Surah Al-Baqarah 2:191

وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَخْرِجُوهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ ۚ وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُقَاتِلُوهُمْ عِندَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّىٰ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ ۖ فَإِن قَاتَلُوكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ

2:190-193 These verses enjoin Muslims to fight those who fight against them, and some limits are mentioned. Fighting is allowed until persecution and oppression (fitnatun الْفِتْنَةُ) ceases. Fitnahفِتْنَةُ is persecution, seduction from any faith by any means, mischief, fighting, or sowing dissension (Lane; Tâj; Râghib). Other conditions for fighting are further clarified in 22:39-41. Verses from chapter 22 related to warfare, and were the first verses that gave Muslims permission to take up arms in self-defence. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) had to fight three major battles during his lifetime. The first was the battle at Badr,where a poorly equipped party of 313 Muslims confronted a force of 1,000 Makkan warriors (cf. 3:122). The second was at Uhad, a hilltop three miles north of Madînah, three years after the and twelve months after the defeat of Makkans at Badr. The Makkans attacked Madînah with 3,000 soldiers, including two hundred cavalry and seven hundred mail-clad veterans. The Muslims defended with 1,000 men and women, only two horsemen and one hundred men in armor. The Muslims suffered losses at Uhad but not a defeat, as some western historians have suggested. The Makkans did not achieve their goal and left Madînah without finishing their task.

The period after the Battle of Uhad was a period of great hardship for the Muslims. The instinct of self-preservation impelled the Muslims to take appropriate precautions, indulging in many small engagements and skirmishes with their enemies. The third big battle was the Battle of Ahzâbأحزاب - Battle of trenches. In this battle, Jewish clans from Khaiber allied with the Makkans and other Arab tribes. A large army, estimated between ten and twenty-four thousand, was brought together in the 5th year after the Hijrah to attack Madînah from all sides. In addition to this, the Jewish tribes residing inside Madînah also changed loyalties.

The Muslims defended their city by digging ditches. The account of this event is contained in chapter 33 verse 9-27. Because to the treachery of the Jewish tribe of Madînah, the relationship between the Jews and the Muslims became strained (3:110-118). This community was a source of perpetual danger inside Madînah, and the attack on Khaiber by the Muslims was in retaliation to their conspiracies. These events are mentioned in the Holy Qur’ân and are historical facts. They illustrate that war was only waged in self-defence during the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Nowhere in the Holy Qur’ân can one find any command to spread the faith by force. Waging war against peaceful people to expand influence or territory is not allowed. The war sanctioned here was a necessity arising out of self-defence. When looked at carefully, the permission to fight under the conditions mentioned in these verses and the verse 22:39-41 is a service to humanity.