Muhammad as a War Leader

 “Muhammad as a War Leader - The third major theme that we can observe in the hadiths as far as the portrayal of Muhammad is concerned is his intense involvement with warfare. In fact, when we trace his biography from the time that he relocated to Medina, Islamic tradition has him engaging in warfare with almost every single neighboring tribe and city that he came into contact with. 390 This eventually culminated, according to the tradition, in the subjugation of a significant part of the lower Arabian Peninsula by the time of his death. 391 A significant aspect of the portrayal of Muhammad as a war leader is the fact that he is not only presented as a great strategist392 but also as someone who was not afraid of shedding blood and getting his hands dirty in pursuit of his war aims. In fact, the portrayal of Muhammad the warlord in the hadiths is nothing short of alarming. Here are just some of the actions that he engaged in according to the hadiths and classical Islamic sources: He ordered raids (razzias) on caravans (and took part in several) in order to steal their contents and to sell people for ransom. 393 He forced several of his enemies (e.g. Abu Sufyan) to accept his prophethood or be executed. 394 He ‘married', and had sex with, a woman on the same day that her husband, father, brother and most of her family were slaughtered by his followers. 395 He was present and did nothing to stop an act of genocide when his followers slaughtered disarmed male members of the Banu Qurayzah (Jewish) tribe after they refused to embrace Islam396 and he received 'divine sanction' for it (Qur'an 33: 25-26). He ordered the assassination of several people who were critical of him (e.g. the poets Asma bint Marwan397 and Abu Afak). 398 He ordered the torture of Kinana al-Rabi with a red-hot iron to 'encourage' him to reveal the whereabouts of a hidden treasure. 399 He broke a treaty (the treaty of Hudabiyyah), which committed him to live in peace with the people of Mecca. 400 Again he conveniently receives a 'revelation' justifying his actions (Qur'an 60: 10). 401 He allowed his followers to rape captive women. 402 He consistently taught that warfare for the sake of Allah is the highest duty that a Muslim can perform. 403 He taught that those who abandon Islam should be executed. 404 He actively encouraged his followers to lie for the sake of the spread of Islam, especially in the context of warfare. 405 The picture presented above is nothing short of horrifying and deeply embarrassing to some Muslims who want to claim that the version of Islam followed by groups like ISIS deviates from the example of Muhammad as presented in Muslim historical sources. In fact, so-called ‘radical’ groups claim that they are following the words and actions of the ‘excellent example’ (Qur’an 33: 21) to the letter. The legacy of this example is obviously still with us today and merits a separate discussion (for this see my book ‘Nothing to do with Islam?–Investigating the West’s Most Dangerous Blind Spot) 406, but our focus for now should be on the historical implications of the thoroughly reprehensible way in which Muhammad is portrayed in the hadiths and the rest of the historical tradition. On the one hand Muhammad’s almost incessant involvement in warfare provides us with the rare opportunity to cross-reference the claims that are being made with actual recorded history since it can be safely assumed that battles that forever changed, or so it is claimed, the political configuration of the Arabian Peninsula would leave at least some mark on recorded history. This angle of investigation will be more fully pursued below. For the moment, it is instructive to once again note the origins of the hadiths 200-300 years after the events that they claim to describe. Origins that are rooted in a time of intense conflict within the Muslim community as well as of Muslim military expansion. In such a setting, it would be only natural to attempt to rally the troops involved in contemporary conflicts by pointing to the intensely belligerent example of the one person Muslim people are supposed to emulate if they desire a good outcome on the Day of Judgment. In this way, the prophet could be used as a prime asset in terms of building morale and drumming up fighting spirit and hatred towards the enemy. The temptation to invent ever more bloodthirsty traditions to ‘keep the swords sharp’ must have been overwhelming. It should be clear that this temptation was not, in fact, resisted and we can once again confidently state that we have later conflicts to thank (blame?) for the extremely warlike Muhammad that emerges from the pages of the hadiths.”

— The Mecca Mystery: Probing the Black Hole at the Heart of Muslim History by Peter Townsend