IBN TAYMIYYAH’S BOOK

IBN TAYMIYYAH’S BOOK statement should be: “Even though the insolent man deserved to be killed, he was not killed to protect Islam from defamation.” Thus, in both cases, the message remains the same—that the blasphemer will not be killed. 2. Let us consider another example to explore this matter further. After the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet had the opportunity to execute the polytheists, who were the staunchest enemies of Islam. However, he decided to forgive them and set them free, contrary to the custom of the time when prisoners of war were eligible to be killed. If someone argues that the Prophet forgave them not because they were innocent but to win them over through a concept known as ‘taalif-e-qalb’ (winning over hearts), it raises the question of how this explanation impacts the real issue. We can say that the previous statement has been rephrased. The initial statement said, “The Prophet forgave the polytheists of Makkah to win them over.” The revised statement would be: “Although the polytheists of Makkah were eligible to be killed as prisoners of war, the Prophet granted them general amnesty to win over their hearts.” Both statements convey the same message, which is that the blasphemers in Makkah were released without being killed. It appears that Ibn Taymiyyah has taken the words “Muhammad kills his Companions” literally, and according to his perspective, since Muhammad and his Companions are no longer present in this world, the attitude of reconciliation should permanently cease. Therefore, he