Islam is surrounded by many stereotypes,
such as that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jihad is terrorism. But
the truth is that Islam does not support any action of terrorism for any
reason.
Jihad
Jihad is an Arabic word that means
struggle, resisting, or striving, and it does not mean “fight” or “war”. There
are two different types of jihad. The first type of jihad is the greater jihad
which an inner spiritual struggle.
Spiritual struggle
Prophet Muhammad explained this type of jihad
when he told his companions after a war:
"رجعنا من
الجهاد الأصغر إلى الجهاد الأكبر. قالوا: وما الجهاد الأكبر؟ قال: جهاد النفس
“We came from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad”. They
asked him: “What is the greater jihad?” He said: “The struggle against
oneself”.
All humans
enjoy worldly pleasures and desire a nice and comfortable life. These desires
are normal, but the problem is only when you follow them unquestioningly as
they are a god. That is the trial... the test of our life. With patience, we
can pass this trial and test. The greater jihad
is to learn patience and
self-control, and is to manage your desires, emotions, and conflicts, instead
of letting your desires lead you as an animal. By this type of jihad you can clean
your inner soul and transfer it from the soul that is prone to evil to be
reassured soul. Fasting is very good tool that can help you in your inner spiritual struggle, because you desire the food but you wait until the time God
make it for you to eat. Therefore, the prophet Muhammad considered the worship
is Jihad. In addition, most worship need a struggle to be performed.
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ،
حَدَّثَنَا حَبِيبُ بْنُ أَبِي عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ بِنْتِ طَلْحَةَ، عَنْ
عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ تُرَى
الْجِهَادَ أَفْضَلَ الْعَمَلِ، أَفَلاَ نُجَاهِدُ قَالَ " لَكِنَّ أَفْضَلَ
الْجِهَادِ حَجٌّ مَبْرُورٌ ".
Narrated `Aisha:
(That she said), "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We consider Jihad as the best deed. Should we not fight
in Allah's Cause?" He said, "The best Jihad (for women) is
Hajj-Mabrur (i.e. Hajj which is done according to the Prophet's tradition and
is accepted by Allah).
Reference : Sahih
al-Bukhari 2784
In-book reference : Book
56, Hadith 3
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 43
Physical struggle
The second type of jihad is the lesser jihad,
which is an outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam, which may
take a violent (war) or non-violent form (advice). So Islam considers your struggle
against your soul is greater than your struggle against your enemies!
Prophet Muhammad explained the non-violent jihad when he said:
عَنْ طَارِقِ بْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّ
رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله
عليه وسلم وَقَدْ وَضَعَ رِجْلَهُ فِي
الْغَرْزِ أَىُّ الْجِهَادِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ " كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ
عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ
a man asked the
Prophet, when he had put his leg in the stirrup: "Which kind of Jihad is
best?'" He said: "a word of truth spoken before an unjust ruler."
“A word of
truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.”
“The just word against an unjust ruler”
“The word of justice in front of the oppressive ruler”.
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam) - Reference
: Sunan an-Nasa'i 4209
Islam does not accept oppression, it
does not support dictatorship, and it require Muslims to have a duty of
accounting the ruler. It is a sin when you wrong yourself and accept the
oppression and living without any quality or right life like animals, so if you
have weakness and you cannot fight for your life, Quran encourages you to move
to another land where you can have a better life as the human that God honor.
Violent jihad is the fight in the war that
is conducted by a government, and Qur'an stipulates one
condition for it. It is to defend yourself, not to
attack or assault anyone.
وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ
وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
. وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَخْرِجُوهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ
أَخْرَجُوكُمْ ۚ وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُقَاتِلُوهُمْ
عِندَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتَّىٰ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ ۖ فَإِن قَاتَلُوكُمْ
فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ جَزَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ . فَإِنِ انتَهَوْا فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ . وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ
وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ لِلَّهِ ۖ فَإِنِ انتَهَوْا فَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى
الظَّالِمِينَ
Fight in the way of God those who fight you
but do not assault. Indeed. God does not like the assaulters.
And kill them
wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you,
and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram
until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the
recompense of the disbelievers.
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Jihad
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Greater jihad
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Lesser jihad
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The struggle against
oneself.
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Non-violent
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Violent
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The word of
justice in front of the oppressive ruler.
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To defend, not to attack.
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Legitimacy of war
The only valid basis for military jihad is
to end oppression when all other measures have failed. The original violent jihad was permission to fight back against those
who broke their pledges. Thus the Qur'an justified defensive jihad by allowing
Muslims to fight back against hostile and dangerous forces.
According to the majority of jurists, the
Qur'anic casus belli (justification of war) are restricted to aggression
against Muslims and persecution of Muslims because of their religious belief.
They hold that unbelief in itself is not
the justification for war. Yes, it is one of the greatest sins, it is between
the individual and his God the Almighty and the punishment for this sin is to
be postponed to the Hereafter. Muslims cannot wage war for propagation or
implementation of Islam. How can Muslims make war on the account of a nation's
religion if Quran states freedom of religion very clear?
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي
الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ
There shall
be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become
clear from the wrong. (2:256)
Plus, Quran distinguished between the
non-Muslims who fights Muslims and the non-Muslims who do not fight Muslims.
