Revered Islamic Cleric: Major Islamic Conquests Took Place During Ramadan

Ramadan is quintessentially the month of jihad.

A jihad group explained it back in 2012: “The month of Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God’s messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators.” Referring to a jihad attack that happened at that time, the message continued: “One of our groups aided by Allah managed to bomb a bus full of Jewish tourists, plunderers of holy lands, after careful tracking. The holy war is not confined to a particular arena and we shall fight the Jews and the Americans until they leave the land of Islam.”

Islamic scholar Robert Spencer explains here, During Ramadan, Muslims are exhorted to renew and deepen their devotion to Allah. Hence it is a time when they’re supposed to grow more generous and kind toward their fellow Muslims. However, the Qur’an says: “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves” (48:29). If the Ramadan imperative is to become more devout, the Muslim who applies himself diligently to the Ramadan observance will simultaneously become more both merciful to his fellow Muslims and more severe against the unbelievers.

Murdering infidels thus doesn’t contradict the spirit of Ramadan; it embodies it. The Kavkaz Center, a website operated by Chechen jihadists, explained in a 2010 article that the idea of Ramadan as a time for warfare against infidels went back to Muhammad’s time: “The month of Ramadan in the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and the righteous ancestors was a month of forthcoming. The greatest battles during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh) occurred in this blessed month, the month of jihad, zeal and enthusiasm.”

MEMRI, April 2022:

In an April 12, 2022 article on the website of the Qatar- and Turkey-backed International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), titled “The Islamic Conquest Of Al-Andalus Was Part Of Victories Attained During Ramadan,”  Ali Al-Salabi, a prominent Libyan Salafi cleric and an IUMS member, emphasized that major Islamic conquests took place during the month of Ramadan, including the conquest of Al-Andalus (Spain). In his article, he described the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula as a “natural outcome of the strategy that the Muslims followed during their conquests: to secure their borders to promote their religion and to continue to wage jihad beyond these borders to spread the religion of Islam – which necessarily meant the advancement of Islam as long as there was a driving force.”

The following is the full translation of the article 

The Battle Of Badr, The Conquest Of Mecca, And The Battle of Guadalete Are Three Major Battles That Took Place During The Month Of Ramadan

“Ramadan is known as the month of conquests that changed the course of Islam and advanced it tremendously, such as the Battle of Badr and the conquest of Mecca. The Battle of Badr was an official declaration of the establishment of the new state of Islam. The conquest of Mecca a few years later, however, was the major victory for the Islamic state against those who had waged wars against it for 20 years – the people of Mecca and their allies. After the conquest of Mecca, people converted to Islam en masse. Also, among the Muslim victories which took place during the month of Ramadan was the Battle of Guadalete, after which Muslims took over Al-Andalus and a chapter of oppression and tyranny ended, and a new chapter of advancement and civilization started.” (The History of Al-Andalus, pp. 43, 44.)

The Conquest Of Al-Andalus Was A Natural Outcome Of The Strategy Adopted By Muslims During Invasions

“Islam’s conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was a natural outcome of the strategy that the Muslims followed during their conquests: to secure their borders to promote their religion and to continue to wage jihad beyond these borders to spread the religion of Islam – which necessarily meant the advancement of Islam as long as there was a driving force. In addition, after Musa Ibn Nusayr and his companions cemented that message of Islam in the greater Maghreb with their efforts, the natural next step was the conquest of Al-Andalus.

“Musa completed the efforts of his predecessors – the soldiers, preachers, commanders, and armies – in strengthening Islam in North Africa. He focused on stabilizing Islam in people’s hearts and actively taught and educated them about the principles of Islam. His efforts were successful, as the Berbers in North Africa were among the groups most loyal to Islam, in inviting people to convert to Islam and in waging jihad to spread its teachings. The majority of the soldiers in Tariq ibn Ziyad’s army, which was deployed to the Iberian Peninsula, were Muslim Berbers who were zealous about Islam, admirers of it, and willing to sacrifice themselves for it. They were not in it to take spoils or to gain recognition. This was the objective of all the Islamic conquests, and reading about them and learning about their nature would be sufficient for a rejection of allegations and refutation of false claims seeking to show, whether directly or indirectly, that these conquests were for the purpose of obtaining spoils of war. There is no evidence backing that claim, which is a mere illusion with no scientific or historical backing. (The History of Al-Andalus, p. 45.)

“It would be reasonable to say that the idea of conquering the Iberian Peninsula was an exclusively Islamic idea. In fact, it has been narrated that it was an ancient idea dating back to the time of the Rightly Guided Caliph Othman Bin Affan, and that [commander] Uqba Ibn Nafi Al-Fihri had considered crossing the strait to Spain if that would have been possible. In the past, Muslims carried out activity on the eastern shores of Spain and on the nearby islands of Majorca, Minorca, and Ibiza. According to the [Muslim historian] Al-Dhahabi, in the year 89 of the Islamic calendar [commander] Musa ibn Nusayr equipped his son Abdollah militarily, and he took over Majorca and Minorca. As for contacting Julian, the governor of the city of Ceuta, or other Spanish governors, it appears that this was during the time when Musa ibn Nusayr was considering executing the plan of conquest.”

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