Battles

A battle is a combat in warfare between two or more armed forces. A war usually consists of multiple battles. Battles generally are well defined in duration, area, and force commitment.

182806

Music . Emotions . Sadness . Song . Battles . Anger

Is it permissible in Islam to listen to emotional music, like songs about mothers or wars, that could elicit feelings of sadness, anger, or happiness?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

It is not allowed to listen to any type of sinful music. Sinful music is the music which is usually listened by the sinners. Emotional music which is usually by sinners is not allowed. If it is a martial music of war which is specifically used by the sinners, then many of our great Maraaji' of Taqleed say that it is not sinful.

Wassalam.

177847

Islam . Battles . `Umar b. al-Khattab

What were the many military conquests of Umar's era? Were his wars defensive or offensive? How many countries were made Muslim by him by force of sword?

Islam did not come to force people to believe in it. Allah Says in Quran: The is compulsion in religion. (Sura 2, verse 256).

The Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) did not initiate wars on people to force the on Islam.

Wars during the government of Saqeefah rules were mostly politically motivated.

'Wassalam.

165665

Death . Apostasy (Irtidad) . Battles . Fire

Is it true that during the Apostasy wars certain apostates were put to death by fire, because in the past I read a Hadith where the Prophet (S) forbade the Sahabas from using fire as a means of death?

It is not allowed in Islam to punish with fire. If such act was done by any Muslim, it means that he did not follow the Islamic law.

Wassalam.

128168

Prophets . Battles . Battle of Karbala . Imamah

Could you recommend any exceptional books that are translated into English about the Battle of Karbala, the biographies of the 12 imams, or the previous Prophets?

Zeinab Donati, Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining... Answered 2 years ago

As mentioned already, al-Islam.org has an extensive library concerning all kinds of topics related to Islamic matters, so browse the library to find answers to your questions.

In particular, I suggest you to check the sections below.

Battle of Karbala:

https://www.al-islam.org/tags/karbala

https://www.al-islam.org/tags/muharram

Biography of the 12 Imams:

You can find an ample selection of texts about the Ahl al-Bayt ('a) here -

https://www.al-islam.org/tags/ahl-al-bayt

In particular, I recommend the following texts:

https://www.al-islam.org/brief-history-fourteen-infallibles

https://www.al-islam.org/fourteen-luminaries-islam-ahmad-ahmadi-birjandi

Otherwise there's plenty of biographies of each individual Infallible ('s) on Al-Islam.org.

Previous Prophets:

https://www.al-islam.org/tags/prophets

In particular:

https://www.al-islam.org/hayat-al-qulub-vol-1-stories-prophets-muhammad-...

InshaAllah this helps.

Fi aman Allah

Prophets . Battles . Battle of Karbala . Imamah

Could you recommend any exceptional books that are translated into English about the Battle of Karbala, the biographies of the 12 imams, or the previous Prophets?

There are many books on the tragedy of Karbala e.g, The Tragedy of Karbala, published by Islamic Publishing Hiuse, The Battle of Karbala published by Forgotten Books, Karbala and Beyond by Yasin Al-Jiboyri, The Matryr of Karbala published by Zam Zam Publishers and many other books.
About the life of the 12 Imams you can read Kitab Al-Irshad by Shaikh Al-Mufeed which is a good book translated in English and available online.

'Wassalam.

136362

Battles . `Umar b. al-Khattab

Is there any evidence for the suggestion that Umar b. al-Khattab used to run away from battles?

Yes. It is a fact admitted in main Sunni books that Umar ibn al-Khattab ran away from Uhud and Hunain and Khaibar.
1. Saheeh Al-Bukhari; Hadeeth number 3978 which is very clear that Umar b. Khattab ran away from the battle of Hunain with those who ran away.

2. Saheeh Al-Bukhari, V.5, P.101.

3. Fat-h Al-Bari Fi Shar-h Saheeh Al-Bukhari by Ibn Hajar, V.8, P. 29.

4. Omdatul Qari Fi Shar-h Saheeh Al-Bukhari, V.17, P. 299 .

5. 'Awn Al-Ma'bood , V.7, P. 275.

6. Al-Budayah Wal-Nihayah by Ibn Katheer.

7. Al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Katheer , V.4, P. 264 and V. 2, P. 89 and V.3, P. 51.

8. Seerat Ibn Hisham, V.2, V. 415.

9. Soyouti in al-Dorr al-Manthour , V. 2, V. 88 narrated from Umar himself how he ran away from the battle of Uhud.
10. Al-Tabari in his Tafseer, V.4, P. 193 narrated from Umar how he ran away from the battle of Uhud and climbed the mountain running like a goat.

11. Kanzul Ummal by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, V. 2, P. 376.

12. Great Sunni books of Tafseer like Al-Fakhr al-Razi (9:51) mentioned this fact.

13. Ibn Asakir in Tareekh Dimashq , V.24, P. 396.

14. Al-Hamawi in Mo'jam al-Boldan , V.4, P. 173.

15. Al-Salihi al-Shami in Sobol al-Huda , V.4, P. 206.

16. Al-Waqidi as narrated by Ibn Abi al-Hadeed, V. 15, P. 22.

17. Al-Haakim al-Nisabouri in al-Mustadrak 'ALAL-Saheehain, V.3, P. 40.

18. Al-Mussannaf by Ibn Abi Shaibah, V.7, P. 396.

19. Al-Albani Nasser , the well known Wahabi Shaikh in his book Erwaa' al-Ghaleel, V.5, P. 53.

20. Majma' al-Zawaa'id by al Haithami, V.6, P. 136.

Wassalam.

