Islam teaches that peace is the goal and the norm, while permitting war for defense and against oppression under strict moral limits. The Quran tells Muslims to accept peace when offered, to deal justly with non-Muslims who do not fight them, and never to kill the innocent. Like followers of other faiths, Muslims have sometimes fallen short of these ideals.
"Is Islam a religion of peace?" is usually asked after a terrorist attack, and the honest answer has more than one part. This guide looks at what the word Islam means, how the Quran's most quoted "violent" verses read in context, what history shows about coexistence and conflict, and what surveys say about how Muslims actually view violence.
Key takeaways
- Islam and salam (peace) share the Arabic root s-l-m, and one of God's names in the Quran is as-Salam, "the Source of Peace" (Quran 59:23).
- The "sword verse" (Quran 9:5) concerns specific treaty-breaking enemies in 7th-century Arabia, and the very next verse orders protection for any of them who asks for it (Quran 9:6).
- The Quran allows kindness and justice toward non-Muslims who do not fight Muslims (Quran 60:8) and commands accepting peace when the enemy inclines to it (Quran 8:61).
- In Pew Research Center's 2013 survey of Muslims in 39 countries, most said suicide bombing in defense of Islam is never justified, though sizable minorities in a few places disagreed.
- Gallup found in 2011 that 78% of Muslim Americans say military attacks on civilians are never justified, a higher share than any other US religious group surveyed.
Does the word Islam mean peace?
Not exactly. Islam means "submission" or "surrender" to God. But it comes from the same three-letter root, s-l-m, as salam, meaning peace, safety and wholeness. Classical scholars connected the two: peace comes from submitting to God and living in harmony with His guidance. Our guide to what Islam is explains the word in more detail.
The greeting Muslims use every day, as-salamu 'alaykum, means "peace be upon you." The Quran tells believers to greet even those who address them harshly with words of peace (Quran 25:63), calls Paradise "the Home of Peace" (Quran 10:25) and names God as-Salam:
He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him.
In this verse, Sahih International renders as-Salam as "the Perfection." It is usually translated "the Source of Peace." You can read more about as-Salam, the Source of Peace, among the 99 Names of Allah.
So the word itself does not prove anything about how Muslims behave. It does show that peace sits at the center of the religion's vocabulary.
Does the Quran promote violence?
The Quran contains verses about fighting, as the Hebrew Bible does. The question is what those verses command, against whom and under what conditions. Three principles run through them:
- Fighting is permitted against aggression and persecution, not because of a person's religion. The first permission to fight was given "because they were wronged" (Quran 22:39).
- Transgression is forbidden even in war (Quran 2:190).
- Peace must be accepted when offered:
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.
Toward non-Muslims who are not fighting, the Quran's instruction is justice and kindness:
Allah 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.
Our guide to what jihad means covers the rules of war in detail, including the Prophet's prohibition on killing women and children.
What is the "sword verse" (Quran 9:5)?
Quran 9:5 is the verse most often quoted to argue that Islam commands violence against non-Muslims:
And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Read alone, it sounds like a universal command. Read with its surrounding verses, its target is narrower:
- Surah at-Tawbah opens with a declaration about treaties made with certain Arabian polytheist tribes (Quran 9:1).
- Verse 9:4, just before, exempts those who kept their treaties: "complete for them their treaty until their term."
- Verse 9:7 adds, "as long as they are upright toward you, be upright toward them."
- Verse 9:13 explains that these were people "who broke their oaths and determined to expel the Messenger, and they had begun [the attack upon] you the first time."
And the verse immediately after commands protection:
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.
Honesty requires a further point. Some classical scholars held that 9:5 and 9:29 "abrogated" earlier, more peaceful verses and justified wider campaigns against non-Muslim states, a view that shaped medieval legal theory on expansion. Many other classical and most modern scholars reject that reading, holding that the verses on peace remain in force and that fighting is tied to aggression. Extremist groups quote only the first view, and only the first half of 9:5.
The Charter of Medina
Soon after arriving in Madinah in 622 CE, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) agreed a written pact with the city's clans, known as the Charter or Constitution of Medina. Its text is preserved in the early biography of the Prophet by Ibn Ishaq and in Abu Ubayd's Kitab al-Amwal.
The document set out mutual defense of the city, blood-money arrangements and the Prophet's role as arbiter of disputes. Several Jewish clans are named as parties, and it states that the Jews of Banu Awf are "a community (umma) with the believers," with "the Jews their religion and the Muslims theirs."
Historians debate the details. Most accept it as an authentic early document, though some argue it combines several agreements made at different times. The historian Michael Lecker has argued that the major Jewish tribes of Medina were not parties to it and that the participating Jews received a guarantee of security rather than full membership. The pact also broke down: the Prophet's relations with the three main Jewish tribes of Madinah ended in conflict, expulsion and, in the case of Banu Qurayzah, executions after the Battle of the Trench, events historians and Muslim scholars still discuss and explain in different ways. The Charter remains an early model of a shared civic order among different faiths, but not a simple story of harmony.
