“Apology and Justification” Cannot Serve as a Basis for the Interpretation of Early Islamic History

Dr. Akram Diya Al-Umari

This logic is a result of the psychological and intellectual oppression created in our minds by the cultural invasion of the West. One aspect of the logic is the apologetic approach which some Muslim historians use when they discuss the issue of jihad in Islam, or the Islamic conquests (al futuh al islamiyyah). They view these military expeditions as having been launched in defense of the Arabian Peninsula against the incursions of the Romans and the Persians. Even the military expeditions of the Prophet himself have not escaped this apologetic approach, which portrays them as being waged in defense of the state of Madinah. Professor Muhammad Shalabi al Nu`mani’s study of the Sirah, despite his excellence, has also committed this error.

Some Muslim historians have even gone so far to reject some well-known and well-documented incidents because they were unable to produce the apologetic justification they needed. For example, one such writer denies Ibn Ishaq’s reports concerning the slaughter of the warriors of Qurayzah, although these reports are confirmed in the books of hadith, Sirah and history. It is as if he doubts the fairness of killing them. The Islamic interpretation of history is not apologetic, nor is it a defensive justification. It is based on the conviction that Islam is the truth, and whatever contradicts it is falsehood. Whatever God has legislated in Islam, be it jihad or anything else, is right and has no need of apology or justification, however strange or unacceptable it may appear to the dominant Western mentality of the twentieth century. We should not modify Islam and its history to suit the tastes and ideologies of people in any particular age. What people commend at one particular time may be distasteful at another, and what is considered good by people in one place may be regarded as bad by the people of another place. Only God can truly or evaluate anything and this is reflected in His law, the Shariah. True judgment cannot come from the whims, desires and subjective personal opinions of mere mortals. God is victorious over what he ordains.