Killings of Kafirs is not even permissible in Islam.

Nowadays, many a wild rumours are being spread about Islam, such as, orders have been given in the Quran to kill Kafirs and Mushriks, Such an accusation is absolutely untrue and far away from reality. One cannot show even a solitary verse in the Quran or any part of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that is the Hadith, which together form the true essence of Islam, where even permissions have been granted, leave alone passing orders for Muslims to kill Kafirs and Mushriks just because they adhere to Kufr and Shirk. Killing is a far-fetched idea; Muslims have not even been permitted to hurt or harass anybody unnecessarily, regardless of the faith he professes.

Allah reminds that the second most heinous crime after Shirk is unjust killing of anybody by someone. The Quran declares explicitly that if somebody kills a person without any reason, it is similar to having killed the entire humanity.

The punishment for killing somebody unjustly is to kill the murderer himself in retaliation. Had Muslims been ordered to kill people at will simply because of Kufr and Shirk, then why not did Allah finish off the Kafirs and Mushriks on His own and why were they given an opportunity to survive on this planet? The Almighty Himself gave them a chance to survive in this world despite their Shirk, then how can Muslims or for that matter anybody be entitled to kill them on this account? Albeit, it has been mentioned in the Quran that an additional tax in the form of ‘Jaziya’ has to be paid by those Kafirs and Mushriks who do not accept Islam and live under an Islamic rule. Jaziya is a sort of Protection Tax, since the State then, becomes responsible for the protection of their life and property. If they deny such a payment, they can be fought with. Similarly, permission has been granted to fight off even those Kafirs and Mushrik who do not let the Muslims live in peace, pose hindrance in their following the course of Islam, obstruct others in staying firm on the righteous path as well as interfere in the process of spreading its message of truth. It is equivalent to stopping a person from adopting and following the righteous and successful path, which has been called ‘Fitna’ (mischief) by the Quran. That is why, such people are allowed to fight off. This has been called ‘Jihad’. In this way, ‘Jihad’ is also a defensive measure rather than an offensive course of action. In the first established Islamic government, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) entered into peace agreements with the Jews and various other tribes living around the city of Madinah, yet when they disregarded the agreements and conspired against the Muslims by teaming up with the foes of Muslim, then the Prophet took the last recourse of war. Such defensive measures to protect themselves were termed as ‘Jihad’. The Quran strictly exhorts the Muslims not to raise weapons against those who adhere by their peace agreements. In other words, the permission for Jihad has also been given for the sake of maintaining peace, not to superimpose one’s religion on that of others or to expand one’s political territories. In this respect, the foremost condition for Jihad is that there should not be any vested interest or ulterior motive. It should only be performed with the sole intention of standing up to the commands of Allah and spreading the Light of Guidance in the form of religion or others.