kinds of torture, killing many millions, in addition to their wars against other peoples in which millions and millions of people died. History testifies to this.
In the First and Second World Wars, we also find the killing of thousands and thousands of human beings as a result of the conflict between states and each other, in addition to many other wars that resulting in great catastrophes, economic destruction and the regression of civilization.
With this, we see clearly the answer to the previous question, which is:
Religion is not the cause of economic stagnation or cultural backwardness; rather it is the reason for the thriving and prospering of the economy and for the advancement of civilization.
To clarify: When religion is a cause of wars between two parties, one of which are the Muslims, this represents a struggle in the realm of tests and challenges between the truth to which the Muslims hold fast and the falsehood whose creation is led by the wicked—those who follow their vain desires, trivial passions and corrupt creeds, from among the Jews, the Christians, and others, as we have mentioned previously.
Suffice it to say that we know the wars of the Muslims against their enemies were merely for the purpose of proclaiming the truth, and spreading the message of the Absolute Oneness of Allah (Mighty & Majestic): La ilaha illa Allah, not for the sake of wreaking havoc and killing. The proof of that is:
Allah's Messenger (pbuh) prohibited the killing of women, children, the elderly and noncombatant monks. He (pbuh) also forbid burning with fire, maiming the dead, mutilating their corpses, or dismembering them, plus other restrictions for Muslims in their wars, in light of the instructions given to us by Allah's Messenger (pbuh).
This is in addition to the element of pardon and forgiveness whenever possible, whenever the Muslims have succeeded in proclaiming the word of truth and waving the flag of true monotheism. For example, in the battle Allah's Messenger (pbuh) fought to liberate Mecca, he (pbuh) prepared his army of ten thousand fighters from among his noble companions to free the Holy City of Mecca—the most beloved of all lands to Allah Almighty, in which His Sacred House, the Holy Ka`aba, is located—as we mentioned before. Then, he (pbuh) entered with his army, triumphant and victorious, and he began to cleanse the Ka`aba of the idols that surrounded it and were inside it. These idols numbered: 360.
Then, he (pbuh) entered the Ka`aba and prayed to Allah (Glorious & Exalted). Then, he glorified and praised Him, saying:
La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, sadaqa wa`aduh, wa nasara `abduh, wa hazama al-ahzaab wahdahu (There is no true god but Allah, Alone, without partner; He has made good His promise, granted victory to His slave, and defeated the confederates by Himself.) Then the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Oh people of Quraysh! What do you think I should do with you?"
They said, "Treat us well, noble brother, son of a noble brother."
He (pbuh) said, "Verily, I say unto you as Joseph said to his brothers, {There is no reproach on you this day.} Go, for you are free."
Then he (pbuh) ordered Bilal to ascend and proclaim the call to prayer from the Ka`aba after the time for the prayer had come. And after that, Allah's Messenger (pbuh) prayed the prayer of victory or the prayer of thanksgiving.
This was an example of pardon and forgiveness from Allah's Messenger (pbuh) and his army of Muslims for the people of Mecca, who were people who worshipped false gods and idols. The people of Mecca had done great harm to Allah's Messenger (pbuh) and fought against him for years. They had even tried to assassinate him (pbuh) before he migrated to Medina. They had inflicted the worst types of torture on the Muslims before the Migration to force them to leave their religion.
The Words of Allah Almighty are true when He says, {And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the worlds.}[Al-Anbiyaa' 21: 107]
At the same time, we find that the people of innovation—the Jews, Christians, communists, atheists and so on—fight wars to spread killing and corruption in the land. They do not adhere to rules or laws in their wars. They kill old men, women, and pregnant mothers. They split open their bellies in a horrendous manner. They kill young children and babies. They mutilate the dead, and do all sorts of corrupt and villainous things.
One example is their wars during the occupation of certain countries and states in order to plunder and steal their precious resources, from oil to metals and other things, and for the sake of benefitting from their special geographical location.
In conclusion, Islam is the true religion that calls for adhering to lofty principles and exemplary behavior, both in peace and in war. This is how societies will progress in various aspects of life: economic, social and cultural, and more.
