AND WHEN you go forth [to war] on earth, you will incur no sin by shor — Islam and war

"The freed slave of Umar bin Ubaidullah who was Umars clerk: Abdullah bin Abi Aufa wrote him (i.e. Umar) a letter that contained the following:-- "Once Allahs Apostle (during a holy battle), waited till the sun had declined and then he got up among the people and said, "O people! Do not wish to face the enemy (in a battle) and ask Allah to save you (from calamities) but if you should face the enemy, then be patient and let it be known to you that Paradise is under the shades of swords." He then said,, "O Allah! The Revealer of the (Holy) Book, the Mover of the clouds, and Defeater of Al-Ahzab (i.e. the clans of infidels), defeat them infidels and bestow victory upon us."

"Those who have attained to faith fight in the cause of God, whereas those who are bent on denying the truth fight in the cause of the powers of evil. Fight, then, against those friends of Satan: verily, Satans guile is weak indeed!"

"Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy’s flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone."

"Islam has first drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the noncombatants of the enemy country. As far as the noncombatant population, such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., is concerned, the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: “Do not kill any old person, any child, or any woman.” (Abu Dawud) “Do not kill the monks in monasteries,” or “Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship.” (Musnad of Ibn Hanbal) During a war, the Prophet saw the corpse of a woman lying on the ground and observed: “She was not fighting. How then came she to be killed?” From this statement of the prophet, jurists have drawn the principle that those who are noncombatants should not be killed during or after the war."

"AND FIGHT in Gods cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression - for, verily, God does not love aggressors. And slay them wherever you may come upon them, and drive them away from wherever they drove you away - for oppression is even worse than killing. And fight not against them near the Inviolable House of Worship unless they fight against you there first; but if they fight against you, slay them: such shall be the recompense of those who deny the truth."

"The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Mahomet is the prophet of God. The vanquished may purchase their lives, by the payment of tribute; the victorious may be appeased by a false and delusive promise of peace; and the faithful follower of the prophet, may submit to the imperious necessities of defeat: but the command to propagate the Moslem creed by the sword is always obligatory, when it can be made effective. The commands of the prophet may be performed alike, by fraud, or by force."