Voices of Islam (109 page)

Combative Jihad in the technical usage of Islamic law means ‘‘the declara- tion of war against belligerent aggressors.’’ It is not a haphazard decision taken by anybody but only by the leader of the nation. The principles of Islamic jurisprudence state that the actions of the leader must be guided by the interests of the people.

The Jihad of Education

Thus, we see that the building blocks of today’s concept of rights were present in the Prophet’s message from its very outset when the Jihad of Education took on the aspects of struggle in the Messenger’s fi years of preaching, as the chiefs of the Meccan tribes sought to suppress the freedom of expression, speech, and debate that were sought by the Prophet in teaching the new faith. God states in the Qur’an:

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Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.

(Qur’an 16:125)

Calling people to Islam and making them acquainted with it in all its aspects through dialogue and kind persuasion is the first type of Jihad in Islam, in contrast to the imagined belief that Jihad is only of the combative form. This is referred to in the Qur’an where God says:

So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them (by preaching) with the utmost endeavor with it (the Qur’an).

(Qur’an 25:52)

Here the word ‘‘strive,’’
jahidu,
is used to mean struggle by means of the tongue—preaching and exhortation—and to persevere despite the obstinate resistance of some unbelievers to the beliefs and ideals of Islam.

Ibn ‘Abbas

Ibn ‘Abbas and others said that God’s words ‘‘strive with the utmost endeavor’’ denote the duty of preaching and exhortation as the greatest of all kinds of Jihad. Ibn ‘Abbas said that ‘‘with it’’ refers to the Holy Qur’an.
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Thus, the form of Jihad here considered as most essential by Ibn ‘Abbas, cousin and associate of the Prophet and foremost exegete of the Qur’an, is the call to the Word of God, the Jihad of Education.

Imam Malik bin Anas

Imam Malik bin Anas stated in
al-Mudawwana al-kubra:
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The first of what God has sent His Messenger is to call people to Islam without fi He did not give him permission to fi nor to take money from people. The Prophet stayed like that for thirteen years in Mecca, bearing all kinds of persecutions, until he left for Medina.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya says in
Zad al-Ma‘ad:

God commanded the Jihad of Education when He revealed: ‘‘Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the (Qur’an)’’ (Qur’an 25:51, 52). This is a Meccan chapter, therefore

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[God] commands therein the Jihad of the non-Muslims by argumentation, elocution and conveying the Qur’an.
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Imam Nawawi

Imam Nawawi in his book
al-Minhaj,
when defining Jihad and its different categories, said:

...
one of the collective duties of the community as a whole (
fard kifaya
) is to lodge a valid protest, to solve problems of religion, to have knowledge of Divine Law, to command what is right and forbid wrong conduct.
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Imam al-Dardir

The explanation of Jihad in Imam al-Dardir’s book
Aqrab al-Masalik
is that it is propagating the knowledge of the Divine Law by commanding right and forbidding wrong. He emphasized that it is not permitted to skip this category of Jihad and implement the combative form, saying, ‘‘the fi [Islamic] duty is to call people to enter Islam, even if they had been preached to by the Prophet beforehand.’’
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Imam Bahuti

Similarly, Imam Bahuti commences the chapter on Jihad in his book
Kashf al-Qina’
by showing the injunctions of collective religious duties (
kifayat
) that the Muslim nation must achieve before embarking on combative Jihad, including preaching and education about the religion of Islam, dismissing all the uncertainties about this religion and making available all the skills and qualifi tions which people might need in their religious, secular, physical, and financial interests because these constitute the regulations of both this life and the life to come. Hence,
da‘wa
—performing the activities of propagating Islam and its related fi s of knowledge—is the cornerstone of the ‘‘building’’ of Jihad and its rules; and any attempt to build without this ‘‘cornerstone’’ would damage the meaning and reality of Jihad.
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Dr. Sa‘id Ramadan al-Buti

Sa‘id Ramadan al-Buti says in his book
Al-Jihad fil-Islam
:

The most signifi t category of Jihad was the one established simultaneously with the dawn of the Islamic
da‘wa
(calling for Islam) at Mecca. This was the basis for the other resulting kinds accorded with the situations and circumstances.
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Removing all misconceptions and stereotypes in clarifying the image of Islam held by non-Muslims, building a trusting relationship, and working

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with them in ways that accord with their way of thinking are all primary forms of Educational Jihad. Similarly, establishing a strong community and nation which can fulfill all physical needs of its people, thereby creating for them conditions in which the message will be heard, rather than being lost in the strife and struggle of everyday life, are requirements and form a basic building block of the Jihadic concept. These foundations fulfill the Qur’anic injunction:

Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoin- ing what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: and these it is that shall be successful.

(Qur’an 3:104)

Until this is accomplished the conditions of combative Jihad remain unfulfilled.
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Sayyid Sabiq

Sayyid Sabiq, in his renowned work
Fiqh al-Sunna,
says:

God sent His Messenger to all of mankind and ordered him to call to guidance and the religion of truth. While he dwelled in Mecca, he called to God by using wisdom and the best exhortation. It was inevitable for him to face opposition from his people who saw the new message as a danger to their way of life. It was through the guidance of God that he faced the opposition with patience, tolerance and forbearance. God says: ‘‘So wait patiently (O Muhammad) for thy Lord’s decree, for surely thou art in Our sight’’ (Qur’an 52:48). ‘‘Then bear with them (O Muhammad) and say: Peace. But they will come to know’’ (Qur’an 43:89). ‘‘So forgive, O Muhammad, with a gracious forgiveness’’ (Qur’an 15:85).

