Documenting the " Islamic Response"

I have discovered an editing error in my recent post: Stop the Trial: Khalid Sheikih Mohamnmed Confessed! the document link is incorrect as published.
The correct link to the pdf file containing the Islamic response to the accusations against K.S.M. etal. is: The Islamic Response to the Government's Nine Accusations.

That document contains several references to the Qur'an. My intention in this post is to give you access to the source of those references and their meaning. The quotes are linked to three parallel translations at USC-MSA for easy context checking.

The preamble begins with this statement.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

You will find those same words in the transcript of Flight 93's cockpit voice recorder. Both the act of mass murder and the boast are couched in terms of service to the demon whose words are quoted to amplify the text of the boast. Both are acts of worship, neither is secular.

The first Qur'an quote is used to explain the covert nature of their operation.

((0 you believers! Take your precautions, and either go forth (on on expedition) in parties, or go forth together.))

That ayeh is 4:71. Ibn Kathir does not mention secrecy or covert operations in his tafsir of 4:71. Maududi does not mention it, nor does Abdullaj Yusuf Ali.

In the matter of attacking civilians, five ayat are quoted.

((The sacred month is for the sacred month, and for the prohibited things, there is the law of equality. Then, whoever transgresses the prohibition against you, you transgress likewise against him.))

That ayeh is 2:194, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

((And there is (a saving of) life for you in AI-Qisas (The law of equality in punishment), 0 men of understanding, that you may become A/~Muttaquin (the pious).))

That ayeh is 2:179, explained here by Ibn kathir.

((The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof.))

That ayeh is 42:40, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

((Life for life, eye for an eye, nose for a nose, ear for an ear, tooth for a tooth, and wounds equal for equal.))

That ayeh is 5:45, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

((... Let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression.))

This text does not agree with the translation I use for 2:193. Shakir's translation is the closest match, note, however, that the quote is out of context. Ibn Kathir's explanation is here. By selecting that fragment of the ayeh, the authors were creating a false impression of benign passivity. The full text of 2:193 follows, as translated by Shakir.

And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah, but if they desist, then there should be no hostility except against the oppressors.

Ibn Kathir's tafsir of this ayeh is titled "The Order to fight until there is no more Fitnah".

Allah then commanded fighting the disbelievers when He said:

﴿حَتَّى لاَ تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ﴾

(...until there is no more Fitnah) meaning, Shirk. This is the opinion of Ibn `Abbas, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi`, Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi and Zayd bin Aslam.

For an overly aggressive interpretation of this ayeh, see the footnote by Hilali & Khan. The accused intend, by the selection of those ayat, to create a false impression that their attack was justified in retaliation for attacks by us. From the Islamic viewpoint, resisting their attacks is oppression & aggression. That attitude is one of the fruits of supremacism & triumphalism.

They answer the accusation of war crimes with these quotes.

((To those against whom war is waged, permission is given (to fight,) because they are wronged and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid.))

That is 22:39, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

((And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but be not the transgressor, Allah likes not the transgressors.))

That is 2:190, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

Regarding the hijacking charge, they quote the verse of the sword.

(("then fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, and besiege them and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush,))

That is 9:5, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

In answering the charge of terrorism, they cite an ayeh which sanctifies terrorism.

((Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, for that they joined companies with Allah, for which he has sent no authority; There place will be the fire; and evil is the home of the wrongdoers.))

That is 3:151, Ibn Kathir's tafsir is here.

((Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the heart of the enemies of Allah and your enemies.))

That is 8:60, Ibn Kathir explains it here. to delve a little deeper into terrorism, refer to this tafsir.

((Of a truth you (Muslims) are more feared in their (the infidels from Christians, Jews, and others) hearts, than Allah.
This is because they are men devoid of understanding.))

That quote is from 59:13, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

((They fight not against you even together, except in fortified townships, or from behind walls, their enmity among themselves is very great, you would think that they were united, but their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people who
understand not.))

That is 59:14, explained here by Ibn Kathir.

Last but not least, in answer to supporting terrorism, they return to the second surah.

((And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction, but do good; for Allah loves those who do good.))

That is 2:195, explained here by Ibn Kathir. Be sure to read the hadith used by Ibn Kathir to explain the meaning of casting yourself to destruction!

In the preamble, the authors made a statement which requires exploration.

Nevertheless, it would have been the greatest religious duty to fight you over your infidelity.

They assert that they fight us in retaliation, but claim a religious obligation to fight us because we are not Muslims. While they did not document the obligation to attack kuffar, it is not difficult to find in Surah al-Anfal & at-Taubah.

• 8:38. Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven. But if they return (thereto), then the examples of those (punished) before them have already preceded (as a warning).
• 8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allâh) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allâh Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allâh), then certainly, Allâh is All-Seer of what they do.
  

I added emphasis to the critical phrases. Ayeh 38 specifies the subject: disbelievers. Ayeh 39 specifies the verb: fight and the compound terminal condition no resistance and no shirk. Notice the title of Ibn Kathir's tafsir of this verse: The Order to fight to eradicate Shirk and Kufr.

In the next surah, Allah commands Muslims to make war on Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians until they are subjugated and make annual extortion payments.

• 9:29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Several hadith confirm those commands, but this one, in my opinion, is the clearest. I added emphasis to make the critical elements stand out.

• Moe was ordered to fight because Allah said "fight them".
• The victims must become Muslims to save themselves by:
• testimony to Allah's deity
• prescribed prayers
• prescribed prayer orientation
• prescribed slaughter
• prescribed dietary laws.
• Until we do:
• our blood and property are not sacred
• we have no rights.

• Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."

Reliance of the Traveller, the all purpose handbook of Islamic law, cites 9:29 as the basis of a requirement that the caliph makes war upon Jews & Christians. [Emphasis & link added.]

O9.8: The Objectives of Jihad

The caliph (o25) makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya, def: o11.4) -which is the significance of their paying it, not the money itself-while remaining in their ancestral religions) (O: and the war continues) until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax (O: in accordance with the word of Allah Most High,

"Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and His messenger have forbidden-who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book-until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled" (Koran 9.29),[...]

O9.9

The caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim (O: because they are not a people with a Book, nor honored as such, and are not permitted to settle with paying the poll tax (jizya) ) (n: though according to the Hanafi school, peoples of all other religions, even idol worshippers, are permitted to live under the protection of the Islamic state if they either become Muslim or agree to pay the poll tax, the sole exceptions to which are apostates from Islam and idol worshippers who are Arabs, neither of whom has any choice but becoming Muslim (al-Hidaya sharh Bidaya al-mubtadi' (y21), 6.48-49) ).

The Caliph is required to fight all other people until they become Muslims (O9.9). Al-Shafi'i issued a relevant ruling that there must be at least one annual military expedition against kuffar.

"The least that the imam must do is that he allow no year to pass without having organised a military expedition by himself, or by his raiding parties, according to the Muslims' interest, so that the jihad will only be stopped in a year for a (reasonable) excuse."

The Islamic religious duty to attack us is founded on those two ayat. It is confirmed by hadith and codified in Shari'ah; confirmed by fiqh. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and associates have exposed the fatal facts to our view by submitting them to the court. The facts can not be concealed any longer, they must be recognized and confronted.

In reality, K.S.M. etal. are not extremists; they have not hijacked Islam, they are believers, obeying Allah & emulating Moe. Islam is a war cult, not a 'religion of peace'. If our elected leaders do not wise up to this fact and react accordingly, we will surely be subjected to further attacks, and eventually lose our legacy of liberty.