reza muhammadi

The use of biological agents, also known as biological weapons in modern terms, to eliminate enemies and rivals, has been a critical issue in recent decades. The history of political developments in Iran during the Islamic Middle Ages has been witness to many instances of using weaponized biological agents for accomplishing political-military goals. This research employs a historical approach and attempts to identify the functions of biological agents in political and military developments of Iran during the Islamic Middle Ages. The results indicate that in addition to functioning as an instance of deterring propaganda, thus breaking the enemychr('39')s morale, biological weapons were able to alter the balance of military power in the battleground and determine the triumphs and defeats. Accordingly, biological agents have had other military and political implications, such as sabotaging enemieschr('39') weaponry and equipment and eliminating prominent figures. Iranchr('39')s history has documented innumerable instances of such applications of biological weapons during the Middle Ages.

Abstract </strong> The conquests of Arab Muslims in Iran is one of the issues that have not yet been fully explored and there are many unanswered questions. A fundamental question to ask is what role the ayahs of the Holy Qur'an played in the course of conquering Iran. The present study claims that the Qur'anic ayahs, as a guidebook for Muslims, have played a key role in Arabs' attitude and their performance in the conquests of Iran and their victory over the Sassanid government. Therefore, taking a descriptive-analytical approach, it attempts to reconstruct the position of the Qur'anic ayahs in the calculations and mental space of Arab Muslims by re-reading the historical texts. Muslims seem to have greatly profited from the inspirations of the Qur'anic ayahs in their battles. They were encouraged by the promises of victory given to the Muslims in the Qur'anic ayahs, and aroused the spirit of self-sacrifice and martyrdom by the idea of sacrificing oneself.

Considering the great position of the Holy Qur'an in the Islamic society, analyzing the Qur'anic references made by the Muslims of early Islam to the Qur'an, centered on military occurrences, is the subject of the present study. Therefore, this paper intends to clarify the extent to which the Holy Qur'an has been cited and used by Muslims with respect to the subject of Jihad. The findings indicate that the leaders of the Islamic community and military commanders, and even the Mujahideen at various stages of the battles, reminded the Muslims of and referred them to the Qur'anic ayahs. These included the cases of obeying orders from commanders and emirs, the need to preserve unity and to avoid divisions, inciting to war and tolerating its difficulties, and ultimately strengthening the spirit of resistance and endurance. Due to the occurrence of many jihad battles, especially during the Rashidun Caliphs, such Qur'anic citations are seen in abundance in historical sources and texts.