point of a sword, and that the Muslim hosts were over-running all lands with the message of Islām, jizyah or the sword. This is, of course, quite a distorted picture of what really happened. If the Muslims had really been abroad with the message, and in this spirit, how was it possible for non-Muslims to fight in their ranks? The fact that there were people who never became Muslims at all, nor ever paid jizyah, and yet were living in the midst of the Muslims, even fighting their battles, explodes the whole theory of the Muslims offering Islām or jizyah or the sword. The truth of the matter is that the Muslims finding the Roman Empire and Persia bent upon the subjugation of Arabia and the extirpation of Islām, refused to accept terms of peace without a safeguard against a repetition of the aggression; and this safeguard was demanded in the form of jizyah, or a tribute, which would be an admission of defeat on their part. No war was ever started by the Muslims by sending this message to a peaceful neighbour; history belies such an assertion. But when a war was undertaken on account of the enemy’s aggression — his advance on Muslim territory or help rendered to the enemies of the Muslim state — it was only natural that the Muslims did not terminate the war before bringing it to a successful conclusion. They were willing to avoid further bloodshed after inflicting a defeat on the enemy, only if he admitted defeat and agreed to pay a tribute, which was only a token tribute as compared with the crushing war indemnities of the present day. The offer to terminate hostilities on payment of jizyah was thus an act of mercy towards a vanquished foe. But if the payment of a token tribute was unacceptable to the vanquished power, the Muslims could do nothing but have recourse to the sword, until the enemy was completely subdued.

The only question that remains is whether the Muslim soldiers invited their enemies to accept Islām; and whether it was an offence if they did so? Islām was a missionary religion from its very inception, and every Muslim deemed it his birthright to invite other people to embrace Islām. The envoys of Islām, wherever they went, looked upon it as their first duty to deliver the message of Islām, because they felt that Islām imparted a new life and vigour to humanity, and offered a real solution to the problems of every nation. Islām was offered, no