Please note the following points:

1. The claim that Islam was presented to people of the world with swords is not correct; because Islam was initially presented to them through the letters that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, wrote to the kings after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and invited them to the true religion in those letters. Even after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, Muslims did not achieve victory over Iran and Rome solely by relying on the power of their swords; because their swords were not stronger than the swords of those mighty powers, and therefore, it was not possible for them to achieve victory over Khosrow and Caesar by their swords alone. Based on this, it is fair to say that the most important factor in the influence, spread, and survival of Islam in various countries was its attractive, unique, and humane teachings, which continue to cause its influence, spread, and survival in various countries; as in the topic “The right method to confront disbelievers” in the book Return to Islam[1], Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may Allah Almighty protect him, has referred to this important point and said:

The victory of Muslims over the empires of the West and the East in the early Islamic decades was not due to their advanced military or invitation tools, but rather due to the attractiveness of their message that was able to make the splendor of the world empires lose favor with people and pave the way for their political and military development despite their limited facilities.

Therefore, it appears that the claim of the influence, spread, and survival of Islam in various countries relying on swords is a clear exaggeration and unfairness that has arisen only from the insinuations of the enemies of Islam. Yes, there is no doubt that Muslims fought wars in various countries after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family. However, these wars were not with the people of these countries in most cases, but rather with their disbelieving and oppressive rulers who themselves had conquered these countries through war and were treating their inhabitants unjustly. Therefore, the wars of Muslims should be considered as efforts on their part to liberate these countries from the occupation of disbelievers and oppressors; as it has been narrated from Ribi‘i ibn Amir, the representative of Muslims in the Battle of Qadisiyyah for negotiations with Rostam Farrokhzad, the Iranian military commander, that he responded to his question about the motivation of Muslims for war against them: «اللَّهُ ابْتَعَثَنَا وَاللَّهُ جَاءَ بِنَا لِنُخْرِجَ مَنْ شَاءَ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ الْعِبَادِ إِلَى عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ، وَمِنْ ضِيقِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَى سَعَتِهَا، وَمِنْ جَوْرِ الْأَدْيَانِ إِلَى عَدْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَأَرْسَلَنَا بِدِينِهِ إِلَى خَلْقِهِ لِنَدْعُوَهُمْ إِلَيْهِ، فَمَنْ قَبِلَ مِنَّا ذَلِكَ قَبِلْنَا ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ وَرَجَعْنَا عَنْهُ وَتَرَكْنَاهُ وَأَرْضَهُ يَلِيهَا دُونَنَا»[2]; “Allah sent us, and Allah brought us so that we would bring those whom He wills out of the worship of servants into the worship of Allah, out of the hardship of the world into its ease, and out of the injustice of religions into the justice of Islam. He sent us with His religion so that we would invite His creation to it. So whoever accepts it from us, we will accept it from him and go back and leave his land to him.” This is based on the global perspective of Islam, which sees the earth as belonging to Allah and does not recognize people’s ownership of it; as it says: ﴿إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۖ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾[3]; “Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He gives it as inheritance to whomever He wills from among His servants, and the (good) end belongs to the pious.”

2. According to the rule of Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may Allah Almighty protect him, in the book Return to Islam[4], it is not permissible to initially wage war except with the permission of Allah’s Caliph on the earth. However, it appears that this permission generally existed for the wars of Muslims with non-Muslims after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, at least in the time of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman; because no explicit opposition to these wars has been reported from the Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, even in the time of Ali and Hasan. Rather, there are numerous confirmations and collaborations from them in this regard, including the advice that Ali gave Umar in the Battle of al-Jisr, the conquest of Nahavand, the war with the Romans, the conquest of Jerusalem, the conquest of Khorasan, and the conquest of Shush; regardless of the fact that their taking possession of the spoils and captives obtained from these wars is certain, which can generally indicate their belief in the legitimacy of these wars.

3. The command of Allah Almighty to fight against disbelievers and oppressors is to eradicate disbelief and oppression and rescue the weak and oppressed in the world, not for plundering, aggression, or invading countries; as He has explicitly said: ﴿وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ لِلَّهِ ۖ فَإِنِ انْتَهَوْا فَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ﴾[5]; “And fight against them until there is no strife and religion is for Allah, but if they desist, then there should be no hostility except toward oppressors”; because Allah Almighty does not need plundering, aggression, or invading countries. However, He does not tolerate disbelief and oppression in the world; as He has said: ﴿إِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ ۖ وَلَا يَرْضَى لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ﴾[6]; “If you disbelieve, surely Allah does not need you, while He is not satisfied with disbelief for His servants,” and said: ﴿وَمَا اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِلْعَالَمِينَ﴾[7]; “And Allah desires no oppression to people of the world.”

It is strange that disbelievers and oppressors, throughout their history, have always waged war against the weak and the oppressed without sparing any plundering, aggression, or invading countries for the purpose of spreading disbelief and oppression in the world. However, they consider the wars of Muslims for the purpose of spreading monotheism and justice throughout the world and rescuing the weak and the oppressed as examples of plundering, aggression, and invading countries! This is obviously a satanic plot from them to control the world; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ الطَّاغُوتِ فَقَاتِلُوا أَوْلِيَاءَ الشَّيْطَانِ ۖ إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا﴾[8]; “Those who believe fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of taghut, so fight against the friends of Satan, for the plot of Satan is weak.”