By Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat – 02 JUmaadal Ukhraa 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday Khutbah entitled “The Code of Ethics of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) in Peace and War.” He talked about the blessing of the Bi’thah of the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– to all humankind, and it is the best blessing, as it represents the value of compassion encompassing all aspects of life and benefiting the whole social spectrum. Then, the Sheikh explained one aspect of this blessing as reflected in the Prophet’s –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– code of ethics in peace and war. He showed how he was keen on sparing lives and protecting property. The same applies to his Companions –May Allah be pleased with them all– and those who righteously followed in their footsteps.

Praise be to Allah Who has honoured the Ummah with the religion of Islam! I praise Him ‒Glory be to Him‒ and thank Him for His great favours and magnificent blessings. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner, no peer and no match amongst mankind. I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah, who is the Best amongst all creatures. Proofs and authoritative personalities have attested to the credibility of his prophethood. O Allah, send Your profuse and eternal Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace upon Your Servant and Messenger, Muhammad, his family, and his Companions as long as years, months, days and nights keep alternating.

Now then, O Servants of Allah!

Do observe taqwa vis-à-vis Allah (fear of disobeying Allah), for taqwa is the best of provisions for one’s journey towards Allah and the ideal support for going through the successive stages of one’s lifetime, away from stumbles and safe from immorality and the heavy burdens of sins.

O Muslims!

Divine blessings are abundantly and successively bestowed on us. There is indeed a huge variety of apparent and less perceptible favours and privileges conferred by our Lord, the Generous and the benefactor ‒May He be exalted‒ on His servants. They resemble incessant heavy rain in density or a ceaseless superabundant flow of water.

Nonetheless, the most significant and unmatchable blessing and the greatest gift ever remains the bi’thah of this noble Prophet –May Allah’s profuse Salat and Peace be upon him– who was sent with the Guidance and the Religion of Truth, in order to bring people with his Message out from the darkness into light2, guide them to the ways of peace3, relieves them from the burdens and the shackles which were upon those before them4, lead them to sublime ranks of goodness and virtue, keep them away from the pits of evil and the mires of vice, and guide them through all possible tracks leading to bliss in the Herein and success, accomplishment, and salvation in the Hereafter.

That is why the bi’thah of the Prophet –May Allah’s profuse Salat and Peace be upon him– was Mercy to all creatures and a Blessing to all humanity, as affirmed by Allah –May He be glorified– in the following words:

“And We have sent you (O Muhammad SAW) not but as a mercy for the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists).” [Al-Anbiya’: 107]

Thus, his (divine) Message –May Allah’s profuse Salat and Peace be upon him– was Mercy to all creatures –Arabs and Non-Arabs, blacks and whites, males and females, and humans and jinn. As pointed out by some scholars of Islam, the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– “came to them with such a profound and encompassing faith, extremely refined prophetic teachings, such a wise and meticulous education, his unique personality thanks to this heavenly, miraculous Book whose wonders never cease and whose novelty never wears out (by the passage of time).”

The Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– breathed a new life into civilised humanity when he approached the unused human treasures –which were piles of raw material; none knew its potential richness and usefulness, and were wasted by (the pre-Islamic) Jahiliyyah, unbelief, and adherence to the earth5– and instilled in it ‒with Allah’s leave‒ faith and creed. He breathed into it a new life, elicited its hidden richness, triggered its talents, and then placed every individual in the right position. It seems as if the static and inanimate human ego had metamorphosed into a dynamic organism and a human being capable of action. It seems as though such a reborn entity were resurrected from death and as if someone who used to be blind regained his sight and became a leader of nations:

“Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out? Thus it is made fair­seeming to the disbelievers that which they used to do.” [Al-An’am: 122]
                
O Servants of Allah!

The facets of such universal and all-encompassing mercy inherent in the Message of this noble Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– are literally countless and limitless. However, one of the most obvious and greatest facets which attest to the significance of this all-encompassing mercy and prove its undeniable existence is what this Message has brought: the clear, unparalleled care to preserve people’s lives, spare their blood, and safeguard their souls. Such care is not restricted to the followers of Islam but is extended to include people embracing other religions.

Among the clearest proofs of such care, there is that outstandingly and unique approach adopted by Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. He ordered his Ummah to follow it in peace as well as in war, and cautioned it against deviating from it or violating its rules.

During peace, there are instances of a recorded hadith by Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– where he vehemently and directly threatens the killer of a covenanter: a person from dar al-harb (hostile, non-Muslim territories under non-Islamic rule) entering dar al-Islam (territories under the rule of Islam) pursuant to a covenant of non-aggression concluded with Muslims. In this respect, Imam Bukhari reported in his Sahih (a book of hadith) a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas –may Allah be pleased with him– where the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– said: “Whoever kills a covenanter will never smell the scent of paradise, knowing that its scent can be smelt from a forty-year walking distance.” This hadith ‒O servants of Allah‒ contains a serious and horrifying warning which is likely to cause insomnia to the reasonable and panic to the judicious!

