Chapter Two

The Concept of Jihad in Islam His whole life was a successful expression of this principle. Here are some instances which illustrate this: 1. Immediately after being appointed as a prophet, he was faced with choosing between two methods—peaceful or violent. As a prophet, his mission was to end polytheism and to establish tawhid, faith in and surrender to the one God. The Kabah in Makkah had been established as a centre of tawhid, but by the time of the advent of the Prophet some 360 idols had been installed therein. Hence, one could think that in the Quran the Prophet should first have been instructed to purify the Kabah of idols and then remake it as a centre of tawhid, thus advancing themission he was engaged in. But had this been the case and he had started his work in this way, it would have been tantamount to warring with the Quraysh of Makkah, who enjoyed leadership among the Arabs, precisely because they had traditionally been the custodians of the Kabah. History tells us that at this stage, the Prophet completely avoided cleansing the Kabah of idols, and restricted himself purely to the mission of conveying the ideology of tawhid instead. This was an example of the Prophet choosing a peaceful method over a violent one. 2. Firmly upholding this peaceful principle, the Prophet carried on his preaching work for thirteen years in Makkah. Yet, despite this, the Quraysh fiercely opposed him, so much so that their elders, after consulting each other, plotted to act together to kill him. Accordingly, they armed themselves with swords and surrounded his house. This, in effect, was a challenge to the Prophet and his Companions to do battle. However, based on God’s guidance, the Prophet decided to avoid armed confrontation. And so, in the silence of the night, he left Makkah and travelled in secret till