Here we see that God does not permit the fighting of evil with evil, nor to wage war on those who oppose the message of Islam, nor to kill those who cause discord among the Muslims. And He said: ‘‘Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!’’ (Qur’an 41:34).

As the persecution continued, it became harder and harder to bear, reaching its peak when the Quraysh conspired against the life of the Noble Messenger. At this time, it became imperative that he migrate from Mecca to Medina, both for his personal safety, for the very survival of the new faith, and in an effort to avoid war. Thus thirteen years after the commencement of Qur’an’s revelation, the Prophet ordered his companions to emigrate to Medina.

Here, we see that the Prophet did not engage in repulsing the aggressive attacks against the Muslims by his tribesmen but sought to avoid confl t and avoid their persecution by means of migration.

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Establishment of the Islamic Nation-State

Sayyid Sabiq continues:

‘‘And when those who disbelieve plot against thee (O Muhammad) to wound thee fatally, or to kill thee or to drive thee forth; they plot, but God (also) plotteth; and God is the best of plotters’’ (Qur’an 8:30).

Medina thus became the new capital of Islam. As a nation-state for the Muslims, and their new home, an entirely new political situation had evolved. Whereas before the Muslims had been a persecuted minority with no land or political base, upon establishing Medina as a nation ruled by the legislation of Islam, and a sanctuary to which new Muslims under persecution could flee, it was imperative to protect this homeland from the aggressive designs of the enemy, who sought nothing less than the complete extirpation of the Muslim faith and killing of its adherents. Thus when the enemies opened war against them the situation of the Muslims became gravely dangerous, taking them to the brink of destruction at the hands of the enemy, in which case the very message was in danger of being lost.
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So Jihad in its combative sense did not come about until after the Prophet and his companions were forced to leave their country and hometown of Mecca, fleeing for safety to Medina after 13 years of propagating the call to the faith and calling for freedom of belief. God said:

But verily thy Lord,- to those who leave their homes after trials and persecutions,

- and who thereafter strive and struggle [for the faith] and patiently persevere, - Thy Lord, after all this is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

(Qur’an 16:110)

So we see that after the migration to Medina, God described Jihad as a struggle which was suffered patiently through persecution and trial.

First Legislation of Combative Jihad

Even then the legislation to fight was not made until the Meccans set out to eliminate the newly established Islamic nation, by building an army and setting forth with the intention of assaulting and destroying the community in Medina.

Sayyid Sabiq continues:

The first verse revealed regarding fighting was:

Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and God is indeed Able to give them victory; Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is God. For had it not been for God’s repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches

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and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of God is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily God helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! God is Strong, Almighty. Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish worship and pay the poor due and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity. And God’s is the sequel of events.

(Qur’an 78:39–40)

This verse shows that permission for fighting is granted for three reasons:

1. The Muslims were oppressed by their enemies and expelled by them from their homes unjustly for no reason except that they practiced the religion of God and said, ‘‘Our Lord is God.’’ They then came under the obligation to take back the country from which they had been expelled.
   

2. Were it not for God’s permission for this type of defense, all places of worship (including churches, synagogues, and mosques), in which the name of God were remembered, would have been destroyed (see Denial of Religious Free- dom for a more detailed explanation of this aspect) because of the oppression of those who aggressively oppose belief.
   

3. The goal of victory in Islam is to establish freedom of religion, to establish prayer, to give charity and to command the good and forbid evil.
   

This last justification also means that as long as the preaching and practice of Islam are not circumscribed, the Muslims cannot fi a Jihad against a country in which Muslims freely practice their religion and teach Islam.

In the second year after the Migration, God ordered the Muslims to fight by saying:

Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. God knoweth, ye know not.

(Qur’an 2:216)

This verse shows that warfare was disliked in general, and was not some- thing sought after; despite this, it was called for at times when the security of the nation was threatened by external belligerency.

Thus, with a simple and studious examination of the relevant verses, we discover that there were two different kinds of Jihad: that of Mecca and that of Medina. The Jihad in Mecca was primarily by education. In Medina Jihad was by two methods:

1. education
   

2. fighting, but only after the enemies attacked the Prophet within his own
   

city-state. Additionally, the Muslims who had been expelled invoked the right to return to their homeland, and if opposed, to use force.

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As explained earlier, there are 14 different categories of Jihad, only one of which entails fi ting. Since it is this, the combative Jihad, which is now the focus of this chapter, I will now speak on the principles of such combat.

Combative Jihad was authorized only after the Prophet migrated along with his followers from Mecca to Medina, having been persecuted and expelled from their country fl from persecution and torture. This is not unlike what we see today: people fleeing from persecution in their home countries, becoming refugees in foreign nations. And the supporters,
al-Ansar,
of Medina, welcomed the refugees (
al-Muhajirun
) and shared with them all they possessed of their wealth and their homes.

The struggle in the way of God,
al-jihad fi sabil Allah,
which the Prophet began by teaching the Qur’an in Mecca, was primarily one of enlightenment and education, whereas in Medina his message became the basis of civic society and social life. This is borne out by the emphasis the Prophet made on caring for the poor, the emancipation of slaves, giving rights to women and building a civic society by levying taxes on the rich to benefit the poor, and by establishing community centers and community homes in which people could meet. These teachings were brought to a society in Mecca in which injustice ruled, and for this reason the Prophet was persecuted and fled to Medina. There he was able to establish a nation-state based on freedom of speech and freedom of religion where all religions fl together without conflict.