Page:Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din - Ethics of War.djvu/15

 It is a pity, therefore, to find that the civilized nations of to-day, when engaged in the Great War, could not observe the above rules. Churches were demolished, mostly in France and Belgium, and priests were murdered in the war.

Muhammad, as I have said before, appeared as a Warrior-Prophet, not only to protect his own faith and the lives of his followers from the ruthless tyranny of his adversaries, but to lay down rules of guidance for the coming world in the matter of war. The story of the Great War is palpable proof that man-made rules are either insufficient to meet the situation or can be set at naught by those whose interests are opposed to them. Muhammad had to fight several campaigns and thus left tracks on the pages of history for our guidance. He always respected treaties made with his enemies. I will now attempt briefly to describe the events of his life in this connection, and give the beautiful Quranic injunctions to which they gave rise.

From the commencement of his ministry, Muhammad, with his small band of followers, was put to a series of unimaginable persecu-