Did Islam spread by the sword? Is this true? And if not, how do you explain the conquests?

The Shaykh : Here is a question that is of great concern to people today, especially those engaged in calling others to Islam. It is said: Did Islam spread by the sword? Is this true? And if not, how do you explain the conquests? I have addressed the answer to such a question in past lessons, and we live in an era where people have inherited certain matters, assuming them to be part of the Islamic creed, and there are new matters that have arisen outside the lands of Islam. Therefore, we address these matters at the slightest opportunity. I have said in the past, when I mentioned the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): This is This is an authentic hadith. Yes, this is a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): is a confirmation of a legal reality. There is another reality that Islam confirms through the Book and the Sunnah. Among this is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): This verse establishes a principle, and the aforementioned hadith establishes another principle. The verse establishes that the original method of calling people to Islam and to entering it in groups is to explain Islam to them and clarify the truth to them. This is how the Islamic call began, as we all know from the history of Islam, first in Makkah and then in Madinah. As for the second principle, it is for removing obstacles. The second principle is calling by the sword, which is for removing the obstacles and stumbling blocks that the enemies of Islam place in the path of the call to Islam based on the first principle. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not raise the sword except out of necessity. Every call requires protection, and the original correct call is based on the first principle. to the end of the verse. However, a call that is not supported by power will end up being folded away and confined to a limited circle, because if the truth is not supported by power, it dies. You see with me that Islam is the truth, whether in the early time or the present time. But in the early time, it spread until it reached the East and the West. As for today, its shadow has shrunk even from the Islamic lands themselves. The reason for this is nothing other than that there is no supporter who supports it with power when the enemies of Islam want to confine it, or even to put an end to it. Therefore, divine wisdom necessitated that people be called to Islam by one of two methods. The first, which is the original method, is calling with that which is best. The second is by the sword, removing the stumbling blocks that the disbelievers place in the path of the call. The fighting of the Muslims in the early centuries was for this reason. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) sent callers to Heraclius, to the Mughira, to Anushirvan, and to Kisra. What was the stance of these people? It was hostility and prevention of the Islamic call from launching freely in those lands. These lands that did not open their doors to Islamic callers had no choice but to have the call brought to them by the sword. However, if we assume, as is claimed in the present era, that there is complete freedom for every person to call to what they believe in, and if we suppose that all the lands of the earth today adopted this principle, the Muslims would absolutely not need fighting or raising the sword. Because fighting is, as He (the Exalted) said: Permission is given to those who are fought because they have been wronged.
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The Shaykh : So He gave them permission to fight. Why? Because they were wronged. And this wronging is nothing but aggression against them, either in their own homes, which was the most common in the early days of Islam, or on their path to calling. Those seventy reciters, for whom the Battle of Bir Ma'unah took place, were sent by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as seventy memorizers from among the memorizers of the Companions to call to Islam. Some tribes betrayed them and killed them all. What did they do? Nothing, except that they went out calling people to Allah and His Messenger, and they were killed unjustly and oppressively. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) fought them until Allah gave him victory over them. Thus, if we suppose that no one stands in the way of the Islamic call, there is no need for fighting at that time. But is this a real matter? Is it possible that freedom is given to every caller, whatever his belief, to be released into the vast earth of Allah to call as he wishes? For example, is a Muslim allowed to go to the land of Sindh or the land of the Russians to call to Islam? Of course not. In fact, is the call to Islam allowed in many of the Arab Islamic lands, as they claim? It is not allowed. So if this pressure is not removed by that which is best, it must be removed by force. Therefore, Islam does not call for the use of force except out of necessity. The original method is calling with that which is best. That is the answer to the previous question. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.