One misconception, promoted by the enemies of justice who do not read of the historical sources impartially but rehash old propaganda over and over again, is the false accusation that Islam was spread by compulsion and coercion. Various scriptures from the Majestic Qur.an can rebut this vile slander.

Allah Most Exalted says in His Majestic Book:

(Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects Taghoot (Satan, idols, tyrants, etc) and believes in Allah, has grasped the most trustworthy hand hold that never breaks. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.) (2:256)

And He, the Most Exalted, says:

(If it had been your Lord’s Will, they all would have believed, all the people on earth! Will you then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!) (10:99) And He, the Most Exalted, says:

(Say, The Truth is from your Lord: Let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject and disbelieve. We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire whose smoke and flames, like the wall and roof of a tent, will overwhelm them. If they implore for relief they will be granted water like melted brass that will scald their faces. How dreadful a drink! And how uncomfortable a couch to recline on!) (18:29)

These and many other verses of the Qur.an and teachings of Prophetic traditions make it clear that no coercion or compulsion in religion is allowed: no one is ever to be forced against his will to convert to Islam. Faith must be by knowledge and free will and based upon firm conviction in the heart, followed by the testimony of correct word and good deed. A mere pronouncement on the lips of the creed of Islam, .LA ILAHA ILLALLAH. (There is no god worthy of being worshipped except Allah alone) – is not enough to confirm one as a believer, even though, if said with the kernel of initial 16 faith, one immediately becomes a Muslim. As Allah said about the Bedouins who professed verbally without firm conviction: (The desert Arabs say: .We believe.. Say: .You do not yet have real Faith, but rather say only: .We have submitted to Allah (aslamna: we are Muslims),. since Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not slight you (the reward) of your deeds: for Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.) (48:14)

It is known that someone cannot be forced to change what is in the depths of his heart, and that one may profess with his tongue what he dons not really believe with certainty: this is not Islam nor Islamic faith. For this reason Allah said the following about the one compelled under torture to renounce his faith in Islam:

(Anyone who utters words of disbelief after accepting Faith in Allah – except under compulsion while his heart remains firm in Faith – such as one who opens his breast to disbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and there will be a dreadful Penalty for them.) (16:106)

Disbelief occurs by opening the heart to disbelieve willingly, and upon this basis, one speaks evil and commits his criminal acts rebelling against Allah and the revealed guidance of the Messengers and becomes an apostate after being a Muslim.

Another accusation related to the above is that Islam was spread by force of arms and warfare. It is an established fact that any system or government, regardless of its source, requires a protective force to defend it adherents, preserve its values, spread its principles, ensure a fair application of its law, and enforce the just execution of legal penalties against own merciful and tolerant conquerors like the Arabs.”

If Islam did spread as a consequence to the wars imposed on the Muslims from those enemies threatening their survival, and the conquests of these oppressive and corrupt regimes that followed consequently, is this unique and unknown in history, especially when compared to other civilizations? What is truly unique of the Islamic conquests is that they are generally liberation from oppression, as in the famous answers that the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) gave to the Emperor of Persia when he asked them what had brought the Muslims to their lands, as mentioned in the history books: .Allah has sent us to take whoever wishes from the slavery of mankind to other men, to the servitude and worship of Allah, from the confines of this world to the expanse (which Islam brings to this world and the Hereafter), and from the injustice of the ways of life (of the worldly rulers) to the justice of Islam.. [see Ibn Katheer, Bidayah wa Nihayah].

In direct contrast to the many examples of massacres, rapes and pillaging, and injustices in history mentioned in the preface, we do not find comparable accounts in the history of these early Islamic conquests.