Muslims have to fight the first one back, but they are not forbidden from
the second one to be righteous and acting justly toward them.
لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ
يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن
تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ . إِنَّمَا
يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُم
مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَىٰ إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ ۚ وَمَن
يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
“God
does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do
not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting
justly toward them. Indeed, God loves those who act justly. God only forbids
you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes
and aid in your expulsion - [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever
makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” (60:8-9)
Fighting in self-defense is not only
legitimate but considered obligatory upon Muslims, according to the Qur'an.
كُتِبَ
عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا
وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful
to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you
love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.
(2:216)
The Qur'an says that if the hostile behavior of
the enemy ceases, the reason of the war lapses.
فَإِنِ انتَهَوْا فَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى
الظَّالِمِينَ
But if they
cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.
(2:190-193)
Yes, there were some offensive wars, not defensive,
in the Islamic history. These types of
wars were political conflict, not religious. Plus, the sources of Islam are
Quran and the prophet’s traditions. But Islamic history is not one of these
sources.
Why
did God not allowed Muslims to even defend themselves in Mecca or fight the
disbelievers who persecuted them for their religion? But He allowed them to do
it when they were in Madinah? Actually, because they were too weak in Mecca to
defend themselves, but they gain more power in Madinah, so they can defend
themselves. Therefore, some scholars argue that war may only be legitimate if
Muslims have at least half the power of the enemy and thus capable of winning
it.
So
Muslims need to prepare themselves before they call for jihad. Without this
preparation, they just kill themselves.
وَأَعِدُّوا
لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ
عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ
اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِن شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ
إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ
And prepare against them whatever you are able of power
and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy
and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And
whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you
will not be wronged. (8:60)
As you
read last verse, the goal of this preparation is to attack or even fight. It is
to deter the enemy of attacking us. So it is to avoid the war.
Ethics of warfare
However, even in the war, Muslims have to commit to Islamic
moral rules, such as the rule: "Do not fight whom did not fight";
because Qur'an said "No bearer of burdens will bear the burden
of another.”(35:18) When the Muslims were defeated in the battle of Uhud the
prophet Muhammad accepted the defeat as a lesson to teach Muslims for next
battle, but he did not send them to Mecca to sneak its people or burn their
houses.
During his life, Prophet Muhammad gave
various injunctions to his forces and adopted practices toward the conduct of
war, such as this injunction.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي
شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ
الْمُرَقَّعِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ صَيْفِيٍّ، عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ الْكَاتِبِ،
قَالَ غَزَوْنَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَمَرَرْنَا عَلَى
امْرَأَةٍ مَقْتُولَةٍ قَدِ اجْتَمَعَ عَلَيْهَا النَّاسُ فَأَفْرَجُوا لَهُ
فَقَالَ (مَا
كَانَتْ هَذِهِ تُقَاتِلُ فِيمَنْ يُقَاتِلُ) . ثُمَّ قَالَ
لِرَجُلٍ (انْطَلِقْ إِلَى خَالِدِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ
فَقُلْ لَهُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَأْمُرُكَ يَقُولُ لاَ
تَقْتُلَنَّ ذُرِّيَّةً وَلاَ عَسِيفًا).
It
was narrated that Hanzalah Al-Katib said:
“We
went out to fight alongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we passed by a slain woman whom the people had
gathered around. They parted (to let the Prophet (ﷺ) through) and he said: ‘This (woman) was not one of those
who were fighting.’ Then he said to a man: ‘Go to Khalid bin Walid and tell him
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commands you: “Do not kill any
women or any (farm) laborer.’”
Grade : Sahih (Darussalam)
English reference :
Vol. 4, Book 24, Hadith 2842
Arabic reference :
Book 24, Hadith 2949
The most important of these injunctions were
summarized by Muhammad's companion and first Caliph, Abu Bakr, in the form of ten
rules for the Muslim army.
O people! I charge you with ten rules; learn them well!
Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your
guidance in the battlefield.
Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path.
You must not mutilate dead bodies.
Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man.
Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire,
especially those which are fruitful.
Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food.
You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives
to monastic services; leave them alone.
Under the Islamic jurisprudence, the
following acts are illegal and not permissible in wars:
-
Surprise attacks. The Qur'an commands Muslims to make a
proper declaration of war prior to the commencement of military operations.
-
Burning or drowning the enemy
-
The mutilation of dead bodies.
-
Displaying pomp and unnecessary boasting.
-
Employ weapons that cause unnecessary injury to the enemy, such
as poisonous spears.
-
Kill women or children unless they are fighting against the
Muslims.
-
Killing of those who are not able to fight, including monks,
farmers, and serfs, as well as mentally and physically disabled.
-
Harming civilian areas and pillaging residential areas
-
The destruction of trees, crops, livestock and farmlands.
-
Loot travelers.
-
Use the local facilities of the native people without their
consent.
In addition, Islam does not permit Muslims to reject peace
and continue bloodshed, since God said:
وَإِن جَنَحُوا
لِلسَّلْمِ فَاجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ
الْعَلِيمُ
And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also]
and rely upon Allah. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing. (8:61)
So, we cannot compare Jihad to the terrorist or the acts of the terrorist groups in the name Islam now.
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