What does history show? Coexistence and conflict
Islamic history is neither a record of constant holy war nor an unbroken golden age of tolerance. Both coexistence and conflict are real.
| Evidence of coexistence | Evidence of conflict and coercion |
|---|---|
| Early conquests generally did not force conversion; historians such as Richard Bulliet show conversion took centuries | The early caliphates expanded rapidly through military conquest from Spain to Central Asia |
| Jews and Christians lived as protected communities (dhimmis) with their own courts and places of worship | That protection came with the jizya tax and legal inequalities, and enforcement varied by ruler |
| Jewish and Christian scholars flourished in Baghdad and Muslim Spain | The Almohads in 12th-century Spain and North Africa forced many Jews and Christians to convert or flee |
| The Ottoman millet system let religious communities govern their own affairs for centuries | The Fatimid caliph al-Hakim destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009 |
Our article on what the Quran says about Christians and Jews covers the scriptural side. To see prophets, peoples and empires in sequence, explore the Quran Universe timeline.
The fairest summary is that Muslim societies were often more tolerant of religious minorities than their medieval contemporaries, but tolerance was not equality in the modern sense, and there were periods of real persecution.
What do Muslims think about violence? The data
Surveys of Muslims themselves give a more reliable picture than anecdotes.
| Survey | Finding |
|---|---|
| Pew, 2013, Muslims in 39 countries | In most countries, most Muslims say suicide bombing and other violence against civilians in defense of Islam is never justified |
| Pew, 2013, same report | Substantial minorities disagree in some places, including 40% in the Palestinian territories and 39% in Afghanistan who say it is often or sometimes justified |
| Pew, 2013, extremism survey | 89% of Muslims in Pakistan and 81% in Indonesia say such violence is never justified |
| Gallup, 2011, Muslim Americans | 78% say military attacks on civilians are never justified, and 89% say the same of attacks by individuals or small groups |
| Pew, 2017, US Muslims | 76% of US Muslims say targeting and killing civilians for a political, social or religious cause is never justified, compared with 59% of the general public |
These numbers show strong rejection of terrorism among most Muslims, and also that support for violence is not zero. Where it is higher, researchers usually find it tied to local conflict and occupation rather than to religious practice alone.
Do Muslim scholars condemn terrorism?
Yes, repeatedly and in religious terms. The Amman Message, endorsed by 200 scholars from 50 countries in 2005, rejected extremist claims to declare other Muslims unbelievers and to issue fatwas without qualification. In 2014, more than 120 scholars signed an open letter to the leader of ISIS stating that "it is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent." In 2007, 138 Muslim scholars sent A Common Word Between Us and You to Christian leaders, calling for peace between the two faiths on the basis of love of God and neighbor.
The Quran's own standard is that justice must hold even toward enemies:
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.
So, is Islam a religion of peace?
Islam's sources place peace, justice and the sanctity of life at the center, and its law permits war only under conditions designed to limit it. It is not a pacifist religion; it accepts that fighting can be necessary against aggression, as most ethical traditions do. Muslims, like other people, have sometimes waged unjust wars and persecuted others, and some today use religious language to justify terror. Mainstream scholarship and the views of most Muslims reject that use.
Read the verses on Quran Universe
The best way to judge for yourself is to read the verses in order. On Quran Universe you can read Surah at-Tawbah from verse 1, Surah al-Mumtahanah 60:8–9 and Surah al-Anfal 8:61, each with the Arabic text, word-by-word meaning and Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Quran promote violence?
The Quran permits fighting in defense and against oppression, forbids transgression (2:190), and commands accepting peace when the enemy seeks it (8:61). It tells Muslims to be just and kind to non-Muslims who do not fight them (60:8). Verses about fighting address specific wartime situations in the Prophet's lifetime, and most scholars read them within these limits.
What is the sword verse in the Quran?
The "sword verse" is a common name for Quran 9:5, which orders fighting against certain polytheist tribes in Arabia after a grace period. The surrounding verses show it targeted those who broke treaties and attacked first, exempted those who kept their treaties (9:4), and commanded giving protection to any of them who asked for it (9:6).
Does Islam mean peace?
Islam literally means submission to God. It shares the Arabic root s-l-m with salam, meaning peace, safety and wholeness, and Muslims greet each other with "peace be upon you." One of God's names in the Quran is as-Salam, the Source of Peace. The linguistic link is real, though the word Islam itself means submission.
What is the link between Islam and terrorism?
Terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda use Islamic language, but mainstream scholars reject their claims, and surveys by Pew and Gallup show most Muslims say attacks on civilians are never justified. Islamic law forbids killing non-combatants and acting without legitimate authority. Researchers generally link extremist violence to political conflict as well as ideology.
Was Islam spread by the sword?
Early Muslim states expanded through military conquest, which is historical fact. But conquest of territory was not the same as forced conversion. The Quran says there is no compulsion in religion (2:256), and historians find that populations in conquered lands converted gradually over centuries. The largest Muslim country today, Indonesia, became Muslim largely through trade and preaching.
What did the Charter of Medina say?
The Charter of Medina was a pact the Prophet Muhammad made with the clans of Madinah around 622 CE. It set rules for mutual defense and settling disputes and named several Jewish clans as parties, stating that Jews keep their religion and Muslims theirs. Historians debate whether it was one document or several, but most accept that it is early and largely authentic.