The Series:
Why Peace Is Impossible: Allah's Imperatives
Allah's commandments are contained in
'clear verses', exemplified in authentic ahadith, explained in exegesis
and codified in shari'ah. Jihad & terrorism are the
result of Believers obeying Allah and emulating Moe. [Emphasis added.]
Jihad:
Ordained
For Muslims
2:216.
Jihâd (holy fighting in Allâh's
Cause) is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike
it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and
that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not
know.
Fight Them
Until
Resistance
ceases
2.193,
8.39
Only
Allah Is Worshiped
2.193,
8.39
subjugation
& Extortion
9.29
2:193. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah
(disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allâh) and (all and
every kind of) worship is for Allâh (Alone). But if they cease, let
there be no transgression except against Az-Zâlimûn (the polytheists,
and wrong-doers, etc.)
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.
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.
9:123.
O you who believe!
Fight
those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and
let them find harshness in you,
and know that Allâh is with those who are the Al-Muttaqûn (the pious -
see V.2:2).
Computer programmers will recognize
those as do ...until... loops. The verb is fight, the subjects are
Quraysh, Quraysh and "People of the Book", respectively. The
compound terminal conditions are h2 headers above these three
verses. The links between headers go to the
Hilali/Khan translation for context. The links in the verse numbers go
to Islam Awakened for 50 parallel translations.
Note that Jihad is not defined in the
Qur'an. Recall the verse of ordinance:
2:216.
Jihâd
(
holy fighting in Allâh's
Cause)
The parenthetical expression was inserted by the translators for
clarity. Take a close look at the Arabic word translated as
Jihad.
Click it and examine the dictionary & concordance; mote the
numerous variants! The translators defined Jihad in their footnote to
2.190.
(V. 2:190) Al-Jihad (holy
fighting) in Allah's Cause (with full force of numbers
and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its
pillars (on
which it stands). By Jihad Islam is established, Allah's Word is made
superior, (His
Word being La ilaha illallah which means none has the right to be
worshipped but
Allah), and His Religion (Islam) is propagated. By abandoning Jihad
(may Allah
protect us from that) Islam is destroyed and the Muslims fall into an
inferior
position; their honour is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and
authority vanish.
Jihad is an obligatory duty in Islam on every Muslim, and he who tries
to escape
from this duty, or does not in his innermost heart wish to fulfil this
duty, dies with
one of the qualities of a hypocrite.
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud I asked Allah's Messenger
" O Allah's Messenger! What is the best deed?" He replied, "To offer
the Salit
(prayers) at their early fixed stated times." I asked, "What is next in
goodness?" He
replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I further asked,
"What is next in
goodness?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." I
did not ask
Allah's Messenger anymore and if I had asked him more, he would
have told me more. (Sahih Al-Bukhiri, Vol.4, Hadith No.41).
Note the cost / benefit analysis in the footnote:
- establishment
- supremacy
- propagation
- .destruction
- inferiority
- dishonor
- loss of rule & authority
- hypocrisy
Of course, Jihad is not officially recognized as one of the five
pillars of Islam, but Moe declared it to be Islam's highest peak.
I quote out of context from
Sunan Ibn Majah, volume 5, page 193.
Then he
said: 'Shall I not tell you of the
head of the matter, and its pilar
and pinnacle? (It is)
Jihad'
What makes a Jihad holy? I
have not found an explicit answer, but intention plays an important
role. Holy war is undertaken for Allah's good pleasure, to
earn his approbation, not for fame, reputation or fortune.
Sunan Abu DawudBook
14, Number 2513:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:
Apostle of Allah, tell me about jihad and fighting. He
replied: Abdullah ibn Amr, if you fight with endurance seeking from
Allah your reward, Allah will resurrect you showing endurance and
seeking your reward from Him, but, if you fight for vain show seeking
to acquire much, Allah will resurrect you making a vain show and
seeking to acquire much. In whatever you fight or are killed, Abdullah
ibn Amr, in that state Allah will resurrect you.
[No reward for the one seeking worldly advantage: Book 14, Number 2510]
Moe told us what would profane a holy
war in Sahih Muslim
19.4294:
- Holy war
- fear Allah
- be good to the Muslims with you
- fight
- in the name of Allah
- in the way of Allah
- against disbelievers
- make a holy war.
- Profanations
- embezzle spoils
- flee the battle
- mutilate bodies
- kill children.
Jihad An-Nafs
But Jihad is struggle, extreme striving
against the rigors of life; ego & temptation. Yeah, right.
Search the six canonical hadith collections, each one has a 'book'
of Jihad. Sahih Bukhari adds 'books' of Khumus &
Expedition. Show me one hadith therein pertaining to Jihad
An-Nafs!
Exemptions
Moe exempted the blind and lame from
Jihad.
4:95. Not equal are those of the
believers who sit (at home), except those who are disabled (by
injury or are blind or lame, etc.), and those who strive hard and
fight in the Cause of Allâh with their wealth and their lives. Allâh
has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their
wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home). Unto
each, Allâh has promised good (Paradise), but Allâh has preferred those who
strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward;
Must a Muslim go out from his home to do Jihad An-Nafs? Would
he risk his life & wealth in the struggle?
Legal definition
The legal definition of Jihad is found
in Reliance Of The Traveller, Book o, Chapter 9.0 from which
I quote.
Jihad means to war against
non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word
mujahada signifying warfare to establish the religion.
Obligation
Offensive Jihad is a communal
obligation, fard al-Kifaya which binds the entire Ummah until a
sufficient number have responded. Refer to
Reliance, o9.1 and suffer confusion. "
The Book Of Jihad", page 19
is clear and includes a straight forward quote of the
infamous fatwa of Imam Al-Shafi'i.
Defensive
Camel feces! Will you spend
three days proselytizing an attacking enemy force before
defending yourself? I quote from Reliance o9.8
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-
If you need more detail, go to
http://www.crusadersarmory.blogspot.com/
and read the two pdf files embedded in the landing page.
Confirmation
Moe is on record confirming the orders
to fight.
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."
Sunan Abu Dawud 14.2635
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said:
I am commanded to fight
with men till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that
Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle, face our qiblah
(direction of prayer), eat what we slaughter, and pray like us. When
they do that, their life and property are unlawful for us except what
is due to them. They will have the same rights as the
Muslims have, and have the same responsibilities as the Muslims have.
Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 196:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah 's Apostle said, "
I have been ordered to
fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right
to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to
be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me
except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah,
(either to punish him or to forgive him.)"
See also:
Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 388