On the other hand, during war, there are unequivocal statements recorded in the directives and instructions of the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– to the commanders of his armies during the allocation of military responsibilities. Such statements contain irrefutable proof about the sanctity of human blood and the inviolability of property. These issues must not be forfeited to the benefit of judgemental thinking based on personal opinions, presumptions, and interpretations which are not backed by knowledge, guidance, or an enlightening Book6 (from Allah).

A case at hand is the hadith reported by Imam Muslim in his Sahih where Buraida ‒May Allah be pleased with him– narrated that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– said: “Engage in battle in the cause of Allah and fight those who do not believe in Allah. Engage in battle but do not usurp the spoils of victory, do not betray, do not mutilate corpses, do not kill infants…” (See the rest of the hadith)

Another piece of evidence can be found in the hadith reported by Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari in their two Sahihs (their respective books of hadith) and narrated by ibn Omar –May Allah be pleased with him and his father (Omar ibn al-Khattab)– who said: “A killed woman was found on the battlefield in one of the Prophet’s ghazwas (conquests in the cause of Allah) –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– and the Messenger of Allah warned against killing women and children.” In another version of the same hadith reported by Imam Ahmed in his Musnad (a book of hadith) and Abu Hurairah in his Sunan (a book of hadith): “When the Messenger of Allah –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– saw a killed woman, he said: “This (woman) could not have been fighting.” Then, he said to one of the people there: “Go after Khalid and tell him: ‘Do not kill children nor hired workers.’”

The Caliphs of the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– as well as the subsequent Commanders of the Faithful have held fast to the teachings of the Prophet and followed in his footsteps. This is quite clear in the directives they gave to their army chiefs when they sent them to fight the enemy. For instance, when the rightly-guided Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq –May Allah be pleased with him– gave directives to Yazeed ibn abi Sufyan –one of his army commanders whom he marshalled to fight in the Sham region– he said to him: “I want to advise you about ten things: Never kill a woman, a child, or a decrepit old man. Do not cut off fruitful trees; do not demolish inhabited premises; do not slaughter a sheep or a camel except as food; do not cut or burn palm-trees; and do not usurp the spoils of victory” [Reported by Imam Malik in his book titled al-Muwatta’.]

Examples also include exhortation from the part of the Commander of the Faithful, Omar ibn al-Khattab –May Allah be pleased with him– to the leaders of his armies when appointing them army chiefs. He would say to them: “In the name of Allah, and through His assistance, march forth with His support for there is no victory except through Him. Do observe righteousness and patience. Fight in the cause of Allah the infidels, and never commit acts of transgression for Allah does not like transgressors. Never lose heart when you face the enemy and never practice torture or exaggeration when victorious. Never kill old people, women or babies; avoid killing them when facing the enemy or launching attacks.”

It was reported that all of the Commanders of the Faithfull, without exception, had given their army leaders such glorious and bright exhortations that reflect the beautiful, just, merciful and perfect nature of this religion. These exhortations rightly express, embody in all sincerity, and reflect so genuinely and effectively the implementation of the Message included in the following words of Allah ‒Exalted be He:

“And fight in the Way of Allâh those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allâh likes not the transgressors.” [Al-Baqarah: 190]

It is fighting purely for the sake of Allah and in His cause, not for the sake of arrogance, haughtiness on earth, seizing booty and resources, dominance, using people and controlling their lives. It is fighting to make the word of Allah the uppermost, ensure the freedom of calling to Islam and wipe out all obstacles in its path; all for the purpose of protecting people’s rights to freedom of choice and decision-making. It is, therefore, a just fighting for a just cause, where there is no room for aggression, destruction or corruption on earth.

This religion, whose Book and Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– brought much enlightenment to this world and cleared its darkness. Shouldn’t it be entitled to light up the whole world once again today just as it did yesterday?!

Shouldn’t this ultimate religion be entitled to the true merits of justice, peace, and freedom, rather than be equated with terrorism, killing and bloodthirstiness?!

Yes, indeed. I swear by Allah! It (this religion) is the headspring of peace and the fountainhead of Islam; it is a security resort and the birthplace of faith. Its serenity and purity shall go unscathed by extremists and outlaws. It will always remain as Allah meant it to be: enlightenment for all, guidance and mercy for the believers, justice spread in the East and West, and a lighthouse guiding those heading towards the Day of Judgement.

Justice has its own gown to wrap it, and security and peace have their own force to defend them, a force without which they could neither exist nor persist.

O servants of Allah! This Islamic alliance to combat terrorism has been invigorating news that has brought happiness and joy to the hearts of the believers; an alliance that has been created to support truth, lift injustice, side with the oppressed, remove aggression, shun terrorism, ensure security, and deploy peace-keeping forces.

Hence the shield for this alliance was so completely set in place; it was that “thunder”, the “Thunder of the North” that came as a live picture, an articulate voice, practical evidence, and a blessed ‘fruit’ for this mighty Islamic force, this coherent Islamic alliance. May Allah help it achieve its objectives, render successful its endeavors, and make its hopes come true, by His Grace and Generosity, as He is the Magnanimous, the All-Generous!

May Allah grant me and you benefit from the guidance of His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him! I say this and ask Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic to forgive me, you and all Muslims for all our wrongdoings, as He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful!