art of Mohammad under the circumstances at Medina; and this line
of policy is quite contrary to the several verses of the Koran on the
subject, all enjoining the waging of wars in self-defence. But supposing
that hostilities were first commenced by Mohammad after the Hegira, the
state of war having commenced at the expulsion of the Moslems from
Mecca, it was lawful for him to take up arms to redress the wrongs of
the Moslems and to establish their lawful right by force of arms. A war
commenced on these grounds is a defensive war, though from a military
point of view it may be an offensive one.[31]

"The right of self-defence," writes Kent, a great authority on the
International Law, "is part of the law of our nature, and it is the
indispensable duty of civil society to protect its members in the
enjoyment of their rights, both of person and property. This is the
fundamental principle of the social compact.... The injury may
consist, not only in the direct violation of personal or political
rights, but in wrongfully withholding what is due, or in the
refusal of a reasonable reparation for injuries committed, or of
adequate explanation or security in respect to manifest and
impending danger."[32]

[Footnote 29: Sir W. Muir doubts the intense hatred and bitter cruelty
attributed by tradition to the Koreish, and says: "In accordance with
this view is the fact that the first aggressions, after the Hegira, were
solely on the part of Mahomet and his followers. It was not until
several of their caravans had been waylaid and plundered and blood had
thus been shed that the people of Mecca were forced in self-defence to
resort to arms." The Life of Mahomet, Vol. II, page 265, foot-note.
London, 1861. This note disappears in the new edition of 1877. In his
work "The Coran," page 24, London, 1878, Sir W. Muir says: "The caravans
of Mecca offered a tempting opportunity for reprisals, and several
expeditions were organized against them."]

[Footnote 30: Mr. G. Sale writes: "He gave out that God had allowed him
and his followers to defend themselves against the infidels; and at
length, as his forces increased, he pretended to have the divine leave
even to attack them." _The Prelim. Dis. Sect. 11._ Mr. Henry Coppee
writes regarding Mohammad: "But he soon found that he must take up arms
in self defence, and in the thirteenth year of his mission, he announced
that God permitted him not o