The figure of Joshua (Yusha ibn Nun), upon him peace, presents a significant contrast between Islamic and Jewish traditions regarding the nature of the conquest and the ethical conduct of the soldiers.
In Islam, Yusha’ ibn Nun, upon him peace, is remembered as:
- A prophet or righteous leader (depending on scholarly view).
- The successor of Prophet Musa (Moses) upon him peace, after his death.
- The leader who guided Bani Isra’il into the Holy Land after years of wandering.
- A figure known for justice, obedience to God, and moral leadership, not for indiscriminate violence or genocide.
Islamic sources emphasize:
- His faithfulness to God’s commands.
- His courage when others hesitated.
- His miracle (the stopping of the sun) occurred during a battle fought in self‑defense.
- His role in establishing Law, order, and monotheism, not conquest for conquest’s sake.
- This makes him a figure of moral clarity rather than a symbol of destruction.
The Qur’an does not describe Yushaʿ committing genocide.
Islamic tradition frames his actions as Divinely guided justice, not ethnic cleansing.
The battles he led were limited, specific, and contextual, not campaigns of extermination.
The moral emphasis is on obedience, patience, and righteousness, not mass violence.
This helps pre‑empt misreadings and situates the story within Islamic ethics.
Comparison
1. The Jewish Tradition (The Book of Joshua)
In the Hebrew Bible, the conquest is portrayed as a total war of extermination (herem) against the Canaanites.
- The Command: The text describes God commanding the Israelites to destroy everything that breathes in certain cities to prevent the spread of idolatry (Deuteronomy 20:16-17).
- The Action: The Book of Joshua details the destruction of cities like Jericho and Ai, where men, women, and children were put to the sword.
Modern Interpretation: Many modern critics and theologians point to these texts as the primary scriptural examples of divinely sanctioned genocide. However, some Jewish scholars interpret these as hyperbolic military “war talk” common to ancient Near Eastern literature.
2. The Islamic Tradition (Quran and Hadith)
The Quran and classical Tafsir or scholarly commentary present a different moral framework. While the Quran confirms that the Israelites eventually entered the land under Yusha, it focuses on discipline and humility rather than mass slaughter.
- The “Prostration” Command: In Surah Al-Baqarah (2:58-59), God commands the Israelites that, when they enter the city, they must prostrate themselves at the gate and say “Hittatun” (Repentance/Forgiveness). This emphasizes a state of spiritual submission and transformation, not bloodlust.
- Rules of Engagement: In Islamic Law (rooted in the sunnah of all prophets), the killing of non-combatants—specifically women, children, and the elderly—is strictly forbidden. Classical scholars such as Ibn Kathir describe Yusha’s victory as a miraculous military defeat of the “tyrants” (Jabbarin), but do not include the biblical narratives of the total annihilation of civilians.
- The “Stopping of the Sun”: A famous Hadith in Sahih Muslim mentions that the sun was held back for Yusha so he could finish the battle before the Sabbath. This is cited as a sign of divine favor for his sincere struggle, not as a license for atrocity.
Key Points of Comparison
| Feature | Jewish Tradition (Tanakh) | Islamic Tradition (Tafsir/Quran) |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Total removal of the “cancer” of idolatry via herem (devotion to destruction). | Removal of tyrannical polytheistic rule to establish monotheism. |
| Treatment of Civilians | Explicit commands to leave nothing alive in certain cities. | Adherence to the general prophetic ban on killing non-combatants. |
| Entry into the City | Focus on the fall of the walls of Jericho and the military triumph. | Divine Command to enter with humility/prostration (Sujjud). |
| The Moral Lesson | God’s harsh judgment on a sinful culture. | The success of a generation that “traded cowardice for patience and prayer.” |
Theological Reflection
In Islam, the “Genocide” claim is difficult to sustain because the Quranic narrative shifts the focus from the destruction of the enemy to the rectification of the believer (transformation). The failure of the first generation was their cowardice; the success of Yusha’s’s upon him peace, generation was their piety.
People don’t lose their rights because you hate them. The Islamic view suggests that even in “judicial” war, the humanity of the innocent remains a boundary that the Prophet Yusha, upon him peace, would not have crossed.
In the Quran, the moment the Israelites finally entered the city after their 40-year wandering is presented as a trial of humility versus arrogance. Not God-sanctioned genocide and bloodlust. The “change of words” refers to a specific act of mockery where they distorted a Divine command into a joke.
The Divine Command
In Surah Al-Baqarah (2:58) and Surah Al-A’raf (7:161), God gave them two specific instructions for entering the city:
- The Physical Act: They were to enter the gate prostrating (sujjadan) or bowing in a posture of complete humility.
- The Verbal Act: They were to say the word “Hittatun”.
- Meaning: Classical scholars like Ibn Abbas explain that Hittatun means “Repentance” or “O Allah, relieve us of our burdens/sins”. It was meant to be a declaration of their need for God’s mercy as they took over the land.
The Mockery (“The Change of Words”)
- Wordplay: Instead of Hittatun (Forgiveness), they jokingly said Hintatun (Wheat) or “Habbah fi Sha’irah” (A grain in a hair/barley). By asking for food instead of forgiveness, they signaled that they valued material gains over spiritual growth.
- Physical Defiance: Rather than entering in prostration or bowing, reports in Sahih Muslim and Tafsir al-Tabari describe them crawling through the gate on their backsides (dragging themselves on their rears) to avoid showing any sign of submission.
