the ways of putting an end to a war in islamic law

the religion of islam is a proclaimer of peace. in this religion, war has been legalized to defend individual, national and human rights. in accordance with the political islamic jurisprudence, the contracts of obligation (thimmah), security (amān) case fire (hodneh), peace (solh) and arbitration (tahkīm) are considered as the ways of putting an end to a war. a contract of obligation (thimmah) is one that is held between the islamic government and the followers of the book (ahl-al-ketab). this contract is always valid, even though a cruel or unjust ruler in islamic world would have signed it. with this, the islamic government is obliged to defend the followers of the book against any aggressor. with the contract of security (amān), life, finances and respect of the infidels who have fighted against muslims, will be in safe. the scope of this contract is not limited to the war period, but it may conclude other elements as temporary residence, touristic journeys, etc … in an islamic country. (hodneh), namely, cease fire, truce and armistice is a contract which is the most prevalent way of bringing a war to an end in our age. but it is temporary and not, necessarily, permanent. the contract of peace (solh) differs from the latter’s, although its fundamental characteristic is to be permanent, and not temporary but, it is still a matter of discussion in political jurisprudence. the contract of arbitration (tahkīm) allows hostilities to be settled by an impartial body.