After he received the first Revelation, the command read!, God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, returned home in excitement. He was sleeping wrapped in a cloak, 'enwrapped' by the suffering of people and the heaviness of his responsibility, when God commanded him:

O you enwrapped one! Keep vigil the night long, save a little (a half of it, or diminish a little, or add a little), and chant the Koran in measure. for We shall charge you with a word of weight. (73:1-5)

The short period between the first revelation and the beginning of the communication of the Message to the others, the period marked by verses such as those above was of a preliminary kind for God's Messenger. He had to prepare himself to perform the duty of conveying God's Word of Weight, the Koran. He was to keep vigil the night long and recite the Koran in measure, because the vigil of the night is a time when impression is more keen and recitation more penetrating.

Jihad entails, besides conveying the Message to others, a believer's struggle with his carnal self to build his genuine, spiritual character, overflowing with belief and inflamed with love

As was explained above, striving in the way of God entails, besides conveying the Message to others, a believer's struggle with his carnal self to build his genuine, spiritual character, overflowing with belief and inflamed with love. a believer's struggle in the way of God, with these two dimensions of it, continues, in the individual sphere, until the believer's death, and up to the Last Day in the collective sphere. So, a short while after God's Messenger received the order to keep vigil the night long, the following revelation came to him:

O you enshrouded one, arise and warn! Your Lord magnify; Your robes purify and defilement flee! and show not favor, seeking worldly gain! for the sake of your Lord, be patient! (74:1-7)

By these revelations, the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was ordered to begin the preaching of Islam. He started from his relatives of the nearest kin and, after the command, Warn your tribe of nearest kindred (26:214), his call encompassed his tribe. This was followed by public preaching and, predictably, by reactions such as derisions, threats, tortures, offers of the most alluring kind and boycotting.

In Makka, God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, never resorted to, nor allowed, retaliation. for Islam came not to make mischief nor to cause dissensions among people. It came, in the words of Amir ibn Rabi', the Muslim envoy to the Persian commander in the war of Qadisiya during the caliphate of 'Umar, to bring people out of the darkness of unbelief into the light of belief, to free them from 'servanthood' to servants to make them the servants of One God, and to elevate them from the pit of 'earth' to the height of 'heaven'. Also, as stated earlier, Islam, literally meaning peace, salvation and submission, came to establish peace, first, in the inner worlds of human beings themselves, making them at peace with God, nature, and the entire world and universe. for this reason, peace and order are fundamental in Islam. It always seeks to spread in a peaceful atmosphere and refrains from resorting to force as much as possible. Islam never approves injustice in whatever form it is, and severely forbids bloodshed. According to the Koran:

Whoever slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had slain all mankind, and whoever 'gives life' to a soul, it shall be as if he had 'given life' to the whole of mankind. (5:32)

Coming to eradicate injustice and corruption on the earth, and to 'unite' the earth with the heavens in peace and harmony, Islam seeks to call people with wisdom and fair exhortation, and does not resort to force until those who desire to maintain the corrupted order they built on injustice, oppression, self-interest and exploitation of others and usurpation of their rights, resist it to prevent its preaching. Thus, Islam allows the use of force in the following cases:

• If unbelievers or polytheists or those who make mischief and corruption on the earth resist the preaching of Islam and try to block its way of conquering the minds and hearts of people. Being a God-revealed religion of truth, Islam aims to secure the well-being and happiness of mankind in both worlds and therefore has the right to enjoy the freedom of presenting itself to people.

• God permitted His Messenger to resort to the 'sword' only after he emigrated to Madina and established an independent state there. This permission was given because the Muslims were wronged (al-Hajj, 22.39). the verses revealed to express this permission are worth mentioning in order to understand the true nature of war in Islam and for what purposes it was made lawful:

(Fighting is) permitted to those who are fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely God is able to give them victory. Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: 'Our Lord is God'. for had it not been for God's repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the Name of God is much mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Assuredly God helps one who helps Him [His religion]. Surely God is All-Strong, All-Mighty. Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish worship and pay the poor-due and enjoin the good and forbid the evil. and God's is the sequel of events. (22. 39-41)

It is clear from the verses above, and has been witnessed by history, that Islam resorts to force in order to defend itself and establish the freedom of belief. So, under the rule of Islam, the followers of other religions - Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, etc. - are free to practice their religion. It is a historical fact which has been acknowledged even by many Western writers, that Christians and Jews have lived the most prosperous and happiest period of their history under the rule of Islam.

• Islam, being the true religion revealed by God, the Lord of the Worlds, the All-Just and All-Compassionate, never approves any injustice in any part of the world. the righteous servants of God are obliged to strive for the establishment of justice in life.