Exposing Islam

War and Revelation: The Sword of Muhammad and the Birth of Political Islam

Introduction: From Prophet to Warlord

Muhammad’s military campaigns are often sanitized in apologetics, framed as “defensive wars” or necessary measures to preserve the faith. Yet a closer examination of the Islamic sources—Hadith, Sira literature, and the Qur’an itself—reveals a more complex, and far more troubling, picture. Far from a passive preacher forced into conflict, Muhammad was an active initiator of raids, sieges, assassinations, and conquests. He blended revelation with warfare, fusing divine command with geopolitical ambition.

This polemical analysis dismantles the mythology and exposes how Muhammad’s militarism laid the foundation not just for an empire, but for a theology of perpetual struggle.

1. The Birth of Jihad: Raids and Revelations in Medina

After fleeing Mecca in 622 CE, Muhammad didn’t retire into spiritual contemplation. In Medina, he quickly transformed from preacher to political and military leader. His strategy began with caravan raids—most notably, targeting the Quraysh merchant routes. These raids were not just economic warfare; they were justified by divine revelation.

Surah 8:41 – “And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily one-fifth (1/5th) is for Allah, the Messenger...”

Here, the Qur’an explicitly sanctifies plunder. Booty, or ghanimah, becomes a key motivator for warfare—divinely approved theft from the non-believers. The Nakhla Raid, where Muhammad’s men attacked a Quraysh caravan during a sacred month, violated Arab norms. Yet Allah “revealed” a justification for the crime.

Surah 2:217 – “Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but averting people from the way of Allah and disbelief… is greater in the sight of Allah.”

The pattern was set: attack first, justify later—divinely.

2. The Battle of Badr: Bloodshed as Revelation

The Battle of Badr (624 CE) was not a defensive war. It was a premeditated ambush on a Quraysh caravan, led by Abu Sufyan. When the Meccans sent a force to protect their assets, Muhammad’s followers met them in battle. The Muslim victory was portrayed as a divine miracle, but in reality, it was the escalation of a campaign of economic terrorism.

Surah 8:17 – “You did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them...”

Muhammad turned military victory into theological proof. Violence was no longer a necessity—it was a form of divine confirmation. God became the executioner.

3. Uhud and the Spin of Failure

The Battle of Uhud (625 CE) was a tactical disaster. Muhammad ignored the advice of his more experienced companions and led his forces out of Medina to meet the Meccans on open ground. The result? The Muslim army was routed, Muhammad was injured, and his followers questioned his leadership.

How did the Qur’an deal with this humiliation?

Surah 3:152 – “Allah did indeed fulfill His promise to you when you were killing them... until you lost courage.”

The blame was shifted to the believers. Allah remained infallible; the failure was due to insufficient submission and discipline. This manipulation of divine will to cover military incompetence becomes a recurring theme.

4. The Massacre of Banu Qurayza

Nothing reveals Muhammad’s militaristic brutality like the genocide of the Banu Qurayza. After the Battle of the Trench (627 CE), Muhammad accused the Jewish tribe of treachery. Though historians debate their level of involvement, Muhammad ordered their surrender—under the condition that their fate would be judged by Sa’d ibn Mu’adh.

Sa’d ruled that all adult males be executed, and the women and children enslaved. Muhammad approved the verdict as divinely sanctioned justice.

Estimated deaths: 600–900 men.

Ibn Ishaq (Sirat Rasul Allah) – “The Apostle of Allah had trenches dug... he had them brought out in batches and beheaded.”

This was not war—it was a political purge dressed in piety. A religious leader ordering a mass execution and selling women and children as slaves is the stark opposite of prophetic mercy.

5. The Conquest of Mecca: “No Compulsion in Religion”?

When Muhammad returned to Mecca in 630 CE with an army of 10,000, the city surrendered with minimal resistance. He proclaimed an amnesty—except for a list of individuals he ordered to be killed, even if they clung to the Kaaba. These included poets and critics. Several were assassinated.

So much for “there is no compulsion in religion” (Q 2:256).

The conquest of Mecca signaled the total merger of military power with religious authority. Muhammad cleansed the Kaaba of idols and declared Islam supreme. The peaceful religion of submission had become a totalitarian force.

6. Expeditions of Expansion and Intimidation

Muhammad continued launching raids and campaigns after Mecca:

Hunayn (630 CE) – another battle that began with a Muslim ambush and ended with Allah “saving” the Muslims.
Tabuk (631 CE) – no battle occurred, but Muhammad raised a massive army to intimidate the Byzantines. Nearby Christian tribes were “invited” to Islam under threat of war or submission through jizya.

Surah 9:29 – “Fight those who do not believe in Allah... until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.”

This is not spiritual guidance—it is imperial coercion.

7. Assassinations and Political Murders

Muhammad didn’t limit his violence to the battlefield. He ordered numerous assassinations:

Asma bint Marwan – a poetess critical of Muhammad, murdered while nursing her child.
Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf – a Jewish poet lured out of his home and stabbed to death.
Abu Afak – another elderly critic murdered for his words.

Words were enough to warrant death—setting a precedent for blasphemy and apostasy laws that still haunt the Muslim world.

Conclusion: The Prophet of the Sword

The Islamic narrative insists Muhammad was a mercy to mankind. But his actions reveal a very different figure: a leader who fused religion with violence, prophecy with politics, and revelation with warfare. His military campaigns were not incidental—they were central to his identity.

He was not a reluctant warrior but a willing one. And his so-called revelations conveniently adapted to justify every raid, every execution, and every conquest. This was not just a prophet; this was a warlord who used the voice of God to silence enemies and expand power.

In the end, Muhammad’s military career undermines the claim that Islam is a religion of peace. The foundations of the Islamic state were laid in blood, cemented by conquest, and codified by divine sanction.