ISLAM AND JIHAD 209the culture in which it exists, it is not surprising that Allah revealed his
will to Muhammad using words and concepts that Muhammad knew and
understood and that he imparted unto Muhammad an understanding of the
concepts he was revealing. The problem, then, comes when Muhammad
had to communicate those revelations in words and concepts that the Ar-
abs around him would understand, so any divinely granted comprehension
was not passed on to the next generations and the transmission of Allah’s
will left to the vernacular. The result was a huge introduction of Arabic
culture into Allah’s words as they were inscribed in the Koran. This in-
cluded the Arabs’ predisposition to war.
The history of Islamic military operations dates from MarchA.D. 622
when Muhammad met with the seventy-three men of Yathrib (Medina)
and they decided to join Islam. This was a time when such acts entailed
great personal danger. In doing so, these men came to Muhammad along
different trails and in groups of two or three, to avoid detection. They
swore loyalty to Muhammad and Muhammad is reputed to have cried out,
“I am of you and you are of me! I will war against those that war against
you and I will be at peace with those who are at peace with you!” The
pledge these men made to Muhammad is known as the “Second Aqaba.”
Not only did it establish Islam, it also established one of the five principals
of Islam—the Jihad.
After the Hegira, or flight to Medina, Muhammad was visited again by
the Angel Gabriel, who brought Allah’s order to “Fight the idol-
worshipers.” This was an order to war by Allah. Initially, this declaration
of war was aimed at the Meccans, who were idolaters and who had cast
Muhammad out of their midst. Muhammad began his war against the
idolaters by attacking their wealth, the caravans that were the lifeblood of
their economic interests. This not only trained his followers in the ways
of war, but brought in much needed loot.
In JanuaryA.D. 624 Muhammad sent out Abd Allah Hajash and twelve
men on a secret mission. Their mission was secret because of its inflam-
matory nature. The sealed orders were opened up two days out into the
desert. They were ordered to Nakhla, between Mecca and Taif, and once
there to attack a Meccan caravan. The raid was a success, but the attack
occurred during a sacred period of peace observed by the Arabs and would
arouse much anger.
When the anger burst, Muhammad initially denied responsibility, but
after the return his raiding force and the arrival of the loot, a revelation
came, Surah II, 217:
They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred
month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men)