International Relations in Islam

Islam is not only a private faith; from the time the Prophet ﷺ led the community in Medina, it also had to deal with tribes, empires and other states. The Qur’an and the Sunnah therefore set rules for how a Muslim state makes treaties, receives envoys, grants protection, makes war and makes peace. Muslim jurists developed this into a whole field called siyar; the 8th-century jurist Muhammad al-Shaybani wrote one of the earliest systematic works on what we would now call international law. The Qur’an’s starting point is that God created humanity as many peoples precisely so that they would get to know each other (Qur’an 49:13).

Justice and kindness to those who are not hostile

The basic rule for relations with non-Muslim peoples is set out in two verses:

لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ ﴿٨﴾ إِنَّمَا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ قَٰتَلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ وَظَٰهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ ﴿٩﴾

⁸Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. ⁹Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion - [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

Hostility is defined by actions — fighting Muslims, driving them from their homes, helping others to do so — not by religion. With everyone else, the Qur’an asks for justice and positive kindness. This is the basis for trade, alliances, embassies and peaceful coexistence. See Non-Muslims in Islam.

Treaties are binding

Keeping one’s word is a command of God, not a matter of convenience:

وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا عَٰهَدتُّمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا۟ ٱلْأَيْمَٰنَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٩١﴾

And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have taken it, [O believers], and do not break oaths after their confirmation while you have made Allah, over you, a witness. Indeed, Allah knows what you do.

Even with former enemies, a treaty must be honoured for as long as the other side honours it:

إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ عَٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَمْ يُظَٰهِرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًۭا فَأَتِمُّوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَىٰ مُدَّتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٤﴾

Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him].

The Qur’an goes further: if Muslims living under another power ask for help, it must be given — except against a people with whom the Muslims have a treaty:

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَهَاجَرُوا۟ وَجَٰهَدُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاوَوا۟ وَّنَصَرُوٓا۟ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَمْ يُهَاجِرُوا۟ مَا لَكُم مِّن وَلَٰيَتِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ حَتَّىٰ يُهَاجِرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِنِ ٱسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلنَّصْرُ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍۭ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُم مِّيثَٰقٌۭ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ ﴿٧٢﴾

Indeed, those who have believed and emigrated and fought with their wealth and lives in the cause of Allah and those who gave shelter and aided - they are allies of one another. But those who believed and did not emigrate - for you there is no guardianship of them until they emigrate. And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty. And Allah is Seeing of what you do.

At Hudaybiyah the Prophet ﷺ accepted harsh terms, and when a Muslim escaped to him from Mecca as the treaty was being concluded, he sent him back to keep his word. Later, when Mu’awiyah moved his army towards Byzantine lands so that he could attack the moment a truce expired, a companion stopped him:

Narrated Amr ibn Abasah: Sulaym ibn Amir, a man of Himyar, said: There was a covenant between Mu'awiyah and the Byzantines, and he was going towards their country, and when the covenant came to an end, he attacked them. A man came on a horse, or a packhorse saying, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great; let there be faithfulness and not treachery. And when they looked they found that he was Amr ibn Abasah. Mu'awiyah sent for him and questioned him (about that). He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: When one has covenant with people he must not strengthen or loosen it till its term comes to an end or he brings it to an end in agreement with them (to make both the parties equal). So Mu'awiyah returned

If a Muslim state fears that the other side is preparing treachery, it may not strike secretly; it must openly announce that the treaty is ended (Qur’an 8:58). The Prophet ﷺ warned that every betrayer will carry a banner of his treachery on the Day of Resurrection (Bukhari 3188).

Envoys and safe conduct

Diplomats were protected in Islam long before modern conventions. When two envoys of the false prophet Musaylimah openly declared their loyalty to him in front of the Prophet ﷺ, he said:

Narrated Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say when they (messengers sent by Musaylimah) read the letter of Musaylimah: What do you believe yourselves? They said: We believe as he believes. He said: I swear by Allah that were it not that messengers are not killed, I would cut off your heads

Any non-Muslim, even from an enemy people, can be given a promise of safety (aman). The Qur’an commands it for anyone who asks for protection in order to hear the message, and requires that he be escorted to safety afterwards:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَٰمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُۥ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٦﴾

And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.

This protection can be granted by any Muslim, man or woman, and the whole community must honour it (Bukhari 3172). On the day Mecca was conquered, Umm Hani, a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, gave protection to a man her own brother wanted to kill, and the Prophet ﷺ upheld it:

…O Um Hani! We will grant asylum to the one whom you have granted asylum.…

Classical jurists drew the mirror-image rule: a Muslim who enters another country under its permission is bound by that promise and may not betray its people or their property. Many scholars today apply this to visas and residency.

Peace and the law of war

Islam does not glorify war, and it does not pretend war will never happen. When an enemy inclines to peace, Muslims must accept:

۞ وَإِن جَنَحُوا۟ لِلسَّلْمِ فَٱجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ﴿٦١﴾

And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon Allah. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing.

When war is lawful, it is declared only by legitimate authority, for a just cause, and under rules that protect non-combatants, prisoners and anyone under treaty; whoever kills a person under treaty with the Muslims will not even smell Paradise (Bukhari 3166). These rules are explained in What is jihad, really? and War and peace in Islam.

History offers examples of this treaty-keeping. When Jerusalem surrendered to the caliph Umar around 637–638, the sources report that he gave its Christian inhabitants a written guarantee of safety for their lives, churches and property. Historians debate the exact wording of the surviving versions, but the practice of granting such guarantees is well attested.

The abodes of Islam, war and treaty

Classical jurists divided the world into dar al-Islam (lands under Muslim rule), dar al-harb (lands at war with Muslims) and, in the view of many, dar al-‘ahd or dar al-sulh (lands bound to Muslims by treaty). These terms do not appear in the Qur’an; they were scholars’ reasoning about the world of rival empires they lived in, and the jurists themselves defined them differently — some, for example, by whether Muslims could live and practise their faith in safety.

Today scholars discuss how these categories apply in a world of nation-states, international agreements and Muslim citizens living in non-Muslim countries. Many contemporary scholars hold that most of today’s relations fall under treaty and safe conduct, so that the rules of keeping covenants govern them; others prefer to keep the classical terms while recognising the binding force of present treaties. Both sides agree on what matters most: no individual or group may treat a country as a battlefield on their own authority, and every treaty and promise of safety must be kept.

In short

Islam gives a Muslim state firm principles for living among nations: justice to the peaceful, faithfulness to treaties, safety for envoys and guests, a law that restrains war, and a standing readiness for peace.