Baiting God and treating God’s commands as a joke. We watched this state of being mocking nonstop in Gaza. You are soldiers, why are you wearing women’s underwear? It does not reconcile with the state of being and claims of facing the second Holocaust of Jews.
The Consequence
Contrast with Prophet Muhammad
Tafsir scholars often contrast this with the Conquest of Makkah. When Prophet Muhammad, upon him peace and blessings, entered the city in victory, he did so with his head bowed so low in humility that it almost touched the saddle of his camel, embodying the very spirit of “patience and prayer” that the earlier generation had rejected.
In Islamic theology, the narrative of
Yusha bin Nun (Joshua) is used to demonstrate that divine victory is contingent on ethical conduct and spiritual discipline, explicitly rejecting the “total annihilating” model found in other traditions.
1. Status and Prophethood
While not named in the Quran, Yusha is identified by almost all classical scholars as the servant of the young man who accompanied Moses, upon him peace, to meet Al-Khidr (18:60-65). In Hadith and Tafsir, he is recognized as a Prophet who took leadership after the deaths of Aaron and Moses, upon them peace.
- Targeted Conflict: The war was directed at the fighting men and the leadership of the tyrants who prevented the worship of God and the return of the Israelites.
- Prohibition of Indiscriminate Killing: Based on the universal rules of Jihad established by all Prophets (including the Sunnah of Moses and Yusha), the killing of non-combatants (women, children, the elderly, monks) and the destruction of nature (trees, livestock) were prohibited.
- Lack of “Herem”: The concept of Herem (the “ban” or total slaughter of every living thing) does not exist in Islamic scripture.
- The Lesson: This miracle is taught to show that Yusha was strictly bound by Law. He was so concerned with following the legal restrictions (the Sabbath) that God altered the cosmos to help him stay within the law. This contradicts the “genocide” mindset, which operates on the idea that “the ends justify the means.”
- The Command: “Enter the gate prostrating and say ‘Hittatun’ (Forgiveness).”
- The Significance: Most conquerors enter a city with “shock and awe” to terrify the population. God commanded Yusha’s army to enter in a state of vulnerability and repentance. This shows that the purpose of the victory was the subjugation of the soldier’s ego, not the destruction of the city’s inhabitants.
- Selection of the Just: Only the “oppressors” were targeted, never the “innocent.”
- Strict Limitations: Even in the heat of battle, divine law regarding the protection of life was paramount.
- Spiritual Goal: The victory was a means to establish Salah (Prayer) and Adl (Justice), not to cleanse an ethnic group.
In Islam, Yushaʿ ibn Nun (Joshua) is the opposite of a genocidal figure. He is presented as the model of a Prophet‑General—a leader who fought only
Islamic teachings describe Yusha’s leadership as a law‑bound, ethical, and spiritually guided mission, not a campaign of extermination. His battles are portrayed as limited, defensive, and governed by strict rules that forbid the killing of children, non‑combatants, or anyone outside the field of battle. The Islamic narrative explicitly rejects “genocidal” interpretations found in some other traditions and instead emphasizes justice, proportionality, and the sanctity of life.
This framework makes clear that the Islamic story of Yusha ibn Nun cannot be used to justify indiscriminate violence or the targeting of civilians. It stands as a reminder that even in war God’s limits are inviolable, and moral discipline is the defining mark of a righteous leader.
- The Islamic Boundary: In Islam, war is only permitted against those who are actively fighting.
- Protection of the Innocent: Authentic Islamic literature emphasizes that Yusha followed the laws of war established by all Prophets. These laws explicitly forbid the killing of women, children, the elderly, and monks.
- Preservation of Life: Unlike the accounts in the Book of Joshua that describe the slaughter of “everything that breathes,” Islamic Tafsir (exegesis) focuses on the removal of the tyrannical leadership (Jabbarin) and the establishment of justice.
2. The “Sun” Miracle: A Lesson in Legal Restraint
- The Incident: Yusha was fighting on a Friday. As the sun began to set, he feared he would violate the Sabbath (when fighting was forbidden).
- The Point: He did not say “the mission is more important than the law.” He recognized that he was “under command”. If Yusha was so careful as to not violate a time-based law (the Sabbath), Islamic scholars argue he would certainly not violate the life-based law (the prohibition of killing children).
3. The “Gate of Humility” vs. “Shock and Awe”
- The Command: In Surah Al-Baqarah (2:58), God orders the army to enter the city prostrating and asking for forgiveness (Hittatun).
- Refuting Genocide: This command is the opposite of a genocidal mindset. A genocidal army enters with pride and the intent to erase a population; Yusha’s army was commanded to enter with bowed heads and a plea for their own sins to be forgiven.
4. Comparison of War Ethics
| Tradition | Target of War | Treatment of Children/Infants |
|---|---|---|
| Biblical (Herem) | Entire population (men, women, children, livestock). | Explicitly included in the command for destruction. |
| Islamic (Jihad) | The “oppressors” and “combatants” only. | Strictly forbidden to target or kill children. |
Summary for Clarification
If someone uses the story of Yusha to justify modern atrocities or the killing of children, they are using a non-Islamic framework. In Islam, Yusha is the model of the Ethical General: a man who would rather stop the sun in its tracks than violate a single law of God, particularly the Law that protects the life of an innocent child.