What do you think about who is saying that the islam was shared by killing unlike christianity?
Muhaj's answer
Composed from the retrieved sources — every citation is drawn from them
The claim
The claim is that Islam was spread by force and killing, whereas Christianity was spread peacefully. This is a common comparison that needs to be examined against the actual texts of both traditions.
Evidence from the text
(5)The Qur’an explicitly states "There is no compulsion in religion" [quran:2:256], directly contradicting the idea that Islam forces conversion.
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
The Qur’an limits fighting to those who attack you and prohibits aggression: "Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors" [quran:2:190].
وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors.
The Prophet ﷺ commanded his armies: "Do not be treacherous, do not steal from the spoils, do not mutilate, and do not kill children" [abudawud:2613], showing strict rules of engagement that protect non-combatants.
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " اغْزُوا بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَاتِلُوا مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ اغْزُوا وَلاَ تَغْدِرُوا وَلاَ تَغُلُّوا وَلاَ تُمَثِّلُوا وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا وَلِيدًا " .
Sulaiman bin Buraidah reported on his father’s authority The Prophet(ﷺ) said “Fight in the name of Allaah and in the path of Allaah and with him who disbelieves in Allaah fight and do not be treacherous and do not be dishonest about boot yand do not deface (in killing) and do not kill a child.”
The Old Testament records God commanding the destruction of entire peoples including women, children, and infants: "Go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have… kill both man and woman, child and infant" [bible:1samuel:15:3].
Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don’t spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
Jesus himself says: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword" [bible:matthew:10:34], indicating that his message would involve conflict.
“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword.
The Quranic view
The Qur’an teaches that faith cannot be forced [quran:2:256], and that warfare is only permitted in self‑defense against those who aggress against Muslims [quran:2:190]. Fighting is for the sake of justice and to remove oppression, not for conversion [quran:2:193]. The Prophet ﷺ explicitly forbade harming children, women, and non‑combatants [abudawud:2613]. In contrast, the Bible repeatedly records divinely‑commanded genocide of entire populations, including the very young [bible:1samuel:15:3; bible:joshua:6:21; bible:1samuel:22:19]. Thus the claim that Islam was spread by killing while Christianity was not ignores the scriptural record of both traditions.
Summary
The accusation that Islam was spread by killing is based on a selective reading of history, not the Qur’an and Sunnah, which explicitly forbid compulsion in religion and limit warfare to defensive contexts. The Bible itself contains commands to annihilate entire peoples, including the most vulnerable. Therefore, the claim does not hold up to textual scrutiny from either scripture.
Cited sources
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