Overview
Islam Forbids Attacks on Civilians
Key passage
Quran
وَقَٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ
سورة البقرة · الآية ١٩٠
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors.
Quran 2:190
Translation: Saheeh International
scripture
Defense Without Transgression
وَقَٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَسورة البقرة · الآية ١٩٠
'Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors' (Quran 2:190). The command identifies an enemy engaged in fighting and immediately sets a moral limit. The Quran also recounts the rule given to the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unjustly is as though he had killed all humanity (Quran 5:32). Elsewhere it requires kindness and justice toward peaceful non-Muslims and acceptance when an enemy genuinely inclines toward peace. Together, these teachings make war exceptional and restraint obligatory.
Key passage
Quran
مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ
سورة المائدة · الآية ٣٢
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
Quran 5:32
Translation: Saheeh International
scripture
Quran 9:5 in Context
sources
The Prophet's Explicit Prohibition
interpretation
Limits That Remain Binding
argument
A Brief Biblical Comparison
Key passage
Bible
But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
Matthew 5:44
Version: World English Bible
summary
The Islamic Rule Is Not a Gray Area
Sources
Sources and further reading
Primary texts and works cited in this article.
The Quran — Tanzil Uthmani text with Saheeh International translation
quran
Source linkUthmani-script Arabic text from Tanzil with the Saheeh International English translation.
The Holy Bible, World English Bible (public domain)
bible
Source linkPublic-domain English translation from the World English Bible.
Battlefields of the Prophet Muhammad: A Contribution to Muslim Military History
book | Muhammad Hamidullah
Historical study computing troop numbers and casualties across the Prophet's military campaigns from classical Arabic sources.
Did God Really Command Genocide? Coming to Terms with the Justice of God
book | Paul Copan and Matthew Flannagan
Book-length philosophical and theological defense of reading the herem texts as bounded ancient Near Eastern conquest rhetoric (Baker Books, 2014).
The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest: Covenant, Retribution, and the Fate of the Canaanites
book | John H. Walton and J. Harvey Walton
Argues that herem means removal from ordinary use rather than literal annihilation in every instance, using internal biblical evidence (IVP Academic, 2017).
Arguing the Just War in Islam
book | John Kelsay
Scholarly study (Harvard University Press, 2007) of the shari'a-based jurisprudential tradition on war, tracing how classical and contemporary Muslim jurists have argued over the legitimacy and limits of armed conflict.