The Courageous Yet Reluctant Warrior

After a brief respite, his mission is consumed by the need to fight wars of survival. These three wars in four years, badr, uhad and ahzab, besides posing a physical threat, must have been extremely distracting and demanding of his time and energy. yet the work of building the community goes on.

It is important to remember that even though faced with very aggressive proponents the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers never initiated or instigated any wars. Muhammad (pbuh) and the Muslims engaged in these battles with great discipline, avoiding injury to the innocent and using only the minimum force needed. women, children and non-combatants were not to be harmed.

When the enemy stopped fighting, he was to be given immediate sanctuary. striking a blow in anger, even in battle, was prohibited. He uses innovative strategies in the battles, which include the use of the trench as a defense. during the digging of the trench he is an active participant. He consults frequently (shura) with his companions and follows the majority opinion (ijma'), even when it sometimes goes against his own judgment.