The foreign policy is the State’s relationship with other states. This relationship entails looking after the foreign affairs of the Ummah. The Islamic State’s foreign policy is based on a fixed concept that does not change. This is the propagation of Islam and the conveyance of the Message to every nation and every society. This is the very basis of the Islamic State’s foreign policy. The basis never changes and never differs or varies no matter who rules the State. This basis has always been maintained and it has been carried out at all times, from the time when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) settled in Madinah to the last day of the ‘Uthmani State. .

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) set up the policy of the Islamic State on the basis of spreading Islam since the very first day he (pbuh) arrived in Madinah. He (pbuh) signed treaties with the Jews in order to concentrate on extending the Message in Hijaz. He (pbuh) signed the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah with the Quraysh in order to spread the Message in the Arabian Peninsula. Finally, he (pbuh) sent envoys to the countries outside the Peninsula with the aim of establishing relations based on the spreading of Islam, by inviting them to embrace it. .

Afterwards, came his Khulafa’. They also established relations with all the other states on the basis of spreading Islam, and they too continued to carry the Message of Islam to the world. All the Muslim rulers who came to power competed in the spreading of Islam. The Ummayads were actually more successful in conquering other countries and spreading Islam than the Abbasids, and the ‘Uthmanis conquered more countries and spread Islam more than the Mamluks. This disparity was due, however, to the priorities the State would give to its foreign policy among other factors. The spreading of Islam always remained the basis upon which the relationship with other states was established. This has never changed throughout the rule of all the Khulafah. The duty of the State is to implement Islam at home and to carry its Message to the world. Therefore, the task of the Islamic State has always been to carry the Message of Islam. What actually makes the conveyance and spreading of Islam the basis of the foreign policy is the fact that the Message is addressed to the whole of mankind. Allah (swt) says, . “And we have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not.” [Saba’, 34:28]. .

Allah (swt) also says, . “O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord.” [Yunus, 10:57]. .

He I says, . “Say, O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.” [Al A’raf, 7:158]. .

And He I says, . “This Qur’an has been revealed to me that I may warn therewith you and whomsoever it may reach.” [Al-An’am, 6:19]. .

He I also says, . “O Messenger (Muhammad (pbuh))! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message.” [Al-Ma’idah, 5:67]. .

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) conveyed the Message to mankind, and when he (pbuh) died Islam continued to be carried by the Muslims. The conveyance of the Islamic Message is in fact the continuation of the work that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had initiated. The Muslims followed his (pbuh) teachings and continued spreading the Message of Islam. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said in his Khutbah al-Wada’ (farewell speech), “Would the present tell the absent, for the absent may be more conscious than the listener.” He (pbuh) also said, “May Allah brighten a man who listened to my saying, understood it and conveyed it as he heard it.”. .

This is why the conveyance of the Islamic call has become the basis of the Islamic State’s relationship with other states during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and in the days of his Khulafah after him. And this is the Divine rule which is decisive and conclusive, in evidence by the Book and the Sunnah and the general consensus of the Sahabah. .

Therefore, the foreign policy of the Islamic State is to convey the Islamic Message to the world. This policy is implemented by a defined method that never changes, which is Jihad, regardless of who is in authority. Since the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) founded the State until the end of the Islamic State, this method never changed. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) prepared the army soon after founding the Islamic State. He (pbuh) initiated Jihad in order to remove the material obstacles that stood in the way of the Islamic Da’wah. The Quraysh was that material obstacle, so he (pbuh) decided to remove it. Then he (pbuh) went on to destroy the Quraysh’s existence, the very existence that stood in the way of the Islamic Da’wah. He (pbuh) also removed and destroyed other obstacles until Islam engulfed the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. Then the Islamic State began knocking on the doors of other nations to spread Islam among them. It found that the existing ruling systems formed a material obstacle in the face of the Da’wah, thus they had to be removed in order to reach the people themselves and invite them to Islam so that they could visualize and feel the justice of Islam, observe the prosperity and decent living under its banner, and invite the people to a better life without compulsion or coercion. Jihad continued as a method of spreading Islam, and by the means of Jihad many countries were conquered. By means of Jihad, kingdoms and states were removed and Islam ruled the same people and nations. Islam was spread and was embraced by hundreds of millions of people after they had been ruled by it. The method used in implementing that foreign policy was Jihad. It has never changed and never will. .

