Jihad
What
is the Meaning
Of
this Islamic Term?
O
prophet, jihad against the unbelievers and the hypocrites,
and
be brutal to them – their abode is hell
(Qur'an
- Sura 9:73)
But
I say to you, love your enemies,
and
pray for those who persecute you.
(Bible
- Matthew 5:44)
Introduction
Jihad has been
propagandized in the West as a spiritual striving against evil. Some liberal
Muslims have adopted this theme for jihad but they are closing their eyes to
the reality of the Qur'an which calls Muslims to battle.
The majority of
regional conflicts in the last decade took place in Islamic parts of the world.
Many were Muslim jihad declarations against unbelievers. What is jihad?
How must this religious fighting be understood?
Historical Perspective
The polytheists in Mecca bitterly
resisted Muhammad’s new revelation that Allah was the only God and there were
no other gods besides him. Their boycotts turned into persecution of Muhammad
and his companions. In 622 AD the Muslims migrated to Yathrib (now Medina).
In Medina, Muhammad formed a multicultural
administration, but only allowed it to function until he had enough power to
impose an intolerant religiopolitical state. The growing poverty of the one
hundred migrant families caused tension within his religious community. To care
for their needs Muhammad ordered his Muslim refugees from Mecca to raid the
Meccan caravans of their relatives but they refused (Qur'an - Sura 4:73-80). He
coerced them with more “revelations from Allah” (Sura 2:216-218), and 83 Muslim
refugees from Mecca and 231 Medinan Muslims went with him to raid the Meccan
caravans. This Battle at Badr (624 AD) ended with triumph for the Muslims and
brought the turning point in Muhammad’s jihad.
Muhammad’s success with the sword
brought about the expulsion of the Jewish tribes from Medina and an
“inheritance” of Jewish land, homes, wives and daughters for the refugees from
Mecca (Sura 33:26-27; 59:1-7).
Muhammad himself took part in 29
campaigns of war. Robbery, booty and taking slaves had increasingly become part
of the driving force of these unholy wars.
Muhammad emphasized that war is
nothing but deceit! And he was a master deceiver. He could cunningly sow
strife among his enemies, negotiate cease-fires when in trouble, and compromise
with his enemies when it would benefit his cause in the end.
The Term “Holy War”
The expression “holy war” never
occurs in the Qur'an! This English translation represents an idealized
conception of the Arabic word jihad. To understand jihad and the context
it is used, let’s look at some Arabic words used in the Qur'an that designate
strife, battle or war.
► Jihad literally means “to exert oneself
by striving for Allah with effort and sacrifice.” This term became the Islamic
technical term for the striving of Muslims against unbelievers and includes
armed conflict. It occurs in the Qur'an 41 times in various forms.
► Qital designates fighting with a weapon
to defeat the enemy by force—killing and being killed. This is a major part of
jihad. The word appears in variations 67 times in the Qur'an.
► Hiraba or Harb designates an
attack against Allah and Muhammad, or an Islamic declaration of war (as in
jihad) against people who oppose Islamic law. It occurs 6 times in the
Qur'an. It is used in Sura 5:33 in which Muhammad sentences grave punishment on
every enemy of Allah and Muhammad.
► Fi Sabil Allah is an expression meaning
“in the way of Allah” or “for the cause of Allah”. It is often used together
with the above words summarizing Allah’s call to fight—19 times with qital
and 9 times with jihad.
Qur'anic references: 2:190,191,193,195,216,217,218,236,244,246,
275; 3:13,132, 167,195,246; 4:74,75,76,84,90, 95; 5:33,35,54,64;
8:16,29, 57,65,72,74,75; 9:12,13,14,16,19,20,
24,29,36,41,44,73,81,83,86,88,107,111,123; 16:110; 22:78; 25:52;
29:6,69; 33:20, 25 47:4,20,31; 48:16; 49:15;
57:10; 60:1; 61:4,11; 66:9 et.al.
These findings
show us that jihad in the Qur'an is not a “holy striving” but a bloody
conflict.
The Enemies of Islam?