131698

Jihad . Muslims . Islam . Battles

In which Jihad wars did Imam Hassan AS and Imam Hussain AS fight against non-Muslims for the sake of Islam?

The narrations claiming that Imam Hasan (AS) or Imam Husain (AS) fought in wars under the leadership of others are not authentic at all. We don't have any narrations in our books in this regards. Some Sunni authors like Ibn Khaldoon claimed that but with out any authentic evidence or reliable source. Ibn Khuldoon himself lived in the eighth Hijra century and never witnessed nor heard from any authentic narrators.

All the life of Ahlul Bayt (AS) was great Jihad to protect Islam and Islam remained intact just because of the Jihad of Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.

126397

Sunni-Shi'a . Battles

What is the view of Shia on early Islamic expansionistic wars and conquests, mostly carried out by Sunni leaders? If Shia hold a negative view of those wars and conquests, then how come Imam Al-Hussein and Al-Hasan participated in the first ones?

The claimed participation of Imam Hasan and Imam Husain in any war of expansion is not authentic and does not have a trusted chain of narrators and it was never narrated in any authentic Shia reference among all of the narrations of the life of imam Hasan and Imam Husain (AS). It was mentioned in two Sunni books ( Tareekh Al-Tabari and Al-Ibrar by ibn Khaldoon who died in 808 Hijri, with out authentic chain of narrators. That is why, we can not trust such claim. We also know that the infallible can never be under leadership of a sinner.
Expansionistic wars were motivated by rulers who wanted more wealth and more control under the slogan of Islam with out permission from the real leader of Islam after the Prophet who is Imam Ali (AS).

Wassalam.

116693

Children . Battle of Karbala . Battles

How many children of Imam Ali were not there in the battle of Karbala, and why?

We know that 18 of the sons of Imam Ali (AS) were martyred in Karbala. They are Imam Husain (AS), Abul Fadhl Al-Abbas (AS) and another 16 sons.

Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyyah was not well and could not join the caravan of imam Husain in Karbala.

Wassalam.

104943

Battles . Caliphate . Sahaba (Companions) . Hudhayfah b. al-Yaman

Did any loyal companions of Imam Ali (as), such as Huzaifa bin Yaman, participate in the battles during the era of the first and second caliphate? If so, how can that be explained?

Huthaifa Ibn al-Yamaan was one of the very pious companions of the Proaphet Muhammad (SAWA) and Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS). He is one of the four best companions of the Prophet (SAWA).
He was informed by the Prophet about the names of the Munafiqeen (hypocrites). Omar Ibn al-Khattab used to repeatedly ask him: Did the Prophet mention my name with the Munafiqeen?

He used to boycott praying on dead body of any Munafiq. He did not pray on many well known persons in Madina.
The narration that Huthaifa took part in al-Yarmouk battle is not in our books but in a Sunni book called al-Waafi bil Wafayaat by al-Safadi (V.11, P. 251).We can not trust such narration.

Huthaifa fought against Mo'awiyah in the army of Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS) in Siffeen battle.

Huthaifa was requested by Omar and Uthman to look after al-Madaa'in. Omar and Uthman wanted to show respect to him being the person who has secrets from the Prophet. He accepted to help Muslims and protect them from corrupt rulers. Imam Ali (AS) also appointed him as a ruler on al-Madaa'in.

Wassalam.

104543

Battles . Jihad . `Umar b. al-Khattab . Imam Ali b. Abi Talib

Is it true that many battles were fought during the reign of Umer bin Khattab but Ali (AS) never took part in any of them? If so, would those battles not be considered as valid Jihad?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 4 years ago

Many the battles that were fought during the expansion of the Arab-Muslim empires after the time of the Prophet (S) were the same sort of battles that any other empire or state engages in to look after its political, financial or economic interests, although it is true that, as a side effect, it contributed to the spread of Islam by establishing a ruling class who was Muslim. So, from that angle, there is nothing special about them to make them jihad fi sabil Allah.

However, if someone was fighting in defence or for other selfless reasons, this could be considered jihad, just as it would be considered jihad fi sabil Allah today if I risked my life to defend someone who is under attack.

Perhaps for that reason, there is a dua in al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyah where Imam Zayn al-Abidin (A) prays for the soldiers on the frontier who are defending the Muslim state against enemies.

Also, even in times of jihad with the Prophet (S), whether or not fighting was counted as jihad was according to intention. For instance, some people might have gone to war for glory or financial gain, and so this is not the same thing as risking their lives or enduring battle solely for the sake of Allah.

Battles . Jihad . `Umar b. al-Khattab . Imam Ali b. Abi Talib

Is it true that many battles were fought during the reign of Umer bin Khattab but Ali (AS) never took part in any of them? If so, would those battles not be considered as valid Jihad?

Imam Ali (AS) never took part in any matter of the governments of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. He did not attend any Juma or Jama'ah with them (Al-Thahabi in Siyar A'laam al- Nubalaa' 9/284.

Valid Jihad must be led or permitted by the Prophet (SAWA) or his real successors.

Wassalam.