Did Muhammad only wage war in self defense? Busting the myths

It’s a myth that Muhammad never wanted to war and he only waged war in self defence but the truth is he always wanted war in fact he was the reason behind many wars. The myth that warfare is only justified in Islam under the condition of self-defence is disproved by the account of the Battle of Badr, in which Muhammad sent his men out to raid caravans, then deliberately provoked a battle with the Meccan army sent out to defend them. The case for aggressive warfare is also supported by the fate of the three Jewish tribes of Medina, who were cleansed because they had rejected Muhammad’s claims of prophethood.

So basically Muhammad was the reason behind many wars. He even instructed his followers to start whenever and wherever needed. Also there are certain mentions in the Hadith that Muhammad never supported peacemaking in fact he was the one who supported violence. Muhammad instructed his followers if a person from another religion doesn’t believe in Muhammad or Islam then the person might get killed by the Muslim person.

In many situations, Muhammad waged war for the purpose of revenge, such as the attack on the Lihyan, in which the people were clearly not prepared for war and saved themselves only by fleeing into the hills. Muhammad also attacked the people of Taif as soon as he had the opportunity to avenge their rejection of him. Muhammad was never a peacemaker, he always wanted violence, killings which led to several wars and this can’t be in self defence because if Muhammad wanted he could have brought peace among his followers.