War and Peace in Islam

Christian religion. They made such headway, that they gave new meaning to the principle of peaceful proselytism. And then, along with their teaching, they engaged in such social service as proved an effective means of bringing the madu’ closer to them. It was the result of this particular dawah style that Christianity spread all over, becoming the greatest world religion. There is a tradition recorded in Sahih Muslim which foretells us of this rapid spread of the Christian religion: Mustaurid Qarashi related that he heard the Prophet say that Doomsday would not come until the Christians were the greatest in number. When these words of the Prophet were conveyed to Amr ibn al-As (a senior companion of the Prophet and the conqueror and governor of Egypt) he asked Mustaurid: ‘What is the nature of these traditions you are narrating?’ Mustaurid replied: ‘I narrate only what I have heard from the Prophet.’ Amr ibn aI-As said: ‘If you say so (that is, if it is an authentic hadith) then the Christians are undoubtedly the most forbearing in times of adversity, take no time in setting themselves in order after a calamity and are better than others in caring for their weak and deprived.’ (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan). From these details we find that a major aim of the revolution brought about by the Prophet and his companions was to remove all obstacles in the path of dawah, so that such conducive conditions would prevail as would encourage people to practice God’s religion and invite others to the same path. This process had to be continued from generation to generation. The first stage of this revolution was marked by the coercive system being brought to an end, ushering in the dawn of religious freedom in the world. The second stage was embarked upon, when, by availing of the advantages of this freedom, Muslims disseminated Islam at the universal level.