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sardarzada11 · #10 Thursday, June 22, 2006

SHALLOW ONE. WHAT ARE FAULTS, WHAT
ARE THE OUTWARD DETAILS OF A LIFE; IF
THE INNER SECRET OF IT, THE REMORSE,
TEMPTATIONS, TRUE, OFTEN-BAFFLED, NEVER-
ENDED STRUGGLE OF IT BE FORGOTTEN? 'IT
IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT
HIS STEPS.' OF ALL ACTS, IS NOT, FOR A
MAN, REPENTANCE THE MOST DIVINE? THE
DEADLIEST SIN, I SAY, WERE THE SAME SUPER-
CILIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS OF NO SIN; THAT
IS DEATH; THE HEART SO CONSCIOUS IS
DIVORCED FROM SINCERITY, HUMILITY, AND
FACT; IS DEAD: IT IS 'PURE' AS DEAD DRY
SAND IS PURE."
Heros and Hero-Worship. p. 61

CHARGE OF "THE SWORD"

The greatest crime, the greatest "sin" of Muhammad
(pbuh} in the eyes of the Christian West is that he did not
allow himself to be slaughtered, to be "crucified" by his
enemies. He ably defended himself, his family and his
followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Muhammad's
(pbuh} success is the Christians' gall of disappointment: he
did not believe in any vicarious sacrifice for the sins of
others. He believed and behaved naturally. IN THE STATE
OF NATURE, EVERY ONE HAS A RIGHT TO DEFEND HIS
PERSON AND POSSESSIONS, AND EXTEND HIS HOSTILITIES
TO A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF SATISFACTION AND
RETALIATION," says Gibbon, the master historian in his
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." His struggle and
victory over the forces of unbelief and evil made the editors
of the Encyclopedia Britannica to exclaim, Muhammad
(pbuh} to be - - - "THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OF ALL
RELIGIOUS PERSONALITIES."
How can the enemies of Islam account for Muhammad's
phenomenal achievements except to decry that he spread
his religion at the point of the sword? He forced Islam down
peoples' throats!?

6a. "HISTORY MAKES IT CLEAR HOWEVER, THAT
THE LEGEND OF FANATICAL MUSLIMS SWEEP-
ING THROUGH THE WORLD AND FORCING
ISLAM AT THE POINT OF THE SWORD UPON
CONQUERED RACES IS ONE OF THE MOST
FANTASTICALLY ABSURD MYTHS THAT
HISTORIANS HAVE EVER REPEATED."
De Lacy O'Leary in "Islam at the Crossroads'' London, 1923, p.8
You do not have to be a historian like O'Leary to know
that the Muslims ruled Spain for 736 years. The longest the
Christians ever ruled over Muslims was 500 years in Mozam-
bique, a territory captured from an Arab governor by the
name of Musa-bin-baique, a name they could not properly
pronounce, hence the name Mozambique. Even today, after
five centuries of Christian overlordship the country is still 60
percent Muslim.

However, after eight centuries in Spain the Muslims were
totally eliminated from that country so that not even one
man was left to give the Azan {the Muslim call to prayer}.
If the Muslims had used force, military or economic there
would not have been any Christian left in Spain to have
kicked the Muslims out. One can blame the Muslims for
exploitation if you like but one cannot charge them with
using the sword to convert Spaniards to the Islamic religion.

Today, Islam is still spreading all over the world -
and Muslims have NO sword!!

The Muslims were also the masters of India for a
thousand years, but eventually when the sub-continent
received independence in 1947, the Hindus obtained three-
quarters of the country and the Muslims the balance of the
one-quarter. Why? Because the Muslims did not force Islam
down the Hindus' throats! In Spain and in India, the Muslims
were no paragons of virtue, yet they obeyed the Qur'anic
injunction to the letter -

LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION
IN RELIGION:

FOR TRUTH STANDS OUT
DISTINCT FROM ERROR. Holy Quran 2:256
The Muslim conquerors understood from this command
that "compulsion" was incompatible with true religion:
because

(a} Religion depends on faith and will, and these
would be meaningless if induced by force.
Force can conquer but cannot convert.

(b) Truth and Error have been so clearly shown
up by the Mercy of God that there should
be no doubt in the minds of any person of
goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.

(c) God's protection is continuous and His Plan is
always to lead us from the depths of dark-
ness into the clearest light. 1

Except for some eccentrics here and there, the Muslims
as a whole adhered to the commandment of God in the
lands over which they held sway.

1. (a), (b} and (c) are Yusuf Ali's comments on verse 256. Obtain his translation with over 6000 explanatory footnotes from the IPCI.

Regards,
Sardarzada