With this in mind, war itself has established principles; rather, the ethics of Islam are observed in all matters, even with hostile polytheists.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH), while teaching the ethics of war to his army, said: “وقاتلوا من كفر بالله اغزوا ولا تغدروا ولا تغلوا ولا تمثلوا ولاتقتلوا وليدا” “Fight those who disbelieve in Allah. Go forth to battle, but do not betray, do not act treacherously, do not mutilate, and do not kill a child.” [1]
Then, if the Muslims give a covenant or treaty to their enemies, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, commands them to fulfill their covenant and, under no circumstances and for no purpose, to break it. And if they fear treachery from the enemy, they must openly return the covenant to them and not betray, and they must not surprise their enemy with war before openly dissolving the treaty:
“وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهَ إِذَا عَاهَدْتُمْ وَلَا تَنْقُضُوا الْأَيْمَانَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ * وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَها مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنْكَاثًا تَتَّخِذُونَ أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أُمَّةٌ هِيَ أَرْبَى مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِنَّمَا يَبْلُوكُمُ اللهُ بِهِ وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ لَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ * وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَكِنْ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَلَتُسْأَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ * وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ فَتَزِلَ قَدَمٌ بَعْدَ ثُبُوتِهَا وَتَذُوقُوا السُّوءَ بِمَا صَدَدْتُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَكُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ” Translation: “Fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have made a covenant, and do not break oaths after confirming them, while you have made Allah a witness over you. Indeed, Allah knows what you do. And do not be like the woman who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong, taking your oaths as a means of deception among yourselves because one community is more numerous than another. Allah only tests you by this, and He will surely make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that over which you used to differ. And if Allah had willed, He could have made you one nation, but He leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and you will surely be questioned about what you used to do. And do not take your oaths as a means of deception among yourselves, lest a foot slip after it was firm, and you taste evil for having obstructed from the way of Allah, and you will have a great punishment.” [2]
“وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِنْ قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةٌ فَانْبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَى سَوَاءٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْخَائِنِينَ” Translation: “If you fear treachery from a people upon the appearance of signs (that they will break their covenant and launch a surprise attack), then inform them and revoke their covenant in an equal manner (and do not attack them without informing them, for that would be contrary to honor and the Sacred Law and would be treachery). Indeed, Allah does not love the treacherous.” [3]
Hazrat Muʿāwiyah (RA) granted the Romans a covenant for a fixed period. Later, informants reported to him that the Romans were using the truce to prepare for the destruction of the Muslims. He therefore resolved to surprise them. However, when he consulted his advisers, they dissuaded him and said: either you openly return the covenant to them with their knowledge, or you wait until the term of the covenant ends, trusting that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will aid you for obeying His command. Thus, he waited until the end of the covenant’s term, and by Allah’s permission he prevailed over the Romans.
History relates how the Crusaders betrayed their covenant with Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī (RA) [4] and suddenly attacked defenseless, non-combatant Muslims. The Muslims sought refuge in the mosque, but the Crusaders entered the mosque and carried out a massacre, to the extent that blood reached the knees of the horses.
Yet when the situation reversed and Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (RA) overcame them, he refrained from taking revenge, pardoned them, and never betrayed any covenant he had given them.
The Muslims’ faithfulness to their covenants, in peace and in war, has consistently been exemplary throughout history, because they followed the teachings of Islam and adopted the ethics of Lā ilāha illā Allāh.
Islam is explicit in guiding its followers to be distinct and different from the states of Jāhiliyyah: distinct in cleanliness, purity of character, morals, and conduct, and in the supremacy of faith over all sources that are either non-Islamic or in conflict with Islam, even if a temporary defeat or incidental weakness should befall them: “وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ” Translation: “Do not weaken or grieve over what befalls you, and you are the superior ones—by Allah’s support, true faith, and the strength of the truth you uphold if you are indeed believers.” [5]
The source of distinction lies in the awareness that Muslims are upon guidance while others are upon misguidance, and that the methodology and program by which they live is the loftiest methodology, because it is a divine methodology; whereas the program by which non-Muslims live is the lowest methodology, because it is a jāhilī methodology.
Therefore, this distinction is not founded upon race, color, position, status, wealth, power, or any of the jāhilī concepts by which Jāhiliyyah boasts, prides itself, and seeks superiority over people. Rather, this distinction is derived from recognizing the divine methodology and its adherents.
bī Dāwūd, vol. 2, p. 44, Book of Jihād, Chapter on Calling the Polytheists, Hadith no. 2613, edited by Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, Publisher: Dār al-Fikr.
Sūrat al-Naḥl, verses 91–94.
Sūrat al-Anfāl, verse 58.
For further knowledge of the personality and biography of Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī (may Allah have mercy on him), refer to the section “Muslim Sages” in the “Great Figures of the Ummah” section of the Kalemaat Scientific and Research Administration website.
