War and Peace in the Era of the Prophet of Islam

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Islamic understanding of peace and war and the Prophet’s conduct in this regard

Prophet Muhammad (s) had the mission of spreading monotheism and rejecting false and superstitious beliefs, and also the unjust control of worldly powers over the lives and properties of the weak. In accomplishing this, he always gave the first priority to peace with non-Muslim tribes. Through this peace, he exported the Islamic knowledge and informed people.

But it was inevitable for the Prophet to have confrontations with those groups whose power was based on concepts that Islam was set to reject. Hence there are some accounts of war in the history of the Prophet’s rule over the Islamic society. These accounts prepare a magnificent opportunity for studying the purposes and rules of war in his life, and finding guidelines for Muslims of the entire history to follow.

In the first session of this course, we familiarize ourselves with the concepts of war and peace and the importance of studying the life of the Holy Prophet, and also through some examples, we learn that peace was the first priority for the Prophet.

In the second session, we talk about different instances of peace in his life. Then we have a quick look at Jizya as a way for non-Muslims to leave peacefully under the rule of Islam.

In the third session and to complete the talk about instances of peace, we thoroughly examine Hudaybiyya peace treaty, as the greatest example of peace in the life of the Prophet. We also talk about the events that led to this treaty and the consequences that it had in the following years.

The last 3 sessions of the course are dedicated to wars. In session 4 we see the reason why war is inevitable at times even for a religion of peace. Then we study some of the rules of war in Islam.

In sessions 5 and 6, we divide the wars that the prophet fought into four categories based on their purposes, and in explaining each purpose, we talk about instance(s) of war with that purpose.

Here is the list of war purposes with their instance(s):

1. Compensating Muslims’ stolen properties after their migration from Mecca to Medina. The only time one of such attempts turned into a war with the presence of the Prophet himself was the battle of Badr.

1. Defending the city of Medina against external attacks: Battles of Uhud and Khandaq (Trench)

2. Punishing betrayals or violations of peace treaties: Battles of Banu Qurayza and Khaybar, and the conquest of Mecca.

3. Preemptive wars to disperse organized armies of enemies prepared to attack Muslims: Battles of Banu Mustaliq, Hunayn and Ta’if.

Thus, you will learn about:

· Islamic principles in confronting the enemies

· Prophet Muhammad’s peace treaties

· Prophet Muhammad and wars

· Purposes of war in Islam

Instructor: Shaykh Muhammad Hosein Sheikh Bahaei, a Graduate from Islamic Seminary of Qom/Iran

If you have any question, contact us at: answer.udemy@gmail.com

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