Jihad is the call to Islam which involves fighting, or the contribution of either money, opinions, or literature towards the fighting. It is an obligation, confirmed in the Qur’an and the Hadeeth. The Muslims never started the fight against an enemy before firstly proposing Islam or secondly the Jizyah. The Divine rule concerning Jihad is that if the enemy was surrounded they would be invited to embrace Islam and if they accepted then they would become a part of the Islamic Ummah and fighting them would be forbidden. If they refused Islam, then they would be asked to pay the Jizyah and if they paid it, their lives and assets would be safe and their country would become part of the Islamic State. They would enjoy the justice, equity, protection, guardianship and welfare enjoyed by the Muslims, and all their basic needs would be secured. Additionally, they would have to pledge allegiance to the State and the regime. If they rejected Islam and refused to pay the Jizyah then the fighting would be lawful. .

Therefore, fighting the enemy would not become lawful until the call to Islam had been delivered to the people. The scholars have stressed that it is unlawful for us to fight those who have not received the Islamic call. Thus, public opinion about Islam, and the conveyance of a true image of Islam, together with attempts to allow the Islamic laws to reach the people in order to enable them to realize that Islam offers them a true salvation should precede any fighting. The Islamic State should undertake political work such as giving a clear picture of Islam and explaining its concepts, campaigning and advertising Islam. Such moves should include muscle flexing and displaying the might of the Islamic State, including the courage and resolve of the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would perform such maneuvers. He (pbuh) would send envoys to the heart of the disbelieving countries. On one occasion he (pbuh) sent forty men to the people of Najd to convey the Message of Islam. He (pbuh) also displayed the might of the army in Madinah before he went to Tabuk. This was why the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “I was given the victory through the fear in the enemy, of a month’s marching distance.”.

. The Muslim army has always been feared and respected. For centuries, Europe always held that the Muslim army could never be defeated. However, political maneuvers are essential, especially those which help to spread the Islamic concepts and demonstrate the power of the State before resorting to armed struggle. Although Jihad is the fixed method that never changes in the spreading of Islam, the political maneuvers and other deliberate moves are all part of preparation, and is essential prior to actual combat. It is an important matter designed at determining the relationship of the State with other states, people and nations, whether these were economic or based on good neighborly relations or any other basis that may help to spread Islam. .

Therefore, the political idea on which the State’s relationship with other states is based on is the spreading of Islam among them and the carrying of the Message to them. The method that should be followed is Jihad. However, there are several ways and plans which the State initiates or adopts. It would for instance sign a good neighborly treaty with some enemies and fight others. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) approved such measures ever since he (pbuh) arrived in Madinah. The State could declare war against all its enemies simultaneously. Abu Bakr did so when he sent the armies to Iraq and al-Sham at the same time. The State could agree to temporary truces, enabling it to create public opinion for a desired outcome. .

That is what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did when he (pbuh) signed the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah. The State could also resort to local skirmishes as a means of terrorizing the enemy. This was the case when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent several expeditions out prior to the Battle of Badr, and when the Ummayads were in power they used the same tactics against the Romans, including summer and winter campaigns. .

The State could also sign economic treaties with some countries, while at the same time not have trade relations with others, taking into account the interest of the Da’wah for Islam. It could have diplomatic relations with some countries and not with others. This would be according to a carefully designed plan to take the Da’wah in a favorable direction. The State could resort to propaganda and advertising in order to spread the Da’wah, or it could use the method of divulging the enemies schemes and cold war tactics.

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The State’s planning would be in accordance with the nature of the work to be undertaken and geared towards the benefit of the Islamic Da’wah. These plans have always helped the spreading of Islam and eased the task of Jihad, therefore they are necessary in implementing the foreign policy. Public opinion about Islam and the Islamic State has always been necessary to spread Islam by its fixed method, which is Jihad in the way of Allah.