Part of a Muslim’s jihad is bloody fighting (qital)
against the enemies of Islam. This has been predestined for
them (Sura 2:216, 246; 4:77).
‘The believers fight for Allah, the unbelievers fight
for their devil! So fight against the friends of Satan! Satan’s deception is
weak.’ (Sura 4:76)
‘Make your
jihad (i.e. strive wholeheartedly) in Allah and fight his battle. He has chosen
you!’ (Sura 22:78)
Following are
various enemies of Islam:
► Those who Attack
‘If someone attacks you,
then retaliate with the same measure with which he attacked you.’ (Sura 2:194)
► The Unbelievers
‘The unbelievers are our
certain enemies’ (Sura 4:101)
► The Polytheists and the Idolaters
“When the waiting time of the holy
months is over then kill the polytheists wherever you find them. Take them,
surround them and lure them into a trap wherever possible” (Sura 9:5). This so-called verse
of the sword and its echo in 2:191-192 abrogates over 100 verses of the
Qur'an that call for tolerance, equality and freedom of religion.
► The People of the Book
“You will certainly find that the
most dangerous enemies of the believers are the Jews and the polytheists. And
you will certainly find that those (enemies) who are the most friendly to you
are the Nasara (Christians), for there are pastors and monks among them. And
they are not proud. (Sura 5:82)
“The Jews say: Ezra is the Son to
Allah! The Nazarenes say: Christ is the Son of Allah! But they only say this
with their lips. In this way they imitate the talk of those who were
unbelievers before them. May Allah strike them dead! How they have become
liars!” (Sura
9:29-30)
► Muslim Hypocrites, Cowards, Traitors,
Troublemakers and Apostates
See Suras 9:68; 33:60-61; 48:16-17; 3:86-87
► Missionaries
“Fight against them until there is
no more any temptation (to fall away from Islam) and Allah’s religion rules
everywhere.”
(Sura 2:193; 8:39)
All verses that recommend
cooperating with non-Muslims only apply as long as the Muslims are a minority,
as was the case when Muhammad was still in Mecca. But as soon as Muslims are
the majority, religious tolerance ends. The goal of Islam in every case is to
establish an intolerant religious state as Muhammad did in Medina. Human rights
do not apply because the law of Islam is considered to be directly revealed by
Allah. And no one may ever amend his laws.
Reward for Fighters
One of the driving forces for the
Muslim attacks was collecting booty! “Anyone who has killed an enemy
and has a proof of that, will possess his spoils” (Hadith Bukhari Vol. 4
No. 370). The core of the laws on booty involve the keeping and treatment of
slaves—a practice that is not unheard of today in Islamic countries. Muhammad’s
teaching on booty drove the Muslims to their first wave of conquest (AD
632-732) which reached the gates of Paris and Geneva in the west and Samarkand
and the Indus River in the east. Verses from the Qur'an shape the Islamic law
regarding booty.
“Allah has promised you that
you will collect much booty. He allowed part of it to reach you quickly
and kept people from you (so that they could not stop you). The booty is a sign
for the Believers that he, Allah, would lead them in the straight path.” (Sura 48:20)
In addition to the fighter’s reward
of booty, those who take part in jihad are given the hope of eternal rewards.
Muslim fighters expect to be able to enter paradisiacal gardens with earthly
delights. Every follower of Muhammad who is killed in a holy war is in
reality not dead, but alive with Allah! (Sura 2:154; 3:169; 4:74; 47:4 et al.).
The Qur'an confirms the false hope that the forgiveness of sins can be obtained
by dying in battle or a suicide raid for the cause of Allah (Sura 3:157-158,
169-171, 193-195; 4:100; 61:9-12).
“Allah bought the Believers’
souls and their money (property), so that they might buy paradise. That is why
they must fight in Allah’s way (armed) and in this way kill or be killed,
according to a promise in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an.” (Sura 9:111)
There is a bit of truth in the above
verse; God has purchased the believers’ souls—with the precious blood of Jesus.
And as believers in Christ, “we labor and strive, because we have fixed our
hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men” (1 Timothy 4:10). May our
Lord strengthen His people to take the good news of great joy, which shall be
for all people, to the Muslim world.
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